Deals to Die For// [Rade]

The nice thing about owning a store full of everything you love is that i makes mornings bearable. Sure, my alarm goes off and there is a moment of dread thinking about slipping out of my Luyu Nimmons Heating Blanket but soon I realize that in an hour I'll be surrounded by my dear friends- the tributes.

Of course, the first exciting part of my day is getting dressed. Seeing as my profession requires a special kind of... zest, I have to be on top of my tribute knowledge. I try to dress up as a tribute every day. Repeats are okay for those rushed days but I have yet to complete a costume for each tribute that has been in the Games. Of course my job is made even harder since every year a fresh batch rolls in- but then I can order new merchandise!

Drifting over to my dresser and scan my list of tribute outfits completed. Let's see- I've worn Lethe too many times this year as it is but the colors from the 58th just look so good on me! Maybe another tribute from those Games- ah yes, perfection!

Swinging open my closet it took only a few seconds to pull on the chic costume I've put together inspired by the 58th uniform. I have put together a base look for each Games, add a little tribute flair and suddenly you're as stylish as Julian Bryze.

The 58th is one of my personal favorites (who am I kidding? They're all my favorites!), a tight brown skirt COVERED in sequins and a gold tank top- backless to show off my tattoo of course. Ruffling through my drawers I found a bottle of Romantic Roses from my fragrance line Whiff of Career. A quick glance in my token replica drawer and two little cuff links turned earrings in the shape of dumbbells were picked up and slipped on. Brown boots, bold black eyeliner and- the necessity with every tribute- a dash of glittery red blood. Today I flicked it across my cheekbone to give a more threatening look.

God, I love tributes.

Just a hop down the street, a key in the door and my store was open for the day. Once the lights flickered on, a small sigh escaped my mouth. It's just so pretty. With no customers yet, it was rather early in the morning nearly ten o'clock, I busied myself with straightening the mannequins and displays. My feet went straight to the Topaz Ross mannequin; I had paid extra for a hyper realistic dummy of the Victor and let me tell you those companies deliver! Dressed in her Games uniform, the girl looked almost real, key word almost. I could still tell the differences, the girl's nails would never be as long as the dummies. That was part of her trivia card I bought back when the 56th aired- Topaz Ross keeps her nails short and is always dressed in style. I recite those cards like a prayer- they are my prayer you could saw. I know everything about the victor by heart- her training score, her Games history- even her interview.

"Really, though, what does a training score really tell you? What matters is what you can seriously do, and no Gamemaker can judge what that is. So I plan on showing off everything I've got, everything I've learned, to hopefully surprise even them," my eyes close as I picture the seventeen year old Topaz up on stage in that gorgeous gold colored gown with touches of black that I made my mother buy me the second I laid eyes on it. She was dazzling and dangerous and everything I wanted to be. My lips recite her extra words, using the same inflection and tone she had on that very night so many years ago. I replay her interview in my shop everyday at noon. It is a marvelous piece of Games History and I have memorized every single inch, second, and flavor of it. "Getting a nine doesn't mean shit."