Smile. Be Bright! Be Peppy!
Quinta Botterill repeated the mantra over and over in her mind. She had to nail this, had to be perfect. Perfection was what President Teel demanded, what she craved above all else. No one seemed to be one hundred percent certain of what happened to Quinta's predecessor, but not a soul had heard or seen from him in well over a month. And so here was Quinta, for better or worse.
She had wanted to be the host for the Hunger Games since she was little. Back then, it was a steady gig, and a simple one: rev up the people of the capitol, chatter with the announcer, reminisce with Gamemakers, interview the tributes, hobnob with all the important folks. Quinta supposed it would still be much the same, though she hadn't given much thought to the pressure. She wasn't used to this much pressure when she was working. A month ago, she was a weather-girl, for goodness' sake!
But Teel had seen something in her, apparently, and handpicked her for the newly opened position. Quinta evidently was precisely the person that the president was looking for to serve as the face of the Hunger Games. Everything that happened this year, it had been rumored, was a dry-run for next year and the Quarter Quell. Anything that didn't fit perfectly into place would be cast aside. And as shocking as the sudden change had been, Quinta had no intention of being cast aside.
"Ten seconds, Q."
As the director called out, she sat up straight, squared her shoulders, and grinned her brightest smile. She couldn't exactly say if she was ready or not, but it hardly matter, it was now or never.
"People of Panem! Welcome, one and all, to the 124th Hunger Games!"
A/N: Hey all. Decided to give writing a SYOT a shot. It's a bit of a daunting task, but I'm looking forward to it. I'll be allowing up to 3 tributes per person. Please submit via review or via PM with the subject formatted as Tribute Name - District - Gender. The tribute list will mostly be decided by first-come, first-serve, but if I receive multiple submissions for one district, I will consider them all before making a decision. The submission form is currently posted on my profile. UPDATE: I've decided to allow submissions through reviews as well.