District 3 is my favourite district. And I wanted to do a Hunger Games that was slightly different. I hope you like it! ~Jodiiee

The Odds are Against Us

The booming, energetic voice of Caesar Flickerman rang throughout the crowd, raising cheers and whoops from the fickle Capitol audience.

"Welcome, one and all, to the annual 16th Hunger Games!" He shouted merrily, raising an arm up in the air. "It's time for the interviews!"

They were nervous, to say the least. Each tribute dreaded in the back of their minds as to what the future would hold for them, and whether they would be alive this time tomorrow. Even the Career districts, with their sparkling dresses, suits and accessories, had a certain lack of spirit in their voices.

In particular, Xyris Quentin of District 3 was panicking silently as she sat, waiting to take her place on the stage. Her reaping was dramatic to say the least, with her already fragile mother breaking down and tugging at the velvet ropes separating us. She'd had to be restrained by the Peacekeepers, and was nowhere to be seen when the rest of her family visited her before her train ride to the Capitol. The last thing she had heard from her was the hysterical screams that came from the crowd as the nervous girl had made her way to the stage.
Then, during the Tribute Parade, Xyris had to wear a headpiece adorned with microchips and wiring, which was uncomfortable and cut into her forehead. Her stylist believed that people must 'suffer for art', although she wasn't the one wearing awkward metallic plates all over her body that made her move in an unnatural, robotic manner. Or maybe that was the desired effect.
The training centre was a living nightmare. District 3 was the home of complex machinery and whirring motors, but there were no mechanical or electrical weapons to be found. Even her male counterpart, Zeph, who was quite possibly the most mentally advanced person she had ever met, struggled to find something that could be of any use in the arena. Xyris had never understood why her hometown was excluded from the Career pack, but she finally understood as she stood, shock and horror evident in her features, and watched the six Career tributes wielding swords, spears and tridents with ease. Of course, their vocations all included handling dangerous weaponry. All that 3 had to offer was a few coils of wire and a microchip or two.

The District 2 boy's interview was nearly up now. He had been obnoxiously arrogant, and had taken every opportunity to flex those wretched muscled arms of his. Xyris would be up next. Zeph patted her shoulder awkwardly, in an attempt to try and comfort her, but it did little to calm her nerves as he had barely talked to her the entire stay in the Training Centre; he simply sat on the big, luxurious couch with his fingers pressed against his forehead and thought about things. Probably about how to kill her in the arena.
Xyris smoothed out the pleats in her sparkling, grey dress and stood up, following the usher's orders to travel up the steps to the stage. The whole backdrop was flickering with bursts of yellow and orange, most likely to match the yellow theme Caesar had chosen to adopt this year. He welcomed the nervous girl onto the deep orange couch and greeted her excitedly.
"Hello there!" Flickerman greeted, then trailed off. "...Erm, how exactly is your fascinating name pronounced?" He asked, with humour evident in his voice. The crowd chuckled and Caesar grinned, extending his arm outwards in an invite to speak. Xyris guessed that the whole Capitol had no idea how to say her name. Her escort had pronounced it wrong at the reaping, and she had mumbled this to him whilst still in front of the cameras, after her mother had been dragged away.
"Xyris." She replied shakily. "Like saying 'eye', only with a 'Z', and then 'Riss'." Too many times had she recited this sentence in her life, the only difference was that no one was cruelly laughing at her now. Instead, they cheered for some reason. The Capitol was strange.
"Xyris! Beautiful!" Caesar gushed, an obvious attempt to ease her out of her nervous demeanour. She smiled slightly and fidgeted in her seat, stroking the pleats of her dress again and looking intently at Caesar's tie.
"I must say, Xyris, you are wearing a stunning dress this evening." Flickerman smiled, making the tribute look down at her attire as if she'd forgotten what she wore. Her grey dress seemed to glow in intricate patterns in the stage lights, like a circuit board from back home. The texture was cleverly woven into the silk material in a way that did not show under normal light, but under harsh lighting such as this, it glowed softly like a metallic substance.
"Oh, yes, my stylist has worked for our District's tributes for years, so she always has new ideas." She replied, smiling like her mentor had told her to. She had made it clear that the Capitol like their tributes to appreciate the fashions they are draped in, and that a happy stylist is a helpful stylist. 'Anything to get sponsors', she thought. "I like the patterns, they remind me of home." She added, causing the crowd to react in sympathy, with their 'Awwh's and pitiful looks.
"Indeed, I think your stylist has done an excellent job right from the start, with your robotic chariot designs." Caesar encouraged. "I'm sure District 3 is rooting for you, Xyris. So, any plans for the arena?" He asked warmly. Xyris swallowed nervously.
"Well, I, erm, I'm just going to try to survive, really." She replied, trying not to blush at the embarrassment of having no idea what to say.
"So you're a survival expert, yes?" Flickerman added, the hushed whispers of the crowd anticipating a strategy plan to be revealed.
"Well, I don't know about that, but I was taught back home to expect everything that can happen, to happen." Xyris began, taking her mentor's advice once more and telling a story from home. "My father is an inventor, and my mother works in a computer factory, so I've had my fair share of expecting the unexpected!" She ended with a grin, expecting the crowd to laugh. But they didn't. They didn't understand at all. Xryis looked around nervously, not knowing what else to say.
"Do tell!" Flickerman smiled, on the same wavelength as Xyris herself. Trying to get the audience on her side.

"I remember once, my father had designed some kind of cleaning device," the tribute continued, remembering the memory clearly. She didn't want to go into too much depth about the complicated invention as it would just confuse the Capitol guests, so she skipped over the details and carried on, "and it went wrong, terribly wrong. His invention started to spew out dust instead of sucking it up, and when my father tried to fix it, he got electrocuted." The crowd gasped, expecting there to be some kind of sob story. "But I was in safety equipment like I always was when I went in his lab, and I could hold the wires without being harmed, so I managed to re-wire the circuiting to send the current to a fuse, where it was supposed to go in the first place. As you could guess, my father was pretty pleased with me." She grinned, trying to win over the audience. The grins and nods from the crowd made confidence rise up inside her, enough to encourage her to give a thumbs up to them, cheerily holding up her right hand and laughing. The citizens loved it, replying the gesture and cheering.

Caesar stood up, inviting Xyris with his hand, which she took with a smile. He held her arm upwards in the air and she curtseyed, knowing how much the Capitol approved of well-mannered tributes. Flickerman twisted her hand around and made her twirl underneath his arm, the patterns on her dress shining like liquid mercury, and the silk pleats swaying outwards like a mechanical wave. She stopped after one rotation and shook the hand that had spun her, and then waved to the audience. Even though she had not spoke much, nor portrayed a personality that usually gets sponsors lining up around the block, they seemed to love her. Cheers, whoops and cries of her name rung around the stage.
"Xyris Quentin, everyone!" Caesar cheered, egging on the audience. "It has been an honour meeting you! May the odds be ever in your favour!"

Xyris returned to her seat, smoothing her pleats once more.