Chapter 4

Circuses, Once More

They line us up for the interviews. I look behind me and notice Seeder from District 11 give Rue a big hug and Maria from 10 holding Brandy's hand. I know better than to expect such comfort from Johanna. She stands by me with her arms crossed, looking straight ahead. She's not happy with me – I got a score of eight. The same as Peeta. Katniss and Drusa both managed an 11 – the only time in history both the top-scoring tributes have been women. Clint scored high with a 10 – the same as Cato from 1, and his brother two years before Johanna. The lowest score went to Brandy – a pitiful 2. Stephen and the minis from 6 barely did better with a 4. I'm sure hardly anyone's going to sponsor them … which worries me because Stephen has asthma, judging by how he wheezed if he exerted himself during training, and he'll need medicine. I know that, barring the vague plan Tony hinted at, they're going to die … but I don't like the thought of him slowly choking to death as his airway closes … or the kids starving to death or dying of thirst, for that matter. Besides … if Tony's not crazy, and not lying …

I've got to try to find them, once the bloodbath is over. But first, I need to get an axe. If Cato comes after us and I'm unarmed I'll be useless – even if the Other Guy makes an appearance.

But for now, I've got to smile and be charming.

Drusa's interview is the first interesting one. She's cool and collected, and in a short black dress with her hair done nicely, she's very alluring. Apparently she's the daughter of a previous tribute who did very well … I'm sure the odds on her just got even shorter. Caesar Flickerman is his usual self – the kind of man who draws out your deepest secrets in front of everyone. Which he does. "So there's your mother, widowed at eighteen, and pregnant with twins. I imagine that was very hard – growing up without your father."

"It was, but our mother raised us to be strong, even when she had to leave us behind."
"Yes – your mother served as a Peacekeeper, is that correct?"

"Yes – we stayed with our aunt while she was on a long tour. We counted down the days until she came home …" She hesitates for the first time and I realize we're all hanging on her every word. "She was killed in the line of duty trying to calm a coal miner rebellion in District 12." The audience makes little sounds of sympathy – I force myself not to glance at Katniss and Peeta even though I'm curious about their reaction. "Honestly, I try not to dwell on the pain – I just want to honor my parents' legacy. I'm going to win – for them, and give my sister every opportunity to do the same next year or the year after." Everyone cheers and applauds her as Caesar says her name once more – the first standing ovation of the night.

Anthony is the next to win a standing ovation – he's funny and charming, and makes the whole audience chuckle. He looks good in a suit – certainly better than any of the other boys, myself included. He notes that he thinks brains will win out over brawn, and he mentions the girl from 3 who won seventeen years ago – the one who killed Drusa's father. I wonder if he's trying to get himself killed – I glance back at the kids who've already talked and I see Drusa glaring daggers at him. Johanna rolls her eyes. "Always the drama with victors' kids …" Or victor's son and fallen tribute's daughter in this case. I wonder if the drama will thicken when they get to Clint.

Shale, the girl from 5, echoes Tony's message of brains over brawn – she says she'll win by using strategy. Stephen is brave and determined – he says the minis are going to band together and use each other's skills to get through the Games.

Track and Levy, the children from 6, seem to know they don't stand much of a chance – they seem very nervous and they look like they want to just leave and cry, all though Caesar gets some interesting moments from them.

Juniper says she's eager to get back to her parents and siblings, to see her niece or nephew who's supposed to be born in two months. She's currently apprenticed to a carpenter, and she knows how to use saws and hammers. And then it's my turn.

I make my way onstage, trying not to look stiff or awkward. I'm in a fairly plain gray suit – Felicia said it'll make me look older, more scholarly. I shake hands with Caesar and try to smile as I take a seat. We chat about how I like the Capitol – I lie and say it's beautiful. I make sure to mention the name of the eye doctor and his frame shop, just like I promised. "So, I think the question on everyone's minds, Spruce, is – what exactly happened to you on Reaping Day?"
"Right to the chase, I see," I say, trying to smile. "It's not as interesting as you might think, I'm afraid."
"Try us," Caesar says genially.

"I work as a healer, and, well … torn veins don't care that it's Reaping Day. They can be inconsiderate that way." Everyone laughs and I'm surprised at the positive response. "The blood was from a lumberjack who was accidentally struck with a saw. I barely finished stitching in time to get to the Reaping – I didn't have time to change or wash up."

"Of course. So, as a healer … what advantages do you think you have?"
"Well I … I imagine that'll be a good bargaining chip for alliances. Plus … I know what a fatal injury is, and I've spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with plant life while looking for herbs to use in medicine."

"Of course. So if you win – do you have any big plans for your life?"
"Well I … I want to get a nebulizer for my little cousin." Everyone laughs at my little dream, and rather than let it hurt my feelings I risk saying something else. "If it would be permissible, I'd like to go to medical school … be a real doctor." I'm careful to phrase it that way so I don't seem uppity or rebellious in any way … and it galls me to realize how low I'm bowing for a government that's going to kill me. But I smile shyly and pretend I don't mind.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out for you," Caesar says kindly. "But you have to win first."
"Of course," I say, forcing a smile and determinedly not thinking about what that means.

"Well, Spruce, may the odds be ever in your favor," he says and shakes my hand. I've never heard that phrase said so genuinely before. I don't get a standing ovation.

Calico mentions her older brother, and how she'll do her best so he won't worry as much – even after a week of eating well, she's still dangerously thin, but the poofy dress they put her in hides it well. I know 8 is dirt poor, maybe even poorer than 12, and I know she wants to win just so she and her family can have enough to eat. When you get down to it … that's the dream most of us have, beyond basic survival.

Brandy is heartbreakingly innocent. She's the same age as Rue and Stephen, but acts so much younger … I suspect she's the baby of her family, and also possibly disabled – that's not at all uncommon, and it doesn't disqualify kids from the Reaping. She says she's going to win with the other minis and Caesar doesn't correct her – we all doubt very seriously she'll live long enough for it to be a serious issue. And maybe, just maybe, even Flickerman wants to see her innocence preserved for just a while longer. For all I know that makes it more thrilling to watch her die.

When Clint goes on stage they pull up pictures of him as a cute twelve-year-old boy running into his seventeen-year-old brother's arms the year his brother won – everyone laughs and Clint acts embarrassed. But in the sequence of pictures, I see the emptiness in his brother's eyes – how he seems to get a little bit of soul back as he holds his little brother tight, and I know Clint sees it too. But he plays it off well. He smiles – a more polished, less sincere version of the big grin he wore as a twelve-year-old welcoming his brother back to District 10. "In the last moments before you boarded a train to the Capitol, did your brother have any advice for you?"
"He told me not to get cocky," Clint says, in a very cocky way, and the crowd laughs. Of course they do.

"Of course … people are quick to point out the similarities between Katniss Everdeen and your brother." That's right … I'd forgotten that. Clint got reaped first, and his brother volunteered. Clint's luck is horrible. Assuming it is luck – I've always wondered if the Reapings are sometimes rigged.

"Well … it is the same, in a lot of ways. I … I honestly wish Katniss the best of luck," Clint says, and he seems to mean it.

Rue reinforces everything Stephen said – and talks about her own skills. She's the only one of the mini-pack with even the ghost of a shot, and even then the odds on her are very, very long, and everyone knows it. Thresh, the huge boy from 11, is defiant and cold. His answers are all short and curt – but he radiates power, with his enormous chest, broad shoulders, and massive height, so no one will call him on it. He can be surly and air his contempt for the audience and he'll still get tons of sponsors. I envy him – but then again, even if I had the physical power to justify surliness I'd probably still be as shy and nervous as I was all along. It's just who I am.

And then … Katniss. She's been so strong and stoic during training that I'm surprised to see her smile and twirl for the Capitol audience – and her dress sparkles with jewels that make it look like she's caught fire once again. I wonder if this is another side to her, brought out by Flickerman's skill as an interviewer, or if it's an act.

When she comes backstage with the rest of us afterwards I start to say something to her but Johanna puts a hand on my arm. I don't want to get told to take a cold shower again – especially since Katniss would probably hear her say it – so I look away to Peeta making his way onstage.

Peeta does an exceptionally good job with his interview … he seems more confident than he has all week. It's all lighthearted and funny for him – he talks about how the showers are so different at the Capitol. I'm glad Caesar didn't ask me about that – I would have blurted out I'd never actually used a shower before and really looked like a hick. Caesar seems to be asking Peeta a lot of questions I'm glad I didn't get – he asks if there's a girl at home. If he'd asked me, I would have turned bright red thinking about what Felicia's assistant said and my own inexperience. Peeta doesn't seem to like the question either – he tries to hedge. But Caesar presses on, and Peeta says, "Well … there is a girl. But I don't think she even knew who I was until Reaping Day." It confirms what I've thought all along, and my heart sinks for him. I look over at the other tributes, and all the girls (except Katniss) and most of the boys seem to know exactly where he's going with this. And even Katniss suspects at this point I think – she stares at him, looking like she dreads the next thing to come out of his mouth. Unfortunately, Caesar doesn't guess – how could he? He hasn't been in training with us.

"Well, I'll tell you what, Peeta, you win these Games, and she'll have to go out with you."

"I don't think that'll help."
"Well why not?"
"She came here with me," Peeta says, and you can hear the heartbreak in his voice. There are gasps and little "awww"s from the Capitol audience … they eat it up. All of us look to Katniss at once – she looks horrified and maybe even humiliated. Behind her shoulder, Drusa looks irritated – whatever drama she was trying to make between herself and Katniss and Anthony, has been dramatically overshadowed. Peeta gets the final standing ovation of the night – and all our mentors hurry us away to clear a path for Katniss and Peeta's … whatever's about to happen.

As soon as we're safely in the elevator, along with a pack of other tributes and mentors, Johanna begins cursing the most recent turn of events. Marty echoes her cursing, as does Chaff from 11. Tide, one of the mentors from 4, echoes it and makes it much saltier. Thankfully, I was covering Brandy's ears. Marty curses at me for that – he yells at me every time he sees me being anything less than homicidal towards the other tributes. Which is all the time. "So … what does that mean for us?" Thresh asks. "I'm guessing it ain't good."

"They'll manipulate the game to keep those two in as long as possible – they're gonna want the drama of Peeta dying in her arms," Tide says. Only he says it with … more additives. I don't question why he assumes Peeta will die first.

The fear hits me as soon as I walk into my bedroom. Johanna's followed me to the door –she seems to be anticipating this. I only thought I was scared the night before. As soon as I'm in the bedroom, it sinks in that this is my last night in this room – quite possibly my last night ever. Especially since I know I have to run into the bloodbath – I'm going to be wandering the Arena defenseless if I don't. I start to shake, and Johanna opens the door as though she can hear me panicking. "It's okay," she says, more comforting than ever, and hugs me. "It's okay. You're going to need some sleep …" As soon as she says it I know I can't. Before I can even say anything, she takes something from her pocket. A couple of pills. "Here. Don't take it until you've already changed for bed – it'll knock you right out."

"But in the morning …"
"If you get in bed now, you'll be wide awake at least an hour before the Games start."

"Are you sure?"
"Trust me – they work fine," Johanna says, and I know from her tone she takes them a lot. It might be the only way she can sleep. I've heard rumors about what happened to her family after the Games, and I don't know who she made mad but on the off chance I survive the Games I don't want to repeat her mistake. All though – who would they target? The entire village of Muleshoe seems like a rather broad net, even for the Capitol.

But thinking about that doesn't help … even if I survive, it won't be over. It'll never be over. I start to panic even more.

She puts both hands on either side of my face and looks me in the eyes. "You're going to be okay, you understand me? You're going to do everything we talked about, and you're going to win this one for 7, okay?"

"Okay," I answer, even though I don't believe it.

"Get some sleep," she says gently, and leaves me alone.

I sob as I change into the soft shirt and shorts I've been wearing to sleep, and I'm ashamed of myself because I'm seventeen and I shouldn't be such a coward. I wonder if the mentors of the little ones have to spend all night trying to calm them down. Maybe that's why so many of them are drunks or addicts … as if the Games aren't enough, they have to deal with that every few years. Or every year, in the case of districts without many victors to choose from for mentors.

I slide into bed, and down Johanna's pills with water from the glass by my bed. They work just like she said, and I'm not aware of anything until the next morning.


Author's Note

I decided not to try to transcribe dialogue from the movie or book because I figure different narrators would remember things slightly differently, especially conversations, so I did it straight from my memory. I've watched the movie three times while writing this, looked up passages in the book, and practically lived on the Hunger Games wiki trying to make everything else as accurate as possible, and I'm really sorry if I screwed something up anyway.

Also it may take me a while to get this posted here on but this story is actually done – if you want to keep reading after this point, the rest of it is on deviantart. This chapter: art/Something-to-Avenge-Chapter-4-370343575