Wake up. Get ready. Breakfast. Talking. Same routine as normal, but with a little more urgency considering it's the last day before the arena and all.
Today is the day of our group interviews. It's pretty self-explanatory on why the four of us are being interviewed all at once this year. You know… twice as many tributes plus each District working with themselves. Yep. Pretty obvious to me. Anyways!
Monikka, Icirrus, Natalia, and Conrad do not hesitate to jump right into our training. Icirrus starts right into proper posture and composure techniques. Back straight, legs crossed (for girls), ankle resting on other leg's knee (for guys), and big, bright smiles (psh… yeah right).
Natalia and Conrad aren't able to stay long. They get up shortly after we start so they can finish up the rest of our outfits for tonight's ceremonies.
Monikka keeps it short and simple: "Be yourselves." Icirrus surprisingly nods in agreement. We thought he detested our sarcastic and teasing nature, but it turns out our honest selves will have the crowd roaring. "You four just need to act the way you are. You connect and mesh together fabulously! Although, at times, rather crude, your senses of humor are just what my fellow citizens will get a good laugh at! Splendid," Icirrus finishes.
The rest of the practice, we go over possible sample questions: "How do you like the Capitol?", "What is your favorite piece of the special rule change these Games offer?", etc…
Well, we're more ready than we ever will be I suppose.
As Natalia and our prep team are getting us into our outfits, I can't help but feel extremely lucky this year. It's all finally hitting me. Compared to other years, this week leading up to the Games would have been quite awful. Sure there's twice as many tributes, therefore Careers, to worry about, but everything is better with a team. I'm sure my pleasant thoughts will change once inside the arena, but for now, I will enjoy the moment.
Natalia is trying to have us match again with a black, red, and white dress code. I'm wearing a black shirt with a red tie and white pants. Ryann is dressed in a red shirt with a white tie and black pants. Not bad. We look just as good as we did in the Tribute Parade.
We meet up with Conrad, Dani, and Vi. Same color sequence. Vi is wearing a black dress with white shoes and a red fur jacket. Dani is wearing a red dress with black shoes and a white fur jacket. Damn, we are the best looking District if I do say so myself.
"Good luck to each of you. You will be absolutely wonderful," Natalia mentions as she hugs us good-bye.
We march out onto the stage where we will be interviewed. We sit in the gigantic semi-circle with 48 seats surrounding a smaller semi circle with four seats in a row and a single seat in front. We sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
District 1 comes up strutting their stuff. The guys, Plush and Fab (ohmygod those names are moronic), seem like the typical male Careers. Plush seems more blood-thirsty with his constant threats. Fab doesn't appear too threatening, just cocky. The girls, Emerald and Glory (wtf again), seem just as bad as the guys.
District 2 don't seem as bad, but they still clearly give off the Career vibe. I remember watching them during training. That Katarina is a monster with knives, and even better with her darts.
District 3 doesn't pose too much of a threat. They all seem rather nerdy. However, Deborah seems like someone to watch out for. She seems to take these Games very seriously and she DID score an 8 in training.
District 4 is yet the tamest Career pack of the three. Yet I still wouldn't want to be stuck in a close proximity with any of them. They all received great training scores. They just don't seem to flaunt their stuff as much as the other Careers.
District 5 and 6 all seem to be forgetful. A couple stand out, like Kimi from 5 and Boydd from 6, but I could take them down in a heartbeat. Uh oh… I'm thinking like a Career aren't I? Erm, sorry. Onward to 7!
That awfully reserved girl from Seven answers Vinnie Gooser with a one word answer every single time, after she pauses for five seconds of course. On the contrary, Zeke, Willow, and Wiley all seem to be very prepared. Old Johanna Mason isn't rolling in her grave just yet!
District 8 has the only 12 year old in the Games this year, Maximillian. Besides him, only Rageanne seems to stand out from the team.
District 9 has those pesky tributes that we had the awkward confrontations with in the training center and before the Tribute Parade. Markus is still very quite (not as bad as the Girl from 7). I want to punch Merrirose in the face. She keeps talking about "Me, me, me." Mona and Baxter are tolerable yet still slightly annoying. As their timer rings, the four of us brace ourselves for the interview ahead.
"Now, we would like to present Mathias, Ryann, Violette, and Daniah: the sheriffs and bandits from District 10!" Vinnie announces.
Each of us shake hands with Vinnie and wave to the roaring crowd before we sit down.
Right from the start, Vinnie looks directly at me: "Now, you four made an impressive entrance at the Tribute Parade to provide an excellent first experience for you in the Capitol. How are you liking your living conditions so far?"
Let's start with a flattering comment, then get to the chase: "Well, Vinnie, the Capitol is more than I imagined it would be. I have to admit the people and structures the Capitol provides took my breath away. My only complaint would be my lack of sleep at night."
"Oh, and why is that I might ask?" Vinnie asks, clearly concerned.
"Actually, Vinnie, you might want to ask this guy over here. He might have to make a formal apology to quite a few Capitol citizens onto why there are monsterous whale sounds coming from the 10th floor of the Training Building each night."
The crowd is roaring with laughter. Hmm… it wasn't even that funny. "Yeah, poor Violette and I tried to barricade our door with sheets of metal, but the noise still seeps into our room," Dani adds. More laughter.
Ryann is actually laughing at himself, too. "Now that he mentions it, Vinnie. I might have to apologize to the Capitol citizens after all… for SOMEONE using up all of the city's hot water during his morning showers! Every single day he takes his precious time just to make me wait longer. I swear he leaves the water running even when he gets out. Isn't he a peach?" Ryann retorts.
"Ha!" Vi adds, "You have no room to talk about him not being a 'peach!' What's with the word choice anyways? You sound so masculine. But anyways, you have no room to talk coming from the guy who farts on Dani and I at the dinner table!"
I start cracking up at this point, too. The audience is rolling and Vinnie has to take a minute to collect himself. It's one of those "you had to be there" moments, I suppose.
The discussion somehow gets to the girls making fun of each other, then back to me, then finally back to more common, mature questions for the other three. Finally, Vinnie turns to me one last time as says, "Alright, and for our last question before the timer goes out. Mathias, with your score of 10 in the private training session and all, do you feel as if you are the leader of this group?"
I chuckle at the question before I answer, "Why, Vinnie, look at me. Of COURSE I know I'm the leader of the group. I'm handsome, strong, and hilarious, to add a few." I let the crowds laughter die down before I add, "But in all honesty, no. I've actually never really taken that into consideration. I'm pretty sure the four of us can agree that ALL of us make this a team. We each bring a contribution to this team that another team member couldn't replace. We each lead this team and make it into what it is. I have a feeling District 10 isn't going to be over-shadowed this year by the big dogs, we stand a great fighting chance." And with that, the timer buzzes, the crowd erupts in excitement and cheers, and Vinnie politely dismisses us back to our original seats.
I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders. We killed that interview. I know we did. I can tell the other three feel the same way. They're quietly smiling to themselves and even chuckling over the funny parts of our interview all over again.
District 11 takes the stage and we watch as our allies bond with each other in their own ways. They all get along really well, nowhere near us of course, but they have the audience very interested. Mack makes a few jokes here and there. Harper chimes in with her dry, sarcastic humor. Rayven tries to pump of the audiences with her peppiness. Mallow shows his politeness by thanking them for their hospitality. Not bad… not bad.
By the time District 12 hits the stage, I'm so ready to go to pay much attention to what's going on. The older girl, Diedra looks pretty intimidating after receiving an 8 as her training score and all. Little Rosagrace Hawthorne is a sweet girl. She definitely has some spunk in her though, she seems to be a survivor, that one.
As the interviews close, we slowly and tiredly head back to our rooms. The rest of our "team" is there waiting to congratulate us on our hard hitting performance. Monikka even admitted that she laughed a few times at our sarcastic bickering on stage. They send us off to bed after a few celebratory snacks and drinks. I'm about to lay myself down in bed when reality strikes one final moment.
I might not be alive by this time tomorrow.
