Sorry, guys! Been busy! It happens, right? Yes. Anyways, here's the second chapter of interviews! Only one more before we enter the arena!
I'm also sorry about the repetitiveness of the interviews. They're a lot like the reapings, unfortunately.
Enjoy!
Marjorie Snow
I lean forward as Malia Blakely comes onto the stage, wearing a simple black dress with a circle skirt and a bright blue belt. It's pretty, I guess, in a minimalist kind of way, but it's her facial expression that intrigues me.
She's smiling. In every picture and video I've seen of her, she's never once smiled. But now she's grinning like an idiot, almost like Caesar, only worse.
"She's fake," Liam comments suddenly.
"What?"
"Can't you tell? She's so mad that's she's smiling." I consider Liam's comment for a moment, leaning forward even farther to scan Malia's expression. He's right, I realize.
"Welcome, Malia!" Caesar exclaims. He stands to give her a handshake, which she returns with a much tighter grip than necessary. Although her face looks happy and excited, her knuckles are white.
"Malia, how are you enjoying your stay at the Capitol?" Caesar asks her after they both sit down.
"Oh, well I'm just so happy to be here. Really." The audience murmurs, finally sensing the bitterness inside this girl. While her words are complimentary, her tone is harsh.
"Well, I'm glad, Malia," Caesar says, unfazed. "What would you say the best part of your stay has been?"
"Well, gosh, I don't know," she snaps, still smiling. "The whole place is just amazing. I don't know how you guys can stand how amazing it is."
"Thank you for that, dear. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to know that our tributes are enjoying there stay."
"Yes, your tributes. Anything to make you happy, Caesar," she says, shooting him a poisoned smile. I know that Caesar is getting uncomfortable by the way he's tapping the arm of his chair, but his smile never falters. He's a true professional when it comes to dealing with difficult tributes.
"Malia, who do you think your greatest adversary is going to be once you enter the arena? Who are you most concerned about facing?" Everyone leans forward simultaneously. This is one of the most important questions Caesar can ask. Who the strongest tribute is.
"I haven't really thought about that, Caesar," Malia says, her voice lined with hatred. "I think I just need to get out there, try my hardest and see what happens. I don't think you really want to cross me."
"I'm sure we don't," Caesar agrees encouragingly. And just in time, the buzzer goes off and we cheer, bidding goodbye to Malia Blakely until tomorrow.
Caesar stands to announce Conan Ledger, Malia's district partner, but after a few questions, I get bored with his monotonous replies, and Liam and I start chatting up a storm.
"Who are you thinking?" I ask him.
"I'm still holding out for that kid from Six."
"The wimpy one?" I laugh. "What about that guy from Two? Why not him?"
"I just wanna see what this other kid has to say, that's all."
"Alright, whatever," I mumble, rolling my eyes at my brother's idiocy. But then again, he always did have an eye out for the underdogs. Maybe he thinks that the boy from Six is one. I doubt it, but I guess you never know.
A girl from Six, Isabella Vay comes on, but I don't pay attention to her either. She's peppy and annoying, constantly going on about her sparkly gear-covered dress. How obnoxious is that?
Well, chances are it's the last pretty dress she'll have, so I guess I have to forgive her.
Thomas Mcaw is next, the boy Liam is so interested in. He's wearing a dark gray suit covered in metallic gears, a lot like Isabella's dress. He's so thin and wormy that it almost seems to drown him.
"Thomas! Good to meet you, sir," Caesar says enthusiastically. "How are you this evening?"
"I'm very well, thank you," he replies politely. I moan and slouch in my chair, but Liam doesn't move an inch.
"Fantastic, Thomas. How are you feeling about the Games? Nervous?"
"A little bit, yes. Who wouldn't be? But Caesar, just keep this in mind: I know I'm not the strongest, but I do have some tricks up my sleeve. Don't forget about me."
"I wouldn't be able to forget you in a million years," Caesar says, smiling. I grin. He's required to say that. I can't even begin to count all the tributes he's said that to.
After allowing the audience to soak up what's been said, Caesar moves on with the program. "So, Thomas, tell me about your life back home in District Six."
"Well, not much happens in District Six," Thomas says, fiddling with his fingers. "I pretty much just go to school and then come home and scrape the dirt off of trains and cars and stuff."
"Ooh, how exciting!" Caesar gushes, rubbing his hands together in delight. "Who do you go to school with, Thomas?"
"The kids in District Six." This earns him a laugh, and Thomas looks vaguely pleased with himself. I know he said that on purpose, but a lot of others probably don't.
I can't hear the buzzer because people are laughing so hard at Caesar's baffled expression, but I know it must have gone off, because Thomas stands, shakes Caesar's hand kindly, and leaves.
"I still like him," Liam says, almost to himself.
"Whatever," I mumble. If that boy from Four wins, I have every intention of breaking up with Donny and running away with him. So I'd like him to win. Or that Malia girl, I think. She seems like she could be interesting in the arena.
District Seven is up. Tea Whythers is a fairly pretty, very happy girl who looks around sixteen, and her stylist has shoved her into a bright yellow, very low cut dress that makes her look brighter than the sun. She rushes to her spot next to Caesar, smiling widely, and waving. We have to acknowledge her enthusiasm, so she's greeted by many whistles and cheers.
"Hi, Caesar!" she says immediately.
"Hello, Tea," he replies, reaching out to shake her hand. "That's quite a welcome, right there."
"Yes. I'm really glad you all like me!" She turns to blow a kiss, and is answered by more shouts of excitement and approval.
"So, Tea, I must say, this has been bothering me for a quite some time, now. Is it true that your mother named you Tea because she was always craving tea when she was pregnant with you?"
"Yes," Tea giggles. "And I love tea, too, so I guess it runs in the family."
"It must. Are you ready for the Games, do you think? What are your chances of winning, in your opinion?"
"Well..." Tea considers this for a moment before brightening up again. "I just believe I'll win. I've always been a positive thinker, and it's gotten me places. So, I think I'm going to win. That's about it." Tea shoots a huge smile at her admirers.
"Positive thinking has always helped me too. It's funny- it's almost like magic, isn't it folks?" Caesar turns to us, grinning, and we have no choice but to shout in agreement. Once the crowd has quieted, he turns back to Tea. "Now, Tea, I'm guessing you're pretty skilled with an axe, being from District Seven?"
"Caesar!" Tea gasps, bringing a hand to her heart. "Why are you giving away my strengths?" Caesar gives her a sheepish grin, and I die with laughter. Tea gets over it, and continues. "I'm okay, I guess."
Before Caesar can speak again, the timer beeps and Tea has to leave.
"Well, thank you Tea, and best of luck to you, dear," he says. She smiles and nods before skipping off stage.
Her district partner Keldon Peak is quick to replace her. Looking fabulous in a bright yellow suit, he sits next to Caesar on the edge of his chair, waiting for the interrogation to begin.
Caesar gets right to it- the question we've all been waiting to hear.
"Keldon, I think we were all very moved when we heard that girl call out for you during the Reaping Ceremony," Caesar begins empathetically. "May I ask who it was?"
"Her name is Mykal," he answers, stiffening at the memory.
"Is she your special girl back at home?"
"No." He's hiding something, and Caesar catches it.
"Do you wish she was?" Keldon hesitates for a moment before nodding his head slowly. I sigh and slump back in my chair. How hopelessly tragic. Now what would really be killer was if...
"Keldon, tell me, is Mykal in the other arena? Did she accompany you to the Capitol?"
"No. But someone else I love is," he says. Well, darn. That would've been exciting. If I were him I would've lied. But, I tell myself smugly, I'll never be in his position.
Caesar doesn't bother to ask Keldon who's in the other arena; he knows we're itching to hear more about Mykal. A lot of the interviews are boring and repetitive, and this will be one of the only ones with some sort of tragedy in it. Caesar's gonna milk it for all it's worth.
"Tell me more about Mykal, Keldon." Keldon hesitates for several seconds before deciding that he's going to die, so there's no reason he shouldn't say anything.
"She's amazing," he says. "She's the best person in my life."
"Awww..." the crowd coos. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm among them. Caesar sighs, and puts his hand on his heart.
"Well, best of luck to you both, Keldon. I think I speak for all of us when I say that I hope you can be together again."
"Thank you." Caesar's timed it perfectly. Keldon leaves and is replaced by Carolyn Grisha, the girl from Eight. She's very shy and reserved, and appears to have no sense of strategy, because she goes off on a tangent listing all of the things she's good at: running, climbing, hunting, throwing spears...I hope she knows that if the Careers know she can climb, they're going to be looking in the trees.
Ryan Parrish is right after Carolyn, dressed in an odd patchwork suit that's made up of hundreds of different fabrics and colors. Some are metallic, some are iridescent, and some are covered in glitter. Not a single patch isn't shiny in some way. It looks very good in the stage lights, although I'm sure that up close it's a bit creepy.
Ryan also wears a goofy grin and a shamrock in the breast pocked of his suit. He waves with a lazy and careless air about him that's somehow captivating, and I can't help but laugh at his idiocy. Or intelligence, I can't tell. He plops down on the chair and crosses his legs, looking Caesar in the eye. Daring him to do something about it. Caesar acknowledges the challenge with a subtle raise of his eyebrows, but doesn't accept it, beginning right away with the questions.
"Do you like the Capitol, Ryan?"
"Well, sure. It's filled with shamrocks."
"Shamrocks?" Caesar looks hopelessly confused.
"Yeah, like this!" Ryan plucks his shamrock out from his pocket and holds it out for us to see. "They're good luck."
"Really?" Caesar asks, fascinated. "How's that?"
"I don't know. They're just good luck."
"Do you plan on taking one into the arena with you?"
"Yes, siree."
"Well, I certainly hope it helps you. What do you think your chances would be if you didn't have one of these...shamrocks?"
"Well...I'd just have to count on Evangeline. I rely on Evangeline a lot acutally, and I don't know what I'd do without her, 'cause if you haven't noticed, Caesar, I'm not too bright up 'dere."
After we've laughed for a few seconds, Caesar asks, "Who is Evangeline, Ryan? Your girlfriend?"
"Heck, no. Evangeline is what my dad used to call the evening star. She watches over all of us."
"That's sweet. Has your father been a major influence in your life?"
"Of course. He's my dad. My family, they're really special. We're closer than a lot of families back in District Eight."
"How so?"
"I don't know. Just happens I guess. At the end of the day, all we really need is each other, you know?"
The buzzer goes off, I'm sure, but you can't hear it over the clapping from Ryan admirers. He'll be forgotten by tomorrow, I'm sure, overshadowed by the Careers and such, but right now he's famous.
"What do you think?" I ask Liam while we wait for District Nine.
"I think dad's right. These Games are going to be interesting," he replies without hesitation.
Gosh, I really hate writing these. Thank goodness they're almost over! Anyways, I hope that you liked it! And again, sorry for the late update! :)
R&R!
~IceTigers
