Chapter Twenty-Five
POV: Ludovic Robertson (15), Hunger Games Victor
Floor 4, The Training Centre, The Capitol
7.30 am, Wednesday 8th August, year of the 66th Hunger Games
I'm woken early by Flavius, who tells me from the other side of the bedroom door that I've got an hour to get ready for the final interview. Today I go home.
I already know that it will take most of this hour and probably some of the rest. My head is throbbing, I ache all over and I feel extremely lethargic. Never again, I think. No more alcohol from now on.
It takes me ten minutes to coax myself out of bed, and decide to run a cold shower to wake me up. Sadly, in the three weeks since I was last in this room, on the fourth floor of the Training Centre, I've forgotten how to get desirable settings from the shower. Or maybe the alcohol hasn't fully worn off yet. It really could be either reason.
After about five minutes, I get a tolerable setting from the shower. As I slowly wash myself, I think about the events of the previous night.
After the drink started flowing, my memories of the Victory Banquet become a blur. I remember spending a lot of the evening with Gloss, some sort of crazy dance on the dancefloor (I don't even know what that might have been) and, of course, the vodka. At some point, I vaguely remember Finnick being whisked away by President Snow, but I don't remember where to. I don't really want to think about it now, either. Even thinking hurts.
I manage to get into a plain white t-shirt, and pull on some trousers made of the material that I now know to be called denim before heading to the dining room for breakfast.
Only Flavius is there as I arrive, eating a round of toast. I don't feel hungry, so I pour myself a glass of orange juice. Either I ate loads at the party last night without realising it, or the alcohol has taken away my appetite.
"It's your last day here," says Flavius as I take a seat next to him.
"What're we doing this morning then?"
"Preparation for your final interview," says Flavius. "You'll spend the morning with Julia and the prep team."
"Will Finnick be helping me?" I ask.
"Not today," replies Flavius. "You don't need any more interview training. You'll cope fine on your own."
"Where is Finnick, anyway?" I ask. It's unusual for Finnick to wake later than me.
"He took off somewhere after the party," Flavius explains. "He said he wouldn't be back until the morning."
"Did he say where he went?" I ask, but before Flavius can reply, my prep team burst in and drag me away.
I spend the next two hours being attended to by my prep team. It seems pointless to me; it was only yesterday when I last went through all of this. Finally they leave me be, and Julia comes to dress me for my interview. Yet again, her trademark simplicity is shown today, and I find myself in an almost identical outfit to last night, with the only major difference being that the colour of the shirt has changed from white to sky blue.
I'm then the short distance from my bedroom to the sitting room, where the interview will take place. As I walk in, it feels odd, as all but two of the chairs have been moved to the side of the room and several cameras have been installed. Aside from the three cameramen, there are only four of us in the room; me, Julia, Finnick and Caesar Flickermann.
Finnick and Caesar are making small talk, and as I walk over to them, Caesar comes forward to shake my hand.
"Congratulations, Ludo," he says remembering my nickname. "Are you prepared for the interview?"
I shrug my shoulders in reply.
"I guess so. I'm a little nervous, though."
"Why's that?" asks Finnick.
"Because I have to talk for so much longer than last time," I reply.
"There's no need for concern," says Caesar, reassuring me. "If you answer all the questions truthfully, you'll never run out of things to say."
Then he gives me a reassuring pat on the back, and gestures me towards one of the two leather chairs in the centre of the room. The interview is about to start. Finnick and Julia retreat to behind the cameras, and then one of the cameramen is counting backwards. We are going live.
Caesar introduces the interview as confidently as ever, and the first few minutes are barely taxing at all. Simple questions that require either yes or no, and little else in terms of answering. Only once the interview is inevitably steered in the direction of the Games do the questions become harder to answer, and with it the uneasiness returns.
"How did you feel, after watching the other Reapings?" asks Caesar. "Did you feel threatened by anyone?"
"Understandably, I was worried about the other Careers, but nobody stood out at that stage."
"What about District 2's Quintus. Surely being the son and grandson of two legendary Victors would have made him grab your attention?"
If I'm being honest, I didn't even make the connection until last night, by which stage Quintus was long dead. But in the interview, I have to appear on top.
"A name doesn't matter to me. He would be no more threatening if his name was Frank rather than Cato."
Caesar clearly didn't expect my answer, and tries test me, to see if I have any fear of the Cato family.
"What about when Quintus died? Tell me, what was running through your head when you killed him?"
I can't tell him my first thought. It doesn't bode well with the audience for Victors to admit to regretting their actions. What I do tell him is a partial truth. It was what I was thinking of once I had gotten over the shock that I had killed again.
"At the time, I was only thinking of how I could help Maddie," I reply confidently.
At this point, Caesar pounces upon the opportunity to ask me about me district partner.
"And what of young Madelaine? What made you want to help her so?" Caesar asks curiously.
"We've been friends for a while," I say bluntly. I don't want to talk about Maddie. Especially not in front of all these people. What happened to her is a very personal matter for me. It is a matter that I will contemplate in my own time, back home in the safety of District 4. But Caesar suspects the audience want to know more.
"For how long?" asks Caesar.
"Years," a say quickly. "I've known her since I was six or seven."
"And you have been friends since then?"
"Pretty much," I reply. "We've both been good friends with Finnick for years, too."
Excellent. Mentioning Finnick takes the attention away from Maddie and onto my mentor, and of how the odds have not been in our favour for the past three Reapings.
Before I know it, the half-hour of the final interview has passed, and Caesar Flickermann signs us off, concluding the 66th Annual Hunger Games. It is over. For now. In five months' time, there is the Victory Tour, a second chance for the Capitol to remind the districts of its power, midway between the annual Games. To make sure the wounds stay fresh in the population's minds. But until then, it is all over. I can go home.
Finnick gives me a thumbs up as the cameras fade off, concluding the show. Then cheers go up all around, and I'm congratulated by everyone- Flavius, Caesar, Finnick, Julia, simply everyone- on a successful Hunger Games. I rush back to my room to collect my belongings, but only have my brooch to collect from the interview clothes as I change back into the t-shirt and denim trousers, which are much more comfortable. I then say my goodbyes to Julia and my prep team, wishing them well, and telling them that I look forward to their visit prior to the Victory Tour.
Then Flavius escorts me and Finnick back down the elevator, and then into a car with blacked-out windows that escorts us to the train station. We find Mags waiting for us on the train as we board. Even seeing her again is painful. She was Maddie's mentor, and she reminds me so much of my lost love. For many of the last few days that I spent with Maddie, Mags was nearly always by her side.
The train starts moving and we're plunged into blackness as we enter the tunnel as we leave the Capitol behinds us. Even until this point, part of me believed that I would never leave the Capitol. But now I know for sure that I have survived. Once tributes reach this stage, they have nothing to fear for in life. They are given a luxurious house in Victor's Village, and Capitol pays them enough money and food to last them a hundred lifetimes. After the arenas, Victors never want again. Except for me. I want Maddie to return. Even if it means returning to the arena, I want her by my side again. I hope the pain will lessen over time. If not, I'll be as broken as Haymitch before long.
Once the darkness of the tunnel is far behind us, I can see the pressure lift from Finnick's shoulders. He has done his job. He has kept me alive. Some of the old laughter is returning to his voice. The Finnick that is on display in the Capitol isn't really him, just a character he devised to win him sponsors in the arena. On camera, he shows the same seductiveness that won him hordes of sponsors last year. Off camera, he is quiet, thoughtful and serious, desperately trying to think of the best strategies to keep his tribute alive. Away from the Capitol, Finnick is happy and free. Where he belongs.
As the sun sets, a whole day after the Victory Banquet, my hunger begins to return. The four of us gorge ourselves on all the food that the Capitol train has to offer, taking advantage of the high quality food that won't be available to us again until the Victory Tour at the earliest.
As I lie in bed that night trying to drift off to sleep, I allow my thoughts to return to District 4 for the first time since the arena. In comparison to the Capitol, it might not be much, but it's home, and that's all that matters to me. It means a return to the old days. How I want life to return to those simple ways again. I know that some things will change, as Maddie will no longer be with us. I just hope that my time in the Capitol hasn't alienated me from my home.
It was tough for Finnick last year. During his Games, he neglected his partner. He never allied with her, and she died at his hand. It would be acceptable to kill your district partner if the final two tributes were from the same district, as there are no alternatives. However, Finnick killed his partner, whose name I have already forgotten, when they were only two of five still alive in the arena. Once he arrived home, he was jeered by the masses, and shunned by his peers at school. Aside from me and Maddie, who never left him, it took him months for anyone to regain his trust. The Games alienated him from his home, making his first few months after the Games hell for him.
Hopefully it won't be the same for me. There's no point worrying about it, though. After all, I'll find out in just a few hours.