Harlequin Marceau POV
"Good morning, Panem! Are you ready?!" Because I'm not sure I am. Already I was criticizing my performance. My voice was all reedy and my smile was fake. I probably looked like a clown.
In a flash my first interviewee was in place. The first girl I would ever interview sat before me in a poufy pink ball gown. She seemed to examine me as if looking for weaknesses. She wouldn't have to look far.
"Hello, you must be Chantal," I said. Brilliant. Brilliant opening.
"How did you guess?" she said. Oh great, what do I ask next?
"So... do you think you'll win the Games?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. Silence reigned for a terrible moment.
"I'm sure you will!" I said. Dead airspace dragged out just long enough for me to attempt another awkward question as the buzzer went off.
"What can you tell us about a Career's perspective?" I asked Priscilla. Good one.
"It sucks. All we ever do is train. There's more to life," she said. That wasn't what I expected. I started to see what Seutonius was saying about seeing them as who they were.
"Good luck," I said as she left.
"How do you plan to win the Games?" I asked Diamond.
"I'm good with weapons and I'm a good fighter. You all saw me earlier," she said.
"Any weaknesses?" I asked. She looked like she ate something disgusting.
"You think I'd tell you?" she said.
"Who do you think will win the Games?" I asked Hunter.
"If it's not me, probably Shogo or Rapture," he said.
"Why?" I asked.
"They're the strongest," he said. The crowd has started off roaring with applause whenever a new Tribute came, but they were already growing quiet. It's not like I was giving them much of a show.
"Your last Games was certainly exciting," I said to Kazuo. "What a final battle!"
"Why would you bring that up?" Kazuo said as he looked at me with horror.
"You're here with your sister. Do you two get along?" I asked Miall.
"Oh, Priscilla can be a bit goofy, but I love my little sister," he said with a smile any celebrity would know was completely fake.
"And what's it like for you to be back with big sis again?" I asked Rapture.
"It's great! We're going to tear through the Arena together," he said. At last I'd found something. District One was off to an inauspicious start.
"Oh my, you look lovely," I said to Avariella.
"No, I'm fat," she said.
"You can't mean that," I said. Everything was going wrong. Suetonius lit the Tributes up and I was pouring water all over them.
"You're pretty though," Ava said. We awkwardly passed the compliment back and forth until the buzzer saved us.
"I see you didn't ally with the Careers," I said to Thompson. His face darkened and he crossed his arms.
"I didn't want to. They're a bunch of losers. Don't they wish they could have me," he said. Th rest of his answers were monosyllabic.
"Hey, I think you're more nervous than I am," Wyatt said when he sat down. "Don't worry. I'm the one going into the Games." Sweet relief fell on me as I let Wyatt run the interview and ended up with something halfway decent.
"Do you plan on doing anything different these Games?" I asked Cordin. He squinted and spoke in a stilted voice.
"I plan to make up for past sins and show loyalty to my allies." He peeked at the back of his hand. "And I will show everyone I'm not who I was." Little squirt was more prepared than I was.
"That was an amazing score you got. Are you going to tell us how?" I asked Emmeline.
"I was hoping to lay low," she said with a sidelong glance at me. "It wasn't much. I'm not that strong, after all." Oops.
"Are you a jester?" Hailey asked me.
"What?" I asked.
"You have a name just like a jester. Do you tell jokes?" she asked.
"Not usually," I said.
"Oh."
"We've all noticed how close you and Whyte are. Care to share some details?" I asked Vera.
"Oh, he's all right, but my type is a little more manly," she said.
"Ooh, anyone here?" I asked.
"You'll see," she teased.
"Why should you win the Games?" I asked Celestial. She collected her thoughts.
"Uh... I'm not the worst. I don't want to kill anyone, though," she said. Geez, I'm bombing!
"How do you feel about your fellow Tributes?" I asked Dane. He blushed.
"There's one here I'm rather fond of. No names, though," he said. I latched onto the slim hope and tried to shake the information loose, but Dane was steadfast.
"How do you feel about Vera's mysterious beau?" I asked Whyte. He seemed to silently fume.
"I know who it is, and he better watch his back. Vera's no tramp," he said. He wasn't the best actor and I suspected it was all manufactured, but the people would love it. More than they loved me.
"What's it like seeing your son again?" I asked Shogo. His face was pale as he talked.
"It's the most wonderful feeling in the world. If I get through this, I think I actually will take up acting as my talent," he said. The audience cooed in appreciation, the first noise they'd made in a long while.
Daniel and Sarla elected to be interviewed together. Sarla did most of the talking.
"Daniel said Timber can come with us. We had fun last time. Until we died, anyway," she said. Dang, I hoped that little girl won. I wanted to give her a better chance but had no idea how.
Gordon was just awful. I gave up in moments and let him stew in silence.
"Well, it has to be better than last time," I said to Adair.
"No it doesn't," he said. Okay then.
"What do you plan to do if you win?" I asked Hadley.
"I'd like to give some money to my old ally Skyler's family if that's all right," she said. It almost certainly wasn't, but there was no need to tell her that here.
Yasmine came onstage with a face as bright as the stage lights.
"Look what Erwin gave me!" she cried. She held up a portrait of Five's own surly Victor.
"It says, 'To my biggest fan, Yasmine Jackson'!" she held it up and the crowd went wild. I was almost as happy as she was.
"How do you plan to win the Games?" I asked Lyte. I found myself cycling between the same handful of questions and receiving the same answers in one dull interview after another.
"I don't have much chance, but I want to help my allies," he said.
"Don't be so down. Anyone can win," I said.
"How?" he asked, and the interview ended in silence. I looked up between Tributes. The crowd was deadpan and stared at me with boredom. Half of them were looking at pads or talking on cells. I was the worst interviewer in the history of the Games.
There was huge applause when Asper came out.
"It seems you're a favorite," I said. He shrugged. At least he answered openly and the crowd ate up everything he said.
"I hear you're back with Sarla," I said to Timber.
"Yeah. Did you see what I did to that crocodile last time?" he asked.
"You were a little hero," I said. Nailed it.
"Your alliance certainly looks promising," I said to Reiner. I started when I noticed he was crying.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"He's not going to die," he choked out.
"What have you been doing recently?" I asked Oakley, cringing at the dull question.
"Jest hanging around," he said. The crowd laughed.
"Ha ha. I've been known to clown around as well," I said.
Crickets
"Are you excited to be with Elara again?" I asked Myrtle. I was starting to curse the fact that my first Games had fifty-four Tributes. I couldn't even remember her answer five minutes later.
"Do you like the Capitol?" I asked Caldwell.
"No," he said.
"It's a little loud, isn't it?" I asked.
"Yes," he said. Doggonit, this was hard enough.
"Did you learn anything from your last Games?" I asked Ryker.
"Run faster," he said.
"What's your strategy for the Games?" I asked Alayza.
"Oh, I figure I'll kill a Career at the Bloodbath while they're all separated. The rest will leave me alone until they're too weak anyway," she said.
"That's certainly... ambitious," I said.
"Is there anyone here you're especially excited to see?" I asked Haber.
"It's great to see all these strong women," she said. "We'll slaughter the guys."
"What's wrong with being a guy?" I asked.
"Everything," she spat.
"Surely they have some use," I said.
"No. Whose side are you on, ditz?" she asked. That's when I lost it. I had to deal with mountains of stress, an awful performance, a dead crowd, and now this. It was just too much.
"Is that why a girl killed you last time? Even one of your own didn't want you, ditz," I said. Her mouth fell open and her tiny brain tried to form words. The crowd collectively gasped.
"You... you," she said. The buzzer rang, an assistant dragged her offstage, and the crowd burst into wild applause. It all fell into place and I realized my niche. I had them right where I wanted them.
I sized Farlon up and looked for the right place to hit. I quickly realized he was a nice boy and there wasn't much to attack. I remembered Seutonius' words about giving them all the best chance. He was more merciful than I. Farlon got my good side. I chatted him up with new courage and ease and he left with more sponsors than before. If a Tribute deserved it, I'd give him a boost. If not, well, he better watch out.
"I can definitely see how you'll win the Games," I said to Miller.
"Yeah, they don't have a chance," he said.
"You'll fall right on top of them and squish them flat," I said. Miller's response couldn't be repeated.
Barley was an unusual case. I saw what he was last time and this thing was barely human. He didn't respond to my questions and I finally signaled for the interview to end early.
"Any special strategies for the Games?" I asked Heidi. "Without giving away too much, of course."
"I know I'm not the biggest target. If the Careers want me they'll get me. I'm hoping they'll spend their time on bigger threats and with luck I'll slip through," she said. It was an honest and frank response. I could respect that.
Dominique escaped my wrath. She was modest and simply stated she hoped she could run as fast as she thought.
"Anyone you're not so excited to see?" I asked Emmalie.
"Farlon and I have some bad blood," she said.
"You made it farther last time. That surprised a lot of us," I said. Hey, if she'd been a little more polite in her other answers, I'd have praised her.
"How do you feel about this twist?" I asked Jean.
"We already died once. Isn't that enough?" he said. I couldn't argue with that. I kept the rest of the questions politically safe.
"What's it like being a butcher's son?" I asked Felix.
"It's all right. You see a lot of blood but you get used to it," he said.
"That should help in the Games," I said.
"I guess. It's different though," he said.
Mouse was having a panic attack. I'd seen what public speaking could do to people and I gave him a minute to catch his breath. I kept his questions innocent and when he walked offstage smiling I knew I could make a difference.
"I can see why the people wanted a cutie like you back," I said to Bree. She smiled and scrunched up in her chair.
"Thanks," she said. I'd found the first face that would haunt me.
"What will get you through the Games?" I asked Starling.
"I just want to get home to my little brother Cash," she said. I sat back and let her play the crowd.
Calvary surprised me. I thought she was rude at first and made a few cracks, but she pushed right back at me. The crowd loved our sparring and I knew I'd shown her as she was.
"You've gotten yourself a tight little alliance," I said to Jay.
"We're a great team. I know one of us will win," he said.
"You were with Pepper last time you were here," I noted when Apollo sat down in his chair.
"Yeah, and she kept hogging the couch," he said. There was an indignant cry from the crowd.
"Apparently she disagrees," I said.
"You seem very calm," I said to Frankie.
"It's just my face," he said.
"Nothing exciting?" I asked.
"I got a new girlfriend, but she prefers to remain anonymous," he said. You and Vera? Never in a thousand years would I have guessed...
"I can see why you and Jay are friends," I said to Zach.
"Yeah, he'd be a wet blanket without me," he said.
Willow was already crying when she sat down. I let her off the hook and gave a monologue to the crowd about how darn cute she was and how nobody would be able to hurt her. It was so sweet I felt like throwing up, but the crowd loved it. I'd found my rhythm.
Valerie tried to get some gossip out of me. I ain't got time for that.
"Great strategy there. You're gonna talk them to death?" I asked. She took it better than most of my targets.
"What made you ally with Myrtle?" I asked Elara. She shrugged.
"At first she just seemed so hopeless. Now she's not so bad," she said.
I knew I hit the mother lode with Mary Sue. She flounced onstage and interrupted my first question.
"Yeah, I would have won last time if they hadn't cheated," she said.
"Cheated? Girl, they didn't have to cheat. You were so stupid you ran to a Career in the Bloodbath!" I said. She actually turned red.
"That was the plan!" she said.
"That was their plan," I said. She looked about ready to burst out of her sparkly dress. The crowd was rocking the room and someone threw a wrapper at Mary Sue. I drank it in and savored it.
"Going to do anything different this year?" I asked Natasha.
"I'm going to do everything differently," she said. I understood.
Last of all came Alex. He seemed standoffish to me so I let him have it his way and waited in silence for him to ask a question. When the buzzer sounded he left and I was alone with the crowd.
"I hope you enjoyed it, everyone," I started. The people interrupted me with cheers and chants. "As you can see, it's like never before. Something new has come to Panem, and her name is Harlequin Marceau!"
That's a lot of interviews. I spent a lot of time calculating what a new interviewer would be like. Harlequin's new all right. Next I'll do a night before chapter and then it's into the tubes.
