Anthracite Amber Weitz, District Twelve
The doctor sitting in front of Anthracite was in his mid thirties, impeccably groomed, and stank strongly of alcohol. He had a kind smile, even if his eyes seemed mostly tired. She suspected that he was trying to make a good first impression. If not for the smell, she imagined he would.
"It's nice to meet you Miss Weitz." the man said, "My name is Dax Heavensbee, I am the Head Victor Physician."
"I'm not a victor though." she said. It seemed silly to her now that it was out in the open. But she couldn't take it back.
"Yet." He answered, "Sure, some people have better or worse odds. But the truth is, any one of you could be the Victor of the 93rd Hunger Games. So all twenty four of you are my patients for the moment, though we won't do much. I just want to do a general check up, talk a bit, and answer any questions that you may have. Does that sound all right?"
Anthracite nodded, and Dr. Heavensbee began his exam.
"Do you have any past conditions that I may need to know about?" he asked.
"Well…. I had a heat stroke recently. The doctors at the hospital said that it would make me more susceptible to it again. That kind of thing?"
"Exactly that kind of thing." He said, then frowned slightly as he examined her leg, "Your muscles in your right leg are noticeably less developed than your left. Were you in a cast recently?"
"You can tell?" Anthracite had to admit that was sort of impressive. Of course, it would probably take a very talented doctor to take care of a Victor after the Hunger Games. She had seen some terrible injuries in the past, many she had been unsure anyone would be able to fix. Though she had to wonder what kind of person would want that sort of job. Anthracite was positive that she wouldn't be able to do it. She hated the sight of people in pain. Which, as she thought about it, would make the Games fairly difficult. She was fast and capable, but that wouldn't do anything if she vomited at the first sight of blood.
She really hoped that she didn't vomit on live television.
"Miss Weitz?" Dr. Heavensbee broke her out of her thoughts, "How many meals do you have a day? On average."
"Three." she said, giggling a bit. It was a strange question. "Well sometimes when I'm late for school I skip breakfast. I probably shouldn't tell you that though should I? Breakfast is the most important meal or something."
The doctor smiled gently. "Your secret's safe with me. Now I have an injection that will help your leg recover from the atrophy it developed in the cast, so that it will be as strong as your other leg and you don't injure yourself further."
"Was that a possibility?" she asked.
"Yes. But it looks like you avoided that. Still, I keep telling people this needs to be done before training. I'm glad you avoided any permanent injuries." He said.
The fact that he needed her healthy because people didn't like to see injured people die went unsaid.
"Now this will pinch a little bit." He said, taking out a strange contraption and placing it on her leg.
"How much is a little bit?" She asked, then yelped as she felt a sharp pinch.
"That much." Dr. Heavensbee said, "How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good." She answered.
Although if she thought about it, pretty good was a weird thing to be feeling right before the Hunger Games.
Diamond Stark, District One
"Good news Mr. Stark, you appear to be in excellent health." The doctor said, "Though you probably already knew that. District One is usually pretty good with preventative care of their tributes."
Diamond nodded. Part of the training academy was a rather rigorous health plan. One year he had suffered from a vitamin deficiency and was almost booted from the program. He ended up chugging foul tasting smoothies for a month until the problem resolved itself. The smoothies were also supposed to give him some extra mass, but his body was rather against bulk. It was something Diamond was eternally disappointed about.
"So how are you feeling?" Dr. Heavensbee asked, and something about it set off alarm bells in Diamond's head. It wasn't asked in a particularly hostile way. In fact it had been very personal. Intimate even. The look on the doctor's face made it clear that he didn't mean physically.
"Are you a doctor or a therapist?" Diamond asked, and watched the doctor's face to catch clues for if he lied.
"Both." He answered, "I have a medical license as well as degrees in Psychiatry and Psychology"
Diamond made a note of that in his head. It was a talent of his, and a necessary one. Particularly in the pregames, which were the best time to get to know all of his opponents. He had been keeping his mind open, analyzing both his allies and his enemies. The problem was he had been using it so often that he couldn't turn it off.
"And no one has a problem with a Heavensbee being this close to the Hunger Games?" he asked.
Dax looked mildly surprised, but gained his composure quickly, "I actually have this job because I'm a Heavensbee. It turns out to not be a particularly popular position. Victors are handfuls, medically speaking. Even after their games. It turns out that PTSD in survivors of a murder competition is pretty high."
"You're being blackmailed then? Just being related to a rebel doesn't strike me as enough. Is it related to the drinking?"
"No, the causality is reversed. I drink because I'm being don't worry, I don't drink on the job. Only thing I'm on right now is headache pills."
"Well what else is there then?"
Dr. Heavensbee paused, and looked up from his notes. It was the first time that the two of them had made eye contact. "I'm not supposed to have favorites, and I try to avoid it on principle. But I couldn't help but be impressed with you at the parade."
Diamond hadn't expected that. He had actually been worried that his stunt with the chariots would hurt his image. And even if it hadn't, Titania had clearly stolen the show. He had expected that. Titania was the type of girl who just naturally attracted all of the attention in the room. He was merely her shadow. Most of the time that suited him. People didn't pay attention to shadows, even if they were holding a knife.
"Is this a gay thing?" he asked. He felt like he was asking that a lot lately.
"Sort of." The doctor replied, "I admire your confidence. And how well you know who you are. When I was your age, I didn't know anything about myself. Which is how I ended up with a daughter. Lysistrata. When they realized how hard it was going to be to repopulate District Twelve,they started sending Capitolite criminals there. Lyssa's mother was arrested under admittedly suspicious circumstances and they were both sent to Twelve. She's fifteen right now."
"And if you don't do whatever you're told, she'll end up like the girl from Five."
"Exactly."
Diamond felt like he had asked too much. Like this was something he hadn't been meant to see. But he had always been a curious person. It was probably going to be the death of him, now that he thought about it. It wasn't anywhere near the top reason he had chosen to be a career, but there was a part of him that had always wanted to see what was beyond District One. A victor got to see every single district, something that almost no one else got to do, even in the Capitol. A tribute got to explore an arena made particularly for them. They got to test their wits and fortitude. There was an adventure to it, something that was a bit lacking in One.
But a drive for more meant that sometimes you got it. He suddenly knew entirely too much about someone that he may never see again.
"I admit I hadn't thought you would be that honest." Diamond replied.
"Well there's no real reason for me to hide it. Your odds are better than the others, but only one of you can win. Doesn't make sense to deceive someone in that kind of position."
Diamond was infuriated by the statement even as he understood the truth of it. It reminded him that he was the third choice for these games. And he had doubts that he would have been picked at all for his year. Without someone like Titania vouching for him he was smaller and physically weaker than the rest of the candidates. He was not the kind of person people looked at and thought 'winner'.
But Diamond understood his skills, and was confident enough in them to believe he had a chance. He was smarter than most, and could move without making any noise. People wouldn't see him coming, particularly among the more flashy and physical careers.
"My odds are better though." he said, "Much 's not unreasonable for me to say that you will see me again."
"Very well. When I do, I will be perfectly happy to lie to you."
Diamond couldn't help but laugh, and it broke the tension a bit. Dr. Heavensbee asked him a few more questions, then cleared him to go to his private session.
He tried to get the conversation out of his wouldn't do him any good to think about it. If Diamond worried too much about someone he barely knew, he would get a sub par training score. And that could cost him his very life.
Violet Beckingridge, District Eleven
"I just keep going over it in my head." Violet said, "What I must have done. Or anything I could have done better. I keep going back to a few weeks before the reaping."
She wasn't entirely sure how they had gotten to this subject, or why she found Dr. Heavensbee so easy to talk to. But sooner or later they had ended up talking about her life at home and how she felt about being reaped. It was a strange sensation, talking to someone. She was not the type of person to dwell on her emotions. She was a hard worker, diligent and serious. She was the rock of her family, allowing others to cry on her shoulder while she kept food on the table. Even in the Hunger Games she had taken a bit of a big sister role, forming an alliance with Issa and Raleigh. But right now, there was no one in the room but herself and the doctor. It felt like a weight had been lifted.
"What happened then?" Dr. Heavensbee asked.
"A couple of boys from my brother's school were giving him trouble. We talked to the school, to their parents, nobody did anything about it. So one day Ethan came home with a black eye and I just… snapped. I confronted them myself, and it turned into a fight."
"Do you think you did the right thing?"
"I don't know." she sighed, "They were fourteen years old. Just kids really, and two of them hadn't hit their growth spurt yet. But I didn't hold back, and they lost pretty badly. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time. I needed them to stop bullying my brother, and violence was clearly all they understood. But… well, now I'm here."
"Now you're here." Dr. Heavensbee agreed, "Though could you please explain to me how these two things are connected? Do you believe that someone tampered with the reapings on behalf of those boys?"
"No nothing like that." Violet said, then paused. It was true that Dr. Heavensbee was surprisingly easy to talk to, and there was clearly a part of her that wanted to tell someone all that she was going through. But she had talked about the way she had felt before, and everyone she had ever told had laughed at her. She was told that she was being ridiculous, delusional even. She was not in the mood to be mocked minutes before she did her private session.
"I promise you, whatever it is I won't judge." The doctor said. Violet wasn't sure how he had managed to pick up on what she was thinking. Most people said she was difficult to read. But in this situation, she found herself comforted by the prospect.
"The world just… has a way of working out." She answered, "Sometimes it's not clear how. But if you work hard, keep to yourself, do the right thing, then good things will come to you. You think I'm crazy don't you?"
"No. Of course not."
"Are you lying?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
"To make me feel better."
"Would it really make you feel better if I was just lying to you?"
"Well…. No." Violet said, though the exchange had made her feel a tad huffy, "But I would have to know you're lying. So perhaps you think you're good enough to get it past me."
The doctor laughed slightly, catching her off guard. "I think everyone believes that the world has some sort of pattern to it, or wants to at least. It's just a matter of degrees. I respect your certainty. I sure hope that the world has some way of balancing things out, though I can't say I've ever seen it personally. Of course, like you said, it's not always clear."
Realization hit her like a lightning flash. She had been thinking about this all wrong. She was certain that being reaped for the Hunger Games was a death sentence, a cruel joke. Some sign that she had strayed from her path. But every year, someone won. And the prize was wealth and fame beyond imagining. If she became a victor, her family would never have to worry about anything again.
Perhaps this wasn't a punishment. Perhaps it was an opportunity.
"Thank you, Dr. Heavensbee." she said. He nodded, and she strode out of his office with a new purpose.
She could win the Hunger Games. All she had to do was work as hard as possible, and she'd find a way.
The world had a way of giving back what you put into it, and Violet was willing to put in a whole lot.
Oh boy, it's been a while. Did you miss me? I missed you. And now we have the Physician's screenings, a part of the games I added in since we've got a doctor character and I thought it was a good way to look at some of these tributes. Next up is the private sessions, and I am absurdly excited. Also… kind of stuck in the house. So who knows, maybe this next chapter will be faster. Thanks for reading and please review!
