TW: Use of the n-word in Taj's POV (I'm black before y'all say anything else)

Taj Pavonis, 17: District 6 Male

Tape my eyes open to force reality

Why can't you just let me eat my weight in glee?

I live inside my own world of make-believe

Kids screaming in their cradles, profanities

North, Garrett, Porscha, and I are all sitting in the living room for a post-Parade "debriefing" as Garrett likes to call it. The parade was good, I kept my cool by repeating to myself "remember the plan". I remembered the plan, so I'm pretty sure I'm still flying under the radar. North is definitely taking the spotlight, and that's what I want.

"So, North, your name is making rounds amongst the sponsors," Porscha says. "Keep it up and you'll have gifts throughout the whole games."

"Taj, you didn't do what we talked about," Garrett says. "What happened out there?"

"I don't know," I lie. "I just froze."

Garrett sighs in frustration. He's been patient with me, but I can tell that patience is wavering. I feel a little bad for putting him through this stress, but Garrett has already survived his games. I'm not here to please him. I'm here to survive. If his plan doesn't line up with mine, too bad for him.

"Yeah you definitely froze," North says. "Out there mumbling to yourself like a crackhead."

"Don't say that, North," Garrett says. "He might've gotten stage fright."

"Stage fright my ass," North says. "He probably doesn't even know where he is."

"I'm in the Capitol, sitting here discussing the parade with the two mentors and my district partner," I say, indicating that I'm very much aware of my surroundings and what's going on.

"See, he knows what's going on," Garrett says. "You should probably watch what you say around people."

"So, Taj, do you have any other plans to get sponsors?" Garrett asks. "Are allies in the picture?"

"No, I don't want any allies," I say. "I work better alone."

"That's fine," Garrett says. "That just means that you'll have to get a good training score and kill it during your interview."

"I think I can do that," I say. "That doesn't seem too hard."

"Great," Garrett says. "But you have to pull your weight."

"Okay," I say. I have no intentions of pulling my weight. Getting a good score is not part of my plan. I might have a good interview just to stay on Garrett's good side. However, my plan doesn't align with Garrett's.

"You really think he's gonna do well?" North quips. "It's the blind trust for me."

"What do you mean by blind trust?" Porscha asks.

"Do y'all not see how weird this nigga is?" North says. "He was literally talking to himself during the parade."

"I was just trying to stay calm," I say. "I was nervous."

"Sure you were," North says sarcastically. "Weird ass nigga."

Well, it's no secret that North thinks I'm weird. Good. That's what I want her to think. The further I can push her away, the better. I don't want anyone associated with me in the arena. That would only be a hindrance to my master plan. Joining an alliance would mean I would have to compromise. With my plan, I can't make any compromises. That would be too much of a risk. I can't have any flaws in my plan, and having allies would be the biggest flaw of all.

Annese Dior, 18: District 1 Female

Angel away, yeah strange in a way

Maybe that is why I chase strangers away

They got their guns out, aiming at me

Me, me, me against them, me against enemies, me against friends

The parade went much better than I expected. I looked good, felt good, and definitely got a better reaction than Cyrus. I couldn't even carry all the flowers and beads that were thrown at me. I had to enlist the help of Icarus and Peridot to bring them up to the apartment. The Avoxes quickly took them and put them in vases as soon as we stepped off the elevator. Now I'm sitting on the couch in the living room watching some sappy Capitol soap opera. It's getting kind of late, and my eyelids are getting heavier with each blink. Being this great is exhausting.

"Are you not going to sleep in your room?"

I jump at the sudden sound, more awake than I've been all day. I look around until my eyes land on Cyrus, standing behind the couch, just staring at me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I hiss.

"Nothing. Just wondering why you decided to sleep out here," Cyrus says.

"I didn't intend to," I say. "I just did."

"Oh, okay," Cyrus says. "Well, since you're out here, I wanted to ask how you felt about our leadership plan."

The leadership plan. Personally, I don't like it simply because Cyrus and Jason came up with it without my input. If it were up to me, I would appoint myself as leader, but let the others do all the work while I sat back and cruised to victory. Now I'll have to do whatever Jason says. He doesn't even strike me as the leader type. Hopefully he doesn't get the highest training score. Then again, I don't know if anyone else would be fit for the job. Alto is way too childish, Ancatha doesn't want to do it, and Cyrus is-well, Cyrus. That leaves Cece. I guess she could lead up fairly well. She seems smart enough and she isn't a complete weirdo.

"I think the plan is good," I lie.

"That's not what you said earlier," Cyrus says. Gosh, why won't he just leave me alone.

"To be frank with you, as long as you're not leading us in the arena, I'm fine with whatever," I say.

"Why are you so opposed to me being the leader?" Cyrus asks. "I think I'm a good candidate."

"You're far from a good candidate," I reply. "You're so awkward that it hurts to watch you talk to other people. You can hardly hold a conversation."

"I think I'm holding this conversation just fine," Cyrus says. "Plus I'm pretty observant and actually listen to what other people have to say."

"What you call observant is what I call downright creepy," I say. "The way you just stare at things is not socially acceptable."

"I doubt anyone will care about what's socially acceptable in the arena," Cyrus says. "It's a literal fight to the death. There won't be any time for proper etiquette."

"It's not about etiquette," I say. "You're just so unbearably awkward. I don't even know why the Academy chose you in the first place."

"For the same reason you were picked," Cyrus says. "I was most fit for the position."

I can't really argue with that point. There weren't many students that could perform at Cyrus' level, but that was only in combat. As for anything else, Cyrus was outclassed by everyone.

"Whatever," I say. "You're still not going to be leading us."

"And that's perfectly fine with me," Cyrus says. "Anyways, good night. I don't want to impede on your beauty rest."

Cyrus huffs in laughter as he retreats back to his bedroom. I'm actually shocked. I didn't know he had a sense of humor. It's a bland one, but it's definitely there. It makes him seem a little less robotic, but he's still a fucking weirdo.

And I'm back with another chapter! Only two POVs this time. Just a heads up, my update speed might slow down significantly since I start classes in the next couple days. So if I don't update for a while, you know why.

Questions:

What do you think of Taj's plan?

Do you think Cyrus would be a good leader of the Career pack?

The next chapter is Training Day 1! I'm so pumped for it. Hopefully it won't take too long for me to get it out to you guys.

Until next time,

Ty