Eris Kalking, 12: District 12 Female
I've tried to remain patient with your stupid shenanigans but you've given me no other choice
You tried to knock me over by acting like you're above me and pretending that I don't have a voice
And I don't wanna encourage your abusive behavior but I just can't let you win
I'm legitimately tired of being walked all over by these insecure babies who think that they're men
Everyone in the penthouse has been gushing over Callum's training score ever since the Score Reveals went off the air. I can't help but roll my eyes at the way they're all fawning over him. It's not like he's winning anything. The Careers will hunt him down and take him out the first chance they get. I fully expect to see his face in the sky before he sees mine.
"I'm so proud of you, Callum," Octavia says. "The sponsors will be all over you in the morning."
I roll my eyes again. It's so annoying how they get all worked up over a number. It literally means nothing when the gong rings. It doesn't matter what his odds were. Callum has a one in twenty-four chance of surviving. Once the gong rings, he'll be dead just like the rest of us.
"Is there something wrong, Eris?" Jimolette asks. She must have noticed my eye roll.
"No," I say. "Nothing's wrong. At least not with me."
"What does that mean?" Jasper asks.
"Nothing of importance to you," I snap.
"Come on, Eris," Jimolette says. "Now's not the time to be difficult. If you have a problem, you need to tell us so we can help you."
"Am I the problem?" Callum asks.
"As a matter of fact, yes," I answer.
"I figured," he says.
"What's problem with Callum?" Jasper asks. "The two of you have barely even talked to each other."
"It's the fact that all of you are gushing over him like he's the greatest thing in Panem," I say. "He didn't do anything special."
"A training score of 9 is very special, Eris," Octavia says. "It doesn't happen that often for District 12."
"It's still just a number," I say.
"Well, that number pulls in sponsors," Octavia says.
"What are those sponsors going to do?" I ask, baiting Octavia.
"They could very well help Callum become a victor," she says. It was the exact answer I was looking for.
"Let's be realistic for a minute," I start. "There are twenty-four of us going into that arena. Callum is only one of them. There are twenty-three other people who want to live just as much, if not more than he does."
"Eris don't say that," Jimolette says. I ignore her. I'm not finished.
"Like I was saying, there are twenty-three other people who want to survive. Six of them are trained to kill, and they target the strongest ones first. Callum just put a huge target on his back. Sponsor gifts, no matter how useful, won't help the fact that he's going to be hunted down from the very start. When it's all said and done, Callum will be dead just like the rest of us going into the arena."
Silence fills the room. My spill has left everyone speechless. It's funny how they've all been so willingly oblivious to what's so obvious. This is the Hunger Games. People die in the Hunger Games, and it's a known fact that District 12 never wins. There are only three exceptions to that rule, and they were all flukes. Callum won't be the fourth exception. He'll be sent home in a wooden box just like me. That's just the nature of the Games. It's just something we have to accept, but I guess not everyone can handle the truth.
Cyrus Velaz-Ruiz, 18: District 1 Male
So just stop the faking
Not here for nameless faces
Pointless talkin', conversations
(Drugs), drugs, (drugs), drugs, (drugs)
I just came here for the drugs
The Score Reveals went pretty much as expected. I ended up with a 10 and the second-best odds of winning, only behind Jason, which I'm not upset about at all. I bet Alto is fuming over his 9. It's not that bad of a score, but he probably won't accept anything under an 11. It's not necessarily a bad thing to have such high standards, but with Alto, it's just unrealistic. He's just not as good as he thinks he is. I already know they're going to ask him about it in his interview and he'll probably go on a rant about how he's the best tribute in Hunger Games history and deserves a perfect score.
Speaking of interviews, I can assume that's why I'm so unusually nervous tonight. As I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, my mind keeps drifting to my interview tomorrow night. The Capitol is most likely expecting me to be this ultra-charismatic, magnetic, charming guy who can effortlessly win over the crowd, just like the typical tribute from District 1. The only problem is that I'm literally none of those things. I can't charm a crowd or anything like that. It's just something I've never been able to do. I wasn't chosen as the designated volunteer for my speaking abilities. I was chosen mostly because I out-worked everybody else. I can't out-work an interview.
The best thing I can do is just hope my training score is enough to win the sponsors over. Even if it is enough, I can't afford to screw up my interview. However, I still have no idea how I'm going to keep them engaged. Losing sponsor engagement is what killed a lot of tributes in the past. After a tribute's momentum runs out, the sponsors will find other, more interesting tributes to support, leaving their former tributes out to dry. I can't let that happen to me.
However, if I do lose sponsors, I guess I could leech off of Jason. He won't be losing any sponsors any time soon. He's pretty much set for the entire Games. But I don't want to do that unless I absolutely have to. Jason would probably be disappointed if I did that to him. He probably wouldn't care if it was someone like Annese or Alto, but I can assume that he expects better of me. I guess I'll have to come up with some way to keep the sponsors.
I'll probably talk to Velour about what to do for my interview, but I'll have to let him know that I can't do what he did for his interview fifteen years ago. He had an effortless charm that would be impossible for me to replicate. He could make any conversation sound interesting. Too bad he doesn't understand that not everyone is a people person like he is. Especially not me. That's why I'm going to tell him straight up that I won't be doing anything that he did. It would just come off as awkward, or as Annese would say, creepy.
Hopefully I can get some sleep soon so I can actually remember my conversation with Velour in the morning. I can't be nodding off when he's giving me advice, even if it's bad. There's likely going to be something that I can pick out of what he tells me. It's just a matter of picking out the right stuff.
Hey guys! I'm back again with another quick chapter for your reading pleasure. We're getting closer and closer to the Games and I'm hype for it.
Questions:
Is Eris right about Callum?
How should Cyrus approach his interview?
Alliances:
The Careers-Cyrus, Annese, Alto, Ancatha, Jason, Cece
Team Wholesome-Tomaz, Tyler, Isaak, Azo
Bad Bitch Party + 1-North, Niobe, André
Lesson Learned?-Avena, Kaven, Kaliah, Callum
The 3s-Elecc, Arti
Moody Kids-Cannoli, Eris
Daddy Issues-Alice, Piper
The Lone Loner-Taj
The next chapter will be the interviews!
Until next time,
Ty