I find myself gazing through the window as I'm forced to think about what type of interview angle I should go for. Willow is technically our acting mentor so she volunteered to help out Ceres even though Ceres didn't want any direct help. However, Huss quickly rose to the challenge of helping me and Soya out...

In all honesty, I'm pretty sure he was only helping us out to help out Soya specifically. It didn't take him too long to realize that the innocent 12 year old persona would not work on me. Many reasons in fact. I scored a 7. I'm quite pissed half of the time and besides that, I don't look cute at all.

Hell, I barely look my age. However, as Huss continues training Soya, I begin to devise a plan. Maybe I should try and be more mysterious. Maybe I can be vague with my messages. I already have that 7. One of the highest scores a 12 year old has ever made honestly.

Thinking about my score again, I learned an interesting fact upon waking up today. Willow felt she had to tell me that Rue had a 7. Most ridiculous coincidence I have ever seen...

"Coming up with anything good over there, Altar?" Huss interrupts my thoughts. I jump for a second before turning and nodding. "Should I go for the mysterious angle?" I ask. Huss seems to think on it for a minute. "Maybe. I'll see if we can work with it after we get done with Soya." He nods back. I sigh before laying my head back against a window. Currently, Soya is going for the kind of cute persona that nobody wants.

I really don't know what good that's gonna do for her but at this point, she doesn't seem to care at all. I'm already thinking about what my brother might do. Of course, I can tell that Ceres is going to have some popularity with hers even though I clearly don't know what her angle is. I'm pretty sure it's the dangerous, sexy angle. Though I can't see Ceres as anything but dangerous...

Eh... I'm not sure about Alma though. I can't really see him as anything other than my brother so I'm curious as to what he will do. Speaking of which, the thought of what he may do has had me curious...

The day after the interviews is obviously the day the Hunger Games begin. Two arenas... 24 tributes in each one. I never thought about it until today.

Me and my brother will be separated...

After today, I may never see him again... I cringe at the thought. The thought visibly pierces into my deepest worries. Now I know why he didn't want me to show off too much of my skill too early and then changed his mind. He's worried about that. He knows he wont be able to protect me with all he's got because of the simple fact that he's gonna be unable to protect me.

He doesn't know what will make the careers want to kill me faster. My skill or my age. They'll want me dead either because I'm one threat out of their picture (Even if I'm just one 12 year old boy) or just because I'm another meal to them. Even if I survive, what says Alma will survive too? I'll be unable to see what my brother will do because we're in different areanas.

I hit the window, hurting my hand a little. "Hm? What's up Altar?" Huss asks. I turn around. "Sorry." I apologize. As they continue with their plans though, Pan and the other designer come rushing in. "Oh? Are you people still working on your angle because we wanted to get these outfits out of the way before." Pan admits.

"Don't worry about it. The outfits are pretty simple this year." Huss tells them. I breath a sigh of relief. We don't have to dress up in anything extreme. Not like it's the latest fashion in Hunger Games interviews. Maybe a decade ago but not anymore...

Much Later...

"You've got it. I think this mysterious angle will work for you." Huss applauds after we conclude. We've been working on my angle far longer than I thought we would. One issue was that Huss believed that I would just be mimicking more successful versions of the popular trope. However, I explained something very interesting.

The more hidden you are, the more people will be invested in your performance. For an example, the District 9 girl from the previous games used this angle. She was only 14, scored a 9, showed some experience in combat. It was confusing as all hell at the time but the audience totally bought into her.

I'm a 12 year old. I scored a 7. I was pretty much ignored before hand. I can possibly take the audience by storm. By this point, Pan and the other one have gotten my outfit on with no struggle. It's just a suit. The colors are purple, black and gold.

"It represents royalty." Pan laughs as she fits the outfit on me. "Huh. Royalty. Is this a sort of symbolism that you guys love to do?" I ask. She gives me a confused look before Huss walks in.

"It's a new thing that stylists love. Things like Queens and Kings have become quite popular in the Capitol over the past decade or so. Honestly, it's a bit overused nowadays though." He sighs. Soya has a blue-ish purple dress. She looks very pretty in it. Willow walks afterwards.

"You look no different than you usually looked Soya." Willow admits. Soya rolls her eyes. "I guess you're right..." She says.

Willow walks over to me. "You also look pretty good." Willow admits, though it seems she doesn't bother taking a second glance at my outfit. Pan seems to not want to stop smiling as she brags over my design. Even though the design is as simple as you can get in Hunger Games (To the point where I feel as if this is illegal), she continues bragging over it. Willow just rolls her eyes and leaves.

"Hm... is it alright if I cut a little bit of your hair to make this picture perfect?" Pan asks me. I give her a disgusted look. "The hell? No!" I come off a lot harsher than I meant. "Oh, sorry." She sighs. However, she still smiles.

It's like she used plastic surgery to make herself always happy.

As I begin to come close to apologizing, Alma and Ceres walk in. "Of course you guys are still working on them two." Alma sighs, walking in. Ceres gives an annoyed glare at everyone in the room. "They already look stupid enough to begin with. Let's just hurry this up already." She says to Huss.

"Jeez. Someones impatient, aren't they." He says, rolling his eyes. Huss walks over to me and Soya and takes some closer examination of my outfit. "I think it works pretty well. I'd say it's passable. We're done here." He admits.

I breathe a sigh of relief as I'm able to move again...

Much Later... (And by that, I mean the interviews)

The wait up to the moment I get on stage to do the interviews is unbearable. My legs are already tired and I'm bored of all the tributes. Well, the costume designs are nothing advanced. A few suits, a few wings. A few dresses. Maybe a few wigs. Nothing to really talk about.

However, the moment that Byke comes up is the moment I'm snapped out. She's the first District 6 tribute to come up and from the looks of it, she's quite frankly terrified. Upon reaching the stage, she sits down and gives a smile. The moment the interview starts though, I can tell that she's more than nervous at the moment. Her voice is shaky, from what I can tell she seems to be sweating.

I sigh. I surprisingly managed to keep myself sane through most of the first few interviews. The careers seemed very cocky this year. I'd be a little nervous about having to split up the pack but oh well. I also managed to keep myself awake throughout District 5's interviews. Of course, the rebellion plan is why. I was hoping that I'd hear some hints so maybe if they had a specific time period when trying to blow out the arena... maybe I'd know.

Well, no hints. Either way, I wouldn't have done anything about it. Really, I can't. In the end though, I'm pretty sure it's going to fail so what does it matter to me.

Byke is sent off and the other 6 tributes continue. As we wait for the other tributes to finish up, I give out a childish yawn. Alma smacks me across the head. I hear a little laugh in the audience. After a while, the District 6 tributes are finally done and 7 comes up.

The 7 tributes are kind of mixed. Considering the tributes this year, I guess I can see why. However, they first off call up the two girls from 7. They both jump down and stand next to Ceaser.

"So. The Capitol is curious. Both of you kids are sisters, right?" Ceaser asks. After a few seconds, one of the girls nods. "Twins." She says. The crowd goes silent. Me and my brother both turn to each other. So theirs more to it than we thought.

"Another case of family in the games. Just like the 11 tributes." Ceaser waves to us. I wave back before rolling my eyes. After their interview comes many more minutes of tributes doing their interviews.

By the time we get to District 9, I can tell Soya is partially out of it. Is it just me or did she spend most of the time we were here asleep. I sigh. The first boy from District 9 is a young boy. I think he's around 16 years or so.

He sits down next to Ceaser. "Stovall. I've heard some interesting stuff about your skills in training." Ceaser begins. The boy seems to cringe. "Uh... Yeah. 9 and 5, we trained really hard. Though our scores say otherwise." He admits.

"Well we don't know. Maybe the gamemakers are just blind." He jokes. The crowd laughs. I kind of laugh as well. Either way, nothing too important happens as he leaves and the next boy from 9 comes up. However, this kind pretty much refuses to say anything. Not because he's shy but it seems to be out of spite. Though Ceaser still asks him some questions.

"So what's this 9 and 5 alliance all about huh?" Ceaser asks. The teen only bares his teeth, annoyed. Ceaser gives a sideways glance to the camera. After the boy leaves the stage, the District 10 comes up. Still, nothing noteworthy happening in these outer Districts.

By the time we get to Soya (Who Ceres slaps across the head in order to wake up), the crowd is pretty much dying for something to happen. When she gets up to the stage, Ceaser suddenly begins asking her about her families lifestyle and her point of view on the others in District 11.

She doesn't talk very kindly about her family. She isn't very quite on her views in fact. Well, outside of the fact that people seem to drop dead of exhaustion all the time in 11 but she manages to mask that. In a sense, for about 5 minutes she spends her time talking trash about the people that got her thrown here and she knows it's not going to matter in the long run.

Ceres has probably one of the biggest smiles in the history of... history. I can assume she's getting pumped for her interview... or maybe she's proud of Soya's breakdown at the current moment.

"So... In other words, you'd rather be poor than have all the luxuries you already have?" He asks. Soya gives a nod. "Hey, on the bright side I wouldn't have to be in the situation... would I?" She gives a wink to the camera before the timer ends. Ceaser already has an uncomfortable look on his face as she gets up and leaves. He doesn't even shake her hand or anything as she leaves, a far cry from the others.

Ceres immediately stands up and walks down the steps. She has a very smug grin the extends across her face as she makes her way down the stairs and towards Ceaser. His unusual look that resulted from the last interview changes back to a welcoming smile as he kisses Ceres on the hand. She cringes but manages to get through it. As they both sit down, he asks a question.

"So. I've heard some rumors about you and your partner, the girl from 10 right?" He begins. Right away, Ceres gives a sideways glance to the camera. "Hm. Oh... I wonder what those are about?" She says in a sarcastic tone.

The crowd laughs a bit though from the looks of it, Ceres doesn't care at all. "Well, we heard about your strategy." He explains. Ceres nods. "Oh, it's simple. Take the cornucopia from the careers. Sounds tough but it shouldn't be a big deal honestly." She breathes out.

The District 2 male shrugs loud enough for even me to here. "Oh. Some confidence here." Ceaser grins. "Well if I wasn't that good then I wouldn't be in the games, now would I?" She grins at the camera.

Alma scoffs. Ceres is surprisngly taking the crowd by storm. They can't get enough of her at all. She's clever, smug, and all around somebody that you know stands a chance. Though fortunately, her time ends and she leaves. Alma goes next. His face is neutral but filled with confidence. As he walks down the stairs, he looks to the camera and nods. Probably to me.

He sits next to Ceaser and doesn't even smile for the camera. Now I think I can see where he's going with this. He's trying to be quiet in order to get the crowd interested. "So. Alma Wilden. A lot of things have been said about you and your brother." He begins.

Alma doesn't even respond with much. Ceaser continues anyways. "Well. One rumor was spreading around like wildfire and we wanted to confirm it. Are you related to Rue, a tribute from a previous Hunger Games?" Ceaser asks.

My brother shrugs. "Uh... does that matter in the long run." He sits up. "If I tell you that I'm related to a dead 12 year old, will it change do anything for the games in the future?" He asks. Ceaser thinks for a moment. "We don't know actually. Though I guess it was good to get closure. Well, why don't we call your brother down." He waves up at me. I jump a little but I start to move down the stairs carefully.

By the time I make it down, Ceaser has a great big smile shining at me. From the looks of it, I can assume he thinks putting me and my brother together will make this interview a little easier.

"Well then, the crowd has been quite... surprised. You know, about your score from last night." He explains. I look out at the crowd. At first, I want to say something but instead, I keep my mouth shut. "You know. The 7. We're all shocked, how a kid like you could have achieved a score like that." He says. I swallow my saliva. I don't exactly want to explain how it happened in front of anyone at the moment... so I continue to stay quiet.

Ceaser turns to my brother for information. "You're brother is quiet is he?" He asks. My brother just shrugs. Ceaser turns back to me. "Well, if you don't mind. Do you have anything to say about your score?" He asks me.

I take a deep breath. "For any of those who expect me to last only 5 seconds in the game, go ahead. Go and support the stronger tributes. Just when I make it past the first arena, don't try and claim the games are rigged." I tell the crowd.

The whole place goes silent. I'm left in the dark for a few seconds. Aw... I thought that would've been a good one. My brothers gives a grin up at me. "So I see. You're pretty confident in your abilities. I hope we can see some of you in the arena." He admits. Ceaser then allows my brother to go back up the stands.

"Now Altar... what do you plan to do when you get to the arena." He asks me. I'm quiet for a few minutes, contemplating the idea of blurting out my ideas. However, I instead opt to give a blunt answer. "Live." I say.

I get a few laughs from the crowd. Ceaser smiles and rolls his eyes. "I can assume that you plan on keeping it secret huh." He says. I nod back. After a few more minutes of questions and answers, time ends and I'm allowed back to my spot. I quickly rush up the stairs.

"Tch. That was completely awful." Ceres says. I roll my eyes. Next up goes the District 12 tributes. However, after they go they eventually finish, we all head to an elevator.

Conveniently, me, Alma and the other District 11 tributes manage to get in the same elevator. We all stand around in silence. Well, that is until Ceres decides to open her mouth again. "That was pretty clever Soya. I think your interview was pretty good." She gives a nod of approval to the other female tribute. Soya only stares at the floor.

She turns to Alma and me. "I wish I could have said the same thing about those two though. Heh, yours were pathetic." She tells us. My brother Alma sighs. "I think I'm the only one who actually listened to Huss." He says.

"And look where that led you." Ceres admits. She looks back down to Soya. "She spoke her mind. I gave the crowd somebody to want to see in the arena. Alma just stood around... you... I guess I could say you were okay but not just barely above the girl from 6." She admits.

I sigh as the doors to the 11th floor. It isn't until we reach the floor that everything is fully refresh. Tomorrow... Tomorrow is the day. My thoughts float around. I probably won't see my brother after tomorrow... Maybe I should share his bed for no reason at all?

I find it quite uncomfortable though... So I don't bother.

Though after I change my outfit and get in bed... I still can't wipe away that feeling of dread. Not only for my fate tomorrow... but my brothers fate. Hours begin to pass like minutes. I'm worried, sweating. I need to calm down and go to bed but I can't... So I get out of bed.

I quietly move to my brothers room. He's already knocked out in his bed. Doesn't bother me though, I just jump on it and lay as far from him as possible.

Tomorrow...

This chapter... absolute torture. I wanted to make this chapter long but I gave up after the first paragraph. I'll make it up with the next chapter (AKA the games).