Placus Larcgrove

President of Panem

Ms. Ruso, how much was President Snow involved in the planning of the Hunger Games?

She's hiding something, I know. I just don't know what yet.

I knock on the door to her office.

"Come in." I open the door to her office. "Ah, President Larcgrove. It's good to see you. What can I help you with?" She smiles.

"I wanted to ask about the tributes." I reply.

"What were you wondering about?"

"I want to know more about them."

"Is there a reason behind this, or just plain curiosity?"

"Well, Ms. Ruso, I need to know how they're likely to behave, don't I? To know how the Capitol may react to them."

"I see." She pauses. "Well, I'll be able to tell you more this evening. I've yet to see their private sessions."

"Is there any chance I could watch the sessions with you?" I ask. Honestly, Placus. There is no reason for you to want to watch that. What's it going to tell you? If anything I need the opposite.

She glares at me. "No. I'm sorry President Larcgrove, but the sessions are for the Gamemakers to watch. You do not need to be there."

"Of course, Ms. Ruso."

There is silence only for a few seconds, before someone knocks on the door.

"Who is it?" Juventia asks.

"It's Allora. The sessions start in ten minutes." Says the person on the other side of the door.

"Ah, of course." Juventia turns to me. "I'm sorry, I have to go. I'm sure we'll be able to talk again soon, President Larcgrove." She stands and leaves the room.

Now what? I should probably leave, but at the same time...

I am the President. I will not sneak around the Head Gamemaker's office because I have "a suspicion" she's up to "something". If I want to look for evidence, I can send in the Peacekeepers. But people would ask why I did that. I need to be sure before I do anything.

I make my way over to her desk, and open the top drawer.

What the hell am I doing?

I pick up one of the folders in the drawer, then open it to the first page.

She probably has cameras in here.

It's a page of notes in handwriting I can't read. The title reads: Palmer, Ezio - General Notes. One of the tributes.

I should leave.

Next piece of paper. Another tribute. Barat, Sophie - General Notes.

This is a terrible idea.

There are sheets for every tribute in the Games, and I assume the other folders in here are the same.

I should leave.

Next drawer.

I must be mad.

Reports from the Gamemaking team on how the arena is progressing. These have to be old, if they're from when the arena was still being built.

You aren't going to find anything this way. She wouldn't write it down and leave it in her office if she was doing something wrong.

I put everything back where I found it, and then leave. Quickly. I should have left sooner. Why didn't I leave sooner?

Juventia Ruso

Head Gamemaker

Allora leads me down the hallway to the viewing room. I arrive as everyone is settling down to watch the first tribute.

He walks in, and I notice he's limping. I think he was at the Reaping as well. Remember that.

The first thing he does is take one of the spears in each hand. He uses one as a kind of walking stick, and throws the other. Clever. He's decent at throwing spears, but not anything special. Still, as I watch him leave, there's something about him that I can't quite put my finger on. But he's gone now, and the next tribute will be called though soon.

As she walks in, I ask her to confirm her name is Sophie.

"I'd prefer Storm." Write that down.

"Ok Storm. You have fifteen minutes."

She begins by throwing several spears into the training dummies. Abdomen, chest, head. This one can certainly kill if they want. They spend some time throwing knives, but it doesn't make as much of an impression as the spears. Then she runs some laps, with a good time.

And then her time is up.

As we wait for the next tribute, I think about why Placus came to visit me. He might have caught onto me and Hera, or it could be something completely different. The only place he could have seen me and Hera was the party on the night of the Reaping.

The next tribute walks in before my thoughts can continue.

Mason Grant, District Two. Both he and his District Partner shoot arrows into targets, although he certainly has better aim. Her range of skills is wider, though. I can tell they'll be good in the arena. They are from District Two, I suppose, who commonly win the Games.

The thought that Placus could know something is worrying. I can't have him being suspicious of me, not now. I need to tell Hera. Having her unaware would be a problem, absolutely. I don't know how much they talk, but she could say something that makes her suspicious.

Hang on a second. She could betray me.

The first kid from Three walks in. From what we see, he's smart. Very smart indeed.

Three girl throws some axes.

I take notes on every tribute, every pair that walks through the door, but by the end I'm distracted. We all are. The poor girl from Twelve must feel ignored.

Eventually, she's gone, but I have a list of who I think did best. Who did the worst.

I think it's accurate.

I was distracted whilst thinking about Hera and Placus.

Hera and Placus.

Placus and Hera.

Don't trust either of them.

But Hera has to think I'm trusting her with everything, and so does Placus. And I'll be lying to them both.

"Ms. Ruso. Do you want to start with your ideas?" Kinnick asks.

"Of course." I reply.

And so we share our opinions. There are arguments, of course. Titus argues with Allora and Kinnick over Ezio's score. Curtia and Tempest argue over Trevor. Somehow we all agree on the girl from Ten. And with that, we're done.

We've decided on the scores. Now all I have to worry about is the people around me.

So, we've had another chapter with Juventia and Plaucs, although I have to admit it is rather short. The next chapter should be out around June 3rd, where we'll see the tributes learn their training scores and prepare for interview night.