Lucent Saccharyn POV:
Bam! The gavel slams down on the surface of the polished sandalwood table. "Attention!" I say sharply. The mentors who have been chattering amongst themselves cease to do so and look to me. "Thank you, everyone, for coming here today. I'm very excited to announce the districts you'll be mentoring for this year given the new twist." I grasp a stack of papers and drop them against the surface a couple times to align them and look out at the twenty-four victors sitting around the table. Mentors were selected a few weeks ago, before the twist was announced, so I got a true idea of each district's style in selecting mentors for the Quarter Quell. Some districts have younger, newer victors. Others chose older, more experienced ones. The oldest victor in the room, surprisingly, is from District One. His name is Griffin. He's ninety years old, truly a veteran mentor. It'll be interesting to see him work with a tribute from another district.
"Okay, people. Let's take a look here. Mentors are assigned as follows: District One mentors Griffin and Allegra will mentor District Four's tributes. District Two mentors Tanya and Darius are assigned to District Five. District Three mentors Calvin and Hadrian will mentor for District Six. Whatever your district, just add three, got it?" The mentors all exchange glances, taking in this new information. Griffin, the unspoken leader of the mentors, speaks in his smooth voice, still the same as it was when he won the Hunger Games at seventeen.
"Miss, I'm not sure I understand. How will we mentor a tribute from another district? I'll always be loyal to One. I apologize for speaking out of turn, but how can I possibly put another district over my own tributes?" Although Griffin's youth is no more, he still speaks the way he did when he was the timid blonde boy recognized as the most handsome man in all of Panem. Well, he's still the most handsome man in all of pane. He just isn't blonde. Or nearly as timid. At the time of his Games he never would dare even say hello to someone if they didn't talk to him first.
"It's quite alright, Griffin, I understand. I'm not suggesting you have to support the tribute you're assigned." A devious glint appears in my eye, twinkling at a morally debatable idea. "You can be as absent or as helpful as you'd like. It's like a math problem, right? You start at zero. Zero is neutrality. You can go up the number line as much as you'd like. Of course, that also means you could go the other direction…" I trail off, gauging the reactions of the mentors. A few look appalled. A few look thrilled. Most are somewhere in the middle. "I'm just saying that you could either give your tribute a better or worse chance of making it in the arena. It's up to you to decide what you want to do with this information." I drum my freshly painted acrylic nails on the table, rhinestones glinting in the sunlight streaming in through the open window. "Very well. If you all understand what your new districts are, I'll be on my way. There's still very much left to do." Nobody protests so I get up, push in my chair, and load the papers into a briefcase, snapping it shut loudly, and leaving the room. I walk smack in the middle of the hallway, office workers scattering around me like insects. I step into the elevator all alone, pleased that I don't have to endure an awkward silence in the presence of strangers. I launch up to the higher floors, stepping out into the main Gamemaker room. I clap my hands for attention.
"Let's get this show on the road, folks. Artists on the left, runners on the right. I'm going to check up on each of you today, so be ready to show off." The artists are the people who draw up designs and ideas. The runners are tasked with gathering supplies from throughout the Capitol, sent as messengers, and travel to the arena build site to direct construction. First I visit the mutt station. The Gamemaker is sketching intently on a tablet, so engrossed I have to tap her on the shoulder to get her to look up. She shows me several different designs. I'm particularly fascinated by what appears to be a fairly normal fish. "Pinky, what's that?" I ask.
"Imagine a mix between a trout, bowfish, and trahira. It'll look just like any other fish in the water, but it's highly aggressive. It's genetically modified to flop on the bank of a body of water. Any sane tribute would kill it or stay away, but if you try to touch it when it's still alive it'll definitely take off a couple fingers. They're perfectly edible, but definitely dangerous. I'm ready to pass it to one of the runners to produce a few hundred for the arena as soon as I get the all clear from you." She swipes a couple times and double taps the screen, rotating the 3D fish to a front view and opening its mouth to display its numerous sharp teeth. I give her the go-ahead to send it off, along with the rest of the mutts she's creating. I make my way to the station where a pair of Gamemakers are working on regulating the arena temperature and creating clothes to outfit the tributes with. I briefly stop by to review their work.
"Pyramus, Cassus, how's it going?" Pyramus looks up from his work.
"Oh, it's great, just great! We tried that temp zone idea, and it's working splendidly so far. It'll be another few hours to get everything just right, but we're making it happen."
"The arena is all a pretty comfortable temperature right?" I ask. "Except the two extreme zones at the center and the border?"
"Yep. It's one hundred twenty Fahrenheit near the water, twenty near the Cornucopia. The rest of the arena stays between seventy and eighty at all times. Cassus is having a hell of a time with those outfits, though." He nods toward the other Gamemaker, who mumbles something incoherent around the sewing pins clenched between his teeth. "He says he'll have to involve a lot of different parts and he'll be done in two days," Pyramus translates.
"That's perfect, guys. I'm glad that you're moving so fast. You're right on schedule," I praise. I visit a few other points of interest before pulling a couple specific artists from their workspaces and having them join me in the front of the room where a holographic arena is being displayed on a wheeled black cart. I indicate the areas in which I want more detail, the designers drawing vegetation according to my exact instructions. I skim through material, size, and color options on the display, transforming the cornucopia from one material to another. I decide on blue-tinted ice. Once I'm pleased with the creative decisions I've made, I leave the other Gamemakers to do their thing and start working on a few lists in my private office upstairs. I draw up a revised edition of the annual sponsor gift catalog, featuring some very generous people who donated copious amounts of money to get featured in the sidebars. I end up taking a lunch break, eating goat cheese and chicken in a spicy tomato-based sauce. It's delightful, the taste lingering on my tongue long after I've finished eating. I make a note to add that to the menu for the sponsor gift feasts. I eventually finish, happy to recharge in the comfort of my little safe haven of fuzzy sweaters and carb-heavy food. I summon my secretary, Chris, and ask him to send my freshly typed documents to the appropriate recipients. I grab him a cup of coffee to sustain him through the afternoon and leave it on his desk. I finally run downstairs again for a meeting with a talent agent about which models and celebrities will be escorts this year. By the time I finish making my selections and finish a telephone call to Jack Cannon, the Master of Ceremonies, I'm dead tired and it's seven in the evening. Those meetings took a lot longer than I would've liked. I call a private car to take me to my house. After a frozen TV dinner, I anxiously cross off another day on my calendar and get into bed. Only nineteen more days remain until the Hunger Games begin.
Hey y'all! I'm so happy to tell you that I'll be updating tomorrow as well. Only three tributes have been submitted so far, so you still have plenty of spots to choose from. Good news, people! I've started setting up a sponsor point system, which you can see on my bio. I really want to get started on Reaping chapters soon, so I've reintroduced the Special Slot (see my bio for details). I'll be updating tomorrow, so stay tuned!
