Silicon Blackmar, 18

District 3 11th Male

Even with the help of the avoxes, breakfast is a disaster. Our escort is only nineteen years old. You'd think her youth would make her hardy enough to run back and forth across the suite with ease, but she's so small that she begins sweating within minutes.

There are theoretically over fifty people to feed, but the mentors and stylists mostly sit back without touching their food while the twenty-four of us eat. A little kid from District 9, Cabot Lampkin, whines about being allergic to something on his plate. Cabot's voice is legitimately the most annoying I've heard in my life. It squeaks and cracks a ridiculous amount, even for a thirteen year on.

All of my allies—Desdemona, Othello, and Demi—are from District 9, on the upper floors of the building. I'm effectively alone down here. It isn't until after breakfast that we can meet in the training room and discuss things.

None of the tributes are eager to sit with me, so I plop down in an empty space at the far end of the bench. The nearest tribute, Mitzi, scooches away from me, moving in close to a girl named Tallie. I glance around the room as the table begins to fill. Cordaire and Socket, the king and queen, sit at opposite ends of the table's center. The anti-careers, Huxley, Oshea, and Bolt, huddle at the far end of the bench. There are two other anti-careers, but Bryony and Liose are both in District 9 upstairs. The girls, Milly, Fusae, and Katya, also sit together. I notice small groups of the weakest tributes forming: Momenta, Prota, and Datum in one clique, Taure, Cache, and Juliya in another. I doubt any of those will bloom into permanent alliances.

Really, permanent alliance is an oxymoron in itself. No alliance is permanent within the Hunger Games.

I tune into a quiet conversation between a peacekeeper and seventeen year-old Laurisa. "Sir, there's nowhere to sit," Laurisa says.

"There, next to Silicon," the peacekeeper says, pointing to me.

Laurisa swallows hard. "I…"

"Sit down."

"Yes, sir."

Shaking, the girl sits down to my left. I move over to make space for her, but I still feel a weird obligation to talk to her. "Uh.. hi."

"Hi," Laurisa warbles. That's the end of our conversation. I'm a big fan of peace and quiet, so I don't attempt to make small talk with anybody else as I continue to eat my strange breakfast in silence.


Sorghum Bunker, 18

District 9 1st Male

Socket and I head to the spear station as soon as we're dismissed. I know I'll have to interact with Cordaire and Maizie at some point, but I can't be bothered at this point. Cordaire's distance from it all is definitely peeving, and Maizie's high-pitched giggle only brings annoyance.

I'm still pissed about the fact that Oshea chose the anti-careers over our group, but last night I resolved to put that aside. We can always go for him later. For now, I need to focus on what's at hand: making the outliers shit their pants.

"Hard difficulty?" Socket asks, turning the orange plastic dial.

I nod as the first holographic enemy appears, bright red in color. I thrust my spear into its chest, and it explodes into tiny cubes that eventually fade from sight. The next enemies come two at a time, nearly overwhelming Socket. I help him out by spearing one through the neck while he takes out the other.

The holograms come in faster and faster. Their high numbers are difficult to keep away, but Socket and I do a pretty good job. The trainer smiles and resets the station for another round. The enemies are blue this time, and much more stupid. Socket and I leave pretty quickly after the third round, exhausted.

"See those kids?" Socket says as we head over the large water cooler. "I saw them on the train together, late yesterday. Caden, Telata, Spurr, Kenneth, Teff, Lena, and Ronan. They were just staring out the window in silence."

"How heartwarming." I roll my eyes and take a refreshing sip of water.

There are loners scattered here and there: Coco at fire-staring, Juliya at swords, Basil at shelter-building, Danton and Harvey at water purification. Florian, Ida, and Oswald pathetically failing the gauntlet. The big alliances travel amongst them like trains through an open field of sheep. The anti-careers: Huxley, Oshea, Bolt, Bryony, and Liose. The girls, Milly, Fusae, Katya, and Gwenith. The brother and sister, Desdemona and Othello, with their friends, strong Silicon and icy cold Demi.

"We should try the gauntlet," I blurt out.

Socket shrugs. "Why not? Let's give it a few minutes. Cordaire and Maizie will probably want on too."

I groan. "Sure."

We approach the gauntlet after about ten minutes, and sure enough, Cordaire and Maizie rush into sight within seconds. "Going without us?" Maizie asks in faux betrayal.

I turn to Socket. "I'm beating you to the top anyway."

Socket chuckles. "Shut the fuck up."


Telata Landers, 13

District 3 8th Female

At lunch, I sit down next to Kenneth, the cute blond boy from District 9. Teff starts chatting it up with Lena, while Ronan, Spurr, and Caden start up their own three-way chat.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Not so great," Kenneth responds. "But what can you do?"

I laugh a little and rest my elbows on the table. It takes at least five minutes for the tables to fill completely, because the loners keep moving around the table, looking for some place to sit that's far away from the careers.

The two escorts, Electra and Azolla, appear out of thin air and clap in unison. The forty-eight of us immediately fall silent, other than Sorghum and Socket, who keep taking for a few seconds. Their last sentence contains the word "death". That makes me shiver.

"Congratulations, tributes!" Azolla shouts. "You have reached the halfway point of your first day of training! You will be called up in alphabetical order for lunch! Abilene Carron!"

The 13 year old girl stands up and zips over to the food table, sweating profusely.

Aluma goes next, then Basil, Bolt, Brony, Cabot, Cache, Caden, Coco, and Cordaire. "This is taking forever," I murmur to Kenneth as Danton Robbins shakily fills his plate.

Kenneth just shrugs. Datum follows, then Demi, Desdemona, Elodie, Florian, Fusae, Gwyneth, Harvey, Huxley, Ida, Juliya, Kaicee, and Katya.

"Kenneth Spino!" Kenneth stands up and strolls over to the food table. I try to see what he scoops onto his plate, but the view is soon blocked by Laurisa, Lena, and Liose, who make up the next letter. Maizie, Milly, Mitzi, Momenta, Olivo, Oshea, Oswald, Othello, Pad, Prota, Ronan, Secala, Silicon, Socket, Sorghum, Spurr, Tallie, Taure, Teff…

I've practically fallen asleep when I hear the name, "Telata Landers!" I jump to my feet, shocking a few of the other tributes, including Abilene, who yelps a little and shifts off of her seat.

I softly apologize and head over to the table. There's a ridiculous amount to take in, so I just grab some colored ice cream, some green noodles with light yellow sauce, and a glass of water. It's a ridiculous combination that I'm sure will taste terrible, but at least I have the water to cleanse my palette after every bite.

By the time I drop down into my seat, most of the tributes have already finished their food. I can feel their eyes on the back of my head, silently begging for me to finish quickly so they can return to training. Being the last in the alphabet has its drawbacks.


Neptune Amaryllis, 56

Head Gamemaker

I must admit I'm surprised by the results of the games between Districts 5 and 8. Some of the stronger tributes, like Electron, Brigitta, and Threada, I certainly expected to make it past. I had predicted Patternia and Cosima would make it through as well. I was also surprised by the number of weaker tributes that made it past the first stage.

From what little I've seen of the tributes from Districts 3 and 9, the vast majority of them are weak. Most of these scores will be between two and five, I can already predict.

A heavy knock comes on the door, and an avox enters, carrying a plain paper envelope bearing the Capitol seal. He sets it on my desk and silently exits. I crack the wax seal and pull out the confidential papers inside.

PRIVATE SESSIONS REPORT

Below is a list of the tributes and the skills which they showcased in their individual private sessions. You are to use this list as a point of reference when determining the tributes' training scores. Destroy this document after use. Thank you.

DISTRICT 3

Cordaire Stevens: Showcased sword skills (10/12), spear skills (9/12), and knife skills (8/12)

Socket Alexial: Showcased throwing knife skills (9/12) and sword skills (7/12)

Momenta Clarence: Showcased crossbow skills (5/12)

Taure Sooks: Showcased fire starting skills (4/12) and knife skills (1/12)

Milly Lockwood: Showcased knot-tying skills (4/12) and fire starting skills (4/12)

Huxley Grunge: Showcased sword skills (7/12) and dagger skills (6/12)

Kaicee Mitchell: Showcased hatchet skills (6/12)

Caden Yallenson: Showcased edible plants skills (4/12), fire starting skills (4/12), and gauntlet skills (2/12)

Tallie Chett: Showcased knot tying skills (3/12) and throwing knife skills (3/12)

Oshea Taverns: Showcased gauntlet skills (8/12), wrestling skills (7/12), and mace skills (5/12)

Laurisa Caver: Showcased dagger skills (4/12) and knife skills (3/12)

Bolt Reuben: Showcased knife skills (7/12) and shelter building skills (6/12)

Fusae Soccorso: Showcased bow skills (5/12)

Coco Dorsin: Showcased crossbow skills (5/12) and camouflage skills (5/12)

Telata Landers: Showcased gauntlet skills (2/12) and knife skills (4/12)

Cache Marksens: Showcased spear skills (3/12)

Prota Carys: Showcased edible plants skills (6/12) and dagger skills (1/12)

Pad Nemrose: Showcased sword skills (1/12), shelter building skills (2/12), and fire starting skills (2/12)

Katya Audrin: Showcased bow skills (5/12) and dagger skills (5/12)

Datum Gemsie: Showcased knife skills (2/12)

Mitzi Tanner: Showcased rope climbing skills (3/12), edible plants skills (3/12), and knife skills (4/12)

Silicon Blackmar: Showcased weight lifting skills (9/12), gauntlet skills (7/12), and sword skills (8/12)

Juliya Bethe: Showcased crossbow skills (2/12) and bow skills (2/12)

Spurr Howell: Showcased dagger skills (6/12) and bow skills (6/12)

DISTRICT 9

Maizie Nash: Showcased bow skills (8/12) and sword skills (8/12)

Sorghum Bunker: Showcased sword skills (10/12), mace skills (10/12), and gauntlet skills (9/12)

Aluma Barton: Showcased dagger skills (5/12)

Kenneth Spino: Showcased crossbow skills (3/12) and edible plants skills (4/12)

Abilene Carron: Showcased fire starting skills (2/12), shelter building skills (2/12), and dagger skills (1/12)

Basil Huchra: Showcased sickle knife skills (5/12) and agility course skills (1/12)

Bryony Withers: Showcased sickle skills (7/12) and spear skills (6/12)

Olivo Trunks: Showcased camouflage skills (5/12) and scythe skills (2/12)

Teff Stellar: Showcased sickle skills (5/12)

Cabot Lampkin: Showcased edible plants skills (3/12) and rope climbing skills (3/12)

Desdemona Brooks: Showcased sword skills (7/12) and bow skills (6/12)

Othello Brooks: Showcased sword skills (7/12) and bow skills (7/12)

Gwenith Lissen: Showcased throwing knife skills (5/12), crossbow skills (5/12), and edible plants skills (4/12)

Danton Robbins: Showcased fire starting skills (3/12) and water purification skills (3/12)

Elodie Pike: Showcased rope climbing skills (4/12) and sickle skills (3/12)

Harvey Reynolds: Showcased knife skills (4/12)

Lena Munger: Showcased knife skills (5/12), camouflage skills (1/12), and gauntlet skills (1/12)

Florian Stone: Showcased dagger skills (3/12) and throwing knife skills (2/12)

Secala Wade: Showcased edible plant skills (5/12) and knife skills (5/12)

Liose Coster: Showcased agility course skills (7/12), throwing knife skills (6/12), and edible insects skills (4/12)

Ida Gleaves: Showcased scythe skills (3/12) and sickle skills (2/12)

Oswald Downs: Showcased dagger skills (2/12) and snare building skills (2/12)

Demi Claren: Showcased dagger skills (5/12), spear skills (5/12), and crossbow skills (4/12)

Ronan Stuart: Showcased slingshot skills (5/12) and throwing knife skills (4/12)


Electra Node, 19

Escort for District 3

The lights begin to fade as the announcement begins. The tributes' eyes are trained on the holographic television screen and the shining eyes of Phoenix Withers.

"As you all know, the tributes have been ranked on a scale of one to twelve based on their aptitude in training. Without any further ado, the training scores!"

Cordaire Stevens, District 3 1st Female – 10

Everyone applauds: a great score for the strong, if mysterious, career girl.

Socket Alexial, District 3 1st Male – 9

Socket's career friend Sorghum punches him playfully in the nose. They both chuckle, even when Socket's nose starts to bleed.

Momenta Clarence, District 3 2nd Female – 5

Momenta nods in satisfaction. That's more standard fare for District 3.

Taure Sooks, District 3 2nd Male – 3

Taure wrings his hands in worry as tears begin to well up in his eyes.

Milly Lockwood, District 3 3rd Female – 4

Milly stares at the screen, unsure of how to react to a 4.

Huxley Grunge, District 3 3rd Male – 7

Huxley's allies, Oshea and Bolt, slap the smiling boy on the back.

Kaicee Mitchell, District 3 4th Female – 5

The girl bites her lips, looking distraught.

Caden Yallenson, District 3 4th Male – 4

Given he's eighteen years old, Caden's score of 4 is definitely a little underwhelming. The boy himself seems to agree.

Tallie Chett, District 3 5th Female – 3

Tallie shakes her head, trembling in terror.

Oshea Taverns, District 3 5th Male – 8

The entire room falls silent as we stare at the tall, muscled factory worker. He could seriously go far, especially surrounded by so many weak tributes.

Laurisa Caver, District 3 6th Female – 4

Laurisa rubs the back of her neck, frowning in defeat.

Bolt Reuben, District 3 6th Male – 7

The room applauds halfheartedly for the attractive sixteen-year-old. I can tell many of the tributes already feel doomed.

Fusae Soccorso, District 3 7th Female – 5

Fusae's allies, Milly and Katya, applaud furiously. Fusae just nods, reasonably satisfied.

Coco Dorsin, District 3 7th Male – 5

The volunteer boy just stares back at the hologram with wide, tired eyes.

Telata Landers, District 3 8th Female – 3

Telata is congratulated by each of her quasi-allies, Caden and Spurr. I vaguely hear Kenneth, Teff, and Ronan stomping their feet from the floor above.

Cache Marksens, District 3 8th Male – 3

Cache begins crying silently. Unlike Telata, he has no allies to cheer him on.

Prota Carys, District 3 9th Female – 4

Prota whimpers with dread, burying her face in her hands.

Pad Nemrose, District 3 9th Male – 2

Nobody can bear to watch the little boy wail and weep. His score is the lowest of the night so far.

Katya Audrin, District 3 10th Female – 5

The makeup-laden girl is too busy dabbing at her mascara to do anything but hum quietly.

Datum Gemsie, District 3 10th Male – 2

Datum wraps fellow 2-scorer, Pad, in a big hug. Before long, they're both crying.

Mitzi Tanner, District 3 11th Female – 3

Mitzi just stares at her lap. It's hard to read her reaction.

Silicon Blackmar, District 3 11th Male – 8

The careers stare daggers at the strong boy, who just smiles as the others applaud.

Juliya Bethe, District 3 12th Female – 2

Juliya joins the huddle with Pad and Datum, looking dazed.

Spurr Howell, District 3 12th Male – 6

A smile seats itself deep on his face. Not bad at all.

"And now onto District 9!"


Azolla Roselock, 27

Escort for District 9

Maizie Nash, District 9 1st Female – 8

Maizie groans under her breath, underwhelmed.

Sorghum Bunker, District 9 1st Male – 10

The boy puffs out his chest, pleased. Unless one of the outliers pulls off some huge upset, Sorghum is tied with Cordaire for the top score of the night.

Aluma Barton, District 9 2nd Female – 5

Aluma sighs, shrugging. She was never going to earn an eleven.

Kenneth Spino, District 9 2nd Male – 3

Kenneth blinks hard, trying to suppress tears.

Abilene Carron, District 9 3rd Female – 2

Abilene huffs, burying her face into a blue pillow.

Basil Huchra, District 9 3rd Male – 4

Basil seems pretty indifferent. That's more standard fare for District 9.

Bryony Withers, District 9 4th Female – 7

Bryony grins, thankful at having matched the scores of the other anti-careers. If I recall correctly, Huxley and Bolt scored sevens, while Oshea scored an impressive eight.

Olivo Trunks, District 9 4th Male – 5

Olivo just nods quietly, indifferent.

Teff Stellar, District 9 5th Female – 4

Teff's friend, Lena, congratulates her. Teff herself looks pretty underwhelmed.

Cabot Lampkin, District 9 5th Male – 3

Cabot clutches his stomach and begins to quietly sob.

Desdemona Brooks, District 9 6th Female – 7

Desdemona's rosy face shines with pleasure.

Othello Brooks, District 9 6th Male – 7

Othello grins, similarly satisfied.

Gwenith Lissen, District 9 7th Female – 5

Milly, Fusae, and Katya scream from the floor above, though their applause is barely audible through the soundproof ceiling.

Danton Robbins, District 9 7th Male – 3

Danton's shoulders slack as a sigh of defeat escapes his lips.

Elodie Pike, District 9 8th Female – 4

Elodie fakes a small smile, though tears are definitely welling up in her eyes.

Harvey Reynolds, District 9 8th Male – 4

The boy stares at his lap, ignoring Danton's and Olivo's attempts to console him.

Lena Munger, District 9 9th Female – 2

Lena's lips form into a solid line as her allies congratulate her.

Florian Stone, District 9 9th Male – 3

Florian's eyes are only vacant. His mind is in a very different place.

Secala Wade, District 9 10th Female – 5

Secala crosses her arms and stares at the ceiling.

Liose Coster, District 9 10th Male – 6

Liose holds up his single hand: first with all five fingers, then with one finger. A few of the others nervously giggle at the joke.

Ida Gleaves, District 9 11th Female – 3

Ida's face turns red as she begins to cry.

Oswald Downs, District 9 11th Male – 2

Oswald begins to cry in humiliation.

Demi Claren, District 9 12th Female – 5

Demi's eyes are as cold as ever as she glares at the screen. I wouldn't be surprised if Phoenix Withers begins trembling in terror.

Ronan Stuart, District 9 12th Male – 5

Ronan shrugs. A decent score to finish off the announcement.

As the tributes stand up and shuffle to bed in silence, I can tell these scores are not what they'd hoped for. Maizie and Sorghum, the careers, are the only ones who seem happy. Even Desdemona and Othello fail to make conversation as they shuffle to their bedrooms. I hope they can all raise their spirits for the interviews tomorrow night. If they haven't made a great impression yet, a memorable interview is their last shot at survival.


0:

1:

2: Pad, Datum, Juliya, Abilene, Katya, Oswald

3: Taure, Tallie, Telata, Cache, Mitzi, Kenneth, Cabot, Danton, Florian, Ida

4: Milly, Caden, Laurisa, Prota, Basil, Teff, Elodie, Harvey

5: Momenta, Kaicee, Fusae, Coco, Katya, Aluma, Olivo, Gwenith, Secala, Demi, Ronan

6: Spurr, Liose

7: Huxley, Bolt, Bryony, Desdemona, Othello

8: Oshea, Silicon, Maizie

9: Socket

10: Cordaire, Sorghum

11:

12:


Titus Andronicus Bacchus Hazel, 45

President of Panem

The audience roars as Phoenix Withers bends forward in a deep bow. "Welcome, welcome, ladies and gentleman, children of all ages! Last time you saw me here, we were meeting the forty-eight tributes from Districts 5 and 8. Today, the tables have turned, and we will all get to know the tributes of Districts 3 and 9 a little better. A three minute interview is provided for each tribute. Please put your hands together for Cordaire Stevens!"

Cordaire waltzes into the spotlight, wearing a bubblegum pink dress that spins around her curvy form. The audience is immediately drawn in by her confidence, and she remains level-headed as Phoenix strikes up a conversation about her home life. When questioned about her tactics, Cordaire stays pretty secretive, which is smart. She definitely has her mind set on survival.

Socket struts onto stage, wearing a dark green suit and tie. The career boy is sexy and comical and extremely popular with the audience. He's less of a comedian and more of a stoic tower of testosterone. It's hard to deny that the interview grows rather boring toward the end. Even so, Socket's looks are enough to keep the audience captivated.

Momenta shuffles onto stage, barely able to keep balance in her heels. Her lavender gown is beautiful, but the rest of her interview is pretty forgettable, however heartwarming her innocent giggles might me. Such an angle might work well for a twelve year old, but Momenta is fifteen. Largely, Momenta's interview is nothing more than cringe.

Taure marks the first disaster, crying from the moment he enters the spotlight in an all-white tux. All of his answers are stammered out, and it becomes increasingly more difficult to understand his speech as the interview progresses. Both the audience and the boy are relieved when the interview is over.

Milly smiles as she makes her entrance, clad in a pristine white sundress. Her words are smartly chosen, and her down-to-earth personality is one that will not be quickly forgotten. Milly is clever, snarky, and just the right amount of sassy. Despite her score of only four, she could seriously go far.

Huxley comes out in khaki pants and a plaid dress shirt. At first, he tries to act charming, but he stumbles over his words before long. It becomes clear that angle isn't working, so Huxley leans back and steers the conversation toward a few easier topics. The audience starts to zone out, and the fact that everyone is still talking about Milly doesn't help.

Kaicee follows Huxley, wearing an orange blazer. Her answers are well-crafted, but it's hard to appreciate her public speaking skills behind her unbelievably monotonous voice. Her interview okay: not good, not bad, but definitely forgettable. That's the very worst thing an interview can be.

Caden is just impressive as Kaicee before him, wearing a full gray outfit with a bow tie. His voice is slightly less monotone than Kaicee's, though he is shaking much more strongly. After a minute, his voice begins to quiver, and that's the end of the audience's attention.

Tallie wears a feathery magenta skirt and blouse, laughing and giggling merrily. The act is definitely fake, but I have to admit she pulls everything off very well. In our research, we found that Tallie was involved in many of her high school's theater productions, and she applies everything very well, reeling in the audience and making them laugh with nearly every line. A most definite success.

Oshea is instantly memorable for his appearance: six and a half feet tall and muscular, he towers over nearly all of the other tributes. The boy slowly sits down in the chair opposite Phoenix, making the seat look miniature. Oshea takes the charming ladies' man approach, which isn't very hard. Oshea Taverns is a shoe-in for a memorable interview, and he does not disappoint at all.

Laurisa follows two stellar tributes with a boring interview. Her white silk dress is pretty enough, especially paired with her bright blonde hair. All of her jokes are weak, and nothing about her really shines. Laurisa had lots of potential. Unfortunately, nearly none of that potential is fulfilled here.

Bolt makes an entrance, dressed in a baby pink tux. The boy is clearly humiliated by the outfit, and I can't blame him for turning a bright shade of red as the audience starts laughing. Bolt's voice is packed with nothing but frustration. He's smart enough to keep from doing anything stupid, which is smart.

Fusae comes next, wearing a zany rainbow wig that covers her bald head. She spends most of the interview talking to Phoenix about her illness. Toward the end, she turns to the audience and gives a corny speech about blessings. Many of the lines are stolen straight from Intarsia Peter's speech, and the audience realizes this quickly. Fusae's metaphors are weak, and her voice sort of falls flat when she realizes she's not a hit. Talk about trying too hard.

Coco has a sob-story prepared in advance. Being the only volunteer other than the four careers, he has the sympathy of the crowd by default. His outfit is pretty plain (a beige suit and tie), and so is the first minute of the interview. He manages to save things with a few witty comments about what it's like to be on stage. He gets his fair share of laughs, but Coco is far from the most memorable interview of the night.

Telata follows him, dressed in a fiery orange skirt. The outfit might look nice on a taller tribute, but Telata's tiny size prevents it from looking anything but out of place. Her interview is heartwarming. At one point, Phoenix feeds her a joke that makes a few people laugh in the audience. Still, everything is likely to be forgotten quickly.

Cache is dressed in a plain black tux. His interview is standard fare for a fourteen-year-old: drab, monotone, and, worst, forgettable. As he leaves the spotlight, I find myself unable to remember a single line of dialogue from the interview.

Prota Carys starts out her interview right. Phoenix: "Prota Carys. That's quite a name". Prota: "Well, I'm quite a person." It all goes downhill from there. Tears pour from her eyes the minute she starts talking about her family. Prota tries to regain her composure, but she can do nothing but continue to sob until the interview ends.

Pad's interview is equally disastrous. His blue suit is reminiscent of Prota's navy blue gown, but that isn't the only thing their interviews have in common. Pad does nothing but sob pathetically. Phoenix tries to console him, but to no avail. What did I expect from the scrawny twelve-year-old?

Non-careers are rarely able to pull off the sexy interview angle, but Katya Audrin does it and does it well. From the first butt shake, her interview jam-packed with flirty winks, butt shakes, and references to her breasts. If Phoenix is peeved by her dirty jokes, he doesn't show it. He's been the master of ceremonies for decades. He's seen weirder.

Datum leads another forgettable interview. He doesn't ever cry, and he rarely stumbles over his words. What really holds him back is the monotony of his voice. It's hard to tell what the boy sets, let alone get invested in his strange conversation with the dashing man in the other chair. Everyone is happy when the interview ends.

Mitzi is dressed in a semi-transparent, lacy white dress. She looks beautiful, her hair curled expertly. It's a shame her interview isn't more memorable. Her striking appearance earns her a few bonus points, sure, but it's hard to ignore the fact that her entire conversation is completely uninspired.

Silicon Blackmar's smile could sell truckloads of teeth whitener. The boy is just as tall and muscular as Oshea: enough to make a career tribute tremble. His training score of eight is the main point of conversation, though Silicon is careful not to reveal too much when questioned about his tactics. In many ways, he is similar to a career. It's a surprise the pack didn't embrace him as one of their own.

Juliya is a shivering and nervous mess, garbled in a pale green dress that clings to her body. She stutters out each of her responses. Even though her words are audible, they're anything but memorable. The latter half of the interview contains a bit of actual gibberish, which is more than a little off-putting.

Spurr finishes off District 3 with a decent interview, wearing a slate-gray tux and silver bow tie. While his interview isn't extremely captivating, the boy is charming enough to keep the audience focused. His positive attitude masks all of his mediocre jokes. Ultimately, the crowd applauds as he leaves the stage, making way for the first District 9 tribute.

Maizie is the first career tribute since Socket. She sashays out wearing a chartreuse ball gown and white heels. Maizie is just small enough to catch the audience's attention by being cute. Even so, the attitude is a little off-putting on an otherwise violent career.

Sorghum finishes off the second half of the career team, wearing a dark gray suit. A few of his cousins are peacekeepers, so Sorghum knows all the ins and outs of Panem: deposed politicians and the like. He's extremely careful to keep from saying too much, and succeeds, enchanting the entire audience. He will be lethal.

I'm not expecting anything special as Aluma enters, wearing a white silk skirt. Her interview is surprisingly memorable, with plenty of amusing small talk and witty commentary. The audience cheers as the three minutes ends. Aluma makes a single curtsy before her exit.

After four memorable interviews, Kenneth sours the entire affair. The boy is dressed smartly in a black tux, but that can only do so much to keep the audience's attention while he rambles on about uninteresting things in an uninteresting voice. He doesn't cry or anything, but Kenneth is nowhere near as confident as many of the others.

Abilene follows suit, dressed in a slim black dress. The girl is short and deathly skinny. Her hands shake on the armrests of the soft chair as she stammers out her vague answers. Phoenix tries every trick in the book to get her to talk more, but it's a lost cause.

Basil makes the next entrance, wearing a pea green suit. He's another one of those forgettable tributes who isn't particularly confident, but doesn't burst into tears either. Basil rambles on for the first half of the interview. After about two minutes, Phoenix steers the conversation toward a few more relevant topics. The interview ends with a nice bit of discussion, but it's still an overall failure.

Bryony walks onto stage in a flowery, light-blue dress. With a seven in training, she's automatically interesting. Her looks and her aesthetically pleasing certainly help as well. Bryony's interview isn't the most memorable in the world; it contains tons of fun jokes, but the girl starts to run out of ideas toward the end of the three minutes.

Olivo is crying from the moment he's carried onto stage. He has the self-control to keep from screaming, fighting, or running off of the stage, but he doesn't have quite enough to stop the tears as they continue to flow. It's immediately clear that the interview is beyond any hope of recovery. Phoenix just goes through a bit of comedy while the three minutes run through.

Teff Stellar is relatively unassuming at first sight, wearing a red gossamer dress. She's relatively quiet and shy, but the girl has a weird kind of mystery surrounding her. She's more intriguing than any other tribute of the night. As she exits, whispers break out in the audience like little hissing fires. Whatever Teff has done, she's done it right.

Cabot's voice is hard to take seriously. His highlighter yellow dress shirt is off-putting already, as if the voice cracks weren't annoying enough. It's incredulous how a human voice can be so high-pitched; how it can roll, crack, and fluctuate in volume as much as his does. He has a three in training; all things considered, he is doomed.

Desdemona enters, wearing an archaic green dress and apron. Phoenix leans back in his chair, signals for the spotlight queue, and allows the girl to deliver her soliloquy. The speech she gives is one delivered by the original character Desdemona, and she pulls everything off extremely well. Her voice is packed with drama and feeling. Before leaving the stage, she tells the audience to hold their applause, then makes way for her brother.

Othello saunters into the spotlight, garbled in similar period clothing. He completes the scene begun by his sister Desdemona, though his speaking voice is even more dramatic and memorable. As Othello exits, the curtains momentarily close, just for show.

The program resumes to feature Gwenith, who wears an ocean blue gown. No matter how comedic and memorable Gwenith tries to be, the audience pays absolutely no attention. They're all whispering about Desdemona and Othello. Gwenith just stares down at her lap when she realizes it's all a lost cause.

Danton enters next, wearing a zoot suit, a black hat, and a cane. It's definitely one of the most unique costumes so far, which is a shame, because the boy has literally no talent for public speaking. The boy speaks with his shoulders tense, restricting his breathing so much he can hardly speak. To put it short, his interview is a disaster.

Elodie sprints onto stage, wearing a gold dress and bow. Her interview is somewhat funny, and her snarky responses are clever enough, but that's just about all that can be said. At the end of the day, her interview is just another forgettable one to be tacked onto the list.

Harvey's interview is received similarly. He comes out in an unoriginal gray suit and black tie. His interview is heartwarming, but other than that, he doesn't have very much going for him at all. At one point, Phoenix feeds him a joke that makes a third of the audience laugh. That's about it.

Lena is up next, wearing a velvety red backless dress. A seductive career tribute might be able to pull off the look, but it only looks out of place on the tiny Lena Munger. While her interview isn't completely forgettable (it features a little snippet of conversation about makeup), it just can't compare to some of the others. So far, District 9's tributes aren't showing very well.

Twelve-year-old Florian puts on a varied showing. He manages to keep his act together for the first half of the interview, responding to Phoenix's questions with a number of interesting responses. When the audience leans forward in their chairs, Florian completely freaks out. His face turns red as he begins to shake; before long, tears are falling onto his black dress pants. He takes a deep breath and squeezes his eyes shut, trying desperately to calm down. By this point, there's nothing he can do to quell his tears.

Secala strides into the light, wearing a pale orange skirt. She definitely looks beautiful, with her hair curled and her face perfected with the help of makeup. She answers Phoenix's questions innocently, almost naïvely. It's an approach that rarely works, but if she wants to ruin her chance of making it past the first stage, then that's her prerogative.

Liose enters smiling, displaying two rows of dazzling white teeth. The boy is a huge hit, spouting line after line of perfect comedy. The audience roars in laughter; several puns about his missing arm add to the comedic effect. The boy is handsome, comical, and overall, memorable. Definitely refreshing after so many underwhelming interview.

Ida struts onto stage in a coat made of some kind of expensive-looking animal fur. She does an okay job of drawing in the audience. Her interview is right in the middle: not good, not bad, just okay. She could die in the bloodbath or pull out a huge upset and make it through the first stage. Time will tell.

Oswald is so thin I can practically count his ribs through his thin white dress shirt. Our teams found a devastating injury on the inside of his mouth: the boy has extreme trouble even talking, let alone craft his words in a way to be remembered by the crowd. Everyone is happy when the three minutes is over.

Demi makes an entrance, wearing a crimson dress that seems to rotate and spiral around her curvy form. She practically spits out her words to Phoenix's questions, but what really stands out his her stare. Demi Claren is one cold girl. Her eyes sweep over the audience, cold and icy, a hate so strong inside of them. The audience falls dead quiet in a matter of seconds. At the end of her interview, she wordlessly spins sharply on her heel and marches out of the light.

Ronan gives the interviews a mediocre conclusion. He enters wearing a tuxedo: an off-white shade, tinted a creamy orange color. Almost nothing really shines; the conversation is decent, the jokes are okay, but the interview doesn't contain anything resoundingly memorable.

As Ronan exits, Phoenix stretches to full height, a dazzling smile seating itself deep on his face. "That's all for tonight, folks. I hope you enjoyed all of these memorable moments with Cordaire, Socket, Momenta, Taure, Milly, Huxley, Kaicee, Caden, Tallie, Oshea, Laurisa, Bolt, Fusae, Coco, Telata, Cache, Prota, Pad, Katya, Datum, Mitzi, Silicon, Juliya, Spurr, Maizie, Sorghum, Aluma, Kenneth, Abilene, Basil, Bryony, Olivo, Teff, Cabot, Desdemona, Othello, Gwenith, Danton, Elodie, Harvey, Lena, Florian, Secala, Liose, Ida, Oswald, Demi, and Ronan! Tune in tomorrow morning: first for unabridged footage of the bloodbath, then for my commentary over every single frame. Have a great night!"