Disclaimer:
I do not own the Hunger Games book series. It is the property of Suzanne Collins and the publisher Scholastic Press. The movies are owned by Lionsgate and other associated producers and creators. I am simply a humble fan, writing this for the enjoyment of other fans. Please support the official release.
Interviews
Emblem Caron
Marquis Class
She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to be stuck in the Academy for Beauty and Excellence, attending her Advanced Persona Class. It wasn't just because girls and boys shared different classes when it came to how they presented themselves.
Emblem didn't want to end up going into the arena and kill the other tributes. A natural actor, she was pretty sure that she had all her fellow students were convinced otherwise, but the truth was that Emblem Caron wished she was back home with her family.
Unfortunately for her, her family was cursed with being citizens of One.
As the instructor droned on and on, Emblem reflected on her poor luck of being born in the luxury district. District 1 was the single richest district in all of Panem. They didn't have a poor class of people in the way the other districts did. Even the poorest of the poor had jobs that paid well enough to afford a small apartment for themselves. Afford enough to eat and keep working.
The richest people in District 1 were the seven families who founded District 1. The Founding Families were not only hands-down the richest people in One but also the richest people in any district, perhaps only outclassed by the Victors. The Founding Families were so rich they had more money than some of the richest people in the Capitol itself, though they were far from the richest people in Panem. The upper crust of the Capitol elite outstripped them on that claim.
The rest of One was wealthier than the other districts, but they were by no means even close to as rich as the Founding Families. Most people in One lived a privileged life by other district's standards, and if that was where it ended for Emblem, she would be fine with it.
Emblem Caron might have had a very different life had Fortune Croix never won the Hunger Games. She had come from a gutter family, training personally under Apollo Laval, One's very first Victor. The day she won the games was a dark day for Emblem's home. President Summer had died the year before, and a young Coriolanus had just taken power. When Fortune returned from the Capitol, she came with the new President's blessing.
The day Fortune returned, she replaced the district mayor and every other staffer in the Justice Building. From there she set up her Luxury System. The same system that continued to oppress the district. Under Luxury System, men and women lost the right to marry who they wanted. District officials would decide who you had children with, for the goal of breeding more handsome and beautiful children. The fittest and best-looking children were forced to attend the Academy for Beauty and Excellence. The graduates from the Academy who never went in the games usually ended up as Peacekeepers or being bought by rich Capitol citizens for bodyguards. While District 2 supplied most of the country's Peacekeepers, District 1 was the only district that staffed its own ranks, allowing the ones from Two to be stationed elsewhere. Unlike Two's Peacekeepers, the ones from One never left the district.
The best looking children who weren't fit for the Academy often ended up in a pleasure house, where the wealthy Ones or Capitol citizen could come visit on vacation. District 1 had almost as many Capitol tourists as District 4. It wasn't uncommon for a boy or girl in the pleasure houses to be bought by a Capitol citizen. Though the ones deemed superior breeding stalk never left the district, instead of producing as many offspring as possible.
To the end of producing more superior children, abortion was strictly controlled. Girls were only given them if they had a child with inferior breeders.
Some say the luckiest ones were the people deemed unfit to bread and were sterilized. The system mostly ignored them, and they would live unmolested lives, though never being able to have children of their own.
District 1's industry was luxury, and the people of the district were by no means exempt from that fact. Almost everyone in One was forced into a place in Fortune's Luxury System.
Only two groups of people in One were free of the system. The Founding Families and the Victor's, as well as those the Victor's chose to shield.
The Founders all had Capitol connections, and the money to make sure their children were safe. Fortune couldn't compel them to take part in her sick system.
The Victors were already owned by President Snow, and the rumor was that he made it clear Fortune knew not to try and play with his toys.
Of course, being related to a Victor didn't mean you were necessarily safe. The boy she loved, Gleam, might have been cousins with Cashmere and Gloss, but his mother had never been close to his cousins despite being blood, and thus didn't receive the same protection as the family's of the Victors did. Gleam Delmas had never wanted to be a tribute, but when he turned seven he was forced to undergo the same tests as every other kid in the district. A month later he was taken from his family and enrolled in the Academy of Beauty and Excellence.
As soon as it became known that he was related to Gloss and Cashmere, the Head Mistress (Fortune Croix herself) took an interest in him. He was pushed into the more advanced classes until years later he was selected to be a tribute candidate. Only the candidates were allowed to volunteer. He might be a candidate, but he never had any intention of volunteering, despite how he was at the top of all his classes.
That was until the Head Mistress called him into her office, and told him point-blank that in the event that he did not secure his place as the male tribute, he would be sent to one of the pleasure houses. His sisters would join him, and his parent's debts would all be called in. They were too old to join the ranks of One's Peacekeepers to pay off those debts, and they'd be sold into the pleasure houses as well.
Gleam's sisters had all been declared breeders, so they at least had a better life than the one that awaited the sex slaves at the pleasure houses. The night before the reaping, he had confided all of it her. And Emblem couldn't do anything to help him. She was useless. The next day, Gleam ran as fast as he could. outstripping the two other running boys.
He promised her he would get home. If he won the games, Emblem and his sisters would live with him in Victors Village. His parents could quit their dead-end jobs, working long hours into the night. He could move them all to Victors Village and protect them from Fortune's system.
All that it would cost him was his soul. In the grand scheme of things, Gleam thought it was a fair price to pay. Emblem wasn't so sure. Then again, if he didn't win, she might consider working hard to get into the Duke Class. The Duke's were the only ones allowed to volunteer, and while she had no love of the games, becoming a Victor was the only way to earn one's freedom from the Luxury System. Then you traded masters and became a slave of the Capitol.
From Emblem's point of view, it was preferable. For as long as she remembered, she had never been attracted to men. Gleam was her best friend, but he never appealed to her in that way. She liked girls, and she often wished she had been born a boy. If she had been, she might have been able to have a normal life under the Luxury System. People did not get together for love in District 1. They got together to make superior offspring, and if she graduated from the Academy without going into the games, she would be paired together with a boy befitting her. And they would have as many children as she could make.
Unless she was brought by someone in the Capitol for a bodyguard, that would be her fate no matter what career she chose afterward. At least she wouldn't be put into a pleasure house.
The bell-ringing signaled the end of class, and Emblem closed her textbook.
"All right girls," Madam Bisset called. "The interviews will be starting in a few hours. Your class will be in auditorium number 3 to watch. Remember, Head Mistress Fortune will be the one dulling out punishments for anyone who does not attend."
In a normal year, Emblem might take that as a challenge. But her best friend was on that stage and she was going to watch his interview. It was the least she could do.
Grabbing her book bag, she threw her books in it and hauled the bag over her shoulder. As soon as she was out of the door, a burst of cold wind hit her. It was summer, and One tended to get hot. It was at times like these Emblem was glad for the Academy's uniforms requiring girls to wear skirts. Even if it was hitched far above her knees, the cool breeze on her legs felt wonderful.
"Emblem!" Pride's voice called out. Emblem turned around, and saw Pride, and Wonder running towards her. Pride was even more beautiful than her. The girl had curves in all the right places, her face was more filled in, and she was as deadly as she is beautiful. Emblem wouldn't admit it, for fear of ending their friendship, but she had been pining over Price since she was thirteen. Had the Quell been different, Pride would have probably been One's tribute this year. She was easily one of the best students in the Academy, and the fastest girl among the Duke's. Only Glimmer was quicker, and she died last year. Pride was also eighteen, and would forever lose her chance to be a tribute, which Emblem was thankful for. After Glimmer's death last year because of that bitch from Twelve, she didn't want any of her friends in the games.
Wonder was Pride's twin brother. In all honesty, he looked how Pride would look if she were a boy. Emblem knew he was the desire that many of the girls, and had she swung that way, she might have pinned over him instead of his sister. Like Pride, Wonder had lost his chance to enter the games. He was the fastest among the boys and could have beaten Marvel to the stage last year, but Fortune had kept him back. She had wanted sibling tributes, mentored by the sibling Victors Gloss and Cashmere. It pleased Emblem in no small way that the quell had taken that from her.
Though Wonder was one of her best friends, in the future he might also become her jailer. Fortune had made it clear that if Emblem didn't go into the arena, Wonder would become her husband. Fortune had said the two of them would have beautiful children. Emblem couldn't deny they would, but she didn't want to have Wonder's children. Not like what she wanted really mattered in the grand scheme of District 1.
"Come on. Let's go to the bleachers," Wonder said when he was close to her. "I got the good stuff. All the way from Seven."
Indeed he did. The small green plant was the only thing that could calm her nerves, and firing it up in the Academy was grounds for expulsion. The plant certainly calmed her, and as she giggled at her two friends, she couldn't remember what had got her so down before.
Wonder and Pride were the only two who she knew who could get the plants, and that was probably because of their family's connection to the Laval's. As a Founding Family, there wasn't much the Laval's couldn't get.
They stayed where they were, even after they smoked all they could. If anyone saw the right then, they might very well get caught. And Emblem still hadn't decided if she wanted to volunteer next year.
It was only when the sky darkened that the four friends crawled out of their hiding spot. Emblem bid Wonder and Pride goodbye, both of them watching in the first auditorium. She was only a little bit surprised to discover she was the last person, and they were planning to send someone out to look for her.
She took her spot with the other Marquise class. She was forced to sit next to Precious, one of the girls she really hated around the Academy. She came from a Founding Family, which meant that she was free of the system Emblem suffered under. She was only here for the prestige of attending. If she walked out, she'd go back to her family's estate.
Precious returned her sneer, and the two girls looked away from each other. The lights around them dimmed, and the holoscreen flickered to light.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Our Master of Ceremonies; CAESAR FLICKERMEN!
Caesar's theme burst to life. The stage slowly turned, revealing two chairs, one filled by the man himself.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Caesar called, giving a bow. "Thank you for being here tonight, on the eve of the Seventy-Fifth Annual HUNGER GAMES!"
The crowd burst out cheering.
"In just as moment, they're going to be out here! All the tributes you've heard about! Are you excited? LET THEM HEAR IT!"
Another roar of cheering, Flickermen laughing the whole. Like he wasn't going to lead out a parade of doomed kids. Like they all weren't going to be murdered in the arena.
All around the room, her fellow classmates clapped and cheered along. As much as Emblem disliked doing so, she knew the trainers were watching. If she was found not clapping, that might be enough to send her to a Reeducation class.
"Seventy-Five years! Can you all believe how long it's been? Hopefully I don't look that old," Caesar laughed, prompting the crowd to reassure him. He didn't look any different from any other year. Well, other than his golden hair. "Now normally we interview the young ladies first, but if you've seen the last two quells, you'll now that we like to shake it up a little. Our first tribute comes to use from District 1! Everyone, give a warm round of applause for Gleam Delmas!"
Caesar's music played louder, and Emblem's breath caught when she saw her best friend since the parade. He was wearing a black suit, a red tie down the middle. Emblem wondered how they got the tie around his neck. He never liked them.
Like most of the boys from her district, he goes down the handsome killer rout. Entrancing the audience, and promising as much blood as they can handle at the same time. The boy sitting on that stage isn't Gleam, and it hurts that much more to see his mouth speak those words.
Emblem was glad when his time ended. Helene was next. She knew the girl from the Academy, though Emblem never spoke with her. She expected Helene to go down the same route most of the girls from One took, but she played it mysterious, keeping the audience guessing. Emblem wondered why at first when she remembered that Finnick Odair's brother was a tribute himself. Helene must have thought there was no point going that route when an Odair would steal the stage from anyone else who tried.
The boy from Two talked about all the weapons he could use. He talked about not being able to wait until he got into the arena, and gave the crowd a savage grin.
His partner talked about duty and honor. Loyalty to the country, and how Panem had always treated them right. She looked forward to doing her part in the arena. If there was one thing Emblem could do really well, it was read a person. The girl from Two was a decent actor, but she didn't appear to buy into everything she was saying.
The pair from Three didn't make much of an impression on her, though the girl was obviously smart. She spoke of things Emblem couldn't even understand, about inventions and science.
Like she had predicted, Neptune Odair was all smiles and flirts. The crowd loved him, and Emblem could understand. While he lacked his brother's golden hair (his red locks falling down his face) he didn't lack the sex appeal. No other way to put it. He was easily the best-looking tribute in the games and had he offered to sleep with her, Emblem might just have said yes.
While his district partner lacked his obnoxious good looks, she made up with it by being likable. The crowd loved her. She came off as everyone's friend. Not threatening, but that 9 in training spoke a whole other story.
She glossed over the pair from Five, neither one of them leaving that big of an impression on her. The boy from Six was a natural showman. He responded to all of Caesar's cues, laughed in all the right spots, asked all the right questions, and gave amusing answers.
"Did I tell you about the one time I tried to become a mechanic?" Romeo asked.
"You did not," Caesar prompted.
"Well, there's a reason for that," he Laughed. Caesar and the crowd laughed with him. "Let me tell you the story."
His obviously high district partner had none of his charisma. She talked about colors and how friendly Caesar was. Emblem had to look away from the screen. The girl acted like a child. How could the government let someone like her get reaped?
Both from Seven talked about their family's, and how they would fight as hard as they could to go back to them.
The boy from Eight talked about all the wonderful food he had eaten since he arrived, and how generous the people of the Capitol were.
The girl from Eight talked about clothes, and her desire to become a stylist. If she won the game she wanted to work with Katniss and Cinna on designing clothes.
The boy from Nine didn't speak much, answering questions when prompted. He didn't come off as particularly memorable.
His little district partner talked Caesar's ears off. About her experiences since she got to the Capitol. How kind the trainers, the other tributes, and the people of the Capitol were. Her mother had been coming for years, and she was so glad to finally get to the chance to be there.
The Ten's talked about their home lives. The boy and girl both worked at a ranch, and the girl loved her job. The boy talked about his time painting and seemed to be able to follow Caesar's cues.
The boy from Eleven talked about Thresh Newgrove, last year's tribute from Eleven. The two were close friends, and though his uncle Chaff couldn't bring Thresh back from the arena, he promised the nation he would come back. He refused to let everyone forget about his best friend.
The girl from Eleven talked about her huge family. She had four brothers and three sisters. She told them a little bit about her siblings and parents.
The boy from Twelve didn't have the charisma that his brother did. Peeta Mellark knew how to work the audience if nothing else. His brother lacked that charm, but he turned out to be likable enough. And fans of Peeta in the Capitol would most likely sponsor him.
The girl from Twelve ended up crying in her interview. She wanted to go home and promised her waiting family she would try her best.
After the girl left the stage, Caesar cracked a few more jokes and ended the night with his signature laugh. The holoscreen turned off, and the trainers told everyone to get back to their dorms. Emblem followed the crowd out, her mind on Gleam. He would have to be the last tribute standing if he wanted to make it out of the arena. The only question would be if he could kill his way through them.
Author's Note:
Hello! I hope you have enjoyed the ninth chapter!
It might just be me, but I've always imagined a lot of drugs could be grown in Seven, under the right conditions.
Last thing. At the time of this chapter beinf posted, I would say I was about half way through the arena chapters. All of that work got deleted, as well as the original interview chapter, unfortunately. Now I will be continuing this story, all the way to the Victor returning home. Getting their new house. But my original draft had the story being much longer than what it will be now. I don't for see this new version lasting more than twenty-five chapters. I've also tried rewriting the interviews as I original had them, but I couldn't. Sorry for any disappointment this has caused anyone :/