Chapter 17:

I'm waken up by the high pitched voices of my prep team. They're here to get me ready for my interview. They keep my hair and makeup light, with my hair in a high ponytail and very light eye shadow. Logan comes in and helps me get into a summery green dress.

"I see we're going casual today," I say when I see the dress.

"Yes," he agrees. "Last night was all about your first presentation as victor. That dress needed to make a bold statement. But today is just about wrapping up the games, and we're in a more informal setting. So I decided you would wear something more casual."

I nod my head to show that I understand, and we walk into the living room. The couch is surrounded by roses. The room is full of the camera crew, and standing by the couch is Claudia Flickerman. She sees me walk in and approaches me. "Hello, Lauren. It's great to see you. We'll be getting started in a little bit."

We sit down on the couch and wait while the crew finishes up some things. The head camera man counts us down, and then we are live on every tv in Panem.

"Hello everyone. I'm Claudia Flickerman, and I am here with Lauren Knight, our newest Hunger Games victor. Last night we saw the highlights of the games from the cameras' views, but today we'll be hearing everything from Lauren's view. So Lauren, can you tell us about the bloodbath and the beginning of the games?"

"Before the games start, you're lifted up on a metal platform. The first thing you see is the gleaming cornucopia, surrounded by weapons and everything you could possibly need to survive. Then you see all of the tributes surrounding it, all of them wanting your blood, because your death means they're one step closer to victory. The sixty second wait seems to take forever. During that time, I saw Kendall and told him forest, because that would be the place for us to meet. Then the gong rang, and I sprinted to get everything I can grab. But while this is happening, I see tributes being killed. Then Clair started running towards me, and I start to panic because I couldn't get a weapon ready in time. But then Kendall saved my life. He was protecting me, like he had done my entire life. The ground was starting to get slick with the blood of the dead tributes and I saw Lucius be killed. I knew I had to save Gabriella from getting killed; we had made an alliance prior to the games, if we were forced in a situation that called for it. I saw Jasmine running to kill Gabriella, and I didn't even think, I just ran towards her and killed her. Then we ran into the forest, fearing we were going to be pursued."

"Wow, I never knew that was exactly what went through I tributes mind. So we all know that you were allies with Gabriella. I don't know about everyone else, but her death made me cry. But I want to know what exactly you were thinking when you heard her scream."

"I started to panic," I begin. "I knew that it was Gabriella screaming. I knew that I probably wouldn't make it in time to save her. But I tried to save her. When I got to the clearing and saw her laying on the ground bleeding, it was like some primal instinct was turned on inside me. I needed to kill Sparkle for injuring Gabriella. But even after she was dead, it didn't matter. It was too late to save Gabriella. I felt like I needed to do something for her, so I held her in my arms as she died." At that point, a single tear escapes from my eye. I sniffle as I wipe it away. "It still makes me sad thinking about her, she was such a nice person, and I wish I could have known her for longer."

"I think we all would have liked to see her make it farther," she says, as she gives me a side hug. "So after her death, you found Kendall. But then Glam came past you. Can you give us some insight into the battle with him?"

I shudder a bit, remembering that day. "When I first heard him, I thought for sure he had saw me. But when he didn't run towards me, I thought maybe he didn't see me. He walked past me, and I knew it would be the perfect moment to attack him. Neither of us were really making any hits. But then I made the biggest mistake. I thought he was going to attack towards my left. He was feinting, and that mistake cost me my hand. I have never been in that much pain. I thought for sure that he would kill me. But then Kendall saved my life, again. Glam was probably one of the toughest opponents I faced in the games, besides Cress."

"Speaking of your hand, I noticed that you were fitted with a prosthetic hand. How is it working for you?"

I look down at my hand and flex the fingers. "Oh it works great. I still have some difficulty grabbing things, but I think in a few weeks it will almost be as good as my old hand. I was quite shocked when I woke up and I had two hands again."

"I'm glad you have two hands again." She places a hand on my shoulder and smiles at me. "Now, you and your brother Kendall went through a lot in the games. One of the saddest moments in the games for me was when he died. But I know that my sorrow must have been nowhere near what you were feeling, and still probably feeling. Do you think you could tell us some more about Kendall?"

I nod my head, my eyes already starting to water. "Kendall was probably one of the greatest brothers ever. He was always trying to make me happy and protect me. When our mother died a couple years ago, he did everything he could to keep me busy, anything to distract me and make me feel better. He even volunteered for my boyfriend so that if I were to become victor, I could live a happy life with him." I'm crying right now, thinking about Kendall. "Seeing him die in the games, it was the worst moment of my life. I always looked up to him while growing up, and there he was, bleeding to death, and I couldn't save him, make everything better like he did for me over the years. In the arena, I didn't just lose a brother. I lost my best friend."

I can't help it, I start sobbing. Someone from the crew passes me a box of tissues. "Thanks," I mumble. I grab a couple tissues and wipe the tears away, but it's useless. My face is wet with tears again in a few minutes. Claudia sits there and tries to comfort me. She lets me have a few minutes to myself before she continues, and I really appreciate it.

"I'm really sorry for your loss, Lauren. But remember, you still have your brother James, Chris, and all your friends back at home. And you'll be seeing them later tonight back in District 7. You won't be alone. So what are you going to do now with your time? I'm curious if you have an idea of what your hobby will be."

"I do have an idea already what I'm going to do," I say with a smile. "I want to pay a tribute for everyone who was in the games. I am going to carve figurines out of wood, some will be people and others will be of events from the games."

"That sounds like it will be a beautiful hobby. I look forward to seeing it," she says, and places her hand on mine. "Alright everyone. That's all for now. We'll see more of Lauren when it's time for the victory tour. Goodbye, people of Panem."

The cameras are turned off, and everyone starts saying goodbye. Claudia gives me a hug. "Lauren, I'm going to miss you. I really enjoyed getting to know you, and I can't wait to see you again. I hope you have a great new life back in District 7. And again, I really am sorry about Kendall." She smiles at me and walks away. The camera crew is almost all packed up when I am attacked by hugs.

My prep team is tightly squeezing me in hugs. They're sobbing on my shoulders and all talking at the same time about how sad they are that I have to leave. I finally manage to get out of the hug after a couple minutes of comforting them. "Don't be sad, I'll be seeing you guys in a few months. It will be here sooner than you think. And this isn't goodbye for good." They nod their heads in agreement, and walk away wiping their tears away.

Logan walks towards me, and I run to give him a hug. "Logan, I'm going to miss you," I mumble into his shoulder. I pull my head away to look up at his face. "You did so much for me while I was here, and you really have become a good friend."

"I'll miss you too. I really enjoyed designing outfits for you. These next six months will be sad not seeing you, but we'll be able to see each other soon. And, I can always call you now on your phone that's going to be in your new house," he says with a smile.

"Promise you'll call me?" I say with a smile.

"Every day," he promises. He let's go of me, and kisses my check goodbye. He goes on the elevator with the prep team, and then I'm left with Stefan and Cresselia.

I turn to them and smile. "C'mon, let's go home."