Hey guys! I was getting really impatient and I wanted to update so I decided to do the interviews in two parts. Here is my first one:
Caesar Flickerman POV
"Can I please have a makeup crew here? NOW?" Reese, the director, screams at nobody in particular. In a second, a group of terrified makeup artists fly over and powder my face with about a billion different powders and rubbing my cheeks with a bunch of exotic scented oils. The theme this year is hot pink, to honor the victor from the year before; a girl from One who dressed in hot pink for her interview and later confessed that pink was her favorite color. Almost all the time my color palette ties in with the Hunger Games. After all, they are the hottest form of entertainment here in the Capitol. The lights flicker in the building, letting everybody backstage and in the audience know that we had five minutes until curtain up. I see the tributes mingling nervously in the wings. One girl catches my eyes the most; a beautiful girl with wavy bronze-blonde hair and huge green eyes talking and laughing with some of the Careers. She is wearing a V-neck spaghetti strap gold dress that ends right below her hind-quarters. It's a very flirty dress, and she is using it to flirt with the guys from the upper districts. I sit in my director's chair and listen to the tributes' conversations.
"You know, I've been working out since I was a kid." The boy, Erik, from District Two, brags to her. She laughs as she feels his biceps, but I see a kind of emptiness in her emerald eyes. You can see that the guys are smitten with her, and she leaves, making them beg for more. She moves onto the Career girls. Laughing and chatting with them, especially the blonde girl from District One. You can see that the girls liked her too, and I realized her plan when the girl from District One stopped her.
"You know, you seem smart enough. How about you tag along with us in the Games. At least for a little while." Glamor, One girl, asked her.
"Sure, if you insist." The girl responded. As she walked away, she pumped her arm in triumph. The tributes are so fun to watch, especially the sneaky ones like her.
The director herded me out on the stage and the tributes took their seats. "Three…two…one," The director counted down.
"Hello to our lovely Capitol! Here I am with our twenty-four tributes. Let's start with the luxury district's lovely girl tribute; Glamor Zon!" As if on cue, the audience cheers loudly as the platinum blonde beauty comes up and takes the chair across from me. She is wearing a one-shouldered dusky purple gown that clings to her curves and flows around her feet. There are flowers around her bust that sparkle with a billion tiny diamonds. The stylists for District One have it lucky, they usually get striking blonde Barbie dolls and muscular men and they dress them up in diamonds. They have the easy road. "Well, Glamor, your dress is striking, what do you think about your stylists?"
"Well, Caesar, I have always been a fabulous dresser, but these designs are on a completely different league. My design team is amazing, thank you all!" She gestures with a manicured hand to the balcony where the designers sit. She then flashes a dazzling smile to them, and I see some of the Capitol men melt as she flips some of her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder. The next two minutes go somewhat like this, with her being dazzling and flirty, answering the questions in the way that the Capitol wants her to, and bringing up her famous victor father now and then. When her time is up, the crowd cheers loudly and some men wolf-whistle. So far, so good.
Her district partner is unfortunately disappointing, as he is fourteen and quiet. "So, Carbon Night, anyone at home you want to say hi to?" I ask him.
"Well, my best friend and his mother." Was his straightforward answer. The interview went like this for the next few minutes, and then his buzzer went off. The audience cheers lightly. I steal a glance at the next two tributes. The girl is beautiful and the boy is muscular. Perfect.
"Say hello to Ebony Darknight!" The audience cheers as a dark-haired girl wearing a black strapless and backless dress with multi-colored polka-dots on it. Her make-up brings out her large golden eyes, and a sparkling diamond rests on her left ring finger. I compliment her dress and we banter a little bit. She is overall very charming and dazzling, like Glamor, but there was something different about that I can't quite place. Then I ask the question that I strategically timed in our conversation. "Is there anybody at home who is cheering for you?"
Ebony hesitates for a second. "Lucas." She says quietly, then she clears her throat and tries again. "Lucas, my fiancée. He is amazing and he is waiting for me and cheering for me right now. I love you, honey." She says, turning to the cameras. "I love you so much! I love you too, Belladonna. Don't drive the whole district insane please! I'll see you soon." She finishes just as the buzzer rings, leaving tears welling in her eyes and the audience sobbing. I wipe away a tear myself. Caesar you are good!
Her partner would have to be a miracle worker to top that, but he isn't too bad. His name is Erik Roberts, and he is the typical Career tribute: buff, cocky. "So, Erik, enlighten me. How do you think you will win this thing?" I prop my head on my fist and prop my arm on my knee in a pondering pose. Erik sits up straighter and discreetly flexes his bulging muscles, causing some of the audience to shudder.
"As you can see, Caesar, I am probably the strongest one here (another flex), and these weakling tributes stand no chance. I will hunt them down ruthlessly. They stand no chance." Erik glares at the other tributes, and the weaker ones tremble and shrink away. One tribute, though, Ashur from District Eight, just glares back. Erik's bell rings and he sits confidently at his seat as the audience cheers loudly. We like the confident ones. Next up is District Three, one of the brainiac districts.
"Please welcome Mila Keeley!" I address the audience as Mila clambers into the tribute chair across from me. Mila is one of the younger tributes at fourteen, and she is slim and fair-skinned. I ask her a few safe questions, and her answers are quick-witted and well thought out. I guess she's heard these questions before and saw it coming. Smart girl. I ask her if she believes that she stands a chance in this competition, being one of the younger tributes.
"You don't know what I have in me. I am a survivor. And I am smarter than I look." She says, almost with venom in her voice. The bell rings and she struts back to her chair, satisfied with her vague answer. The audience is too, they like her wit and sense of mystery. That will help a lot in the arena. Now for the District Three boy, Derek Labre.
Derek walks up and takes the seat that his district partner just vacated. He seems sarcastic and his sense of humor is dry. He reminds me of Haymitch, the victor many years ago, when I was just training to be the interviewer. Derek is wearing a tux made out of crossing metallic threads that gleam like wires. It is subtle but brilliant. His partner was wearing a gown of the same material. When I ask him about his suit, he just shrugs and says something generic and slightly sarcastic. The audience looks puzzled, knowing nothing about this boy from District Three. And I had the feeling that it would be very hard getting anything out of him. I guess District Three is the mysterious district. The next minute or two is virtually the same, evasive answers to even the most pressing questions. The audience is getting bored, hearing about practically nothing from this boy. Finally, when I ask him about his family back home, we get some personality out of him. He looks at me and says: "My little sister, Crissy. I love her even if she does drive me insane. That's all." He goes back to his seat a split-second before the bell rings. Over all, he was very empty with his answers.
The District Four tributes look promising. The boy is fairly muscular and the girl is pretty. Not as gorgeous as the first two girls, but pretty nonetheless. "Please welcome Emma Townsend!" The Capitol cheers for the pretty girl as she takes her seat. She has brown hair pulled up in many curls and a pretty floor-length dress that matches her piercing blue eyes exactly. She looks poised and sophisticated. "Tell me Emma, what are your thoughts on your dress?" Emma glances quickly at the blue fabric flowing around her thin body and glances at her stylist in the audience. She plasters a huge white smile on her face.
"I didn't know they made fabric this color!" She exclaims, getting a few chuckles from the audience. Her interview overall goes very well, she answers the questions in a way that pleases and satisfies the audience, without really giving too much or too little away. She is a great interviewer. When she leaves, the audience claps loudly, showing that they loved her answers. I guess Emma Townsend, the girl with the piercing blue eyes, is going to get a few sponsors. Now time for her District Partner.
Marcus Lively looks interesting, with a shimmering suit the color of the ocean. He has a large silver fishhook in his ear. Hmm, maybe he is more of a brooding type. I ask him a few questions and I find that my initial overview was completely wrong. He is really actually quite charming and lighthearted. "What do you think of the Capitol, Marcus?" I give him my pose of rapt attention.
"Truthfully?" He asks with a slight smile, running his hand through his dark blonde hair. I shrug and he flashes a smile again. "It reminds me of a city made out of candy." The audience looks unsure of whether this is a compliment or not until I start laughing. The audience immediately cracks up too, and even Marcus gives a little chuckle. The audience is happy when his bell rings. Good job, Caesar.
Celsie Crete, one tribute from Five, looks nice. She is thin with long scarlet hair left down and slightly curled around her shoulders. She is wearing a dark brown dress to match her dark brown doe eyes that is strapless and goes to her knees. It is beaded at the bodice and the hem and sides are decorated with brown lace. Her feet are adorned with sky high scarlet pumps that match her hair. She is an interesting mix between innocent and sultry. She takes her seat and smiles at the audience and me. I notice that Colt, the boy from District Nine, was staring at Celsie with an awestruck look on his face. When he saw my gaze, his cheeks immediately colored and he looked at the floor. Interesting. I ask Celsie a few general questions and she answers them with wit and charm. Colt has good taste. Then I ask a question that I haven't asked tonight. "So, is there anyone special at home?" Celsie looks a little surprised for a second then gathers herself.
"Well, there's my brother and sister, Castanea and Cypress. I love them to death. And then there is my father, He is the best that a girl could ever ask for. I have a great family." Celsie smiles as small tears well up in her eyes.
"I mean, do you have a boyfriend?" I press on a little more. Celsie looks at me with red cheeks.
"Uh, no. No." She says, her face nearly as red as her hair. The buzzer rings, she flashes the audience a smile and goes back to her seat. Her district partner is one of the sad ones, being twelve years old. He is overall very boring, but he makes the audience cry.
"So, Meck, anyone cheering for you at home?" Meck's little frame sag a little bit.
"There's my auntie. I love her a lot." Meck starts crying, along with two-thirds of the audience. When he leaves the audience barely claps; being so busy with crying on each other's shoulders. I wipe away another stray tear. These tributes really pluck at your heartstrings don't they?
So there you have it. I am skipping the District Six reapings because they are my characters and don't matter very much. I hope to have the next chapter out soon, then onto the arena! Okay so, I want at least five reviews this time. Please please review and sponsor! We have more sponsors now but more is better.
How is Evi's plan going to affect Corin? What do you feel about everybody's interviews? Do you think Celsie and Colt should get together?
R&R!