Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games and its story structure.

As the new President of Panem, it is Makker's responsibility to maintain the state of the country. One of these responsibilities currently is to hold a meeting with the new head gamemaker to discuss the 141st Hunger Games.

Well, it would've been a new head gamemaker had Makker not like Alistair Lysander's performance for the past 4 years. He was particularly impressed with Alistair's creativity in designing arenas: the rainbow forest for the 137th, the mountaintop amusement park for the 138th, the abandoned university for the 139th, and the elemental kingdoms divided by a mountain for the 140th.

Doctor Flore came up with the idea of having Capitolite volunteers for the 140th Hunger Games. They added a layer of gameplay by helping the tributes who come across them. Not all of them lived to see past this day, but he loved the idea of having Capitolite volunteers in the Hunger Games. There's so much uncertainty with it that it makes the Hunger Games more exciting than it used to be.

He doesn't want to reuse the idea for this year, however. He'll come up with a different one when he gets to. He has 5 years of presidency after all. Doctor Flore only thought of the idea on her last year. Nobody said he can't think of an idea like that on his last year as President of Panem.

Makker sits on his office chair, patiently waiting for Alistair's arrival. He fidgets his new shiny platinum fountain pen, reflecting his aging appearance – his bald head, his leaf green contact lenses, his dark complexion, and some facial hair. The pen even has his name on it engraved in cursive. He received it as a gift from a friend when he won the presidential elections. After serving as the Vice President of Panem for the past 5 years, it's been his dream to become the next President of Panem, and here he is! This is only just the beginning. There's still a long way ahead of him.

It doesn't take long for Makker to hear the knocks on the door he's been anticipating.

Makker says in a gentle manner, "Come in, please." He's the President of Panem. He thinks he shouldn't openly show his excitement even if the child in him wants to.

As expected, the pale-skinned guy with short silver hair, silver contact lenses, and a silver mustache presents himself in front of the president. Alistair subtly adjusts the red tie he's wearing along with his dark blue suit. Makker can't believe this guy is older than he is, but Alistair has talent, and that's what matters to him more when he renewed the contract of Doctor Flore's head gamemaker. Alistair's age is just a number for Makker. They've had the seasoned legend, Niccolo Jones, from the 126th to the 135th. He even came to serve as a guest gamemaker last year. If the decision was solely left to Makker, he would want Alistair Lysander as his head gamemaker until his presidency ends.

"Good morning, Mister President," greets Alistair formally as he shakes hands with Makker.

"G'mornin'. Please take a seat."

As Alistair sits in front of the new President of Panem, he prepares the blueprint of the arena for the 141st Hunger Games. "Mister President, this is what the arena looks like as of now. I took the suggestions you sent through text into consideration, and they are mostly reflected on this blueprint so far."

Makker inspects the blueprint carefully, nodding his head in satisfaction occasionally. The main part of the arena is composed of five buildings, and together, they form the mall complex he's been expecting when he first talked about the idea with Alistair. Makker is ecstatic! He bottles up that emotion though. He can patiently wait for the meeting to end. He can't help but smile in excitement at least. He continues to look at other parts of the blueprint. There's a dome, a pyramid, a parking building, a supermarket, and even a restaurant across the river.

"There's a lot we can do with this arena. The possibilities are limitless." Makker pauses to think. "Have you already decided what stores to put inside this mall?"

"Not yet, sir. I have yet to fully compose my team of gamemakers."

"Ah…" That's when it hit Makker that he forgot about the other gamemakers. He only renewed the contract of the head gamemaker, and the head gamemaker alone can't make the Hunger Games successful. A team for Alistair is what they all need right now. "Have you heard from anyone who's interested in returning?"

"I heard from a couple a few weeks ago, but as far as I know, not all of them are interested in returning." Alistair squints slightly followed by a very subtle frown forming on his face.

"Hmmm…" It is a new era after all, despite retaining the head gamemaker. He's the new President of Panem! He can start with a clean slate if he wants to. Although if it were up to him, he'd want at least a few others to return, just like Alistair. Having new gamemakers in the team would open opportunities to more people, and opening opportunities for others is almost always a good idea in Makker's book. "Alright then. Let's open hiring for the gamemaking team. It's not yet too late for this, is it?"

"No it's not, Mister President." Alistair slightly smiles at the thought of a new gamemaking team. He likes his old teams, and he'll miss working with them. With the new presidency, it's time for him to turn over a new leaf. This is a new chapter – no, a new book – to his gamemaking career. He found ways to work with newbies, and he'll gladly work with anyone who has the same passion as he has.

"Very well then," Makker says satisfactorily. Then, an idea pops into his mind out of nowhere! No, it's not about hiring gamemakers. It's about the arena. It's a mall, and there's a lot they can do with it. What if they involve companies from all over Panem to be featured in next year's Hunger Games?

Alistair patiently waits for Makker, as he paused to think. He's a bit nervous with the sudden pause. Anything can happen, and the longer he waits, the more nervous he gets.

"I have an idea."

"Mmhm?" Alistair raises an eyebrow.

"What if… what if we advertise next year's Hunger Games to a bunch of companies around the country? We'll let them put up stalls in the arena, then we'll have human mutts manage the stores for them."

Alistair's eyes widen in excitement. Indeed, there's a lot they can do with a mall arena. To have companies from Panem apply as sponsors to next year's Hunger Games feels like a collaborated masterpiece. Imagine someone buying a hairdryer from one store to smack another tribute with it. Imagine tributes getting to buy their own weapons or food supplies while avoiding getting killed by other elements such as fellow tributes. Imagine getting lost in the mall and hiding in a bookstore, or a virtual reality arcade, or the supermarket, just to have fun! The possibilities are endless. Alistair responds with a wide grin. "I love it."

"When do you think can we start applications?"

"As early as now. We'll have companies apply as sponsors, and their stalls will appear in the mall arena for next year's Hunger Games."

"Brilliant!" Makker stands in excitement, not being able to help himself stay calm. "This year, once we have the gamemaking team all set, we'll build the mall complex and have our tributes go around the arena playing with capitalism."

AN: (April 1)

After almost 4 years, somebody finally has a new SYOT! Okay, wait. This is not just any SYOT. You can submit tributes, but they won't be the focus for the pre-games. Tributes aside, you can also submit escorts, stylists, and even gamemakers! This story is where we jump into the behind the scenes of the Hunger Games. You'll want to submit a stylist or a gamemaker. More details on the submission guidelines.

I made a Google Doc about the submission guidelines because it's wordy. You'll see. Here's the link: tinyurl.\com/pwc-guidelines (remove the extra '\' before 'com')

Hype aside, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)

AN: (April 18)

If you were here the first time around, you might remember that the guidelines last time was an April Fool's joke. (Thanks for playing along!) The chapter, however, is legit since the very beginning, and now I've expanded on it. The underlined parts is what's new from this chapter.

That's right! Aside from tributes, escorts, stylists, and gamemakers, you can also submit a piece of the arena – mall stalls. More details on the guidelines document. If you're aware of the map I've been working on, this is why I wanted to finish it asap. You get to help me build the arena, and I can only do this because my arena is a mall. What can kill or save the tributes is in your hands, but at the same time, have fun adding stalls to this mall. To be discussed in a future chapter is how human mutts will work, so they will visiting these mall stalls too just like regular people in regular malls. The arena is not an abandoned mall. It's a simulated one!

For any questions, feel free to PM me. Submissions for all 5 categories are OFFICIALLY OPEN! :D