The Interviews: Amber's POV
I finger the beautiful dress I've been put in. It's a soft shad of rose pink, with a gold grain-patterned trimming along the color and hem. I'm in pink ballet flats, and my hair runs down my back in a simple braid. The dress's puffed out sleeves, and the elaborate pink flower clip in my hair will help me play my sweet weakling act.
My thoughts wander to the training scores as Vibia, my head stylist, works on positioning the elaborate hair clip. Of course, I was the only one happy in the room when my score was announced. I did my best to look disappointed, though. Everyone was happy with Chase's score. In fact, everyone in his alliance got scores that are good enough to attract the attention of sponsors. Although most everyone was surprised at the score Dayta from 3 received, or at Atom from 5's 7, I wasn't. I had seen Dayta work with snares from my perch on the climbing course, and I'd seen Atom working with the wire. I definitely knew to never underestimate my competition.
Vibia tugs my hand slightly, which snaps me back. It suddenly occurs to me that I never thanked her, or the rest of my prep tea. I turn back to them, and flash my sweetest smile. "Thank you to all of you." I say. "Even if I never get to see you again, I really appreciate everything you've done." I decide to drop the sob-bomb. "If tonight is the last night my parents will ever see me, I'm glad they could see me in an outfit that you all created." There, I've really done it now. Lavender is dabbing her eyes, and Lucius is rubbing his eyes with a sleeve. Poor Plebia is full out sobbing. Vibia gently takes my shoulder, and lead me away from the sobbing wreck that is my prep team.
I line up behind the line of tributes. District 9 has the unfortunate position of being towards the end, right in the spot where no one is paying attention. I stand next to Chase. He's wearing a sleek black suit with a gold tie that matches the hem around my dress. I heard him talking to Garner and Aluma last night. They decided that his angle should be warm and likeable. He won't have any trouble with that. Actually, over the past few days he's become a sort of big brother to me. Just last night, I was in my room and the tears just started falling. He came into the room. I guess he thought it was my abysmal training score. In actuality, I was crying because I realized that I would never see another stunning District 9 sunset. You would think I would be crying about never seeing my family again, but I guess that was the drop that broke the dam. Anyway, he just put his arm around me and let me sob my heart out.
When I was finished sobbing, he took his arm off me and told me to look at him. I must have looked pretty pathetic, just a weak, sniffling little girl. Still, he never broke eye contact. "Hey, Amber, listen to me." So I did. "I know you're strong." That's all he said, before he left my room. It was all he needed to say.
I'm so busy remembering last night; I nearly miss Chardonnay walking on. She smiles a lot, and laughs at everything Caesar says. She's completely opposite to the quiet, lethal girl from training. Her partner is really the opposite. He hardly talks at all. Now it's Agate's turn. She looks stunning in a black dress, with sharp red accents. It's easy to see her angle is deadly. Caesar turns to her. "Now Agate, do you think you have a good chance of winning?" He asks. Agate actually smirks. "Caesar, I'll put it this way. Now, I'm talking to all you tributes when I say this. I could kill you with a butter knife. Let's hope for your sake that it doesn't come to that." She gives one final smirk just as the buzzer rings.
Mason is a typical Career, slightly overconfident. Dayta and Cable are both shy and smart. Dayta speaks of a little brother back home with a heart disorder. She's hoping to win so she can afford treatment for him. Coral from 4 is genuinely scary. She doesn't smirk, like Agate, but keeps a stone cold glare on her face. Her partner is a total idiot. I know for a fact that the Careers don't want him in their alliance.
The other tributes are typical, scared kids. Lyndon and Elana look very strong compared to the rest. Lacey from 8 always asks for the question to be repeated and eventually just blanks out. As Duroy from 8 walks on the stage, I'm led behind the heavy curtain. I feel my heart fluttering in my chest, but I tell myself that it's just a normal conversation. It works, because once Caesar starts firing questions, I'm so busy thinking of answers to feel nervous at all.
When Caesar asks about my life back home, I tell him about my grandmother baking bread, and I start to tell the story of the time I made my first loaf of bread, and ended up baking into the bread, then swallowing, my mother's best bracelet. By the time I've finished, the audience is roaring with laughter. Caesar asks me a tough question next. "Now Amber, if you could live in any other district, and possibly have a choice to train before the Games, which one would you pick?" He asks. I think for a second. "You know Caesar; I would stay right in District 9. I don't think anything can compare to the golden sea of grain right before harvest, or my dad's violin's music reaching up to the wide open sky. You've never seen a sunset like one in District 9, when the sky is aflame with every color. Besides, it's were my family is. Isn't that what matters most?" I swallow. Did I really just say all that? Before I know it, the buzzer goes off.
The sound of the buzzer is still ringing in my ears as I finger the railing on the roof of our building. I came here right after I quickly changed out of my interview dress. I guess I thought it would clear my head. My thoughts are interrupted by a hacking cough coming from the other side of the roof. I walk slowly around, and see that the source of the cough was Hanna. She turns and sees me, but to my surprise she offers a small smile. "I like the fresh air better," she says. I decide to give her a small smile back. "I like it better too." She looks out at the city. "I really liked what you said about District 9." She practically whispers. "It reminded me of the sunsets in 12." "Are they nice?" I ask. "Well, they're almost as pretty as the ones you described. Sometimes when I was little, my older brother would set me on his shoulders, and we'd sit on top of a hill to watch them." I stare at the ground, wondering what her older brother is thinking now. As if reading my thoughts, I hear Hanna say softly "He died in a coal mining accident two years ago." "I'm sorry," I say, simply because I don't know what else to. Hanna gives a sad smile, and says something that will stay in my mind forever. "You know Amber; death for me won't really be too bad. I may be saying goodbye to my parents, but I'm going to be greeting my brother. I won't be sick anymore, and we can watch all the sunsets we want." She smiles, tears coming to her eyes. I do the only thing I can think to do, and rest my hand on hers. She seems comforted by this, and it actually calms me down too.
As I lie in bed that night, I realize that the Games are tomorrow. Well fine. Let the Gamemakers through whatever they want at me. I'm ready because now I have something to fight for. I'll fight for my whole family back home. I'll fight for Roy and Maize to have a better life, and for Sage to never have to put in her name extra times. Now, I'm also fighting for Hanna, so she'll have someone who remembers her, and all the other nameless tributes.