"I've become wary of interviews in which you're forced to go back over the reasons why you made certain decisions. You tend to rationalize what you've done, to intellectually review a process that is often intuitive." -Peter Weir
Interviews
Capitol's Cassiu Lisette's POV
"I'm guessing that since you didn't come to me for help, you got advice from Bastion about your interview." All Griffin did was shrug, as I had kind of expected, so just focused on making some last minute adjustments to his interview outfit, wanting it to look well. Everything seemed to be right and tidy and working. It was sure to capture some attention from the audience.
Griffin on the other hand, I didn't know if he'd make the same kind of catch that the outfit was going to. I wouldn't say that I'm arrogant about my outfit, but I knew what the people liked, and this was something that they'd like. I liked Griffin, but was he going to make an impression on the Capitol through the interview? Sure he was someone that they could bet on, but they only knew him for his strength and ability to fight. If Griffin could give them a speech that moved them, then maybe he could get many more sponsors and actually win.
That was the trouble with this part of the game, tributes that looked like they were going to get all the sponsors could lose them to someone else because they had a story behind them. Or an angle that they liked. Or because the audience suddenly liked someone else better because of their interview.
Griffin didn't seem like a talker, and that worried me. I would hate for him to lose the sponsors that he had worked for. After all, the silent angle had been played out, and while some still did it, it didn't have the impact that it used to. And also, it took a certain type of person to pull it off. I knew Griffin could, but it wasn't the best that he could do.
With the clothing inspection complete, I had one last thing to give him, something that would make him even more noticeable. "Open your mouth." I told him, and he obeyed. I then inserted a thin, clear, almost invisible device that would attach to the upper part of his teeth as soon as he bit down. "Now bite down." I instructed. He did what I told him, and I heard the device snap in place. A perfect fit.
Now to see if the thing works. "Smile for me." He did as he was told and smiled. When he smiled, the device in his mouth gave out a tiny star shaped shine that lasted for a whole second. Perfect, it works. "Everything seems to be in order." I told him as I looked at that rope necklace of his.
The thing was totally out of place with the suit that I had given him, but he refused to give it up. He didn't even seem to want people near it. I tried to get it off of him once, only for Griffin to threaten me. And by that, I mean he punched the wall beside me, leaving a fist sized hole in the drywall, scaring the living hell out of me. I decided that it was best that I don't have anything to do with that rope again. We were both happier that way.
I looked behind him to see that his district partner, Lynsa, was sitting in her chair while the interviewer was warming up the audience with a comedic routine that was, actually pretty funny for once.
It could just be because I had a different sense of humour than everyone else, but I thought that most of his recent jokes were lame. Like he had ran out of them and was just improvising. It wasn't that he was bad as an interviewer, it was that his comedy was at times, lukewarm. "You can take your seat when you please."
Griffin chose to head directly to his head and take his place beside Lynsa without a second thought.
I couldn't help but sigh. Normally by now I'd get a compliment, at least. Griffin had given me nothing. Or maybe that nod of his that he gave me often was his way of telling me thanks. Oh well, he seemed to like the outfit anyway. I guess that's good enough for me.
"You look a little bummed out." I heard a familiar voice say from my right. I didn't have to look over to know who it was. "Is that fruit basket that you're carrying on your head making you a little fruity?"
"That's even lamer than the jokes I normally hear from you, and our interviewer." I told my friend and fellow stylist, Melissa Venanzoni. As usual, she was drinking on the job, and was drunk. Out of curiosity, I took a quick glance to see what she was drinking. I was a little surprised to see that she wasn't drinking wine, but she had a twelve bottle case of strong beer. Seven of them were missing from the case.
"Eugh." Melissa shrugged, like she couldn't care less. "Want one?" She asked as I saw a black beer bottle hover in front of me. I considered declining, but then I thought, it was among friends.
"Sure." I said as I took the bottle and popped the cap off.
"To another successful year." Melissa said as she clinked her bottle with mine.
"I'll drink to that." I then took a swig of the brew, and nearly spat it out when it reached my tongue. This stuff was horrible and really strong. Bitter, dry, and a taste of pure foulness, I barley managed to swallow the liquid when I looked at the bottle to see that it was Basilisk brand, a really strong beer brand.
I looked at Melissa in disbelief, and she was chuckling at my expense. She knew that I was going to respond like that, she tricked me. I should have expected as much. She took the beer back before the interviews started.
"Oh look, your girl's up." She said as Lynsa went on stage with her interview outfit. A pink-orange dress made out of satin that moved down to her knees. Completing her outfit was a pair of high heels, which she managed to move about it. "I can never figure out how anyone can move in those types of shoes." My friend commented. I looked down to see that Melissa, unlike most female stylists, wore black, steel toed boots instead of the normal high heels.
"Practice." I told her.
"And pain." She added. Melissa never liked high heels, finding them too hard to figure out. I told her that normal shoes would have been better for her, but for some reason, she liked those boots better.
The interview opened up as expected, with the interviewer complimenting her on getting a ten for a training score. Lynsa, going with the sweet angle, thanked him before complimenting on his interviewing skills. The interviewer, flattered by her comments, easily played into her hand.
As much as I liked Shooter as an interviewer, I knew that his under developed hormones would get the better of him. At only twenty six years old, the only reason he became the tribute interviewer was because he was the only one that didn't try too hard. Everyone else before him had tried too hard, and in turn, made complete fools of themselves and the tributes.
As a child of two heavy alcoholics, his mind didn't grow at the same rate as his body, making him a fifteen year old in an adult's body. That, and the way that he presented himself showed that he was a child as well. Shoulder length aqua blue and light purple stripped hair with a light purple shirt with an aqua blue shooting star on it. He refused to wear a suit, even during an event like this.
Still, nothing anyone said or did could convince Shooter to change into a suit. The previous president let him get away, along with our current president, so I guess he could get away with it with me as well.
Shooter and Lynsa exchanged compliments and comments before they started to roll again.
Lynsa seemed to do all right with her interview until she got asked about her family. She hesitated a bit, her smile wondered off a little, but she managed to cover it up by saying that because of her parents, she turned out to be as strong as she was. She also added that it was thanks to her friends that she managed to get to where she was in life.
"Is there anyone you could like to thank specifically?" The interviewer asked.
"Yes." Lynsa answered. "My best friend, Apollo." Lynsa then looked at the cameras and stared to speak again. "I miss you, Apollo!" She shouted as the audience aww'd. I knew exactly what they were thinking, and I wanted to tell them to forget it. Just because a girl and guy were best friends, didn't mean that they were in a relationship.
"You'd think that every boy and girl that were friends were in a relationship by the way they act." I said as I pointed my thumb towards the audience, pointing to no one in particular.
"I think Lynsa wants to be in a relationship." Melissa said.
"Huh?" I replied, confused to what she meant.
"Look and listen." And so I did. And what I saw was Lynsa started to flirt with the young interviewer, and him liking it. And soon, he was flirting back. Well, that wasn't very professional. But then again, this was Shooter.
After some more flirts, it was obvious that he really, really thought that Lynsa was someone else. He was obviously under her finger. If she asked him for something, I bet he was going to comply. I think that's what she wanted. Clever girl. "Hey!" Melissa suddenly shouted. "No acts of favouritism!"
The audience laughed for only a couple seconds before they saw a beer bottle fly through the air, and smash close to the two kids. That cut off the flirts really fast. The buzzer I think helped more than my friend's distraction though.
"Melissa." I groaned as an avox went onto the set and started cleaning up the mess Melissa had made.
"What?" She asked innocently. "No favouritism."
"I think we need to talk about your alcohol problem."
"I don't have a problem." She said defensively.
"Sure sure." I said, not believing her in the slightest. I knew that she was lying. Hell, I think she knew that she was lying.
When the mess was cleaned up, Griffin came out with his sapphire blue suit that seemed to make him sparkle. It was a simple suit, but with the right adjustments and equipment attached, it could look breathtaking. And that's what the audience seemed to think as well.
Sparking randomly, Griffin had the eyes of the Capitol. And when he smiled, the device made that tingling star appear. The audience loved it.
Shooter also liked it, I could see that. He complimented on the suit and how Griffin's teeth shone because of my device, even though he couldn't see it. He also didn't say that his teeth shone because of the device, which was good in my books.
He then started the interview off by saying that the Capitol thought that he was winning material and pointed out that his score of nine proved that.
"So Griffin." He said. "What got you to volunteer for the games?"
"Well to be honest, Scot," Griffin answered, looking more like a charmer than the aggressive person that he normally portrayed himself as. "It was for the honour."
"Well I guess that really isn't surprising." Shooter said, reflecting what I thought everyone in the audience was thinking.
"It wasn't for me though." Griffin added, causing Shooter to look back at him.
"Oh?" He asked.
"It was for my mother."
"Oh." A pause occurred. "Tell us about it."
Should have been, tell us about her. Ugh. We really needed to find a better interviewer than someone with a teenage mentality.
"Well," Griffin started, knowing what Shooter should have said. "My mother said that she wanted one of her sons to win, and since my brother didn't win, it was up to me to fulfill that wish. Her final wish." Griffin said sadly.
"So it's for your mother that you want to win for."
"Yes." Griffin confirmed.
"One of her sons," Shooter whispered to himself, unable to see that everyone could hear him because of the microphone next to his mouth. "One of her sons." It was then that something popped into his head. "I'm guessing you're the younger brother of Dragon Holloway."
"Yes." Griffin said pleasantly, though I could hear an edge in his voice.
"Dragon got fifth place seven years ago, I believe. Are you going to finish what he couldn't?"
"Yes." Griffin answered proudly. "Dragon couldn't fulfill our mother's wish, so I'm going to do it for him."
"And I'm sure you'll succeed." Shooter added. "I believe in you."
"Favouritism!" I heard Melissa shout again, and I had to hold her arm to prevent her from throwing another bottle.
The rest of the interview consisted of Shooter asking Griffin questions, but they all seemed to be directed back to his mother somehow. It made a great story, and it was the most I had seen Griffin talk. I'm sure he gained some sympathy among the audience with that angle.
After Griffin was done, came Lucifer Despar on the stage with a simple black and white suit, but with a silly looking jester hat.
"I like the hat." Shooter commented.
"Thanks," Lucifer said. "So do I."
The interview then went into the two boys continuously make the interview into a comedy show. They joked and tried to make everything funny. They did and didn't succeed. Still, it looked like the two of them were loving the attention that they were receiving from the audience, and that their laughter was of the highest currency.
When the buzzer came on, they both acted like it was a disaster, and the audience ate it up.
Lucifer left, and out came Helena "Howl" Draconix with a sleeveless, pale green gown with emeralds cascading down the dress. Added to the dress was a giant bow on her back.
When the interview started, it was clear that by the first question Shooter asked, their personalities, or at least the angle Howl was going for, were going clash.
While Shooter was trying his best to go with Howl's angle, he just couldn't seem to get it right. Howl, even though she was a twelve year old girl, was playing off the vicious and cunning girl that had sharp remarks to just about every question that Shooter seemed to give her. I don't think she wanted to be thought of as weak, so she went for the angle she was playing as.
When the buzzer rang, I think Shooter was relived at that. Still, Howl had made an impression, and I think that it was the impression she wanted.
Next came up the other twelve year old girl, Nessa Christine Johnston.
Unlike Howl, she was playing the quiet shy girl, quite a contrast between the two twelve year olds.
"What makes you think you can win?" Shooter asked innocently. Even though he had asked innocently, I resisted the urge to slap myself in the face. Why would he ask her that? And so bluntly might I add.
"I'm a miracle child." Nessa responded, not seeming to be affected by her interviewer's words. "I wasn't supposed to survive, but I did. I defied the odds once, I can do it again."
"I'm sure you can." Shooter said, recovering from his stupid question.
"Notice that those two girls seemed to be from opposite worlds?" Mellisa asked as the buzzer rang. "Howl was loud and proud while Nessa played the shy girl angle."
"Yes." I told her. "I think Howl wanted to make a point while Nessa just wanted to play the heartstrings of the audience." It played well with the position the two of them were in though. Howl was part of the career pack. She didn't want to appear weak in front of her allies, even though she was the youngest and smallest of the pack. She wanted to show that she was as good as the rest of them.
Nessa on the other hand wasn't a part of the career pack. She would need those sympathetic sponsors to send her supplies if she wanted to stay alive.
"Seems like it." A pause occurred, and the both of us must have been thinking the same thing, because before I could say it, Melissa beat me to it. "This should be interesting."
Up next was Zap "Tharizdun" Philistone, along with the five peacekeepers that were escorting him. Zap was dressed up in an all black tuxedo, but from the way the sleeves were dangling and the way his chest and shoulders seemed larger than they should be, it was clear that he was still in his straight jacket.
As the peacekeepers forced him forwards by jabbing their weapons into his back, I had to wonder what this guy would do with his interview.
It turned out that he didn't do much. Shooter just asked him one question before he started to go on in an inaudible babble to himself. When his buzzer when off, nobody complained.
After him was Shoney Germoal. He came off at an odd angle, because even though he was acting shy, he was opening up to everything that the interviewer was asking him, not shying away from answering in full.
"One final question, Shoney." Shooter said. "Why did you volunteer?" That was a great question. While we didn't get a straight answer from Lynsa, who was busy flirting with Shooter, we learned that Griffin volunteered for his mother, Lucifer to gain fame and glory, and Howl because she wanted to show people that she wasn't just some little girl. So why had this kid volunteered?
"I felt like it." He answered bluntly. "I thought that this year was as good as any." Shooter looked like he wanted to ask another question, but the buzzer went off, killing off his chance.
"Kid's got guts." I said to Melissa. "You've got to admit that."
"I think he signed up for more than he bargained for though." Melissa told me. I couldn't help but agree. If this kid volunteered to go into the arena because he thought that it was a good idea at the time, I didn't think that he'd make it far.
Next up was Evaline "Eva" Ellery, who walked onto the stage with a beautiful green dress that has blue sequins on it.
When the interviewing started, I could tell that Evaline was confident, even though she was a reaped girl. She said a little about her strategy in the arena, but didn't give too much away. She just said that she'd use her abilities to survive and if it came to fighting, she knew how to handle herself. "Even though she was reaped, I still think she might have a chance." Melissa told me.
"They all have a chance," I told her. "Even Nessa has a chance of winning, even if it is slim." You never really knew with the games. Sometimes those you least expect would come out on top.
After her came Valerie Snake. Her interview was nothing short of a disaster. She kept on bitching about how they had all made a mistake and that she should have been back home in District Five. Nobody seemed to care what she said, and really, neither did I. She got reaped, and that was that, end of story.
When she was finally gone, up came that albino, Alexander Natas. He wore a suit as white as his hair with a tie as red as his eyes.
And while the interview went smoothly, there were things that you couldn't hide. Alexander, charming as he tried to be, there were statements of violence that didn't escape me.
"Is there anything that you like about the Capitol?" Shooter asked him.
"I love everything about the Capitol." The albino answered. "From the blood red dresses to the people wearing them. It gives them a killer look." That mind was full of violence, I was sure of it. Tried to act normal on the outside, but inside, he was different.
When he left, up next was Ricky Coler.
All and all, his interview was just, bland. There was nothing really special about him and when asked about his family life, he seemed to give off that he lived quite a normal life. I could tell that the only thing that interested the audience was the love of his family, but that was it. The audience wasn't interested in normal, boring lives, they wanted something interesting. They wanted tributes that were unique, someone new, special. And while you'd have some tributes like that some years, a majority of tributes were like a pile of clichés, in or out of their district.
But even if the tributes themselves seemed like clichés, every tribute did have a story, it was just a matter of wither or not you'd discover it or not.
After him came Rayne Page.
"I must say Rayne," Shooter said to her when she sat down. "I really am surprised that you got a ten for a training score. How do you feel about it?"
"Truthfully?" Rayne asked.
"Truthfully." Shooter answered.
"I feel no different than I had been before the score was announced."
"So you were expecting a ten?" Shooter asked.
"I wasn't expecting anything." Rayne told him. "I was just doing what I was best at, hoping to show that I wasn't weak and pathetic. I just didn't want a low score, because people tend to judge people based on their scores." I couldn't help but feel as if her remark was pointed towards the audience. But it was true, a lot of them based the tributes soly based on their scores, and to a bit lesser extent, their looks. "But in truth, scores mean nothing. High, low, all that matters in the end is what you make in the arena."
"Couldn't agree more." Shooter answered happily. I couldn't help but know that Shooter would agree with that, since he was notorious for betting on dark horses. High scores, low scores, pretty, ugly, Shooter betted on who he thought was going to win or not.
Even though he lost his bets more often that he won, he won more than some people that considered themselves smarter than him. People often thought that Shooter bribed gamemakers so that his betted tribute would win, but really, Shooter just went outside the mainstream pretty, career, and high scoring tributes.
Shooter and Rayne seemed to get along really well until the buzzer rang. When Rayne left, I think he was even more disappointed about her leaving than he had been with Lynsa and Lucifer.
"She's a confident one." Melissa said.
"She sure is." I agreed.
Next in line came Sami Lavisa. Her interview came as expected, because really, she acted much like herself. Shy, and someone that didn't seem to be a threat. She had scored a six, but her interview and personality made it seem like that that six was too high of a score.
Shooter tried to make the best of the situation, and I think that he did a great job with her. Getting her to open up about her family and tell us how she was the one to raise her siblings because her parents weren't around much. Or really fit to take care of kids. Her dad was constantly working and her mom was so sick that they had thought her to be dead on more than one occasion.
Sami was likable, and I could see her doing well with her alliance.
"I see her as both the little sister and the mother of the alliance she's in." Melissa commented.
"How so?" I asked.
"She's the quiet and shy type, the one that you'd want to protect. Like a little sister. And, I don't know, I think she'd make a good mother figure, keeping the group in balance or something."
Hmm. Now that she mentioned it, she could fill up a motherly role for the alliance.
When Sami's interview was done, her district partner, Bo Heatherfield, came onto the stage.
From what I had heard about him, he was the type of person who was like Sami, but worse. He was so quiet that he seemed almost anti-social. I had to wonder if he even tried to get into an alliance.
But even through all that anti-socialness, Bo managed to get an eight, and during his interview, tried to seem like the type of person that was lethal. But with his personality, he couldn't pull it off properly. He didn't talk at all, and made hand jesters that I think resembled either chopping someone or stabbing someone. It was an odd mixture of the strong and silent type with someone trying to make themselves seem like the strong and silent type. He just couldn't pull it off.
"He should have just done the silent type." I said to Melissa, despite how boring that angle was.
After him came Dav Anders.
From what I could tell from him, he wasn't anything special. He acted arrogant and thought that he could win, even though he got a three. But even through all that arrogance, I could see him getting along with Shooter, which was kind of a surprise.
When his three minutes of fame were done, up came the girl from his district. Ember Varen. She walked out wearing a floor length gown made of dark brown satin complete with a gold coloured belt around her stomach and gold coloured pumps. Her stylist also made sure to have her hair have a neat but natural look, making it look better than the mess that it normally is.
Ember acted had the sweet girl angle to her, and I don't know if it was intentional or not, but she had a tendency to loss concentration and seem to jump from one subject to another. And in one case, she spaced out. Maybe it was part of her angle? It seemed to make the audience like her even more. I think it added to the sweet factor.
Next up came Talliana Messine. She came out wearing a long dress made of strips of black and red fabrics. It wasn't the best thing that her stylist could have chosen.
"She looks like a checkers board." Melissa commented. I agreed. She did look like a checkered board.
Talliana acted confident, but had an attitude that told me that she was trying to be tough. She was half succeeding, because it just seemed like desperate attempts to seem tough. Even so, her confidence made up for it.
After her came Arrowe Winter, the one that got everyone in the Capitol interested in because he had volunteered. I had to admit, I was interested in him to, and was wondering why he had volunteered. After all, it was rare for non-career tributes to volunteer.
Like Talliana, Arrowe acted with confidence. At the same time, he was having fun with Shooter, saying that his black pants, white shirt, and red bandana around his head made him look like someone from a costume shop. That, and Arrowe was acting like a real ladies man. Obviously a tactic to try and get females to sponsor him.
"So Arrowe." Shooter said, going from fun loving to serious. "Before we run out of time, I'm going to ask you the question that's been driving everyone here crazy." He was not exaggerating. "Why did you volunteer?"
At that moment, I could here the audience inching closer to hear what he was going to say.
"The answer's really quite simple Shoot. I thought I had a chance to win, and so, I took the risk and volunteered."
"Your family must be quite worried." Shooter said to him, at which Arrowe's smile seemed to deflate a little.
"Yeah." He said, his voice not so loud and proud. "They are." The instant he finished that sentence, the buzzer went off.
"You think his family approved?" I asked Melissa, thinking of how Arrowe's emotions changed with the family question.
"Probably not." Melissa told him. "Judging from his fallen emotions, I would say that they were worried sick when he volunteered, if not downright hated him for it."
I nodded as Max Starling came out, wearing a black tuxedo.
His interview angle was what I expected from little kids like him. They tried to act cute for the audience, showing them that they were still just little kids. They used it to try and gain sympathy from the audience. Max did exactly that, but I could see that while most of the adult audience members though that he was cute, that Shooter thought that he was annoying as hell.
Max talked fast and talked a lot. His answers were long winded and seemed to go nowhere at times.
I could see Shooter just wanting something to happen to Max.
"So Max," Shooter said with a huge smile and a sadistic look in his eyes. "The arena is a scary place. Are you sure you can handle it?"
"Yes I can," Max said proudly, like he wasn't afraid. "I'm brave, I can overcome anything if I put my mind to it."
"Oh really?" Shooter said, still smiling widely. The only thing I could think of was, Uh-Oh. "You didn't seem all that brave when you cried during your reaping."
I could hear the majority of the audience gasp at what Shooter had just said. It was as unprofessional as it was true, but Shooter was there to help the tributes, not put them down. It hurt Max so much that he had a look of shock on his face. I could hear Melissa try to contain her laughter, and I could feel myself trying to contain mine. Max looked like he was going to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the buzzer drowned out his words. "Max Starling everyone!" Shooter shouted as he led Max off stage.
"That was so wrong." I said, trying to contain my laughter.
"But so right." Melissa laughed.
It was cold, but kids would be kids.
Up next came Life Lee, who came out looking like a different person than she had been before.
With her heavy makeup, blush, heavy lipstick, dyed hair and silver tube dress, she didn't seem like the pale and unhealthy Life that we were used to seeing. Now, she seemed almost like a model. Apparently, Shooter did as well.
Life acted a little shy, which seemed to be in her nature. She was polite and answered every question, but it seemed that each and every question seemed to go back to her friend, Laurel, who she thought of as a sister.
That would probably pull in a couple of sponsors, but everyone seemed to have their sob stories, it was just how they put it. Life gave a lot of information about Laurel, so I guess she was doing a good job of it.
After her came Angel Hale. She wore a white dress that was tight at the top and loose at the bottom while showing way too much cleavage. I think most people then and there forgot that she was fourteen years old because of the size of her breasts.
Shooter on the other hand, didn't seem to be attracted to her like that, which really surprised me. I thought that that teenage brain of his would be all over her, but he wasn't.
"Was that your partner's plan, Melissa?" I asked. "Having a minor revel herself so much that the men would think with their dicks, not with their heads?"
"Pretty much, yeah." Melissa confessed while taking another swig of her beer. I was almost surprised at how calmly she had bluntly told me the answer.
Angel seemed to do the same things that Lynsa was doing, acting sexy and sweet, but without the seduction. I thanked God that Melissa's partner and Angel's mentor decided for her not to be seductive. It was bad enough watching Lynsa flirting with Shooter.
I liked Shooter and Angel together, mostly because I was impressed with Shooter not drooling all over her, like a lot of other men must be doing right now.
"You think the strategy will work though?" I asked.
"We're talking about it, it must be working to a degree." Melissa answered. Wow. I never thought of it that way.
When Angel was done, up came her partner, Aerin Sevani.
As he walked out, I couldn't help but think one thing.
"I think you're having an off day." I told Melissa, because normally, her outfits were amazing, except for the one time when she was still working for District Twelve, but right now, Aerin seemed kind of bland compared to Melissa's previous tributes.
"Must be the drinks." She casual said, which made me hit my head with my palm.
"Drinking on the job." I said, not believing that she'd just do that. "I knew you had a problem, but drinking on the job?"
"It makes me think." She defended. I didn't believe her. Drinking doesn't help you think, it helps you not think. How were you still in the job, Melissa?
Aerin just seemed to be himself in the interview, which seemed to go very well. I think him being himself was the best angle that he could of gone as. He was an all around nice guy that Shooter got along with. Aerin talked about his friends and family, pull the heartstrings of the audience when he told them how much he wanted to return to them. That they were the reason that he was fighting.
"Aerin," Shooter said. "I think the both of us were thinking this during the reapings, but why weren't you at the reapings? Why did they have to send a search party for you? You didn't try to run away did you?"
"Truth be told," Aerin said, like it was no big deal. "I don't know. I got a notice that told me to tend the fields, the next moment, my friend, Thorn, told me that I had been reaped before I even started to go towards the town square."
"But, isn't it required to go to the square?" Shooter asked, confused as everyone here. Myself included.
"Things must work a little differently in District Eleven." Aerin answered before the buzzer rang.
That interview left me with a lot of questions. How exactly did the reapings work in District Eleven. Was it not required for certain people to attend the reapings? If so, why was Aerin, someone that wasn't supposed to be there, reaped?
"Know anything about this, Melissa?" I asked, wondering if she heard anything about this.
"Not a clue." She answered as she opened her last bottle. Did I tell myself she drank too much?
After Aerin came Colin. Healed up from his fight with Aerin, so Melissa told me, and back to normal, the fat boy clumsily made his way to the stage. I could tell that the audience was laughing at him because of his clumsiness and fatness.
Colin, was really stupid, enough said. He was so bad that I was almost tempted to ask for a bottle of the disgusting beer that I given back.
Those three minutes seemed to last forever, but thankfully, the buzzer rang before I thought about leaving.
Thankfully, the next tribute to come up was his district partner, Eve Scott.
I think the stylist of the females of District Twelve felt really got today, because she really did a great job with Eve. With a flowing red dress and crystals in her hair, she looked very elegant.
Eve was doing a different angle than everyone else, because unlike the rest of the tributes, who tried to show that they were a dangerous threat, nobody but her and Sami seemed to admit that they were better off below the radar. Eve fully admitted that she's use her survival skills to win, but would fight if she had to.
She also talked about her family, and like Aerin, told us how much they meant to her, which was a lot.
"I have so much to lose." She concluded.
"Couldn't of said it better myself." Shooter told her before the buzzer rang. "And that ends the interviews of the one hundredth and thirty ninth Hunger Games!" Shooter happily announced. "Get ready everyone, the real action starts tomorrow at ten!" At that moment, the entire population of the Capitol seemed to cheer and stomp their feet.
I felt the same way as them. Sure I would miss Griffin a little, but if he won, that was a different story. The games were tomorrow, and I was so excited to see what would happen.
"Can you believe it, Melissa," I cheerfully said. "The games are tom-" A wreching sound occurred next to me, and I didn't even have to look to see that Melissa was vomiting up all the alcohol that she had consumed.
"I'm sorry," She said, like nothing had happened. "What were you saying?"
"How did I end up with you as a friend?" I sighed, thinking of all the things that happened with her around.
She was good at her job, and a good friend really, but she was just, strange. That was the best way to put it.
"I think it was my third year of work," Melissa answered. "I was trying to make District Twelve look impressive, like the great Cinna had with Katniss and Peeta. But I didn't do something right, and ended up setting the tributes on fire, nearly killing them in the process."
She said all that with sadness, and I started to remember the young girl that just wanted the best for her tributes. She didn't necessarily care for the tributes as much as her job, but she still got attached to her tributes more than was necessary.
I think it was because District Twelve hardly ever got noticed, and because she wanted her designs to be noticed, as well as the tributes, she decided to do something that nobody had ever done before, recreate the boy and girl on fire. It was for both political and safety reasons that nobody had done that, but Melissa was so desperate to be seen as someone and wanted her tributes to be noticed that she took that risk.
Whatever happened, something went wrong, and the tributes she set fire not only got their costumes set on fire, but their bodies got set on fire as well. They managed to get saved, but had horrific injuries. To cover up those injuries until they could be treated, Melissa covered them with bandages and coal dust.
I now remembered me, the newly promoted stylist that went from District Five, all the way to District One, comforting her because she looked like a complete wreck. I had a daughter her age, so I guess I saw part of my daughter in her. After all, they looked the same, at the time.
"I remember now." I told her, thinking of how I comforted her in her time of sadness. "I held you close and told you that everyone in this career makes mistakes. You said that nobody almost kills their tributes, and I told you that you'll learn from your mistakes. I told you of all the mistakes I made, and that made you feel a little bit better."
"Friends since." She finished for me.
"Friends since." I repeated.
A/N: I hate writing interviews.