Ian Strace, D1
Ian sits with his group and waits for the electronic voice to call his name. His mentor, Quaid, already went over what happens behind the doors when he goes for his Private Session. He and Quaid agreed that he would show off his ability with the spear. He twirls his fingers, silently asking that the electronic voice would call his name already. Diamond is sitting beside him, looking to the District 2 tributes with nothing but fury in her eyes.
After yesterday's training, Diamond and Ian were talked to about the Sessions. You only have three minutes to show what you are made of. You are rated on a scale of one to twelve, one being the worst and twelve being the best. Ever since Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark's Games, no one has scored an eleven or a perfect twelve. Quaid mentioned that the Gamemakers are on a strict rubric, judging tributes on their abilities rather than what district they originate from. Ian runs through what he will do for the Gamemakers; throw his spears and make sure that they are watching.
A finger poked his rib, making him turn to Diamond's blue eyes. "Hey, look at those two over there." Ian follows Diamond's gaze to the tributes from 11 and 12. The girl from 11 and the boy from 12 were sitting extremely close together and laughing. Laughing...on Private Session day. Those tributes don't understand the Games at all.
"Defiantly targets, right?" He assures Diamond. She nods and continues to stare at the pair. Ian does the same, planning their deaths in his head. The boy is the first to go, only being twelve years old. Then, he takes his sweet old time with the girl from 11, because she's older. She can take the pain longer than that boy.
An electronic voice calls from the speakers: "Ian Strace". Everyone turns their attention to the District 1 boy, who stands up and walks to the door. It slides up, taking him to his Private Session. Don't mess this up!
Master of Ceremonies, Dusk Shine
Lights began to shine and crowds began to erupt into screams and yells for Miss Dusk Shine. The preppy woman appears on-stage with her signature star entrance and the crowd goes berserk. Roses and money were thrown to Dusk, signaling their admiration of the Master of Ceremonies. She waves to the crowd and lights up the stage with her smile. She blows her kisses in the direction of the male audience members, the single ones anyway. She waves one last time and she takes her seat center stage.
As she sits, the crowd turns silent for their favorite Master of Ceremonies. No one can touch Dusk's work. She smoothed her skirt covered in stars and looked to the crowd. "My, my. What a lovely turn out tonight. Welcome, citizens of the Capitol and all of Panem. Tonight, we have something special to show all of you. As you know, a few days ago was our Tribute Parade. And what a lovely avenue of tributes we had, am I right?" The crowd begins to clap for Dusk to answer her question. She silences them with a wave of her hand and a flash of her smile.
"As most of you know, we put out a questionnaire about the event, asking for your favorite costumes. The votes are in and we will interview the most popular votes. And, judging by your votes, District One had the best costumes!" Cheers come from the throats of the dyed citizens and they all jump to their feet. "We welcome to the stage Miss Lexington Ryan and Mr. Flair Elliot!" Dusk stands up and looks to the stylists walk on stage. The cheers become louder and louder as the stylists meet up with Dusk herself.
Lexington embraces Dusk, making sure her over hairsprayed purple curls stay in place. Her skin was dyed a light purple, matching her dark purple curls. Her dress was adorned in silver with only one strap and it made its way to her feet. It covered up her silver heels, but the crowd saw the design as she took a seat next to Dusk Shine's chair. Flair shakes Dusk's hand, giving a nice comparison between the two. Flair had light red skin and orange hair with red tips, giving him a fire like design. His suit was also red, with flame decals all over. He sat next to Lexington, waiting for the interview to start.
The cheers died down as Dusk asked the first question. "What gave you the inspiration to use silver as the dominant color?"
Lexington opened her mouth and began to answer. "Well, Flair said that he wanted to do something different from earlier years. Silver hasn't been used since before the Second Rebellion, and I really didn't want to use gold, bronze, pink, blue, or anything else that is connected to District One."
"I can appreciate your reasoning." Dusk replied. "Flair, how long have you been planning these costumes?" Flair straightens himself and looks to the host.
"Since last year's Tribute Parade ended." He answers, his voice trilling with excitement. "And I think they were wonderful in planning. Ian and Diamond pulled them off wonderfully." Screams and hollers of approval met his ears.
"They certainly did." Dusk replied. "When I saw your lovely costumes, my heart stopped. Diamond Cortez looked so lovely in her costume, it brought back memories of her mother. Flair, you seem to have a family tie to Miss Cortez?"
"Actually, I styled her mother when she was in the Games." Flair replied. The crowd let out a unanimous gasp as they realized that Flair worked on his tribute's mother. Dusk's eyes lit up at those words and she tried not to show her enthusiasm through her expression. She needed to look professional for these interviews.
"Now, I know this question is hard to ask as it is to answer, but which one of your tributes do you think will come out on top?" Lexington and Flair look to each other. How can they just pick one when Ian and Diamond were such promising tributes? Lexington leans closer to Dusk, ready to say their answer.
Maya Matthews, D4
Predator's name was called over the loud-speaker and he left to go to his Private Session. His number 4 shown proudly on his back as he was ready to get a perfect training score. Maya sat alone at the table, watching the room empty out. Ian, Diamond, Caden, Kleo and the tributes from 3 are all gone. She scanned over the tributes that were left, the ones waiting for this moment to be over with and the ones who were shaking in their training boots. Some of these tributes will be too easy to take out in the bloodbath. Imagine a Princess of the Sea taking down coal miners and farmers. The Princess of the Sea will be crowned victor come the end of six or seven days.
Maya watched as some tributes began to succumb to exhaustion. The girl from District 10 looked like she was sleeping. Maybe she was resting up to get a decent score. Maya just sat back and watched the tributes squirm, waiting for their time to perform. She shook her leg with impatience as time drug on. How long could these three minutes be? Maya pushed some loose hair behind her ears and looked around. The girl from 10, boy from 11, and girl from 5 seemed to be falling asleep. Good luck getting good scores when you are all sleeping.
As a drill, Maya ran through what she would show to the Gamemakers. Throwing knives, her speed, and spears. Yeah, it's a generic line up for a Career tribute, but the line up always seemed to work for the Careers. They always pull between eight and tens for their scores. Why shouldn't it work for Maya? Her breathing became slower and slower to calm herself down as she realized that Predator's time just might be up. Calm down, Maya. She quickly unties her bun and pulls it back up again. That is something that she did while she was waiting. It took her mind off of the things that burdened her mind. Like the Private Sessions.
"Maya Matthews." An electronic voice called as Predator walked out of the gym. The district partners did not look to one another as they passed. Maya just walked past him and went into the gymnasium. Nothing can distract her from earning a great score, even if the Dark Days returned. She walked in and saw the Gamemakers sitting in the balcony, protected by the force field and holding up glasses of champagne. Maya kept her head high as she made her way to the middle of the gym floor.
Just hand me my ten and I'll save you three minutes. She thought as she picked up a throwing knife.
Master of Ceremonies, Dusk Shine
"Going in order of most popular costumes, District Four comes in a close second of District One!" Dusk announces as Lexington and Flair were being escorted off stage. "I had nothing to do with the questionnaire, but I would have voted for Four. Overall, I loved how the tributes were portrayed and how wonderful they looked in their mermaid and merman outfits. Please help me welcome the stylists behind the idea, Miss Pacific Rose and Miss Aloe Ambrosia!" Dusk rises to her feet as the stylists walk on stage, hand in hand.
The crowd cheers for Pacific and Aloe as they embrace Dusk Shine. Pacific had her hair straight down her back in a rosy color, the color of a light pink flower. Her skin was a bit lighter than her hair and her eyes had the same hue. Now people now why her name is Pacific Rose. Her dress was a short dress that flared out and stopped at her knees. Flowers were decorating the blue dress and some flowers were in her hair. Pacific embraced the host and took her seat by the host's chair. Aloe had pink skin just like Pacific, but her eyes and hair was blue. Her hair was in a complex style of being straight down with a braid wrapped around her loose hair. A rose was tucked into her hair, making it pop. Her dress was in a wedding style of a dress, being slim fit white with sleeves down to the back of her hands. She sat next to her fellow stylist and waited for the crowd to calm down.
Dusk waved the crowd silent and looked to Aloe first, admiring her dress. "Aloe, I must say that I adore your dress. Is it true that you are getting married when the Games complete?" Aloe smiled brightly and nodded to Dusk Shine.
"Yes, I am. Next year, you have to call me Aloe Frost for a stylist. Would you like to see my ring?" She asks. Dusk takes Aloe's hand and views the engagement ring on Aloe's finger. The diamond was huge and it sparkled under the lights of the stage. On the sides, there was an engravement that read From now and forever, I love you. Aloe smiles again, the light bouncing off of her white teeth.
"Your new husband is a very lucky man, Aloe." Dusk told her and the crowd yelled their approval. "Who came up with the costumes for your tributes?"
"I take full responsibility for those lovely costumes, Dusk." Pacific Rose answered. The crowd cheered for Pacific Rose. Dusk looks to the stylist and wanted more information.
"Where did your inspiration come from?" She asks.
"Well, every year the tributes have some sort of ocean related costumes." Pacific started. "I have seen some as fish, some had fish nets, while others were too terrible for their own good-" The crowd laughs quietly "-When the Quarter Quell ended last year, I researched everything about the ocean. I came across a pre-Panem movie made in the twentieth century about a mermaid. Despite not having mermans in the movie, from what I could see, I tried my hardest to convey the mermaid on Predator and I think it turned out very well.
"I sketched out what I wanted to put on my tributes and sent my sketches to Aloe. She got the materials and got to work. I personally love how she worked with the crowns, something that I couldn't have possibly done to save my life." The giant screen behind Dusk showed the screenshot of th sketches of the costumes before they were actually made in the material. The crowd cheers for Pacific as she finished her explanation.
Dusk bantered with the stylists for the remaining time of their interview. Unbeknownst to Dusk, the tributes were doing their Private Sessions as she was interviewing the favorite stylists. After the interviews, Dusk has to hightail it to the studio to give the training scores for the tributes. An ear transmitter spoke into Dusk's ear that the interview was coming to a close. She took the hint and went to dismiss the stylists.
Sheila Carwell, D7
Linden and Sheila wait for their turns for the Private Session. The District Six girl was down to her last minute and Linden was next. Sheila's heart began to pound as she realized that her turn will be within five minutes. She tapped her feet on the floor, silently asking for Linden's turn to be here and so she can deal with her thoughts. She knew Linden will get a ten or an eleven, something that hasn't been done in District 7 history. Breathe, breathe, breathe. Sheila pushed some hair behind her ear and waited for the electronic voice to call...
"Linden Ulmus." Right on time. Linden stood up, making his way to the door. The 7 on his shoulder rippled as he walked, his powerful legs taking him to the Private Session. He left the room, leaving Sheila alone with the other tributes and her thoughts.
Sheila ran through her thoughts, thinking of her plan of action. What could she do to impress the Gamemakers, to impress them to give her a higher score than a six or seven? Swords are so generic, but that is something that she can do. What about berry identification? That's also generic, but not many people can do that. Other than the girl from 12 she observed the other day. Her heart continued to pump harder and harder and her palms became sweaty. These are the longest three minutes of any tribute's life. She couldn't calm herself down. Rivet, what did you do in your Session?
The minutes continued to drag on their feet and Sheila's heart continued to beat harder and harder. Her fingers flew to the necklace on her neck, playing with the trinket on it. Linden's Session is taking too long. She closed her eyes and imagined the trees back home with Jacob, and she isn't in the Capitol's clutches. She was home, safe and sound from the Games and the death it will bring. The Games aren't an honor like the Capitol makes it out to be. It's a death sentence that killed her brother, someone she can never get back.
"Sheila Carwell." The voice calls. Every tribute looks to the District 7 girl as she takes her walk to the Private Session. She silently wishes that Rivet told her what he did. She will never get the chance. Her breathing becomes slower as she walks to her judgement, ready to prove herself to the Capitol.
Master of Ceremonies, Dusk Shine
Aloe and Pacific left the stage and Dusk introduces the stylists from 7. The sisters, Karina and Katrina Beta took their seats, looking at the Master of Ceremonies in the eyes and ready to answer questions. Karina and Katrina look identical, seeing that they are twins. They both have purple skin, purple hair, and purple outfits. Someone made a comment that they look like the escort from 10. Karina and Katrina ignored all the comments and sat by Dusk, ready for their very first stylist interview.
"Now, girls. I have to say that I loved the change from trees to paper. Whose idea was it?" The sisters looked to each other and looked back to the host.
"It was my idea, Dusk." Katrina admitted. "You are ordered to show off the district, wether it be what they specialize in or what the product. Normally, stylists portray the specialization, which would be the trees. I decided that I wanted to show off the real product of lumber, which is paper. And paper could be used in many ways. Like we used it to make wonderful costumes for Linden and Sheila."
"Perfect! I really did love your costumes. One of my favorites even." Dusk said. She ran through every stylist interview she has ever done. She says that about every costume. "You two moved up from Nine. How do you think their stylists did this year?"
"I think they were fantastic, but I think our costumes were better." Karina says, her head held high. "I believe we are the best stylists in the Games." The crowd clapped for her confidence and Dusk Shine did the same.
"Wow! You have wonderful confidence for a stylist! I wish every stylist had your confidence, Karina." She compliments the twenty-two year old stylist. "Your costumes tied for second place with District Four and Nine. Besides yourselves, who else had the better costume?"
"District Nine." Katrina says. "I loved their costume design, too bad we didn't design it. I think we could have done it better, Dusk."
"Judging by your hype, I can't wait for next year's costumes. Am I right?" Dusk addresses the audience, who address her right back. "What more can we expect from you for the final interviews tomorrow night?"
"You can expect a lovely color palate and a wonderful dress for Sheila and a suit for Linden." Karina answers. "The outfits will be to a similar design to their chariot costumes. I can't wait for you to see it."
"I can't to see it myself, Miss Karina."
Rye Corn, D9
Little by little, the room became more empty. The girl from 8 is performing for the Gamemakers right now and Rye sits alone waiting for his last chance at glory. As instructed by Axel, he will do what he is best at, because he didn't do them for the past two days of training. Rye only did stuff that he was poor at, like archery and endurance training. He may have lowered his odds, but at least he'll get one hell of a score. All he had to do was keep the Gamemakers alert to watch him. Any attention he receives will be better than no attention.
The room had no sound except for the muffled laughter of the girl from 11. She was sitting extremely close to the boy from 12, practically sitting on his lap. He rolled his eyes and went back to his thoughts. What would Rye do in the Private Session? He thought. Ever since he traded places with his brother, he's been trying to think of what Rye would do. He's still not used to people calling him 'Rye'. One of the trainers called him that and he didn't listen, which caused the trainer to push him to get his attention. Jayd almost let it slip to Axel, calling him Farro the other day. She quickly recovered, saying that Rye has a twin brother back home and she always gets them confused.]
His attention went to the door; his time to show them everything is coming. The 8 girl only has about forty-five seconds to go before Rye performs. He wipes his sweaty palms on his pants and tries to calm down. They are only judging by what they see. Don't show them fear. What would Axel know? He only scored a six in training. He did win this thing once, but he has consumed so much liquor that he probably doesn't remember it. When Rye wins, he won't do that. He'll be the...
"Rye Corn." The voice calls.
Here I go. Show them everything. Rye tells himself. His breathing is calm as he walks to the door, showing that a District 9 tribute won't be overlooked this year.
Master of Ceremonies, Dusk Shine
"Our last interview will be with the stylists for District Nine!" Dusk announces. "The grain district is commonly overlooked, because its product is similar to District Eleven and their lack of victors. This year, I believe District Nine won't be overlooked! We have Wrane Jones and Giana Grayson to thank for the costumes. Come on out, stylists!" The crowd shows their admiration by cheers for the stylists of 9. They yell as Giana and Wrane walk on stage, fingers linked and inseparable.
Giana's skin was the color of a Golden Delicious apple and her hair was the color of pure gold. People in the audience chant 'Golden Goddess' as Giana embraced Dusk. Everything about Giana was gold. It was easy to see why Giana had such an easy time putting together her tribute's costumes. Her golden dress shimmered under the lights as she took her seat. Wrane has a similar appearance, having skin of a Red Delicious apple. His shoulder length hair had the similar color, along with his eyes and outfit. His suit was a few shades lighter than his skin, making it really stand out. The stylists took their seats as the crowd quieted down.
"Wow! You two look better in person!" Dusk comments. "How does it feel getting into the top stylists your first year in the Games?"
"I speak for both of us when I say that it feels like an honor, as if we won the Games ourselves." Wrane says, holding Giana's hand.
"Lovely!" Dusk replied to the red stylist. "I want to know who designed the costumes. Was it you, Giana?" Under all the gold on her skin, Dusk could see her blushing.
"Yes, it was me." The crowd applauded her and she began to explain. "You see, the color of grain is an exaggerated yellow, otherwise known as gold. Taking on a Roman gladiator vibe, I made a 'toga style' outfit with golden accents to show off the gold in the grain. I wanted to make it seem as if they were being consumed by the gold, like they are back home working in the grain fields. And I believe I pulled it off very well."
"By our vote, you did pull it off, Giana." Dusk turned to Wrane. "Wrane, I must say that your début as a stylist really started out well. WHat went through your mind when you saw your newest tributes on Reaping day?"
"I knew our outfits would work for District Nine, even though Rye and Jayd were malnourished." Wrane started. "I was expecting tributes who were more...fed that Rye and Jayd. To of off the 'faux figure', I wanted to add a golden belt around Jayd's stomach to give her a shape. However, Giana told me it wouldn't look good."
"I would have liked your costumes regardless, Wrane." Dusk commented. "So, you two made a good début. Who else do you think did a good job at the Tribute Parade?" Wrane and Giana exchanged glances and looked to the host.
"We both think that District One did a very good job at the Parade." Giana answered. "I saw the replay of the Parade, and I was in awe of Diamond and Ian. They looked so glamorous and, dare I say it, better than our tributes."
"No, Giana." Dusk comforted the amateur stylist. Your tributes looked amazing! I'm sorry to say that we are out of time. Giana, Wrane, it was lovely having you. Give it up for the stylists of District Nine!"
The crowd yelled for Wrane and Giana as they took their bows. Roses were thrown to the pair and they left the stage. Dusk took her bow, the backscreen filling with artificial stars. Long after Wrane and Giana left, the crowd showed their admiration by yelling for Dusk Shine. Her name rippled through the crowd and every district could hear the yelling. 'Dusk Shine! Dusk Shine! Dusk Shine!' She raised her hand to calm the crowd.
"There you have it. The best stylists have been interviewed about their glorious costumes. Tune in later tonight to see the scores of your favorite tributes. I am Dusk Shine and May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor!" The crowd chants the last line with Dusk and they burst into shouts and screams. Dusk stands on her pedestal and waved to the crowd. Fog machines turned on as she descended into the under-stage. She was encircled by darkness and all she heard was the faint yells of the crowd.
Playton Reyes, D12
"Jack Abonson." The boy from Saely's district stood up and went to his Private Session. Saely was next, and Playton wouldn't see her until tomorrow night for the final interviews. He stayed next to the shaking girl, trying to calm her fears of the Gamemakers. They have the power to give or take your life, and Playton knew why she was so upset, even though this is his first year in the Games.
He held Saely's hand in an attempt to calm her down. He didn't need to say any words to her because his eyes told it all. How could he encourage her when he had no words to say? Time ticked away at them and Saely began to visably shake. Playton took a tight hold onto her to steady her. He didn't look to the other tributes in the room, only the scared girl in his grasp. His hold grew tighter with every passing second, telling her it was okay with his blue orbs.
"Saely Taylor." The voice called. Playton looked to her and her eyes grew wide. She knew that she had to go; she had no choice. She released Playton's hand and stood up.
"Good luck, Eleven." Playton says, looking to her. She smiled and leaned down. Her arms did not encirle him; her lips left their mark on his cheek, filling him with a warm radition. She said nothing as the 11 on her shirt faded away into the room where her fate was held.
Master of Ceremonies, Dusk Shine
Dusk took her seat as the folder marked 'Tribute Scores' was placed in front of her by Aphrodite McKennon. The woman behind every Hunger Game idea since the 169th Hunger Games handed Dusk the scores and walked away. Aphrodite made Gamemaker history by being the youngest Gamemaker ever, being only seventeen years old. She had the best idea for the Games, filling the lakes with toxins and flora with poisons in the 171st Hunger Games, and those Games were a hit with the Capitol. Dusk had always been in awe of Aphrodite. Maybe she might get to interview her.
"Dusk! You're on!" A man tells her and she begins to read the scores.
Tribute Scores:
Diamond Cortez: 9 Ian Strace: 10 Kleo Miller: 10 Caden Miller: 10 Violet Dixon: 5 Daniel Kelly: 7 Maya Matthews: 9 Predator Fazaysia: 10 Isadora Jolf: 6 Rod Bolts: 6 Kira Shock: 7 Ryan Yitch: 5 Sheila Carwell: 5 Linden Ulmus: 9 Flim Tayles: 6 Camden Pheon: 6 Jayd Blair: 4 Rye Corn: 7 Melayna Smith: 5 October Huxley: 8 Saely Taylor: 6 Jack Abonson: 4 Meadow Walsh: 6 Playton Reyes: 5 Melinda Hanis: 6 Tartan Blade: 6 Amelie Sage: 7 Blakely Sage: 8
A/N: That was a long chapter. 4,683 words without my Author's note. How do you like the romance? I'm sorry that the scores got repetitive (there were five 5s and seven 6s) but I didn't want to be too mean or too nice. Please don't be mad. :)
I have a poll on my page and I want your input on which Point of View you like more. I will take your input to heart and try to do what you want. Thanks for reading. :)