Chapter 17: Top Eight's Family Interviews
Author's Note: I would like to thank my critics, who are also my biggest fans, for pointing out some mistakes I had made while writing. I looked over the mistakes and I didn't like them there. I have made some modifications to some of my documented chapters and have re-posted them, I think the story looks better now. There was also a mentioning of some bad vocabulary on my part, and I make my characters sound like robots. I am sorry about that, but that can not be helped, I regret to say that I am not a very good writer, and I don't know how to perfect a character's character, I hope you understand. I write fan fics because I love it, and hope you all will love my work as much as I do. Keep up the constructive criticism.
Caesar Flickerman being seen on the television nation-wide:
"Ladies and gentlemen." said Caesar, "Citizens of Panem. The male Tribute for District 2, and the female Tribute for District 4, Hector Ardamin, and Martha Filmer are now deceased. May they rest in peace.
"We are now 12 days into the 76th annual Hunger Games, and the living Tributes are down into the top eight. We will now be conducting exclusive interviews with friends and family of the eight remaining tributes.
"I have been asked to point out to the crowd that Suzanna Xavier's story has been checked out by experts. It has been confirmed that her birth records were falsified by her father Mariano Xavier, Head Peacekeeper of District 5, and clues and other evidence has been found linking her mother to being a woman of District 5. There is now some controversy about the 76th Hunger Games, 'The Hunger Games of Capitol Tributes', having reaped a District born Tribute as one of the Capitol Tributes, regardless of who her father was, but unfortunately further examination into the rules of the Hunger Games say that once a Tribute has been put in to the arena they cannot the extracted from the arena prematurely. To do so would alter the entire gameplay of the Games, for the Games have gone a certain way because of her presence in them.
"And now, my next guest is the nanny who raised Suzanna Xavier. She is a former avox who has undergone surgery and can now speak again. Let's give a big warm welcome, for Mary Wendell."
The audience cheered and applauded as a woman walked onto the stage with dark brown skin, bright red eye-shadow, and hair that had been dyed a reflective sparkly gold. She shook hands with Caesar.
"It is good to see you." said Caesar Flickerman invitingly.
"It is good to see you to Caesar." said Mary Wendell.
She spoke with an odd speech impediment. People assumed it was a side effect of the experimental oral surgery. Experts said it would go away with time and practice.
They both took their seats in their armchairs.
"So," said Caesar, "Ms. Wendell, how does it feel to be able to talk again?"
"It is a blessed relief." said Mary Wendell, "Please, call me Mary. And it's 'Mrs.' actually. I'm widowed."
"Oh," said Caesar, "what happened to your husband?"
"He was executed about 20 years ago for plotting against the Capitol with the underground resistance. I actually had no idea about it, but I was branded as a co-conspirator and had my tongue cut out, and then I was employed by Mariano Xavier to take care of his daughter."
"Well, it's a shame you were turned into an avox when you were innocent. I hope you're doing much better now?"
"Yes, I am attempting to rebuild my life."
"Well, could you please tell us about Suzanna? You and her must be close?"
"Yes, Suzanna and I are close. She was like a daughter to me, and I treated her as any mother would treat her daughter. I was unable to speak her whole life, but I learned sign language and we had many conversations over the years without verbal words."
"That is beautiful. Well then, as Susanna Xavier's mother for all intents and purposes, how do you feel about your daughter getting into the top eight."
"I would've expected nothing less of her. She is very smart and resourceful."
Caesar continued to ask Mary many questions until the interview came to a halt.
"Well, I thank you very much for your time that you have given so generously to me."
"Thank you Caesar."
She walked off of the stage. Caesar then called onto the stage Susanna's mentor Enobaria, Hunger Games Victor of District 2. Enobaria expressed her delight and satisfaction that she expected nothing less from any tribute that she mentored had made it into the top eight, and that her tribute still continued to show great promise. Though she did now question her tribute's dedication and commitment due to the recent revelation of her over gentleness.
Next came Barney Simpson's family.
Barney's mother had been an official of the Capitol who was executed for crimes against the people. Barney's father sat in the armchair next to Caesar with a seven-year-old girl that was supposed to be Barney's sister. They told Caesar that Barney was a kind and gentle boy, only 13, not very bright, but a master at hiding and evading.
Barney's mentor was a volunteer mentor from the Capitol. He had a skilled knowledge of the workings of the Games and during the month of training had stood over Barney to give him an endless supply of tips and moral support.
Caesar then called some of Barney's friends from school onto the stage. They said that he likes to play video games, and usually keeps to himself.
Then came David Crane's family.
Serallona Crane, the widow of Seneca Crane still had tears on her face from mourning the death of her daughter.
Caesar Flickerman spoke to her calmly. "Mrs. Crane, I would just like to say that I am so sorry for your loss."
"I'm sorry Caesar, it's just I feel that my family has been cursed by the Snow's." said Serallona Crane. "First my husband is executed by President Snow, who was always supposed to be a very close friend of the family. And then his granddaughter kills my daughter."
"Well I think we all can sympathize with you on this matter." said Caesar. "But we're not here to talk about your daughter. We are here to talk about your son David. My first question for you is, how do you feel about your son making it into the top eight?"
"He has always been a survivor!" said Serallona Crane, her voice a little more determined. "And he's going to win!"
"I don't doubt it for a second!" said Caesar encouragingly.
There was then a boring and uneventful interview with David's volunteer mentor from District 6. And then Caesar had an interesting conversation with a few of David's friends from school that say that he has a talent for soccer, and how much he loves participating in the Hunger Games reenactments at the old arenas.
Then there was Irene Avion's family interview.
Irene Avion didn't have any family apparently. Her family was killed in the massacre from the rebels on the day that the Capitol lost the war, and she was the only survivor of her family. Her father had been a high ranking official that died too quickly in the firefight for an official execution. Her mentor, who was Hunger Games Victor Beetee from District 3, said that he admired her intelligence and that she showed great promise.
She had a number of girlfriends from school that Caesar had interviews with there on the stage, but most people referred Caesar to the one that got to go into the Training Center with her, and stayed with her for the month for moral support, a 19-year-old boy that everyone said was Irene's boyfriend.
"When she wins the Games, AND SHE WILL!" said the boy adamantly, "Then she and I are going to get married at her crowning ceremony."
There were looks of surprise and interest from Caesar and the audience.
"Well, my boy," said Caesar, "a strikingly handsome man like you, with a promise like that, I don't think that there is anyone in the arena who is more determined to win then your Irene."
"Thank you Caesar." said the boy.
Then came Dennis Green's family.
Dennis Green's whole family was there on the stage with Caesar. His mother, his father, and a 10-year-old sister. Dennis Green had been put into the reaping bowl because his great-grandfather had been President Snow's predecessor.
Caesar Flickerman asked his family how they felt about their son getting into the top eight. Dennis's family simply said that did they had no idea why he even volunteered to begin with, they had no idea that he was so interested in deliberately going into the Games. Caesar asked a few more questions about Dennis and then his family was excused.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, for my next guest, I would like to invite onto the stage a very special guest, the 'would have been tribute' that Dennis Green volunteered for at the reaping, let's give it up for Martin Coppertin."
The 12-year-old boy Martin Coppertin came onto the stage. He shook hands with Caesar and took his place in the armchair.
"So, Martin Coppertin, how are you enjoying watching this year's Games on television?"
"I will say, it is exciting." said Martin with a smile, "Watching all of the tributes to survive so well, except for the fact that 16 of them are now dead, personally I think it's one of the better Games."
"I could not agree with you more!" said Caesar encouragingly. "Tell me, how do you feel about Dennis Green getting into the top eight?"
"Well, I will say that I hope that he wins. By volunteering to take my place he pretty much saved my life. I had no chance of winning."
"Not with that attitude." said Caesar, but with such an amused smile on his face the criticism was completely weightless. "So tell us Martin, in your cousin's TV interview, he told us that you and him are as close as brothers, would you tell us a little about him."
Martin paused and thought for a moment. Everyone waited for him to respond, but he seemed to be carefully pondering his answer.
"I really don't know how to tell you this, but I think there has been some kind mistake on that account?"
"Whatever do you mean?" asked Caesar with confusion.
"Me and Dennis Green are not cousins." said Martin with a matter-of-fact tone of confusion. "We are not related in at all, not even closely. I have never spoken with Dennis Green before in my entire life."
There was shock and surprise from Caesar and the audience.
"Are you saying that when Dennis Green claimed that you were his cousin, and that you and him were closer than brothers, he was lying through his teeth?"
"Well, if I respond to that question with an affirmative, it'll make me sound like a dick, and I don't want to accuse the one who volunteered for me of lying…but, yeah."
Caesar Flickerman became extremely flustered. He had no response to that.
"Can I go now?" asked Martin, apparently quite eager to be on his way.
"Oh yes, you are dismissed. And thank you for being on the show."
They both stood up from their armchairs shook each other's hands and Martin walked off of the stage.
Caesar quickly composed himself and went on.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, my next guest for our next top eight tribute. Let us invite onto the stage with us Amanda's mother, Elizarrella Snow."
Amanda Snow's mother walked out onto the stage. She and Caesar shook hands and then sat down in their armchairs. She expresses her delight that her daughter got into the top eight, and her sadness at the deaths of Amanda's allies.
"I knew Lisa Derrick personally." said Elizarrella. "She would come over to the house all the time. She and Amanda have played together for years." Elizarrella was now crying and had tears in her eyes. "And now she will never be over at the house to play with my daughter again."
Caesar reached over and patted Elizarrella on the shoulder, speaking in a soothing voice. "We all feel the same way as you do about Lisa. Her color always brightened up a room when she walked into it. The world will be a darker place without her."
She took a deep breath and felt better. "I did think that as wild and out of control as she has always been, I had at least taught her to be more ladylike than to bathe in front of boys and have sex on television…but interestingly, her sponsors have tripled in the few hours since then."
Elizarrella Snow was dismissed from the stage.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, let us call onto the stage, Amanda Snow's mentor for the Hunger Games, our national war hero, the Mockingjay, Katniss Everdeen, the Girl On Fire!"
Katniss Everdeen walked onto the stage as the crowd cheered and applauded, shook Caesar Flickerman's hand, and took her seat at the armchair.
Katniss expresses to Caesar how pleased she is that her tribute has made it into the top eight. And then Katniss made an amusing anecdote about Amanda's lack of modesty when bathing in a tropical pool and losing her virginity on national television. Caesar and the crowd broke into laughter on that one, and then admitted that it was quite a surprise, but it was not the first time that it had happened on the Games before. In previous Games, from time to time, there had been male and female tributes that had been close allies, and then either just losing their inhibitions or believing that all hope of winning was lost would get a little intimate on the camera.
Caesar asked a few more questions and then Katniss was excused from the stage.
Then came Beverly O'Malley's family.
Beverly O'Malley's family consisted of her mother, five brothers, and seven sisters, the oldest of her siblings being a 22-year-old boy, and the youngest of her siblings being a year and a half old baby girl. They were the most bizarre assortment, rainbow, of a family; every single one of them had skin that had been dyed a different color, and each and every one of them had hair that had been dyed a different color.
The statements and opinions of the family came fast, one at a time, but in quick succession, everyone from Beverly's four year old brother to her 18-year-old sister. Some of them expressed worry that they were going to lose their sister, while others of them believed that there was no way that Beverly could lose, and that they had expected nothing less of the fact that she had made it into the top eight.
"So tell me please, how do you all feel about your sister's innate ability to kill?"
Beverly's 18-year-old sister responded.
"Self defense." she justified. "Beverly is good with whips in the bedroom with her boyfriend; she is a dominatrix. Plus she's always been the smartest in the family, always the cleverest." She then had a look of remorse on her face. "Though there is the danger even having to be in the Games that all, I regret that I did not volunteer to take her place when her name was called."
"Well, if I know your sister, though you all probably know her much better than I do, I'm sure that she has forgiven you."
Caesar asked a few more questions and then the family was dismissed from the stage.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, for my next guest, I will invite onto the stage Beverly O'Malley's mentor, let's give it up for Hunger Games Victor, Joanna Mason from District 7!"
Joanna walked onto the stage and she and Caesar shook hands.
"It is good to see you again Joanna." said Caesar.
"It's good to see you too again Caesar." replied Joanna. "You know, Caesar, it is really hot in here and this outfit I am wearing is just so uncomfortable."
And then right there on the stage in front of the camera and the audience, she removed all of her clothing until she was completely naked. Caesar and everyone else in the audience gave off either verbal or facial expressions of shock and surprise, but with the Capitol's weird and unusual fashion and clothing styles, apparently, by law, public nudity was not strictly forbidden, on the legal grounds of 'To Each Their Own'.
She sat her bare butt in the armchair and crossed her legs.
"Well, Joanna," said Caesar, looking a little nervous "you are certainly free-spirited aren't you?"
"We're not here to talk about me, Caesar." reprimanded Joanna, "We are here to talk about my tribute."
"Well you are correct." said Caesar, trying to focus on her face, "I'm sure that you are pleased that your tribute has made it to the top eight?"
"Well, when I saw how weird, and bizarre, and absolutely clever she was, I felt that she had a lot of promise." explained Joanna. "In fact, she's so good by my own personal evaluation that she should have gotten a Training Score of 10. I told her not to worry about sponsors because of her extraordinary ability to make whatever she needs out of anything that she can find. I told her to aim for a training score of less than 5 so that her opponents wouldn't be afraid of her. But she did get a 5 so I guess she couldn't quite tone it down enough during her private session with the Gamemakers."
Caesar asked her a few more questions when Joanna then said that that was enough, and excused herself without being dismissed, and she sauntered off of the stage deliberately putting a sexy sway into her bare hips, not bothering to pick up her clothes.
Caesar just shook his head in disbelief and rubbed his forehead as though he had a headache.
"The people on this talkshow that I have to interview." He muttered exasperatedly to himself under his breath.
Then came Blaze Trenton's family.
Blaze Trenton's mother, Emma Trenton, came onto the stage, shook Caesar's hand and then sat down. Caesar asked her the same questions that he had asked everyone else. But she kept a look on her face of a somber demeanor as though she was completely indifferent. Rather than answer Caesar's questions she expressed her extreme displeasure that this last Hunger Games had to take place in the first place simply for the benefit of the District malcontents at the mere presence of the Capitol citizens' existence after the war was over.
She looked straight into the camera and said, "You, the District malcontents, you may brand me and everyone else in the Capitol as collaborators, because we benefited for 75 years from your slave labor, and for that you have my sympathy, I am truly sorry. But you won the war, you won your precious freedom, the only thing I have to say to you is that if my son dies because you wanted him so badly to go in to the Games, I just hope that you're happy! You hear me? I…HOPE…YOU'RE…HAPPY!" making sure that each individual word was loud and clear for them to understand her feelings on the matter.
And without being dismissed she stood up and walked off the stage.
Caesar Flickerman looked shocked and flustered.
"Well folks…ah, well that's that?" said Caesar trying to compose himself. "An anti-District statement, from a Capitol malcontent to the District malcontents." said Caesar, pondering the concept out loud.
On the grounds of the new 'freedom of speech laws' that were recently passed by President Paylor, such strong, overtly radical, public statements were not strictly illegal.
Caesar Flickerman then invited onto the stage some of the Blaze's friends from school. They talked about how he was always strong and fast and good with the obstacle courses in gym class. They also talked about how he would usually talk about Lisa Derrick, but he never had the nerve to go up and talk to her.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, I would like to invite onto the stage, Blaze Trenton's mentor, Hunger Games Victor, Peeta Melark from District 12."
Peeta came onto the stage as the crowd cheered and applauded. Peeta and Caesar shook hands.
"So Peeta?" said Caesar, "What is your opinion of your tribute making it into the top eight?"
Peeta too wore a somber demeanor just like Blaze's mother.
"I'm afraid that I must agree with Emma Trenton." said Peeta. "The death toll of the war was high enough. The killing should have ended after the war, and that includes the Hunger Games. I'm just glad that Blaze Trenton has not had to take a life yet, it costs you your soul. But the people who are in charge; if it is up to them, they should put an end to these Games right now. Other than that, I hope my tribute wins."
Peeta stood up from his armchair, shook Caesar Flickerman's hand and then politely stepped out of the room.
Caesar Flickerman then composed himself again and went on.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the interviews of the top eight's family and friends. More exciting moments in the Hunger Games as the arena continues to shrink. As always we will continue to give you regular updates as the Games progress."
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