Chapter 6
The next morning, Petronius awoke and got dressed in preparal for another training session. Katniss stopped him on the way out of his bedroom door and said, "There aren't any training sessions today."
"Why not?" he asked.
"There just aren't," she replied, but when Petronius cocked his head, silently asking her to continue, she sighed and continued, "In a normal Hunger Games, today would be the day of your private training sessions with the Gamemakers. This isn't a normal Hunger Games. There aren't going to be any more training sessions."
"Why not?" asked Petronius again.
"Too much danger," said Katniss shortly. "The Gamemakers fear that this year's tributes are…angry. They don't want some crazy lunatic attacking them with a sword."
"Or shooting them with an arrow," Petronius offered with a poorly disguised grin. Even with the attempts made to keep the incident secret, secrets often leaked out.
Katniss's cheeks went red. "But anyway, we're not having any private training sessions. I'm not entirely sure why they don't put up a force field, like last year, but…"
"I heard something about the Gamemakers worrying that there might be someone trying to manipulate the Games," Petronius blurted, and Katniss raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" she inquired.
"Yeah," said Petronius, and it was the truth. He had heard, when he was sort of kind of maybe eavesdropping on Julius's gang during lunch break. "I don't know how, but they figured it out. And someone spread the word about what kind of arena we'll have, and now everyone knows that we're having a forest-themed arena this year. The Gamemakers think that the same person who spread the rumor is the person who hacked their way in."
"That would make sense," said Katniss, and Petronius wasn't sure if he imagined the trace of sarcasm that tinged her voice. "Well, you can relax for a few hours. Get a bit of rest."
She walked away, and Petronius was left confused. "Wait, what? Rest for what?"
Katniss did not reply. Shrugging, Petronius flopped back down on the bed and went back to sleep.
He got up at noon to eat lunch, and then he lounged around in his room the rest of the day writing in his journal. He could have done something more productive, like practicing with his sword in the Training Center, but right now he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts and his characters. Writing relaxed him.
He looked up at the ceiling and chewed the end of his pen as he thought. Then he turned back to the journal and kept writing. The spy crept forward, he wrote, with his hand resting subtly on his gun. His breathing was shallow, and his movements were quick and furtive as he approached the enemy building. Getting caught now, he realized, would mean a lifetime of imprisonment and torture, if not execution. Suddenly, a bright light shone into his eyes, and he ––
Petronius was suddenly jolted back into reality by the sound of a knock on his bedroom door. "Petronius?" Katniss's voice called. "Come on out!"
Petronius looked at the clock. It was five thirty. He shrugged fatalistically. They could just be having an early dinner. He placed his pen and journal on his bedside table and opened the door. Katniss was there, wearing what might have been her approximation of a mischievous grin. "Come on," she said, leading him into the screening room. Petronius sighed at what she saw.
Caesar Flickerman was sitting on the couch. There were at least a half-dozen cameras surrounding him, along with a flock of makeup artists touching him up. Augusta was sitting down in a chair nearby, sipping a glass of water. Stage lights glared down on the setup, and Katniss gently shoved Petronius forward. "Get on with it. Augusta already went and she was great. It's your turn now."
"Oh, no," Petronius mumbled as the full implications of this suspicious setup occurred to him. "You don't mean…?"
"Interview time, Petronius," said an attractive young woman with a businesslike smile on her face. She was wearing high heels, a short black skirt, and a navy blue sweater, which set off her loose blond curls, deep blue eyes, and thick red lips. A black beret rested crookedly on her head, but it looked rather stylish all the same. She approached him with quick strides and held out her hand to shake. "My name is Juno. I'll be your stylist."
Petronius gingerly took her hand and shook, careful not to ruin her long, shiny red nails. He knew from bad experience how women could respond to having their nails ruined by a clumsy male. But he didn't expect this. Juno's grip was firm, and her delicate-looking fingers were strong. She released before he did. "Now," she said, scanning him over with her calculating blue eyes, "I think with just a bit of straightening up, you'll be good!"
Petronius looked down. He was wearing a rumpled shirt, a pair of drawstring pants, and socks that didn't look or smell so fresh. "How could I be good? I'm wearing pajamas!"
"Exactly," replied Juno crisply. "For these interviews, we don't want everyone dressed up in those fancy suits and dresses. We're taking you by surprise. It's a come-as-you-are affair. More casual and intimate, because the building where we used to have the interviews was… well, you know, looted and destroyed in the rebellion."
Petronius didn't want to be rude around this very attractive young lady, but he couldn't help but roll his eyes a bit. She saw it and laughed, reaching up and straightening his tousled bronze hair. "I think you're good," she said. "Really, for someone who spent their entire day sleeping and lounging in bed, you look pretty good!"
He shrugged. "I guess. I don't know."
Juno checked her silver watch. "Oh! You're on in ten," she said.
"Ten what?"
"Nine," she counted, still looking at her watch. "Eight…"
"What?" Petronius yelped, swerving around and scrambling towards the studio setup. He faltered halfway, not sure if he should go out. "Five," said Juno.
Someone shoved him into a chair underneath the glaring lights, and Petronius glanced around wildly and smoothed his hair again. "One," his stylist announced.
"And we are back!" Caesar Flickerman said, looking at the cameras with a smile.
That was basically when Petronius's nerves stopped working. He hated cameras. Really, he did. The last time he had sat in front of a camera was back in the sixth grade…
Their class had been assigned to film a short movie, and Petronius was chosen as the lead role. He wasn't a bad actor, but the main reason he was chosen was because at that time, every girl in the class had a crush on him and the movie was about a handsome prince with a sword. Go figure. He had ambitiously practiced his lines and actions, and thought he had it down. But when the day of filming began, alas, poor Petronius found out too late that he had stage fright. Of course, it wasn't a real stage and the only people watching were the other actors and the camera crew, but that did not matter. Cameras or spectators of any kind petrified him.
He was jolted out of the flashback when Caesar Flickerman said his name. "I'm sorry, what?" Petronius blustered, a bit startled.
"Well, it seems like someone is a bit tired," said Caesar, and Petronius managed a half smile. "I said, that was quite a training score you received. Can you tell us your secret?"
Petronius blinked. "What training scores?"
Caesar's brow furrowed. "You know, the ones the Gamemakers give out to the tributes? The ones we showed this morning?"
Petronius shook his head. "Sorry. Must have been asleep. What'd I get?"
"Ten," replied Caesar.
Petronius gave a low whistle. "Must've been the swords. I will say no more."
Caesar nodded. "I will respect that. Tell me, Petronius, are you ready for tomorrow?"
"Why? What's tomorrow?"
Caesar breathed out of his mouth, and Petronius could almost imagine the laughter coming from all over Panem. He could definitely hear the laughter from around the room. His cheeks reddened, and he looked down at his fingernails.
"Someone needs a bit of catching up," Caesar said, and Petronius rolled his eyes.
"Well, I'm sorry! I was interrupted in a good part of my story, you can't expect me to totally snap back into the real world within the space of two minutes!" shot Petronius, but he couldn't disguise the grin with the faked rage he was trying to pull off. Around the room, the low tittering turning into full-out chortling, and Petronius realized they weren't laughing at him. They were laughing with him.
Caesar smiled. "Really? What book are you reading?"
"Not reading," corrected Petronius. "Writing. And it's only a short story, not a book."
"Ah. What kind of 'good part'?"
"My main character was about to get captured and sliced to pieces by enemy forces, and Katniss pulled me out here for a nice long chat in my pajamas. That's what kind of good part it was."
Caesar gave a full belly laugh, but Petronius only smiled. "No, seriously. Back to the original question. What's tomorrow?"
"The Hunger Games," answered Caesar ominously. "Before you go, I have another question for you, Mr. Lyre."
"I'm all ears," said Petronius, shrugging fatalistically.
"There are whispers about a budding feud between you and District 12's representative Julius Kane. For those of you out there who don't know," he said, speaking to the cameras and the unseen audience, "Julius Kane is the son of former Peacekeeper General Octavian Kane, who was executed the day after former President Coriolanus Snow and was considered the second-most dangerous man in the Capitol."
"Consider something else," interjected Petronius. "The daughter of the most dangerous man and the son of the second most are sharing a level at the top of this building. Comforting thought, huh?"
Caesar and one of the cameramen exchanged a nervous glance. "Did they plan that?" he asked in a lower voice. "No? Hmm… that's odd. Are they planning –– "
"I can answer that for you," interjected Petronius. "No. Iris doesn't seem to want anything to do with anybody. And Julius doesn't seem to want her, no matter who her father was. She's kind of… small."
"Interesting," said Caesar. "Well, it seems like our time is up. Best of luck to you, Petronius, and may the odds be ever in your favor. Maybe, if you get out, you can finish your book."
They stood up and shook hands. "Thank you," Petronius said, smiling and nodding. He left the glare of the lights as Caesar said to the cameras, "That was Petronius Lyre, folks! We will be back, with District 11's representative Artemis Gossamer after this short ten minute break!"
The cameras stopped whirring and someone yelled, "That's a wrap!" Quickly and efficiently, the set crew started to pack things up and cart them into the elevator to move to Level 11.
Juno hobbled up to Petronius and hugged him as if she had known him all her life. "You did wonderful, Petro!" she squealed. "Brainless swordsman-crossed-author –– perfect angle!"
Petronius frowned as she retreated from the embrace. "Brainless? Why'd you call me brainless?"
She laughed. "No reason," she replied, a little too innocently. "I'll see you tomorrow, at the Games, okay?"
Without waiting for his answer, she strode away. Petronius collapsed on a chair, the adrenaline of his short time in front of the cameras washing over him like a tsunami wave. He felt like he needed to hit something.
So he just locked himself in his room for the rest of the night. After punching the air, eating cream puffs, and taking a very cold shower, he fell asleep. But as he dreamt, he heard one name echoing over and over.
Artemis Gossamer.
Artemis Gossamer.
Artemis Gossamer.
He had forgotten to watch her interview.
And he didn't even know why he cared.
I hate these chapters. More than you do, really. When I wrote the first draft of this, Chapters 1-11 were the last ones I wrote. Because they're BORING, that's why. I hated writing them more than you hate reading them. Once we get into the arena, then you'll see my true colors, my GOOD writing, shine through.
Quick poll (because my poll button doesn't like me) –– What do you think of Petronius x Juno? Cute? Could never happen? Any comments? Questions? Reviews? *ahem*
Read, review, and recycle! By recycle I mean favorite and/or follow, because then people who go to your profile will see this story... what? I have to advertise. I know, I'm pathetic... ^_^