Sotope

"Caesar, could you tell me who you think gave the best interview tonight?"

I deliberately arranged a date with Caesar immediately after the interviews so I could gather information from him. Normally, when Caesar had to buy me on interview night, I wouldn't ask him this. I didn't want to use my relationship with the Master of Ceremonies to give my tribute an unfair advantage over the others. That would feel like cheating.

But this year, the circumstances are different.

"I thought we'd agreed not to mix business and pleasure," Caesar says, setting his glass down on the coffee table. Even if I'd asked, I doubt he would've told me anything. He's never given any of my tributes special treatment.

"That's why I'm asking you before you get me undressed," I say. "We both know this year is different. Luka told me about the whole situation. If the games are already rigged in Gus' favour, giving him a bit more of an advantage can't hurt."

"Okay," Caesar says. Since we're in his private penthouse apartment, he must realise it's safe to share some secrets with me. "If you want my professional opinion, Jesse gave the best interview."

"Jesse?" I ask. He seems like such a random choice. He's a weedy kid who got a painfully mediocre score of five and I didn't think his interview was that special. But I guess that's why I'm asking an expert.

"Yeah," Caesar says. "Before the interviews, he was a complete nobody. None of the sponsors were even considering him. Then he gave his interview and he showed he had charisma. He was confident onstage. He was funny. Now I reckon he's got a few sponsors on his side just by being likeable. He probably made the most significant gain."

"What, you think that kid will have more sponsors than Gus?" I ask.

"No," Caesar says. "Nobody can come out of absolutely nowhere and become the big fan-favourite just by giving a good interview."

"Fawkes Chau did it," I say.

I remember hardly anyone was talking about Fawkes Chau in the months leading up to the Quell. In fact, I'd heard people say he was going to be one of the first to die, since he was one of the few tributes in the Quell with no combat skills. I'd laughed at Tesoro for picking the boy first for the Quell Victor Draft. Now I kick myself for not seeing that interview coming.

I'm not going to let myself be blindsided like that again. If someone pulls off a move like that this games, I stand to lose more than just a game of Victor Draft. Gus will die.

"Fawkes Chau was a special case," Caesar says. "Firstly, he was already a big name from his first games, there were just doubts about whether he could play the same games again. Secondly, all the big fan-favourites and contenders to win completely bombed their interviews. Neither of those apply to Jesse. For example, Gus is the big fan-favourite. He's the tribute with the big name. He didn't bomb his interview. He was one of the best, I thought. He had a clear angle. He's been using it since the reaping. He's definitely the most popular tribute with sponsors. I think he will be for a long time."

"So Jesse isn't a threat?" I ask. "He'll never overtake Gus when it comes to sponsors?"

"Not unless he starts sending people voodoo dolls," Caesar says. "I doubt Plutarch will put any in the arena."

I laugh.

"Who is the biggest threat?" I ask. "Who's the most likely to steal Gus' sponsors."

"Hephaestion," Caesar says. "He and Gus have pretty similar angles. They're both heroic. They both volunteered to protect their family members. They're both strong and handsome. Hephaestion got the highest score of the games. If Gus wants to secure his majority with the sponsors, I suggest that he kills Hephaestion first."

I nod. I know that Gus and Hephaestion had this brief but very close friendship in training. Gus might be opposed to taking out his former friend early on.

"Who else is popular?" I ask.

"Patty," Caesar says. "She went for the sexy angle. That was a very smart choice. She's one of the four most telegenic tributes in the arena and none of the other three tried it, so she didn't have any competition. Minaret is also quite popular, but I think she picked the wrong angle. That 'bring honour to my district' angle is tired enough as it is but she's competing with Gus and Hephaestion, who are also both playing the hero and much more successfully. I'd say most of her sponsors are due to her looks and the fact she scored a ten."

I smile. It's reassuring to know that two of the three most popular tributes in the games are in Gus' alliance.

"Then you have a few tributes who are moderately popular," Caesar says. "A lot of sponsors were disappointed by the Ones' low scores but both of them gave very strong interviews. They both have clear angles. Tsarina's shaping up to be a torturer. If she gets her hands on some cannon fodder and puts on a show, she could be very popular. Sceptre is also very charismatic. Told some good jokes. The Nines are a bit unpredictable. We've never had posse members in the games before, since the posses have only existed for a few months. I think sponsors will find that interesting, especially because they've both got combat experience and a solid pre-existing relationship."

"Anyone who isn't a Career?" I ask. It is a little worrying how all of the tributes in the rival alliance are moderately popular with sponsors.

"Hunter," Caesar says. I breathe a sigh of relief. "Strong and silent has worked for Tens before. I'm sure some sponsors see potential in him."

"So those nine are the most popular?" I ask.

Caesar nods. "Then you've got your dark horses. They probably have a few niche sponsors but they could get more if they do well in the arena. We've already covered Jesse. I think Rory did a pretty good job for a thirteen-year-old. He's very cute and positive and he's allied with Petra, so he has someone to spread positivity to in the arena. Then there's the matter of Tornada. Her angle was perfect. Sob story's the best option for a tribute who scored a two."

I nod. Tornada had quite a sob story for her interview. She talked about how she was separated from her baby sister when her mother died, presumably in childbirth. Her father had already abandoned her. She also mentioned that her sister was sick when she was born. The doctor said she'd be blind if she survived.

"Is it true?" I ask. I'm aware that Tornada pretended to be weak to score a two. Some cynical part of me thinks she's pretending to have a blind little sister. "Luka would want to know."

"It's true," Caesar says. "The gamemakers gave me a file on Tornada. Her little sister's alive. Lithia Crossway is blind, thirteen years old and currently living in a community home. I imagine I'll interview her if Tornada reaches the top eight."

"So you've tracked her down?" I ask.

Caesar nods.

"When these games are over, can you tell me how to find her?"

"Are you thinking of adopting another orphan, Sotope?" Caesar asks.

"I probably won't have to," I say. "Luka will probably take her in. Knowing him, he'll feel guilty when Tornada dies before she can get back to her sister and he'll feel like he owes Lithia something."

"That would actually be excellent," Caesar says. "Hero victor's family takes in dead district partner's disabled sister. That's a good look. Snow would love it! You're a genius, Sotope!"

He leans across the coffee table and kisses me. I gently push him away, though I do feel flattered. I wasn't really thinking about how it would look if Luka or one of his kids adopted Lithia. I was thinking about how it was the right thing to do. A girl who'd lost her entire family would get a new family to support her. Luka and Gus wouldn't have to feel so guilty over Tornada dying and Lithia being left alone. It seemed like a win-win situation. But now I see someone else is winning - the Capitol.

It's a win-win-win situation. Excellent!

"We're not done with business yet," I say. "Does anyone else have any sponsor appeal?"

"We have some controversial tributes," Caesar says. "Primrose Everdeen, of course. Some sponsors are in her corner because she's Katniss Everdeen's little sister. Other sponsors won't touch her because…"

"She's Katniss Everdeen's little sister." I finish.

"Exactly," Caesar says. "The Threes are a mixed bag. Obviously, they're related to Coyotes, who were even more infamous than Katniss Everdeen. A lot of sponsors won't go near them, even some of the ones that are willing to support Primrose. Annette's interview didn't help. A meltdown with a hint of defiance towards the Capitol is never a good look. Axel, however, I believe gave a very good interview given the circumstances. He knew what he was doing. He went out of his way to show respect to the Capitol, and to Fawkes Chau as well. I think the way he portrayed his relationship with Annette would be charming to some sponsors. Then there's Deckard. He got a pretty decent score and his interview was very confident. He's not as tied to the rebellion as some tributes but he is a Four and he did make the decision to ally with tributes with clear rebel ties."

"A very foolish decision," I say.

Caesar nods in agreement.

"What about Lucinda and Spruce?" I ask. "Surely they'll get more sponsors than all the rebel tributes."

"They could," Caesar says. "Currently, their training scores and interviews aren't enough to stand out but they could potentially do something impressive in the arena. Lucinda strikes me as very intelligent. She has the potential to pick up sponsors in the arena. In the early game, it shouldn't matter too much, since she's allied with Gus and Patty."

"Spruce is playing weak," I add. "Gus tells me he's very good with an axe."

"Oh, I know the type," Caesar says. "Trust me, when that kind of tribute starts showing off their skills, the sponsors notice. I suspect that Petra might be doing something similar."

"Petra?" I ask. I've learned since the reaping that the girl from Six is deaf. The Capitol provided her with hearing aids for training and the interviews but she made it clear in her interview that she won't be allowed to wear them in the arena. I've been trying to gauge how much of a disadvantage that'll give her.

"She claimed to be fully deaf in her interview," Caesar says. "But I've seen her medical report. She's deaf in her left ear and she has chronic tinnitus in her right. She's still seriously hearing impaired but she can hear a lot more than she lets on."

I nod. That's useful. I'll need to pass that information on to Gus tomorrow morning. Otherwise he might make the mistake of not trying to be quiet when sneaking up on Petra.

"What about the other five?" I ask. "Are any of them playing weak?"

"Mirabelle, perhaps," Caesar says. "Based on her file, I suspect she can be very stealthy. She was very quiet and evasive in her interview. Valerie and Herbie… probably not. Herbie will get sponsors if he shows enough skill in the arena. Valerie, probably not. She's the daughter of one of Four's leading rebels. As for the Eights… they're just both rebels."

I nod. Both tributes from Eight had to be dragged offstage by peacekeepers as they both tried to incite a riot. It's hard to tell wether either of them will start trying to win the games when they're in the arena or if they're just not taking them seriously. Either way, it's clear that neither of them will get sponsors unless they start pulling off superhuman feats like Lumas Taffeta did. Even then, Lumas won his games nine years ago, when rebellion was a more attractive prospect to most people.

"Okay," I say. "I think I have all the information I need."

"Really?" Caesar asks. "You just want to hear about whether or not I think the tributes will get sponsors? I've read files on all of them, Sotope. I know all their dirty secrets. I know the things they choose not to share in their interviews. Don't you want to know them?"

My heart skips a beat. "We could be talking all night," I say, hesitantly. "We'll be too tired for any… pleasure."

"You're curious, though, aren't you?" Caesar asks. "You know, most years, I never get to tell people these things. I'd get in terrible trouble. But this year, I have to take sides and you're on the right side. Don't you want to make the most of the opportunity?"

I smile. "You're going to enjoy telling me, aren't you?"

"Of course," Caesar says, with a wicked grin.

Then, he tells me everything.

I decided to do a slightly different format for the interviews chapter. Now we get to hear what Caesar thinks about every tribute's chances to win sponsors, from big sponsor favourites like Gus and Hephaestion to absolute no-hopers like the Eights.

We also learn more about some tributes, especially Tornada. She's been pretty quiet about her family situation up until this point but this is going to have a pretty big impact on how Gus and Luka both view her. As for Sotope… she's still totally fine with Tornada dying because she already has a plan to protect Tornada's little sister, a plan that happens to be very politically beneficial for Gus.

Caesar also has some secrets he's eager to share. He's not usually allowed to talk about what he's learned from the gamemakers' files but since this year's games is already going to be rigged in Gus' favour and Sotope is 100% on Team Gus, there's no harm in Caesar telling her a few secrets. We'll learn some of these secrets in later chapters and find out how useful they are.

Also, Fun Fact: I almost forgot to mention one of the tributes in this chapter. See if you can guess who it was.