After the Private Sessions:

Avonlea Headden, 18
District 4 Female

The 2 tributes invite everyone up to their floor to see the score reveal. I don't understand why we need to make such a big deal out of it to the point of throwing a hastily planned watch party. It's just a number.

Well, it's a number that apparently shows off just how talented I am and might determine which sponsors are willing to fork over their money under my name. It could make or break my support right here. Nobody's going to want to back a weak Career that can't hold her own ground. Oh fuck. What have I done-

"Hey." Cy pushes the button and the elevator does close in front of us. "Are you good?"
"I'm nervous."
"Why? The others don't bite. Except maybe Arietis."

I snort. "Very funny. But they could kick us out if we don't score high enough. Prism already said they'd be willing to drop Ganbataar if he doesn't. And Arietis and Olympia seem on board."
"So? Doesn't mean they'll do the same to us. We'll be safe."

My cheeks flare up again and I pat them as the elevator stops with a ding. "You're so optimistic. It's painful."
"Damn right. I'm the cool tribute and everybody loves me. You're the funny one."

Why can't Cy just ignore me? It would make this so much easier.

Brick gets the door and says a quick hello before inviting us to join the rest of the alliance on the couches by the TV. I sit next to Olympia and Cy squishes down next to my free side, forcing all of us to really knock into each other and I almost spill out onto Cy's lap. On Olympia's right and at the far end of the couch and safe from the physical impact of my district partner, Prism chuckles. Arietis has claimed a chair for himself, Brick sitting across from him, and Vivian and Ganbataar are cross legged on the floor.

I try to pretend that Cy's chin right on my shoulder isn't super…um…intimate. "So…what's happening?"
"We're waiting," Olympia whispers to me. Arietis gruffly mutters what sounds like "score reveal" and Vivian shoots him a "no shit, Sherlock" kind of look before switching her gaze to a bowl sitting next to him on the table. "Hey. I'm hungry. Pass the nuts."

Arietis and Prism burst into fits of snickers. Vivian sighs and throws a cashew at her district partner's face. Ganbataar watches the whole scene with disinterest. Cy smirks as well, but his face goes perfectly blank when I glance over at him. "Immature," I mutter under my breath, but I don't really mean it. It's more in jest than anything. Right. This is what people do. Make jokes and laugh at each other and stuff. Gotta fit in. Need the Careers to like me.

I try not to think too hard about it being a life or death matter. If they don't like me, they will have no problems killing me first.

"It's up!" Prism announces as the screen changes from some betting odds or recap or whatever to the face of Gregor Flickerman, the nephew of the late Caesar Flickerman, and the face of the entertainment side of the Games. He's wearing a dark blue suit complete with small yellow lightning bolts and has a sheet of paper on the desk in front of him, probably a list of all the scores. I try to spot my name, but the handwriting is pretty small and the angle doesn't help. Then Gregor picks up the paper and all I can see is the opaque back of it. Ganbataar laces his fingers together; huh, I thought I was the most anxious person in the room.

"Good evening, Panem! You've been kept waiting long enough, I think. It's time to reveal the scores of the tribute Private Sessions of the 101st Hunger Games!"

Oh please let mine be good enough. Please, please, please.

"First up: from District 1, Prism Lazuli with a score of…Ten!"

"Fuck yeah!" Prism pumps their fist in the air, narrowly missing hitting Olympia with their elbow. "That's what I'm talking about, baby!"

Vivian rolls her eyes as her face appears on the screen behind Gregor. "From District 1, Vivian Shaw with a score of…Ten!"

Vivian smiles gracefully and reaches behind Arietis to high five him. My stomach begins to churn. Ten is a good score. It's the mark of a really good Career, someone who will tear the arena to shreds.

"From District 2, Arietis Rammestien with a score of…Ten!"

"From District 2, Olympia Bronze with a score of…Nine!"

Arietis whoops in delight and Olympia's face falls. I gently nudge her shoulder. "Hey, nine is still pretty good. Right?"
"Right." Olympia's lips turn up in a small smile. "It's a good score…but if everyone was getting tens, I kinda wanted one too."

"Same," I say quietly as the scores continue.

"From District 3, Victor Purdue with a score of…Three!"

"From District 3, Mila Estedon with a score of…Five!"

Cy is up next. I hold my breath.

"From District 4, Cyclone Riel with a score of…Seven!"

"From District 4, Avonlea Headden with a score of…Nine!"

Everyone stares at us Fours in confusion as a bunch of thoughts float around in my mind. The fact that I scored a nine, the fact that I did better than Cy, his measly seven, the fact that I had absolutely nothing to worry about but still fell victim to my own nerves…

Cy mutters something about Gamemakers being unprepared to accommodate him or whatever, and then something about everything being bullshit. I gently rub his arm in consolation. "What happened?"
"I couldn't demonstrate my skills in such a small room. They have no appreciation for math."

I have no idea how I should respond to that, so I don't. Instead I watch as Prism taps Ganbataar with their shoe, a light reminder that he better prove his worth. I pray he does horribly, just for my partner's sake.

"From District 5, Ganbataar Tarkhan with a score of…Seven!"

Shit. He tied with Cy. I'm not sure how I should feel about that.

Ascella Fuhari, 15
District 8 Female

"From District 5, Loire Lemaire with a score of…Six!"

"From District 6, Walker Jeong with a score of…Five!"

"From District 6, Naomi Bishop with a score of…Six!"

"From District 7, Messier Chitra with a score of…Six!"

"Lame," Hunter says right away. He and I are hanging out on my floor and watching the score reveal. I thought it might be a fun way to bond as allies before the pacing of the actual Games sets in. But I also get a sinking feeling he doesn't really want to be here with me.

"Six is respectable," I say politely. It feels like a polite thing to say anyway, since six as a core is popping up quite a bit.
"Dude kept pestering me for an alliance. I thought he'd be tougher than that, but he's basically cannon fodder."

I help myself to another sip of my virgin strawberry daiquiri. "It's not nice to call people 'cannon fodder', Hunter."
"I said what I said." He picks up another piece of beef jerky and tears half of it off with his teeth, chomping loudly with his jaw hanging open and leaving the meat for all to see. I've been trying not to let it bother me too much. People can eat meat and animal products if they want, but does he have to be so…nasty about it?

"From District 7, Aisling Trier with a score of…Five!"

"From District 8, Garnet Ashhill with a score of…Six!"

Good! I'm glad for Garnet. He and I may be doing our own separate things, but he's not a bad person and I could never possibly wish him ill will. And then my face is on the screen and the anticipation bubbles through me. I can get something good. I know it!

"From District 8, Ascella Fuhari with a score of…Five!"

Oh.

Five…is not a bad score. Right? It's okay. It doesn't mean you're a total powerhouse or too weak to be a realistic winner, it just means you're average. In the middle. Just there, easy to forget or gloss over. I drink some more daiquiri, hoping the taste drowns out the bitterness on my tongue about only getting a five. No, five is good. It's what I want. I don't want a target on my back so being in the middle is what I ought to aim for…

I look over my shoulder and see Cassidy, who's been watching the score reveal with us. She gives me a nod. It doesn't feel very comforting.

"From District 9, Cameroon Solidago with a score of…Four!"

"From District 9, Grail Drowen with a score of…Seven!"

"From District 10, Hunter Appalachie with a score of…Seven!"

"Sweet fucking Snow," Cassidy says out loud, then quickly covers her mouth in embarrassment. I just stare at Hunter in shock. This was a guy who was pretending to be horrible at traps for some reason. Who was covering up his skills in training. And then he just goes and…and…and does this!? Who is he!?

"Hunter…"
"What? I wasn't expecting it either!"
"I don't get it."

Hunter rolls his eyes, but he's clearly fighting to hold back a smile. "Whatever. I hope my cousins think it's cool."

"From District 10, Linh Nguyen with a score of…Four!"

"From District 11, Kerkylas Andros with a score of…Seven!"

"From District 11, Coreopsis Buchanan with a score of…Five!"

"From District 12, Reggie Baxter with a score of…Six!"

"From District 12, Tati Vey with a score of…Three!"

"Well, that was fun. Thanks for the jerky." Hunter quickly stands up and makes his way for the elevator. I watch him go. Maybe I should be a little concerned that he wants to ditch me so fast, but I already knew coming into this alliance that he's not as dedicated as I am to it.

Maybe he won't want to be as dedicated, or won't even want me, if he thinks I'm weak. He scoffed at Messier's score and that was a six. Where does that put me? Did I just lose my only ally?

Cassidy comes to take the spot Hunter left. "Five isn't bad. I got a five."
"Hunter's a hard guy to impress."
"So don't try to impress him. He's in the same boat as you, so impressing him does nothing."

"Yeah but…" How am I supposed to word this? "A five…it's good."
"I won't lie, it's decent. But it's not a bad score. If you had a four or lower, then you should be worried."
"What am I supposed to do with a five, though? Everyone is gonna want to sponsor the higher scores over me. Hell, Cora got a five and I hate to be so cruel to them because they seem nice, but they're almost sponsor bait."

Cassidy laughs. "That's pretty tame as far as insults go. Ever heard of a compliment sandwich?"
"But that's the problem. I'm worried I might get lost in the shuffle."

Where are all these negative thoughts coming from? I'm not a naturally negative person; nothing good comes from being a downer all the time. There are good things in life and I want to enjoy them. But every single day, reality hits me. It's a hard reality to remain optimistic in. I don't want to be bitter. No, I'm not bitter. There are good things about being forgotten and overshadowed by Hunter or Cora or the Careers…right?

"Hey." Cassidy's voice suddenly sounds very stern. "Don't worry about the score. It's just a number that was assigned to you based on a very stressful fifteen minutes in which you had to perform under pressure. You were never trained for that kind of environment. That five undersells you."
"It does?"

"That's what Tweed told me and she's usually on the money when it comes to this stuff. Sounds super rehearsed, I know. But if you think about it, she is right. As long as you don't do anything stupid during your interview, you won't lose sponsors. And come the Games, the training score and odds and stuff like that won't matter."

I give it some thought. "Yeah. You're right. I shouldn't let it impact me too much. I gave it my all."
"Damn right you did."
"I tried my best."
"Yep!"

I give Cassidy a high-five and suddenly everything feels so far away. "I'm not gonna let this night ruin me. I've still got time to prove my worth!"

And that was the scores. Next up will be the first half of the interviews, as told by Arietis, Mila, Loire, and Walker.

See you all then,

-Vr