Leo's interview, unedited: I'm glad Lana won. She's really nice. I don't think she was going to get voted out this week anyway, but it's nice she got a prize.
Val's interview, unedited: It's good Octavia went to a spa. Maybe now she won't smell so bad. She's gonna deny that when she watches this. I love my sister but sometimes she thinks her shit doesn't stink. Tavi, you stink. We all stink.
Shep's interview: Everyone here is being too nice. Yes, there are people here we like, but we can't let that get in our way. There's only one winner- that's the cold truth. I have plenty of friends here, but I still want to win. I don't want to kill anyone, but I want to win. But I guess everyone has their own priorities.
Shep's edited interview: I want to win. I can't let anyone get in my way. There are plenty of nice people here, but there's only one winner.
Octavia Jacobs- District Two female (18)
I was sitting in a hot spring pool leaned up against a rock that was slanted just right for leaning up against. My hair smelled of the daisy-scented shampoo and conditioner that had removed weeks' worth of kinks and snarls that our little camp shower just couldn't beat. There was some sort of fancy moisturizing cream on my face and my fingers brushed the stem of the virgin mimosa set on a table at the spring's edge. Yes, I would say it was a good day.
"Check this out." Lana got on her hands and knees on the ledge around the edge of the pool, crawling around like a crocodile. "It feels like you're floating." Maybe there were cameras on me, but what the hey? You're only in a Danish hot spring spa once. I tried it and no joke, she was right. It felt deliciously weightless to creep around with the water holding most of my weight. After we went in a few circles we kicked up a current, adding to the easy movements.
"This is pretty sweet," I admitted. "Thanks for bringing me."
"No problem," Lana said. "So, you think you're gonna win?"
"I don't know," I said honestly. "I came in at such a disadvantage, having a built-in ally. But I've made it this far. Honestly this is so new to all of us, I think it could be anyone. None of us would be a surprise to me."
"I'm pretty happy no matter what. We must have a lot of prize money already. I wonder if I could buy myself a house," Lana said.
"I bet you could. And if not, I bet you could make commercials or something. We're gonna be a really weird unique bunch all our lives- the only Tributes who didn't win but didn't die. I bet we could leverage that and make a ton of money from appearances and endorsements."
"Ooh, that's true," Lana said. "That's so crazy. I never dreamed I'd be rich."
"It has its problems, but I shouldn't complain," I said. Most of those problems weren't really from being rich. They were from being in politics. Money has its dangers. Politics is nothing but danger.
"You think they'll let us visit each other after this? There's gonna be a lot of parties and stuff I suppose we'll go to," Lana said.
"I think so," I said. "It's not unheard of to travel between Districts. It's just really rare. Since we're affiliated with the Capitol, I bet it will be easier." A happy thought came to me. "They're definitely going to want to make a big deal of everyone's weddings, so we'll probably get to go to those. So marry Evelyn soon and I'll get to come."
"Ooh, you can be the maid of honor!" Lana said.
"What? Really?" I asked, beaming. It had never been easy for me to make friends. I always had to be afraid that someone wanted my money or my power, or that they were sent by Cassius. Maybe that was why I let myself be so open with Lana. There was no danger of politics with her. We weren't even from the same District. I doubted Lana had any ambitions to a position that went up that high.
"I don't really have any other friends. Just Evelyn, and she can't be the maid of honor," Lana said.
"Awesome," I said. I'd been to probably a hundred weddings. They'd mostly been occasions to publicly demonstrate a relationship and to network. Some of the weddings were sincere, some weren't, but they were all cynical as far as my participation went. It would be really fun to see a wedding that was actually just about love. I wondered what sort of fun traditions Six weddings had.
Maybe it was the peacefulness of the hot spring water on my muscles. Maybe it was the mimosa, virgin or not. In either case, I decided to do something impulsive.
"When the Games are over, while we're still in the Capitol doing all the appearances and stuff, do you maybe wanna go somewhere? Like a girls trip?" I asked.
Lana's smile was infectious. "Really? That would be so much fun!"
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, where should we go?" I asked, flipping a hand up. I let just a little giddiness bubble up in me. This was a safe place to be giddy. My problems at home would always be there. I could worry about them later.
"I always wanted to see the Grand Canyon," Lana said.
"I think that's pretty near the Capitol. It would probably be easy to get permission," I said.
"I hear they have donkeys there," Lana said dreamily.
"I've never seen a donkey," I said. It was a ridiculous image, me on a tiny fat horse in a rocky canyon. But why not? I didn't have to be serious all the time.
"Grand Canyon or bust," Lana said. She held out a pinky. I had to smile. I hadn't pinky-sworn since⦠ever. I went to a fancy school. We had fancy rituals.
"This is so much fun. I'm just so glad all this happened," Lana said a minute later.
"Me too," I said. "I thought this was going to be so much harder. It's nice everyone here is so cool. I didn't think I'd make a friend."
"That's the magic of the spa," Lana said. "Friends forever. We're the sisterhood of the spa."
The sisterhood of the spa. I liked that.
Kallik's interview: Octavia's been really happy lately. That's nice she's not so serious all the time. Or maybe she's just planning something horrible and we're all gonna find out soon. Oh well, at least it's not a real Games where people die.
Kallik's edited interview: Octavia's planning something horrible. It's really serious. We're all gonna find out soon.
Dorian's interview, unedited: Check out this bruise on my arm. I was pulling in a fish and it turned out to be a little shark. It bit me on the arm, but it was one of those turtle-eating sharks with weird-shaped teeth so it didn't penetrate. It bit it back to get it to let go. How do you like it, jerk?
Octavia's POV ended up long enough I just did the one. Make sure to get in those votes!
