Victor

“Stella Trace, is it? District One tribute! First interview! Isn’t that fabulous.” Baron beamed at her as she took her seat on the stage across from him. Stella smiled politely at the crowd.

“Now, Stella...what do you think was the most important part of your training process?”

Stella smirked and I think even she rolled her eyes. “Knife-throwing.” She replied quickly without even having to think. “Fast, easy, and I don’t even have to get close to my target.”

Stella flashed the crowd a dangerous smile and they erupted into cheers. It was like she sharpened her words with her knives before she used them.
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“Drew...by now, everyone’s heard about the infamous District One training brawl.” Baron Ivory chuckled, placing his hand on the arm of his chair. “What exactly happened in there?”

Drew swiveled his head to look at Stella, who’d finished her interview, and was waiting patiently backstage. “Obviously, my partner refuses to act her age.” He replied smoothly, sitting up straighter. “Behaving like a child will just get you killed.” He added placidly. I peeked up at Stella - her face burned bright red and she looked ready to throw something.

Baron grinned. “You seem to know what you’re doing.” He laughed along with the crowd and Drew smiled stiffly. “So are you nervous for the ‘big Game’?” Baron chuckled again and leaned back in his seat.

Drew leaned forward as if to tell Baron a juicy secret. “Not in the least.”
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Jade strode out on the stage wearing a gorgeous emerald dress and her brightest smile. She took her seat, crossed her legs and placed her hands on her knee. She laughed at all Baron’s jokes and even teased him a bit. She was comfortable and poised, which only made me more nervous.

“Do you think you have a good chance in the Games?” Baron asked quickly before their three minutes was up.

Jade tossed her straight hair over her shoulder and looked out at the crowd, smirking. “Definitely.”
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Tiberius West, District Two, seemed extremely comfortable out on the open stage even though he was only twelve. He made jokes through most of the interview and laughed easily along with the crowd. The entire exchange was happy and light, which made me even more uncomfortable.
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Sade Wells, District Three, didn’t say much, but respectfully flashed smiles at the crowd. Her dress was a shocking shade of yellow that the crowd seemed to adore. She bounced a little when she walked and the crowd would cheer wildly. She talked briefly about her skills with hand-to-hand combat for the next three minutes and everyone hung on to her every word. It must’ve just been the way she handled her words.
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“Sammy Vega!” Baron chirped as the boy sauntered up the stage steps. “It’s a pleasure.” He said to the boy from Three and Sammy nodded curtly, eyes flickering towards the vast sea of people to his left. “Pretend they aren’t even there.” Baron whispered, winking.

Sammy shifted in his seat and looked expectantly at his interviewer.

“Yes...well, Sammy, anything special back home you’d like to talk about? Anyone you’d like to talk directly to?”

Sammy blinked rapidly, uncertain of where the conversation was going.

When he opened his mouth to speak, Baron leaned forward and asked in a stage whisper, “Any special girls back home?” Then he leaned back and chuckled.

When Sammy didn’t answer, Baron laughed and gasped, “Oh! He’s blushing, isn’t he?” He sat up in his seat and pointed at Sammy accusingly. The crowd roared along with him.

I thought he had a nice smile.

Sammy looked relieved when the interview was finally over and hurried off the stage, but Wren walked over to me and mumbled, “That’s how you want to come off, Cali. Make the crowd adore you, no matter if you have to be bashful or glamorous or chummy. It doesn’t really matter what you do - just get yourself some sponsors.”
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The girl from Four walked onto the stage in a short bubbly blue dress and her hair in a fishtail braid. She grinned and waved and the crowd loved her immediately. The fact that she was a Career didn’t hurt, either.

Baron chatted with her happily for a minute, talking about the Reaping and her home life in District Four. Finally, at the end of her interview, he asked very seriously, “Mel. I understand that you got a training score of nine. Now, that’s very impressive. How, exactly, did you manage to accomplish that?”

Mel brushed her hair out of her face and beamed. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and find out.” She replied with a saucy wink.
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“Now for the boy from Four - Logan Roote! Let’s see if he’s as charming as his partner!” Baron winked. The crowd screamed for him, too, as the freckled boy walked to his seat.

Logan sat down and started talking immediately about his skills with a spear and that he was eager for the Games. He seemed interesting enough and managed to keep the conversation going. The sea of people seemed disappointed when he exited the stage.
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Mallory Past marched up and sat right down. She was wearing a shimmering silver dress that threw sparkles everywhere she walked. “You’re really lighting up the room in that dress!” Baron chirped wholeheartedly. Mallory just raised an eyebrow and didn’t reply.

“Well, Mallory,” he began. “How are you liking life in the Capitol?”

Mallory just shrugged. “It’s alright, I guess.”

Baron’s eyebrows shot up. “Just ‘alright’?”
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Her District partner, Fed, trudged up on the stage, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He replied mostly with one-word answers and shook his head a lot. The three minutes allotted to him seemed to drag by and the crowd didn’t seem entertained.
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Tella Benton walked somewhat cautiously to her seat. She kept her eyeliner-rimmed eyes focused on the crowd like she was expecting someone to attack her at any moment.

“You got a training score of four. Any thoughts?”

Tella looked miffed and admitted, “I missed the dummy when I threw two of my knives. That’s where I lost my points.” She seemed sure of herself though. She tucked her straight dark hair behind her eyes and batted her bangs out of her face and flashed the crowd a devilish smile. “I won’t miss again, though.”
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The boy from District Six, Collin Zine, was all smiles. He kept a casual back-and-forth banter with Baron, laughing at all the right times and grinning at the crowd. He mentioned casually his skill with a spear and that he managed to receive a training score of six.
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Juniper Pierce traipsed all the way to her seat, swaying slightly back and forth to show off the dark green dress her stylists had chosen that complemented her pale skin. She smiled slightly and talked easily with Baron. He seemed to like her enough - that meant the crowd did, too. Her three minutes flew by and soon she was walking back down the hallway. I noticed her survey me warily as she strode past.
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Aspen Herk timidly walked to his seat and sat rigidly, his eyes obscure as he replied with short answers and some grunts.

“Do you feel prepared for these Games?”

He grunted and looked down at his feet. Baron furrowed his eyebrows and leaned closer, like it’d help him decipher Aspen’s strange way of communicating.

Aspen coughed loudly and said, “I really hope so.” Then he glanced back at the crowd and the corners of his mouth twitched into a shy smile.
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The tribute girl from Eight, Ambera Rowe, practically tiptoed onto the stage, her eyes wide. Her face looked narrow and tight under the large lights and Ambera looked like she wanted to run. She spoke in a near whisper and stared at her hands most of the time. Baron would smile at her and she would try to grin back, but it looked more like a grimace.
I felt bad for her - she looked terrified.
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Scot Felix ambled up on stage. Baron grinned and gestured at the seat. Scot sat and even then, he was still a good head taller than the Baron - he even had to look down at his interviewer when he talked.

“Well, Scot, a training score of eight is very impressive! Just like your District!” Baron chirped.

Scot didn’t look amused. “I trained hard.” He said gruffly.

“Spears, huh?”

Scot nodded simply.

“Impressive...”
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“The female tribute from District Nine - Miss Sapphire Spon!”

The girl tilted her head slightly and waved at the crowd. They screamed back their approval. Her deep blue gown swept the ground as she walked and the gems on her necklace sparkled at the hollow of her throat.

She gracefully sat and Baron immediately commented, “Your gown is absolutely stunning! That color is amazing on you. What type of gems are those?” He asked, gesturing to her throat.

“Thank you.” She ducked her head bashfully, then peeked over at the crowd and smiled modestly. “Sapphires.”
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Jeter Hillins seemed confident and comfortable on the stage. He and Baron joked lightly and I almost forgot for a minute that he was only twelve years old.

Then I felt like crying again.
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“Miss Azalea Mackle! District Ten!”

A girl with a side braid stepped onto the stage, smiling nervously, one hand raised in a wave. She smoothed her ivory dress and sat, still smiling.

“Well, hello, Azalea. You’re looking lovely tonight.”

Azalea kept smiling tightly.

“A seven for a training score? That’s certainly notable.”

Azalea lowered her head and stared at her shoes. “Yes.”

“So...swords, I hear?”

Azalea peered up at him. “Yes.” She replied timidly.

“Looks like Drew definitely has some competition!” Baron roared and the crowd giggled along with him. Azalea stood, blushing furiously.. “Ladies and gentleman, Azalea Mackle!” Everyone applauded and she hurried off the stage, beaming.
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Travis Levy was a good three heads taller than Baron. He stood up and chuckled when Travis walked slowly to his seat. “Can you hear me up there?” Baron joked, cupping his hand around his ear and tilting his head upward. Travis furrowed his eyebrows, not sure whether to laugh or cry.
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I remembered Flora Crouse from the tribute parade. For the interviews, she wore a dress made from tulips of all different colors. She bounced onto the stage, all smiles, and waved to the howling crowd.

“What a dress!” Baron exclaimed as she took her seat.

“Yep.”

“I bet you smell lovely, too.” He teased.

Flora arched her dark eyebrows as if wondering why they were wasting their elusive three minutes on such a useless topic. Then she looked ready to smack him at his sheer stupidity.

“I would agree.”

“So. A training score of five?”

Flora shrugged her shoulders, indifferent. “I guess.”

Baron lifted his eyebrows for the umpteenth time that night. “Alright then.”
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“Ryan Lamonde!” Baron roared. The tribute boy from Eleven wandered to his seat. “That’s an interesting flower...” He added, gesturing to the tulip clipped to the lapel of Ryan’s jacket.
Ryan smirked. “To match Flora.” He said brusquely, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to where Flora had left the stage.

“I see. Now, Ryan, any particular skills you’d like your fellow tributes to made aware of?”

He thought for a minute and glanced at the crowd. “Not necessarily.”

“Keeping things a secret, eh? That’s the safest way to live.”
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I was paraded out onto the stage, feeling absurd in my stiff dress and poofy skirt. With all this makeup plastered on my face, I fit right in with the Capitol. Luckily, my hair was still its usual blonde - they’d curled it loosely so the strands fell gently around my face, nothing unlike Dorothea’s during the Reaping.

But they’d pulled it up into my signature high ponytail, which added a boost of confidence - I liked the way it swung back and forth when I walked. Also, they hadn’t forced me into heels, though I wasn’t very tall, but I was reassured that I wouldn’t trip off the stage now. Ashby had returned to the room and nodded her approval, then disappeared again.

Baron laughed at all the pitiful jokes I tried to make, made me seem smarter than I was, and commented numerous times on the plain black dress my stylists had reluctantly agreed to let me wear. I smiled until my cheeks hurt and the crowd screamed their approval.

Leaning towards me, Baron asked only one important question during the entire interview. “And, Cali...how do you plan on winning these Games, exactly?” He leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs and grinning like a leprechaun.

I looked out over the crowd, then turned and looked at Wren backstage, who was staring right back at me. I straightened up in my seat and set my gaze on my interviewer. Plastering on my best smile, I replied evenly, “I’ll just fight until I’m dead.”

“You did great!” Dorothea exclaimed when I staggered offstage. “Charming! Especially that last line! What was it again...? Oh, yes! ‘I’ll just fight until I’m dead’! That gave me the chills!” She winked and tugged me aside so that Justen could move past us onto the stage.

I wrenched my arm free and turned to my mentor.

Wren put his hand on my shoulder and grinned at me. “Good job, sweetheart.” He murmured under his breath. Then he fell silent to watch Justen’s interview. Ashby licked her pink lips and nodded, not saying anything more.

I could only see the back of Justen’s head - the two were now discussing District Twelve.

“It certainly is...different.” I heard him murmur. Baron nodded. They continued talking about nothing really and Justen was ushered off the stage, escaping the crowd and their hollering. He brushed past me, turning to smile briefly before looking away again.