The Hunger Games (Fan Fiction) Book Two

Chapter Eight

My hands are sweaty. I blink over and over as we wait backstage. Was I like this the first time we did the interviews? I don't know if I can talk to the crowd. They all saw that I didn't get a score. They're all going to ambush me with questions that I won't be able to answer.

Someone bumps into me from behind, and I whirl around as Johanna pushes her way through to the front. "Excuse you?" She says, before stopping next to her District seven partner. She flashes me a fake smile and turns around. Gale grabs me on the shoulder before I can hit her.

"Calm down, she isn't worth it." He says. I look up at him and take a deep breathe. "It sure feels like she is." I say.

Clapping comes from the audience, and Caesar Flickerman dashes on stage, and says something funny to get the crowd laughing. I don't know how he does that. Comes up with something hilarious for the crowd to laugh at every interview. He's lost weight too. His belly isn't quite as big anymore, and it doesn't jiggle as much. We all slowly walk onstage, and I hear a few people whispering about me. I clench my teeth and force a smile as I take my seat. Caesar announces the first tribute, Cashmere. She waltez her way up, looking just as stunning as Glimmer did when she was up here.

"How are you Caesar?" She asks. Her voice is smooth, almost hypnotic, like just hearing her voice makes you want to do what she wants. Caesar laughs a little and nods.

"Fine." He says. "And, may I say, you look quite stunning tonight." She flips her hair and waves off his comment. "Are you ready for the games?" He asks. She takes her time answering. "Yes and no." She says finally. "Yes--I am ready to get back in the arena and do what I loved to do. No--I like these people, and of course I don't want to see them hurt." She leans in to Caesar like she's going to whisper, but talks out loud.

"Honestly, I'm rooting for that little one, Prim. She's a true fighter." She looks back at me and I feel my cheeks warm up. Caesar talks to her for a while longer before the buzzer goes off. Everybody goes up, each one saying something about me before they leave. By the time I go up to talk, my face is so red, it looks like I rolled around in blood.

"Looks like you have some fans." Caesar says. I feel my cheeks warming up, and I have to force myself to calm down. "Yes, it feels great to hear that from everyone." I say, trying my best to sound confident. "Now, Primrose, you're our most recent winner, what does it feel like going back into the games this soon?" He asks. I nod.

"It's hard. I didn't think that when the games came back around, I'd be another contestant. But, no matter what, I am ready for whatever the games try to throw at me." I try to use my words carefully. I don't want the Capitol taking anything the wrong way or twisting my words up.

"How did you react when you won?" I manage a small smile. "I was shocked and relieved. I couldn't believe that I had won, but I was just so happy that I would be leaving that horrible place. It smelled so bad." I say. The audience giggles.

"The funny thing was, the first thing I thought of was my cat Buttercup. He's the sweetest thing." I continue. Caesar nods and points at me like I'm just so funny.

"Now, I have to ask, what did you feel when you came home and found out that Katniss was dead?" He says. My face goes blank. I wasn't expecting him to ask that. Caesar glances at me and the clock, his face glued with a smile. My mind flashes back to when I came home, and my mother telling me she was gone. I flash back to when I found the note and her dress, and my eyes start to fill with water.

"It..." I start. "It feels..........it feels like I can't even begin to describe it. No words can tell you how I felt Caesar. It felt like my world was just ruined. I had just been happy because I won and got to come home, and then to hear that she was gone..." My voice stops. I know I can't finish. But I force myself to.

"To hear that she was gone made me remember where I was and who the Capitol really were. Sick, twisted, evil people. Especially you Snow." I say as I look into the camera. The buzzer goes off and I quietly sit back down. The audience is quiet, and no one claps or says a word. I hear a few people sniff, and someone whimpers a little. Gale glances at me with sad eyes, eyes that I know are hopeful. He barely nods and walks up to Caesar.

"I want to say something about Prim." He says. I snap my head up and stare at Gale, my eyes filled with horror. No. No. Don't Gale. Stop. Stop, please. You don't know what you're doing.

"This little girl is the reason why there's an uprising starting. She's the one who gave everybody hope that we're not under Snow's control. We can change things. We can make things better for everyone. She's only thirteen and look what she's caused." He states. The audience is quiet for a while, then they all stand and cheer, louder than I've ever heard before. But just as quick as they stand, they sit back down. They all look around frantically, thinking Snow might come out and kill them. I look at Gale with eyes that tell him to stop. But he doesn't.

"Who cares what Snow thinks? We have the power to do what we want. We-"

"Gale stop!" I cry, standing up. He turns to me and nods. "I've said enough." He says into the microphone. I can still hear his words echoing in my head. "We can change things. We can make things better." I grab my head with my hands and try to make it stop. I don't want to be the reason for everything to happen. I don't want to be the leader in the rebellion. I want to be home. I want to see my mother. I want to see Katniss. I squeeze my head to where I almost think it'll burst, but the words never go away. The continue to echo in my head, as if they're planted in permantely. I've just about lost control when suddenly someone screams out in pain and the room blackouts.

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I'm so sorry for not uploading yesterday! I got so mad at my computer because it wouldn't start! It kept saying it was shutting down, but it never shut down or started back up! I had it all ready on tuesday and then yesterday it just stopped working!

Anyways, hope you liked the story, vote comment, you know the drill. See you next week!(: