Against His Odds - A Hunger Games FanFiction

Chapter 8

Iris was in a room in the back of the building they were in. They were about to be tested for their skills in fighting or whatever they were best at. As District 2 was called, Iris gave a thumbs up to Heather, who went in before Jonathan. Now, Iris had to think of a plan on what she was going to do.
     She began to think. If she were to get a really high score, she might get a lot of sponsers. The other tributes would either be afraid of her, or they would try to go for her first to get her out of the way. If she got a lower score, she could seem weak to other tributes. They would either think of her as weak and pitiful and ignore her, or try to take her out first. And when they do, Iris would be able to show them what skills she really has. And about sponsors... Maybe if she shows up weak, and proves herself stronger when she kills others later, the sponsors would go crazy, or they might give her stuff in feeling bad for her.
     Iris flinched as she heard her name called. She looked around and realized that the room was way more empty than before. It was her turn. She got up and slowly walked through the door to where the testing took place. She had already decided what she was going to do.
     She looked around as she stood in the middle of the room. The judges were up at the top in a room where they evaluated the tributes. They looked down intently at her, watching what she will do. Iris walked confidently to the rack with the spears on it.
     She picked up a spear and drew her arm back to throw it, but when she threw her arm forward, the spear weakly soared and landed a few feet in front of her. She smiled as she knew she appeared weak.
     She looked at the judges that stood on the balcony. They were peering curiously at her, most of them frowning. She giggled at them as she picked up a knife and barely flung it in front of her, staring at them the whole time. One of the judges soon nodded and smiled, figuring out what she was doing.
     After ten minutes of weakly throwing the next item she picked up row by row, the judges finally dismissed her. Iris made her way back to her room with Presley, where she sat on the couch and waited for everyone else to finish.

     An hour and a half passed by in no time. Iris and Chad sat on the couch and were watching the scores being announced. Heather got a 7 and Jonathan got 9. They were proud, but became a little bit nervous when they found out the scores of the tributes that were going to be the career pack this year. The two District 3 tributes and the two District 7 tributes. Isabelle got a 9, Michel got an 11, Naiome got an 8, and Francis got a 10.
     Finally, it was time to announce Chad and Iris's scores. Chad's score came first; he got an 8. Presley and Odis were ecstatic, congratulating Chad many times before stopping to hear Iris's score. Iris held her breath, hoping to get the score she wanted. Then they said it.

"District 11, Iris Strutter with a 3."

     Iris burst out laughing with a huge grin on her face. Presley and Odis weren't as congratulating as they were to Chad, but they said things like, "Good job!" and, "I'm sure you tried your best!"
     "No, I got a lower score on purpose. The weaker I look, the more people would want to ignore me or get me over with. And when they come near me... Bam! They won't expect how strong I really am," Iris said. Odis nodded. "The girl tribute from District 5 in the Hunger Games I played in did the same thing... but she died soon. Too many people came after her," he said. Iris began to think that she made the wrong decision.
     "Anyway," Presley said, "Your interviews are tonight!" "I can help you two practice," Odis offered. Iris and Chad nodded. They spent the rest of the evening practicing questions that Caesar Flickerman might ask during the interveiw. Soon, they were ready.