The Panem anthem, Gem of Panem, starts playing, which signals the tribute interviews are going to begin. Lucretius Flickerman, the host of the last games, is on the stage, ready to start the tribute interviews. I can also see rows of Capitol citizens, with snazzy suits or gorgeous dresses.

"I'm Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman. A man who needs no introduction. Weatherman, amateur magician, and, I'm honored to say, official host of the Hunger Games.", Lucretius says. He's dressed in a velvet blue suit, with his signature mustache and bowtie. "Now first on the stage, we have the girl from District 1! Please welcome Opal Aramount to the stage!". A girl with wavy blonde hair steps onto the stage, with skin as tan as toffee and hair as shiny as a jewel. She's wearing a white dress, with an additional layer of fabric attached to the dress straps. Concher whispers to me and tells me it's a thing ancient people used to wear called a "peplos". The girl and Lucretius sit down on white chairs and begin talking.

"So Opal. How are you liking the Capitol?"
Opal lets out a small giggle, that sounds ineffably dumb. "It's amazing!"
"Well, I'm glad. Now, what skills do you have? What will help you survive in the arena?"
"Don't count me off that fast, Lucky.", she replies, which makes all the audience laugh. She then blows a kiss to the Capitol citizens and the crowd goes wild.
"I'm handy with a spear. Used to play make believe with my little sissies and use our brooms for fighting. I might look sweet on the outside but I can kill much as anybody else in here."
Lucky nods. "I bet you'll be a strong contender. Now let's get to a more personal basis. How about your family at home?"
I would be very uncomfortable if Lucky asked me that, but Opal is playing her cards smartly. "I have two little sisters, Jade and Sapphire. And of course, my pa and ma."
"Anybody special?"
"Yep. Got a boy back home. We dance under the night sky in 1. It's beautiful there under the cover of night."
A sudden buzz disrupts the conversation, but Lucky looks like he's expecting this.
"Oh, your time is up!". Opal nods and stands up, while giving a bow. "Make some noise for Opal Aramount of District 1!"

Time flies by through the other interviews leading up to mine. Even though its only 3 other districts before me, they all have something to say. The boy from 1, Tourmaline Chert, has the same light-hearted and cheerful personality as Opal, but is obviously hiding his more sinister self. Both from 2, Scythe Collins and Gladia Spring, show their immense strength, with Scythe being able to hold a chair with Lucky sitting on it, and Gladia stacking the chairs on top of eachother. Datan Ingrid, from 3, is revealed to be both smart and strong, or so he claims. And his district counterpart, Sofia Olsen, is the main breadwinner of her family, since her mother passed away in childbirth and her dad has a permanent injury from electrocution that restricts him from moving. After watching Datan's interview and thinking about allying with him, Lucky calls my name; "Mags Flanagan". I'm nervous at first but I remember what Octavia told me, look pretty and smile. So I gather my best brave face and step to the stage. The audience gasp and let out excited screams of seeing my dress. I point to one of the people in the crowd and give them a wink, which makes the audience go even more wild. I don't recognize the person I'm being right now. Confident, a little bit flirty. All for the cameras, I guess.

"Woah, woah, woah, Mags!", Lucky booms. "That is a stunning entrance."
I smile and nod. "Thanks Lucky. But all thanks to my stylist, Tigris Snow!"
The audience bursts with sounds of clapping and cheering.
"She did an amazing job!', Lucky replies. "Just look at that beautiful necklace! And your veil! But of course the centerpiece, this beautiful dress. It looks like water flowing down!"
Lucky reaches out his hand and I graciously take it and sit down on the chair.

"Now Mags, you are a very special person, do you know that?", Lucky says.
"Well, I wouldn't go that far.". I'm afraid my attempt to make a joke would end with disappointed faces and making a fool of myself, but to much surprise the audience actually laughs.
"Mags Flanagan, you are the very first volunteer in the history of the Games."
"Yep, that's me."
"Why did you do it?"
"I just wanted to win it. For my family. If I win, we can have a comfortable life and home."
Lucky smiles. "That was very brave and selfless of you."
"I guess it was."

Lucky then proceeds to ask me my strategy in the arena, and I tell him about my fishing skills, my speed, and my natural survival skills. I also talk a bit about my family back in 4, and what I do for a living. By the time my interview is done, everybody is standing up and screaming and clapping for me. I've never felt so excited before.

I walk back to the tribute area where Octavia is waiting for me. She gives me a hug and says, "Darling, you did a wonderful job! Sponsors are already coming!". Octavia pulls out a tablet where I can see the amount of donations. So far, 856 Panem Dollars. That's triple what I make in a year!

Next, Concher is up. He and Lucky joke around at first, and Concher talks in a very approachable way. He also talks about all the girls he's kissed back home and I give a dramatic eye roll. When asked who he wants for allies, Concher says, "1 and 2 would be a good team for me.". Never once does he mention my name though. I don't know if I should be bothered or happy about it. Turns out, Concher is a single child and lives in the Central Bay, which is the richest area of 4. He says that his family sells items to the Capitol, like seashells, pearls, and seafood delicacies. I wonder how life would be like in the Central Bay. It's not the Capitol, but they wouldn't have empty stomachs for weeks. The Capitol citizens are all over him and he's gathered a lot of sponsors. Once the buzz goes up, the audience cheers and claps for him.

"That went well.", he says, while walking to me.
"Yeah, they love you.", I reply.
He just gives me a knowing smile. "They love you more."

The other tribute interviews are interesting too. Lanita's soft-spoken words really transform on the stage, where she speaks with more power and voice. Steerer just remains silent and aggressive, with the rare words he does speak being either "yes", "no", or "maybe". Still, Octavia shows me he's gained lots of sponsors, since people view him as strong. Rainie as a bubbly and kind personality that really shone through her interview. Unfortunately, not a lot of people thought she could win, since she only gained a dozen sponsors so far.

Cardamon Pheatro, the girl from 7, is wearing a small green ballerina dress, covered in leaves made from jewels. She looks so precious, delicate, and innocent in it, and all I want to do right now is wrap her in a blanket and keep her safe. She reminds me too much of my sisters. Cardamon doesn't mumble, but simply talks in a gracious manner. When asked about her skills, she replies, "I'm nimble and fast. And a good survivor. Don't count me out just yet.". The audience gives her a huge round of applause for her bravery. 

The rest of the tributes come off as either strong or scared, with 11 and 12 displaying pure fright. I go around talking to the other tributes and congratulating them. I then approach the people at the "7" section.

"Hi, Cardamon. Um, I'm Mags from 4."
Cardamon turns around, as she was just talking with her district partner.
"Nice to meet you. What brings you here, Ms. Mags?"
"I'm looking for allies. Want to work together?"
She is obviously surprised by my offer. "Me? But I'm just a bony little thing. No doubt I'll die in the first day."
I think about a reason because saying that she reminds me of my sisters would be very awkward. "You're fast. And you're smart."
"Thanks. I guess I am.". She lets out a small giggle. "I guess... it would be okay if we were allies."

Her district partner, Birch Wilkins, stops his conversation with his escort to talk to me. "Since Cardamon's allying with me too, would it be okay if we ally too?"
I nod. "The more, the merrier.", I say. Excluding the fact that we'll have to kill each other.

I walk around for a bit making some chitchat with the other tributes. So far, I know who to not trust. 1 and 2 are natural killers, I can see it in their eyes. And 3 look very crafty. Rayon Archer scowls a lot and gives me some weird looks. But he's doing that to everyone, so I don't really mind. The only tributes I haven't talked to yet are those from 9. Concher approaches me and I ask him if he wants to come with me. He nods and then we walk over to the section for 9.

"Hi. We were wondering who are your ally plans for the arena.", I say.
The girl, Amaranth I think was her name, snarls at me. "None of your business.", she snaps.
"We could smell your pesky plans miles away. And your atrocious stench.", the boy, Emmer, says.
I'm offended by this. Atrocious stench? I mean, I do smell like fish after fishing, but I've been showering in the Capitol. Might be the sea salt soap or something.
"It's sea salt soap, are you dumb or what?", Concher says, as if he's reading my thoughts
Emmer laughs. "Well if we're dumb, then you must be the most stupid people in the world."
Amaranth smirks. "Except you already are."
I just stand there awkwardly. I'm used to annoying people like this. But I guess Concher is just not having it.
"In that arena, you're first on my kill list."
Emmer's smile turns into a scared frown. But Amaranth just keeps laughing. "Sure, sunshine. Sure."
I look down to my feet in shame. What did we do to deserve this? I hear a weird sound of a bone cracking and I lift my head to see what's happening. And that's when a splatter of red hits my slippers.