The Hunger Games | Rilaya

The Final Interview

There's a deafening roar and then I turn, finally locking eyes with Riley. She looks so clean and healthy, unlike our time in the arena. But her smile is the same and I find myself running towards her, flinging myself into her arms. She staggers back at the force, losing her balance and taking us both down.

"Oh no, down they go! Looks like Shawn mentored them too well." Caesar jokes, producing chortles from the audience.

I don't pay attention to the crowd. Riley connects our lips in a bruising kiss and all I can think about is how kissing her was like coming home. After about five minutes of almost non-stop kissing, Caesar taps on my shoulder to continue the interview. Without even breaking the kiss or looking back, I push him away. The audience goes berserk.

Finally, Shawn pulls me off Riley, shoving me towards the victor's chair. Usually, it's a single chair for the victor to watch highlights from the Games. This year, the Gamemakers replaced it with a velvet couch, a love seat.

I sit as closely as I can to Riley. She puts her arm around me, letting me curl up against her. My mind briefly flashes back to our time in the cave, where a lot of our cuddling was just to prevent each other from freezing to death.

Riley wears a similar dress to mine, the yellow material complementing my own very well.

"You look beautiful." I whisper to her and she sends me a dazzling smile. "You do too."

Caesar makes a few more jokes and then it's time for the show. As the lights dim and the holographic projection of the Capitol seal appears on the screen, I realize just how unprepared I am for this. The thought of watching twenty two tributes die sounded like torture.

How were the other victors able to face this alone? At the very least I have Riley, but even still I have a strong impulse to run.

I try to think back to previous years. Missy Bradford seemed very triumphant, pumping her fists in the air for each death. Darby Walker went for a cool, collected angle and seemed unfazed for most of the viewing. Farkle Minkus played each death off, no doubt trying to bury his real emotions. Isadora Smackle just seemed stunned, barely reacting at all.

Of course, the other victors didn't have a Capitol breathing down their back, waiting for them to mess up.

Condensing several weeks of footage into three hours is not easy. Whoever puts the highlights together has to carefully select certain scenes in order to tell a story. This year they tell a love story, which is the obvious choice.

The first half hour focuses on the events leading up to the Games: the reaping, chariot ride, training scores, and our interviews. There's a horrible upbeat soundtrack in the background that makes it even worse considering pretty much everyone on screen is dead.

Once the Games start, there's a detailed coverage of the bloodbath. Now I'm able to see what the audience saw, how Riley misled the Careers, stayed awake the entire night under the tracker jacker tree, and fought Cato to let me escape.

I wince at the sound of her scream. Riley gives my hand a little squeeze, reminding me that she's okay now.

Meanwhile, I seemed ruthless in comparison. Dodging fireballs, dropping nests, and blowing up supplies isn't romantic at all. But then, I go looking for Auggie. They play his full death and I have to look away when I know the spear is coming. I glance at Riley and see she's frowning at the screen, eyes full of unshed tears.

Auggie asks for me to sing and they even play my song in full. After I sing my final note, Riley's voice echoes in the background. "She stood you up on a stool and had you sing it for us. And I swear, every bird outside the windows fell silent."