The Mentor - A Hunger Games Story

8 - BEFORE

Maislee was the second to last to go, and looked flustered as she left.

"Good luck." She said softly, but without much enthusiasm. He nodded his thanks and watched her go.

He was called over the PA, and gingerly walked into the training area. The gamemakers looked bored, sitting up high in their special booth. Some were even sleeping.

Haymitch looked around and noticed that they didn't clean up after every tribute. There were a few broken arrows, some misplaced weapons, and herbs lying around on the work table.

He looked up at the booth and cleared his throat.

"Ronnie from District 1 threw handaxes." He walked over to the ax targets. Everything was cleaned up in the throwing alley, but that didn't trick Haymitch. "When he threw with his right hand, he hit his target directly. When he threw with his left, however, he missed wide. He also puts his axes away, handles up, when everyone else puts them blades up."

"Shara from District 1 showed off her acrobatic skills." He glanced at the obstacle course that had been set up all week. Shara had done the course more than sixty times and could pass it with ease. But there was a knocked over hurdle halfway through the course. "She tripped and knocked over an obstacle. That only happened because you readjusted the course this morning."

Now he had their attention. None of the game makers were asleep anymore. They were leaning over the railing, eyes wide.

Haymitch kept going, listing off ten more tributes and what he guessed they performed. It really wasn't that hard. Just a combination of what he'd observed from their behavior, and what the training room looked like. He had been talking for at least twenty minutes, and knew he had to wrap it up.

"Maislee from District 12." He started, his mouth going slightly dry. He looked around for any sign of.. anything. But she had left no obvious mark on the training area. She was a jack of all trades it seemed, not terrific in one specific thing, but decent at everything. "She didn't do anything." He realized aloud. A few gamemakers gasped and applauded as they had been for the last few declarations Haymitch had made. One even shouted 'he's right, she didn't!' Haymitch waited for the excitement to die down. He looked up at them and tilted his head. "Okay, I'm done." That got a few laughs. He was tired of entertaining these people.

---

 Haymitch never had stage fright before, but his stomach churned as he walked onto Caesar Flickerman's stage. He squinted into the lights at the large crowd in front of him, and the many more watching from the floating cameras around him.

"Look at this handsome fella!" Caesar roared with glee into his microphone, shining a huge, plastically altered smile at the crowd. Haymitch just nodded, sitting into the chair opposite of Caesar. He was dressed in a navy blue suit, with matching glittery silver shoes and pocket square. He felt so insanely stupid. Caesar settled down next to him and trained his large smile on him.

"Now, Haymitch, tell me about District 12. Your family, friends, girls?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"I work, go to school, and then drink myself to sleep." Haymitch said with the cadence of a joke. The crowd chuckled in response. "My family passed when I was younger, so it's just me." The lie seamlessly left his mouth, pulling an 'awhh' out of the audience. Sure, the entire District 12 would know he was lying. But they all knew he was smart. Hopefully, they'd keep the truth to themselves.

"Oh, so you're a single man?" Caesar wiggled his eyebrows again, this time at the audience. "Did you hear that ladies?" He laughed as a few women in the crowd screamed. Haymitch tried to not roll his eyes. He instead shook his head, forcing himself to look disappointed.