Nothing Personal

District Six Interviews

Fiona had to be led to the stage by Rufus because she wouldn't move. Her sweet little blue dress, chosen specifically to make her look small and cute, was badly crumpled because she'd curled herself up in a little ball. It was also slightly ripped around the arms from where they'd had to force her to wear it. All in all, the sweet and innocent little girl that the stylists had aimed for wasn't quite in line with the image that had to be dragged up to the chair and forced to sit in it.

"Listen to me, Fiona," muttered Rufus, taking her hands and forcing her gently to look at him, "Please try not to cry. I know it's hard. But you have to at least try."

"I can't do it!" she sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve, "They're all so big and scary and I don't want to die!" She wailed the last part and the microphone on Rufus' jacket boomed it out over the whole square.

Rufus wanted to drop his head into his hands. She'd had it. He could almost see the Careers licking their lips now. He squeezed her arm and shuffled back to his chair, feeling very old.

Martina pushed the microphone at Fiona; they hadn't managed to attach one to her before she went on stage. The little girl looked at it warily before burying her face in the cushion of the chair, her hair covering any view of her face. She might have muttered 'go away'. Martina glanced to the side of the stage but everyone was very deliberately looking in the wrong direction. Except one.

Enzo wanted to run onto the stage and tell Martina how to do her job properly. Of his own interview four years ago he could remember very little except a horrible nervousness in the pit of his stomach. But there had been a girl like Fiona in his Games too, and when it had become clear she wasn't capable of speaking someone had had the sense to call the interview to an end. Even the cruelty of the Capitol didn't have the heart - or the patience - to sit through a child curled up and crying for three minutes. Martina should have remembered Abby and sent Fiona back to her seat like she had then. She wasn't going to get very far and everyone knew it, herself included. Martina was only making it worse for her. Not that Abby had made it very far either...

Martina thought that these interviews had been dramatic enough already, what with Megan storming back to her seat, Meridan's hand signals and Misty's little rant. They weren't even half way through and she was already exhausted. Vedran's droning on about the circuit board had given everyone a bit of light relief and she was hoping that Fiona would do the same. So she leant forward and muttered little comforting phrases to her, knowing that she wouldn't come out of her little shell. "It's okay, honey," she crooned, "All the other tributes have had to do it."

Fiona mumbled something completely unintelligable, looking at her for the briefest moment before burying her head again. Her eyes were red with three days of constant crying.

A voice from in the wings cried, "For crying out loud, can't you see she can't talk?! Send her back to her seat!" People in the crowd muttered excitably; they were certainly getting their money's worth tonight. Enzo, clad in light blue jeans and a white T-shirt, burst out onto the stage looking furious. 

The crowd cheered happily. They'd liked Enzo when he was in the Games in the same way they liked Crete now. He was handsome, he was young and he was single, despite the numerous rumours spread by scheming Capitol mothers. They were always happy to see him, although he didn't normally look so cross.

"Enzo, what a pleasant surprise!" exclaimed Martina, but he totally ignored her, crouching next to Fiona as Rufus had done.

"Do you want to go and sit back down?" he whispered tenderly, moving the microphone away. Fiona glanced up at him and shook her head. "I want to go home," she croaked, "I don't like it here. There's too much colour and noise. And I'm only here because I'm going to die. And I don't want to die either." She then burst into hysterical sobs, her little frame jerking around, unable to contain the sadness. Enzo felt tears bubbling in his eyes. He hated this, he hated every single minute of it. And he'd have to do it next year, and the year after that...right up until District Six had another Victor.