Tidal ~ Hunger Games [2]

introduction

I let out a laugh, shaking my head as I turned towards the crowd, waving at them with my free hand. They cheered for what seemed to be five minutes, Casear managing to calm them down as they returned to their seats, making me laugh a little bit. "It is wonderful to see you again, Waverely" Caesar said to me as I laughed at him, just as I had done a little over a week ago, squeezing his hand in mines as I shook my head at him.

"Again with the flattery, Caesar" I said to him as he laughed at me, the crowd laughing at my pitiful joke as Caesar pulled my a bit closer to him, tilting his head towards me. "Shall we take a seat?" he asked me as I nodded my head at him, causing him to lead me over to the two chairs that were set up, much like the interviews before the games, as I sat down in one, sitting on the edge with a straight back, hands on my knees.

"How are you?" he asked me as I smiled at him, the slit of my dress falling down practically my whole leg was broadcasted on national television, but I guess the citizens of Panem had already seen a lot more of me in the past week. "I'm doing splendidly, Caesar, thank you for asking" I said to him as he nodded his head at him, motioning his hand towards me. "You look amazing" he said to me as I let out a laugh, bowing my head as I threw my hair over my shoulder. "Much better than I did in that arena hopefully" I said to him as he laughed, the audience following suit and laughing as well, even though I wasn't making any jokes right now.

"Well, it's difficult for you to ever look bad" he said to me as I shook my head at him, leaning forward and slapping his arm gently. "Caesar please, you're going to make me way too big headed" I said, the audience eating it up as they all laughed loudly, some basically falling out of their chairs. I looked into the audience, seeing familiar faces in the front row, Talisa and Mags smiling at me as they saw me looking at them.

"I can't help but compliment you, isn't that right?" Caesar said as he held his hand out to the audience, who cheered in agreement, Talisa nodding her head at me as I smiled back over at Caesar. "Now, how about we talk about the games huh?" he asked me as I nodded my head at him, my smile faltering a little bit as I desperately tried to keep it on my face. I had braced myself for having to talk about the games, this interview normally lasting three hours as the highlights were broadcast all over Panem.

I didn't particularly want to relive all of my 'best moments' but I didn't have a choice, being crowned by President Snow himself before the broadcast would end. "That's why we are here" I replied as he nodded his head, moving around on his chair a bit as he leaned forward, looking at me through his long eyelashes.

"Talk me through how it felt when you entered the arena" he told me as I let out a small breath, running my thumb over my smooth painted nails to try and calm myself down. "The first thing I saw was the water, and I had never been more thankful for anything in my life" I told him, shrugging my shoulders as they audience let out a sigh at that, almost as if I was thanking them for the water in the arena.

"We saw you in your element, and you did shine" Caesar said to me as he clicked his fingers at me, making me laugh lightly as I nodded my head. "Can I be honest with you?" I asked him as I leaned forward a little bit, lowering my voice as he nodded his head, looking rather intrigued. "Of course you can, we are all friends here" he told me, looking out at the crowd and winking quickly before turning back to look at me. I knew that the idea of my sharing a secret with the citizens of the Capitol would drive them crazy, and it worked considering they were all on the edges of their seats.

"I'm not a very good runner" I told him with a small smile, the audience laughing as I shook my head, looking out to them as I shot them a grin. "So I would have been buckled over struggling to breath before I even reached the cornucopia" I said loudly over their laughs as they found that hilarious, clapping their hands as they laughed, Caesar also laughing along with them.

"That would not have been very helpful" he said to me as I shook my head, still laughing lightly as I moved back in my seat, leaning again the back but making sure to keep my back straight so Calix wouldn't shout at me. "Not at all" I said to Caesar as I shook my head, trying my hardest to keep myself calm, taking deep breaths and holding them for a moment before letting them go.

"How about your last day in the arena, you had broken away from your all of your remaining allies at this point, your district mate was killed the day before" Caesar started as I nodded my head, the images of Ridley's dead body, his cold hands squeezed tightly in mines and the District 7 girl's axe stuck in his skull, blood pouring from the back of his head and pooling around his head as he lay there, staring at me.

"How were to feeling once you realised you were one of two people left in that arena?" Caesar asked me, snapping me back into reality as I stared at him, trying to focus on certain areas of his face to avoid me from breaking down. I let out a deep breath, thinking of the correct answer as I pushed down on the nail of my thumb, regaining my composure. "The thought of home seemed so close, and all I could think about was making a promise to my little brother that I would come home no matter what" I replied to Caesar, the idea of being able to see my family once again being the only thing keeping me from lying in the trees with my guts in my hand as I waited there to die.

"Zale, we met him during the family interviews" Caesar told me, making me smile softly at the thought of my little brother in front of all the cameras, presumably sitting home straight under moms instructions. "Yes, he made me promise him that I would take him fishing" I told Caesar, something catching in my throat as I cleared it quickly, officially starting to choke up.

"And I will be as soon as I get home" I said, the whole audience eating up the answer, some of them shedding tears as they wiped their eyes before their makeup could be ruined. "I'm sure he will be delighted to see you" Caesar said, reaching forward and setting his hand on my knee reassuringly, making me laugh lightly as I bowed my head, letting my curls fall over my face as I wiped my eyes gently.

"How about we watch the highlights?" Caesar asked me as I nodded my head, looking back up at him as I pushed my hair over my shoulders, letting it fall down my back as I smiled back at him gently, taking in a deep breath to prepare myself for what I was about to see.

"Let's do it"

——

A/N: HELLO AND WELCOME TO TIDAL
I had so much fun writing Wave and obviously I just had to keep the series going because I am in love with the potential future of this story
this book is pretty much going to be all about the next year of Waverley's life as victor in district 4 (and if you're smart enough you may be able to guess who this book will end)
so please buckle your seat belts and prepare yourself for a very problematic ride