Our Love Could Be Lethal Act I Re-Write

Act I: Shattered Illusions

We here at Capitol Couture would like to congratulate Octavia Jones for her win last night, earning her the title of victor of the 68th Annual Hunger Games. We look forward to working with you here at our magazine in the years to come!

-- Venetia Plinth, Editor-in-Chief

I stand slightly off-stage nervously bouncing up and down on the balls of my heels as my eyes desperately try to adjust to the blinding light. The dress that they've stuck me in for the night clings to my body in a way that I didn't even realize was possible—but maybe that has less to do with the dress and more to do with the...enhancements that bring a new curve to my chest that wasn't there before.

The theme song for the show begins to blare through the backstage speakers, and I make sure to wipe the nerves off of my face and replace them with a bright and dazzling smile. It's showtime. And I was trained for this.

This is the victory I've been waiting for my whole life.

"I give to you the most dangerous sweetheart you'll ever meet, the District 2 tribute and now victor, Octavia Jones!" says Caesar Flickerman, who is wearing a gold suit to match my own gold chainmail victory dress. As soon as my foot comes into the view of the stage lights, the crowd erupts into cheers of screaming Capitol fans. "How are you, my dear? As you can see we all missed you very much, isn't that right?" The crowd erupts into cheers once again.

"Well, I'm doing great and I'm glad to be back with you all once again," I respond with a large smile on my face.

"Just between you and me," says Caesar, leaning into me as if there isn't an entire nation watching us. "I'm not allowed to bet on the Games, but if I could, I would have put all my money on you."

"Why thank you, Caesar," I say politely. "I hope there's more than a few people in the crowd who are enjoying some extra drinks because of me." The crowd lets out a simultaneous chuckle at the joke.

"Now, let's hop into the questions I am dying to know the answer to. As you may know you were a heavy Capitol favourite right from the beginning. Do you think that affected how you played the game?" Caesar asks, reading from his cards.

"Yeah, that's a good question. I think that it was definitely reassuring going into the Games and knowing I would have sponsors to back me up, who I would like to thank for their generous gifts, but I made sure not to rely on them." The cheers from the crowd pick up for a brief moment before dying down. "I think some tributes from previous years have let their popularity go to their heads and they started to rely on the sponsors too much." I'm specifically thinking of our tribute boy last year. He got food sent to him so frequently, but he became reliant on the packages. He died on day 29 due to starvation. "You have to make sure you're learning from the past tributes' mistakes."

"Wow. Great answer. Beauty and brains isn't she everyone?" says Caesar as the crowd agrees. I begin to wave him off, blushing. "And modest too, I see," he laughs. "So that actually brings me to my next question. Throughout the Games, the audience began to see how your strategy played out, and I guess what I'm trying to ask is how you developed such a successful plan? I certainly did not expect the direction you went."

"I mean, I've been a fan of the Games since I was a little girl. And as a fan, you're constantly thinking about what you would do if you were there. So I've had lots of time to watch past tributes and victors and decide what sort of game I wanted to play. And what sort of game I did not want to play."

"You are too funny," Caesar says, still slightly chuckling. "Now, on a more serious note," he says in a more monotone voice, "Everyone wants to know why you left the career alliance, I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, but it's just not a typical move for someone like you."