Heir || F. Odair

Chapter 3

The next day was rough for Mariana as she tried to select clothes that couldn't cause her back to burn but it seemed almost impossible. The only article of clothing that she owned that didn't cause her excruciating pain was a loose t-shirt dress that reminded her of the sun. Once the curly haired teen was dressed, she noticed the morose expressions across the avoxes' faces which only made the young girl glare at them both, not wanting to be pitied. 

Mariana walked out of her room and before she left the mansion, alerted the guards as to where she was going. Instead of being able to walk there like she did last time, the guards called for a driver and somebody to accompany the girl. She hated the amount of security that she was getting, which was the reason she left without informing the guards yesterday, but Mariana learned her lesson. 

It took much longer than walking would have but when she finally arrived, Mariana couldn't have been happier to join the game makers in the scoring room. As she was welcomed by the game makers, her guard stood in the back, ready to protect the heir if necessary. After an avox brought the fourteen year old a cocktail, Mariana took a seat and was ready to see how the scoring happened. 

"If you want, we can get an avox to bring you a pen and paper so you can take notes on each of the tributes," Plutarch Heavensbee mentioned to the teen who lit up from the suggestion. 

"That sounds fabulous. I'd love to see what each of you determine meets certain score requirements," Mariana answered honestly which caused the man to smile. While the girl was too excited to see that his smile was fake, the others noticed how he was trying to suck up to the future President.

"Of course," Plutarch began before snapping his fingers at an avox. "Please get our guest a pen and paper please." 

By the time the first tribute was introduced, Mariana already had her pen and paper set up with a box for every tribute that she would see, ready to take notes and determine a score for them. The first four were predictable as they had been Career districts and their weapons were not unusual when it came to District 1 and 2. Their technical skills were adequate for their districts but above average when it came to the rest of the tributes. The first non-careers that were introduced decently impressed Mariana as they both focused on electrical currents, trying to create different explosive devices or killing machines with the materials provided down below. However, as Mariana looked around, she could see that the game makers were less than amused when it came to the District 3 tributes which made her mad. 

District 4 was the next up and the boy was the first to be introduced. When he looked up, the boy met Mariana's eyes, sending a wink her way before picking up a trident. Her eyebrow raised at his selection, knowing that it would be more than likely that his weapon would not be in the games. Although he was merely fourteen, his handling of the trident was impressive, but overall, she knew that his score, while competitive, was not an eleven or twelve, which meant that the trident would not be provided. Before he left, the boy smirked and stared at Mariana before bowing. 

The teen had to admit that she had been more impressed with the outer districts than she believed she would be, but no matter how impressed she was by their adaptability and skill, it was obvious to Mariana that the game makers were far from moved. Her fingers made note of those that she believed to be skilled and the game makers that may oppose her sentiment. 

Once they were done viewing the other tributes for the scoring process, it was well past noon and avoxes had brought out their dinner. While Mariana knew that she was not supposed to interact with the avoxes, she did sneak a quick smile towards a few, causing their eyes to widen and scurry away, hoping nobody saw. 

"So Miss Abioye, what did you think?" Galloway asked the young girl who was still gripping onto her notes. 

Her dark eyes scanned the room, checking each of the game makers' reactions before saying anything. For she knew that watching was the way to influence others, not by speaking. "Well, I first want to thank all of you for allowing me to join you today and see how incredibly skilled you all are when it comes to the Hunger Games," she began. Her words caused a few of the men to uncross their arms or slouch their shoulders, making her subconsciously smile. "That being said, I think that this might be a fantastic year with all the tribute's skills."