disenchanted.— [abel o'malley (11m) interview]

89th Hunger Games Interviews

~

Interviewing tributes was something that Wally was enjoying so far. It was exciting, and he really got the chance to ask the questions that he wanted to, as long as they were deemed to be acceptable in the Capitol's interviewing guidelines, of course. He wasn't going to ask anything too controversial. He just wasn't the type that really had the desire to ask those types of questions. He was a loyal Capitol citizen through and through. If it weren't for him living in the Capitol, he wouldn't be nearly as wealthy, after all.

The man donned a red suit and a short black top hat. His striped black and white bow tie was slightly crooked, but it was something that he simply hadn't noticed, despite spending a solid forty-five minutes or so in front of the mirror before coming onto the stage in front of the audience.

As for the next tribute to come onto the stage: it was Abel O'Malley. He had volunteered for Prop O'Malley, and was without a doubt connected to Six O'Malley from the year before. Wally knew that wasn't the place to start with the questions, though. He would perhaps begin with something a bit easier for the boy to talk about, and work his way from there.

When Abel reached the stage, he strode up with confidence emanating from him. The way he introduced himself and simply the way his posture was exuded confidence. He stated that it was a pleasure to meet Wally, as well as to see everyone in the audience. Wally gave a wide smile.

"And a pleasure to meet you as well, Abel! We're glad to have you! I'm Wally Wondull."

He then decided that he'd jump right into the questions as soon as the cheers from the audience died down.

"Well Abel, I've got a few questions for you," he began. "Although, I suppose you knew that, since that's exactly why you're here! Anyway, to start us off, I'm sure we're all dying to know, how are you feeling about all of this— the Hunger Games. Are you excited? Nervous? You seem pretty confident today, but we'd like to know what thoughts are truly going through that head of yours."

Wally was genuinely curious, and he looked at Abel, eagerly awaiting his response.

-----

[377 words]

89th Hunger Games Interviews

~

Wally was expecting the confidence from Abel, but perhaps not quite to this extent. The boy was cocky, and perhaps a little bit too much so. Although, he supposed that was to be seen, as perhaps the boy from Eleven would in fact come out victorious like he so strongly seemed to believe he would. He had a hell of a lot of confidence in himself.

Abel mentioned wanting to be a Peacekeeper, and Wally took a mental note of it. He had some other questions to focus on asking him at the moment— the juicy stuff that everyone in the crowd gathered there wanted to hear— but he'd file away the thought for later, just in case he needed some more things to ask about.

Applause rose from the crowd when Abel expressed his confident thoughts and his feelings about wishing he could be a Peacekeeper in the Capitol. This kid absolutely knew how to play to the Capitol's people. He knew what they liked, and either he was what they liked, or he was damn good at acting like it.

That's why Wally wanted to pry more. He was interested to see if there was something else underneath— something that Abel was hiding emotionally, perhaps. Of course, Wally had watched Caesar's many tribute interviews over the years, and had learned which things struck a chord with the tributes. He knew how to toe the line, and what he could say to potentially get a rise out of those he was speaking with. Usually, Wally wasn't the one to instigate anything. He was a kind, jolly old man who loved making friends with those he encountered, but he was under specific instructions to make sure that everyone got to really know these tributes, even if it meant prying a bit and making things a bit uncomfortable.

"It's nice to hear such confidence, especially from a lower district tribute like yourself! I'll be honest, I didn't expect such certainty when it came to your thoughts on becoming victor! Of course, we'll all be watching to see if you can live up to it!" Wally was very cheery in his tone. Cheers came from the crowd. Then, it was like someone flipped a switch. His tone went from cheery, excited and eccentric to serious, but still kind and curious. The crowd quieted down a little bit.

"Now Abel," he said. "I'm sure you expected this question, but tell us, please, what was your relationship like with last year's tribute, Six O'Malley? He definitely had some fans here in the Capitol, but we'd like to know if you two were fans of each other, too. Did what he did in the arena inspire you? Infuriate you? Somewhere in between?"

Wally's curiosity was getting the best of him, and he would not have been surprised if he ended up with an irritated or undesirable response, but the question was already out there, hanging in the air.

-----

[487 words]

89th Hunger Games Interviews

~

"Six? Well uh..." Abel started.

Hesitation. Wally wasn't sure if it was truly there or not, but when Abel spoke Six's name, it seemed like there was some. It seemed like there was some uncertainty as to what he should say, but Wally could be completely wrong about that. Abel could have all the confidence in the world. He'd seemed like it at first, after all.

Mr. Wondull then wondered whether or not Abel was truly as confident in himself and his ability to win the Hunger Games as he seemed to be on the outside, but knew that asking wouldn't get him anywhere. The boy would claim confidence and the ability to become victor without wavering, he was sure.

As Abel spoke about his cousin, Six, he explained how much he loved and was proud of him. He mentioned that Six was gentle, yet that they still believed he might win. (Obviously they were wrong about him being able to win, but Wally didn't bring that up). Abel's voice cracked as he spoke, but he didn't cry. Obviously, he was trying to be as strong as he could possibly be right now.

This could be something to pry into more, perhaps. Getting Abel emotional on stage could be the key to getting a reaction out of the crowd. Then again, it could also doom the kid by getting rid of any potential sponsors. Wally had a decision to make: good reviews of him as an interviewer and sponsors who think the kid is weak, or bad reviews of him as an interviewer and sponsors who are all over the kid like a magnet.

He made a split second choice that he might regret later.

"Now I'm curious, Abel. You said that you had confidence that Six would win, and now you have that same confidence for yourself. So when it comes to Six, do you think he would have had confidence in you? Do you think he would be rooting for you, if he was still alive back home, watching?"

Wally eagerly awaits a response, despite the fact that everything truly could go downhill from here if Abel doesn't keep up what Wally truly believes is an act.

----

[362 words]