wave after wave | [85th D4 Mayor Debate Perch v Krigel]

Isobel stands on the stage beside Althea Perch, her opponent in this election. She maintains a cool, calm composure until the lights shine on her, and then it falls away to greet the crowd with a warm smile, a contrast to her previous demeanor.

The interviewer asks Perch the question first, and then gives Isobel the same one. There are many hardships she has faced in her life — from the moment it began, it was struggle. She has overcome everything that has been thrown her away. (Well, almost; sometimes grief still claws at her heart, sometimes it still weighs her down. She seldom ever lets it show.)

Isobel's surname exudes privilege, but she had none of it growing up. Before Leon was a Victor, before Arissa found her at that orphanage, Isobel was nothing.

She has to stop herself from raising an eyebrow at Althea when she avoids answering the question. It's a typical politician move, but it is ingenuine.

"There have been many difficult times in my life," Isobel says into the microphone. "I was born in poverty to a single mother, and orphaned at the age of eleven from a house fire. My half-sister, Arissa, found me and took me in, but shortly after, our house was destroyed by the floods."

She speaks with an even tone, but allows for some emotion to slip through. "Two years later, I lost someone very dear to me in the 75th Hunger Games — Brooke Destin," she continues. Isobel downplays exactly how dear to her Brooke was, omitting that she was her girlfriend. She's never told her husband that she likes women, and she isn't about to surprise him now with a public reveal.

"I overcame these things by looking to my ambitions rather than letting my pain drag me down. But all of these things shaped me into a stronger person. I would not be here today, standing before you, if not for these hardships. Living through poverty has motivated me to run in this election; I want to help the citizens of District Four who are struggling with it as I once did. With my leadership, we can absolve this issue and raise our district to the same standard as One and Two."