Maxima Power (![]() ![]() @ 2014-01-27 02:29:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! 56th games, - capitol, escort: jaishree rao, tribute: 56th maxima power |
Who: Jaishree Rao (D5 Escort) & Maxima Power (D5)
When: Day 5 (Evening)
Where: D5 Living Quarters
What: Confessions, breaking down, and getting interview advice
Rating/Status: Low
Maxima clearly had a lot on her mind as of late. She had been extremely focused when it came to her training. Fact of the matter was that she wanted to know how to use all the weapons a little bit so that she could try to defend herself in the arena. Granted, she wanted to win, but the realistic side of her knew the chances of that were slim to none. So, Maxima had decided to keep her mind clear about that for now and rather focus on the interview. She was going to have to win Caesar and the sponsors over so she could survive. And maybe if Max could act in the right mindset, maybe she could turn the odds to her favor. Which meant she asked Jaishree for advice. So after dinner and everything, she walked over to the area the two of them agreed to meet on. Just keep calm and confident, Max told herself; it was her motto. Her mantra. She had been saying it since the reaping. Besides, nobody wanted to see a sad tribute. But taking her hand, she turned it into a slight fist and rapped on the door. Just so Jaishree would know she was here and ready for her sagely wisdom. Jaishree was in damage control mode. It looked like a district alliance might be going out the door, which meant she had to change her spin on the tributes. It wasn’t a fatal blow, but it did mean that she would be needing more coffee. The more she thought about it the more she couldn’t help but think this might actually be a good thing. So many districts seemed to be partnering up and having free agents meant there were more possibilities to play with. It also meant she couldn’t pool her resources together, but she could work with that as well. The knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts and she beckoned for the person to come inside. Ah, the girl. “Maxima, darling, what can I help you with?” Maxima was supposed to come for interview pointers. That’s what the root of it was. But yet the guilt from training was working it’s way in. She had repressed her conversation with Sephora and the advice during first aid. It seemed like a good idea in the first place. Maybe she wouldn’t be the first to die in the games and she’d learn about burns in the process. So, it wasn’t that bad. The fact that she lied was eating at her. She lied to her district partner and her mentors. And yet, the guilt seeped in. What was going to happen if they found out? No, they wouldn’t, would they? Maybe it was best to tell her escort before Ma and Pa accosted her. She didn’t know in all honesty. But yet the look of guilt was on her face. “Well, I was hoping you could give me some interview pointers,” Max said, her voice wavering. It was the first time she hadn’t been confident since the reaping. The first time she felt ready to break down. She was going to let everyone down. She was going to let District Five down. And most importantly, she was going to let herself down. “Though before we get to that, I need to confess something.” “Of course, interviews are important.” Jaishree put her tablet down, shifting in her seat so that her full attention was on the girl. She seemed nervous and that would never do. She couldn’t come across as confident only to buckle under the pressure at the end. That would make for a horrible interview. “Confess something,” she repeated, leaning forward in her chair. Oh how she loved confessions. “What is it, darling?” She patted the chair next to her, motioning for the girl to come sit down. Yeah, interviews were. Max had forgotten she had asked for pointers in her entry. She was too busy trying to defend herself. Why was she so stupid? She wasn’t expecting sympathy, but rather to just get this burden off her chest. Her guilt. She took a deep breath as she tried to say what she wanted to, but she couldn’t. It was like she was on the crux of crying. Tributes don’t cry, she reminded herself firmly as she took a deep breath and spoke, choosing not to sit in the chair for the time being. “Well, I lied earlier when it came to the D1 tribute visiting me,” she admitted, but that was only half of her lie. She still had her lie about weapons. “I helped her out because I was scared and I didn’t know what to do.” Hastily, she added an ‘I’m sorry’ to the end of her sentence. But she knew her apology was probably too late already. Jaishree feared for a moment that Maxima had somehow broken herself. Oh dear, some people simply didn’t know how to deal with pressure. She was about to ask her if she was suffering from some sort of episode when she began speaking. Well, it was almost the full truth. “Darling, you’re allowed to talk to the Careers. We simply want you to be careful. It’s nice if they don’t hate you, we just don’t want you to forget that they will try to kill you the first chance they get. You understand that, don’t you?” Jaishree gave her a sympathetic look, praying that she didn’t start crying on her. This was a new outfit and it wasn’t supposed to get wet. “It’s normal to be scared, but it’s important we try to hide that fact. Now, is there anything else you wanted to tell me?” “Zap made it seem like I shouldn’t,” Maxima pointed out and left it at that. “I felt guilty about it and I don’t know.” Max was at a loss. “But I understand, really I do.” Max paused for a bit, hoping that maybe she could leave or move, but she didn’t. “Also, I kind of visited the weapons stations. Just so I could get used to everything and defend myself.” “Don’t go blaming Zap, dear. If anything he was looking out for you. They’re not to be trusted, which you should know.” At least she had the decency to feel guilty. Jaishree felt much better about the entire situation. “Ah, there you go. I already knew,” Jaishree said, giving Maxima a pointed look. “We know everything. You do remember we’re on your side, don’t you? We only want to help you, but we can’t help you if you lie to us!” Jaishree shook her head, thankful that stations were her mentor’s problem. Jaishree would try to make her a crowd pleaser, they could try to keep her alive. “Darling, other things can kill you. That’s why we told you to try different stations. We’re not trying to keep you from playing with the toys.” “I wasn’t trying to,” Max admitted, the tears starting to fall. This was stupid. She shouldn’t be this way. Tributes didn’t cry. “You did?” she asked wondering if Zap or someone else told on her. She hoped they didn’t. But they must’ve. Why? Why her? Did everyone hate her or something? “But I just wanted to be prepared. To make sure I could handle the arena.” She started looking at her feet, unsure, it was hard to stop crying. “I should’ve respected Ma and Pa’s advice though. You don’t think they are mad at me? Of course they are. I’m probably the worst mentee they’ve had.” Maybe she should just try to die in the bloodbath. That way they could forget about her. Then everyone would be happy. Well, fuck. She was crying. Jaishree hated when they cried. Their eyes got all red and puffy and it turned the Stylists into a panicked wreck. “I did,” she confirmed, not foolish enough to reveal her source. “We have a way of knowing these things, dear. You’re not the first tribute to lie to me, but you are the first to admit it. I’d say that’s a good step.” Jaishree nodded her head, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “Darling, listen to me, you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. I love dramatics as well as the next person, but we don’t have time for that right now. Lying is a skill you can use in the game! It’s a little pointless to lie to us, but you’re far from our worst mentee. There have been tributes I wanted to die a slow miserable death. I don’t want anything like that for you!” Jaishree was trying to be comforting, but Tributes had a habit of taking things poorly. To be honest, Max was glad she was. Poor Typher. She could get it out of her system and everything could be fine. “I should’ve know, plus you do have experience. I just kind of felt guilty about it. I mean to you guys. If it was another tribute, I wouldn’t have felt as bad,” she admitted, “you don’t think it would be bad to manipulate them? Because I could if I needed to. Or I could act and put on a show. I mean, that could get sponsors for us, yes?” “Let me be blunt with you, lying to us was stupid, but it’s hardly the end of the world. If you don’t want to listen to advice that is your choice, but we are on your side.” Jaishree patted her shoulder awkwardly, her fake nails as sharp as knives. Jaishree loved being in the spirit of things! “Bad? Darling, you’re trying to kill each other. The games are not the time to worry about being rude. Let us worry about the sponsors. Your job is to stay alive, which is why we keep recommending stations other than weapons.” “Lesson well learned. I think I should’ve before I spoke. But I can’t change the past,” Maxima said, letting it sink in as the tears stopped. Easy. “So, you’re saying that I should manipulate them? I could do that. But I guess that brings me to the real reason I came here. Interview pointers, that is if you don’t mind.” “I’m saying you’ll need to be a better liar if you want to manipulate someone. You should also have an endgame for doing so. Lying for the sake of lying isn’t going to do you any good.” The tears stopped and she couldn’t help but wonder if she was being manipulated herself. Maybe this girl was better at playing the game than she gave her credit for. “For goodness sake don’t try to manipulate anyone in the interview. What makes you unique? What will make people remember you?” “Noted, endgame and reasons as to why,” Max made a mental note of it. She knew she couldn’t manipulate a career. But the tears did stop and Max was all smiles. Maybe she should’ve mentioned that it was easy for her to cry. “I won’t; no manipulating Caesar or anyone else of the others. As for what. I’m not sure; not because I am just a pretty face. I mean, I’m willing to do anything to bring a win for D5. And I can play to the audience if need be.” Jaishree wasn’t sure how much of this advice she would actually listen to. In the end she would figure out a way to work her magic and pray Maxima didn’t make a complete mess of things. “Pretty face isn’t your angle, dear.” Maxima was pretty enough, but there were lots of pretty tributes this year. Maybe with a few surgeries and enhancements, but they didn’t have time for that sort of thing. “Try to be sweet and charming. Do not cry. There is always a crier and they don’t go on to win. You like weapons and some might not expect that from you. Maybe play up that you’re not afraid to be strong, but don’t act cocky. You’re not a Career.” Oh, Maxima would try not to. She was absorbing Jaishree’s advice as if she was a sponge. “I kind of figured as much, but that’s why I wanted your input,” Maxima was being incredibly honest at that. “I can do sweet and charming. No crying. Besides, people don’t want to root for a crier. I can play up that I’m not afraid of being strong or taking risks, but I’ll make sure not to come off as overconfident or cocky. Thanks Jaishree.” “It’s my pleasure,” she said, smiling sweetly at the girl as she looked her over. “Try to think of some talking points that are specific to you. I’ll do some more thinking. We’ll figure out something for you before your interview. Now, I don’t want you to fret about this any more. You just focus on your training.” “I think I can do that,” Max admitted. She just smiled and nodded. There were many facets she could explore. She just needed to think of them and see still had a day or two before the interview. “Do you think I need to work on allies as well or just training. And I can focus more on the practical stations. Promise.” Hopefully no careers would ask for advice though. “Allies can be a wonderful thing, but some seem more comfortable going out on their own. Less messy when you have to turn on someone. I think your best bet is to focus on your training and see who you connect with naturally.” Maxima’s promises were nice, but she would do what she wanted. It wasn’t Jaishree’s life on the line. “None of us have the magic answers. When in doubt keep in mind what we said and follow your gut.” “Understandable. I haven’t thought about it and there are a few I like, but I feel like maybe I would do best with only having one ally or two at the most. Besides, Zap that is,” Max admitted. Then again, that was if he wasn’t mad at her. “But I think I need to learn to trust my gut instinct. Thanks Jaishree.” “No problem at all. Now, why don’t you go wash your face and get some sleep. You’ll feel better after a good rest and a big breakfast. Only a few more days of guaranteed meals! Enjoy them while you can.” Jaishree leaned over to give Maxima a big kiss on the cheek before shooing her away. She had emails to get to. “Shall do,” Max commented before being shooed off. Things were fine. She’d need to apologize to Ma and Pa later. But first, she was going to find Zap and apologize. Because the last thing she wanted to do was betray her co-tribute’s trust again. |