The scores were posted the next evening.
Each tribute gathered in the Capitol's grand dining hall, where cameras could capture their reactions. All of them pretended not to care. Some whispered to their mentors. A few sat stiffly, shoulders locked, waiting to see what number would determine their fate.
Goo didn't pretend.
He leaned back in his chair, sipping something cold and citrusy. Eyes half-lidded. Bored.
Rue sat beside him, fingers twitching in her lap.
The screen lit up.
One by one, the names and scores began to appear.
District 1 Girl: 9
District 1 Boy: 8
District 2 Girl (Cassia): 10
District 2 Boy (Brutus): 10
District 3 Girl: 5
District 3 Boy: 5
...
District 11 Girl (Rue): 7
Goo glanced at her. That was high. Higher than expected. She blinked in disbelief.
Then—
District 11 Boy (Goo Kim): 11
The room changed.
Everything slowed down, just for a second. The noise, the breathing, the shifting eyes—he felt it all pull taut like a string about to snap.
Someone coughed. Somewhere across the table, a fork clattered to the floor.
Even the Careers looked over now.
Brutus narrowed his eyes. Cassia smiled without warmth.
Goo took another sip of his drink.
Later that night, Seeder found him alone on the training center rooftop.
The air was cooler here. The lights of the Capitol stretched below like a net of gold veins. Seeder approached quietly, holding a metal flask in one hand.
"You broke their game."
Goo didn't look at him. "I nudged it."
"They don't like being nudged."
"Good."
Seeder exhaled, sitting on a bench beside him. "You're going to have sponsors. Not many. But the right ones. Quiet ones. Dangerous ones."
"Perfect."
"…You're not like the others."
"No," Goo said. "I'm worse."
Seeder gave a grim smile. "You really think you can win?"
"No," Goo answered, watching the stars. "I think I can rewrite it."
That night, he returned to his floor late. Rue was waiting in the lounge, curled in a chair with her knees pulled to her chest.
"Eleven," she said. "Why?"
He paused.
"They needed to believe I was dangerous."
She frowned. "But… you are."
He smiled.
"Not yet."