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AVANI, JACK, AND ALL THE OTHER TRIBUTES SAT SILENTLY IN AN EMPTY WAITING AREA OUTSIDE OF THE TRAINING ROOM. There was a certain thickness in the air, a tense, stiff feeling. Everybody except the Careers were practically vibrating with nerves. The District Six girl had already thrown up on the floor, and not a single tribute wasn't fidgeting. The District Three boy was tapping on his legs. The District Seven girl was biting her nails. Even Avani was twisting the end of her ponytail around her fingers again and again.
Today was their private sessions with the gamemakers.
Avani was sitting on the far end of a long metal bench, closest to the elevator. Jack was to her left, squeezed against her side to accommodate all the tributes that had to sit on the not-nearly-large-enough bench. Her dark hair had been tied up in a ponytail with a French braid tight to her scalp, just like Katniss had done it for training, and she kept twirling the end around... and around... and around.
All twenty-four of them were wearing their matching black, crimson, and gold training outfits. Most of them were lined on the benches that sat across from one another, but the six Careers were standing in a group at the front of the room, casually talking amongst themselves.
Vixen's red hair was in a bubble braid again, with two long, fox-tail-like sections hanging down beside her face. She was talking loudly to her District Partner about how much of a 'freak' her stylist was. Almost everybody in the room could hear her complaining, and several different tributes kept cutting their eyes at her.
Avani rolled hers, sweeping the rest of the room. Ryder was right across from her on the identical bench. He was looking straight down, so his brown eyes were hidden by the stringy blonde hair that fell down in front of them. His right leg was bouncing obnoxiously, creating a little tap tap tap that echoed in Avani's skull like the anxious tick of a clock.
Rockie was on the opposite end of the bench from Ryder, talking quietly to the boy from her District. They seemed to be discussing what skills they were going to perform, because Rockie held her arms up like she was giving him tips on drawing a bow. Her black hair was in an intricate braid that started right above her hairline and went down the center of her head, with a bunch of smaller braids added in from either side. She had a red bandana tied on her wrist, which Avani hadn't seen in training.
Reese was among the group of Careers at the front of the room, all posted up against the wall, spinning and twisting a knife between his nimble fingers in smooth and perfected motions. He was talking to Avan. They both seemed completely calm and relaxed. Not a hint of whatever had happened on the rooftop was making its way through Reese's carefully crafted mask — he was acting just like every other Career. Of all six, the twelve year old seemed the most sure of himself, emanating an aura of arrogance so heavily it seemed to make the air thicker.
Avani finally came back to herself when a robotic sounding female voice came over the intercom: "Kyler Huntingson."
She watched as the bulky guy with the big quiff of hair from District One — Vixen's District partner — laughed and high-fived a few of the other Careers before he disappeared through the door into the training room.
