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TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP WENT JACK'S SHOE. He, Avani, Peeta, Haymitch, Effie, Katniss, Cinna, and Portia were all lined up on the living room furniture of their penthouse, anxiously awaiting for the scoring ceremony to begin. It was dark outside now, and they'd already had dinner, a roast. Avani and Jack had showered and changed after the sessions— her into a green sweater and black pants, Jack, into a red long-sleeve shirt and dark-washed jeans.
Jack didn't eat much at all, nor had he spoken more than a few words since his private session. Avani wondered what in the world he could have done so wrong. He and Peeta were on the roof when Avani came up to the penthouse from her session, and when they joined them to wait for the scoring, Jack had red-rimmed eyes. No one said anything about it, although Avani did wonder. Did he think he failed?
There were finger foods spread across the glass coffee table; little fruit tarts and bite-sized pies, but the only one touching any of it was Haymitch. He was in a black chair next to the couch, occasionally sipping on his flask and popping one of the little tarts in his mouth. Cinna and Portia were in chairs on the other end of the couch, and Effie, Peeta, Jack, Avani, and Katniss were lined on the red sectional. Avani and Jack in the middle, Katniss and Peeta next to their respective Mentees, and Effie squished in next to Peeta.
Avani's nerves were through the roof. Not only for her own score, but Jack's score, too, whatever it ended up being. Scores were the difference between life and death — literally. She had to have a good one... she had to. Too low, she was easy. Too high, she'd be hunted by the Careers. She needed to be in the middle, at least a six. At least.
She startled when Panem's anthem rang through the room after about thirty minutes of waiting, her attention quickly shifting up to the television. The Panem emblem spun and disappeared.
Effie jumped in her seat with an exclamation of: "Ah! It's time!"
The navy blue background was replaced by the Hunger Games commentator, Caesar Flickerman, sitting at a desk with the giddiest of smiles. He was wearing an old ruffle overcoat, and his lavender hair stuck up on his head like a bee hive. Avani had always watched him do the interviews and scoring on previous years, lively and entertaining as ever, but this time... seeing Caesar put a sour taste in her mouth.
"Good evening Panem! I know we are all very, very excited for what the night holds, am I right?" He looked off camera with a loud laugh, eyes glimmering under the studio lights. "Tonight, as you know, after three days of rigorous training and close examination by the gamemakers, your favorite tributes are going to be scored on a scale of one to twelve. One being the lowest, twelve being the highest."
Avani glanced over at Jack, whose hands were clasped so tightly together in his lap that his knuckles were turning white. His right leg was still bouncing endlessly. She glanced to her other side, at Katniss, who was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, laser focused on the screen.
