The Purest Snow

Chapter 23: First Days

Rosella buttoned up the collar of her uniform to her chin. She had been in the bathroom for almost an hour, analyzing herself in the mirror. She never used to care, but her brother was very insistent on restoring the image of a powerful family. She played with many different hairstyles, struggling without Tigris there to do it for her.

Feeling frustrated, she reached for the scissors, and chopped off about three inches of her hair, letting the curls fall into the sink. What was left still fell past her collarbones, but she was happy with the change. She pulled it back into a low ponytail.

Then she went to work on her face, washing it for a third time. She slathered on some of the cream Tigris had gotten her, supposedly meant to help with her acne prone skin. Her whole life she had been hearing how pretty she was, but she had never felt so ugly. A failure who allowed twenty three children to die before her eyes, unbothered because she was born with all of the privileges and protection of the Capitol. She felt fat and spoiled, guilty to have access to food, even if it was not a lot, after watching so many children starve in the arena. She couldn't imagine what the people on the districts would think of her. She was a symbol of everything they didn't have. She added some light makeup to her blemished skin and tried to calm herself. The toast she had for breakfast was threatening to make a reappearance. Deciding she did not deserve to feel full, she allowed it to do so.

"Ro?" A knock came on the door. "Are you okay?"

Standing up from the floor, she hastily wiped her mouth. "Yeah, all good!"

"Open the door," her brother demanded. She did.

"C'mon, I'll have the driver drop you off on the way," he said.

"Ready for your first day?" Rosella asked.

"Never felt so ready," Coriolanus responded, buttoning his jacket. "Is your hair shorter?"

"It was bugging me!"

"You should get it done. You don't have to cut it yourself anymore."

"No way! Tigris would kill me if I let someone else touch it," Rosella responded. "Uh oh."

Coriolanus laughed. "Yeah she's gonna be thrilled you hacked it off!" Rosella laughed too. "How are you feeling?"

"Ready too," Rosella responded. "Not like I haven't done this before."

"Hey, your blazer looks a little tight... you should get a size up."

Rosella froze slightly. She knew he meant nothing by it, but it worried her that she might be getting bigger. "Yeah... or I could just use your old one."

"No, that would be way too big," Coriolanus chuckled. "It's school issued, might as well get one. No need for us to be squeezing into old clothes anymore."

The pair left the building onto Corso Avenue, where the Plinth's car and driver awaited them.
Arriving at the academy, Coriolanus emerged first to open the car door for his sister held his arm.

"Always the gentleman," Rosella smiled.
He walked her to the grand staircase of the academy, when someone squealed. A flurry of bright blond hair in academy rouge bolted towards Rosella.

"Pippa!" She gasped.

The Hartford family was richer than anyone any Capitol citizen knew of. They were old money, and were rumored to have roots tracing back to European royalty. During the war, it was even suggested they had gone overseas for protection. They were known as one of the founding families of Panem. People ought to hate them, for having all of that money, for leaving their country during the war, but they were a hard family to hate. Not only the richest people knew, but also the kindest.