As Pure As The Driven Snow - Coriolanus Snow

chapter two

Kara Fedora Breen's point of view.

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You can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself.

The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood.
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      Her hand firmly gripped around Caecilia's arm, Kara was trying not to lose ground. They all three tried to act as nothing was happening, and posted to listen to the Academy's Dean, Casca Highbottom's speech. Highbottom was, contrary to what his name can let us think, a really short man, with an untidy beard which gave him a sloppy look and possessed an empty gaze, probably due to his addiction. The Dean was so well known because he was the one who created the Hunger Games that began ten years ago now, as an eternal remembrance and punishment to the districts' rebellion. Despite Highbottom being the Dean, he was not quite often seen walking in its corridors, the rumour saying that it was because he was too busy with his morphling in his office to get out in the normal world. Kara always refused to believe the rumours without having a real proof of her Dean's addiction, but she had no other choice than believing it when he entered the hall of the Academy, next to Dr Volumnia Gaul, high as she had never seen someone.

"Dear students, hello." Dr Gaul started. "Happy Reaping Day! And may the odds be ever in your favour."

This woman had a smile that Kara was able to see in her worst nightmares. Her heart was still beating fast in her head, but she tried to concentrate a little harder because what was following was really important. She would learn which tribute she will have to mentor, and she just could not afford not to know it, even if Meliae and Caecilia would told her. Moreover, as it was known that Casca Highbottom was the one who personally chose which mentor to give to which tribute, it will be a good indicative on if she's in Highbottom's good books, or not.

"It is finally time for you to know which tribute you are assigned to for our first Game with mentors !" Volumnia turned towards Casa. "Dean Highbottom, here, will tell you who you are mentoring and, as we'll reach 10 o'clock, we'll go into the amphitheater to watch every district's Reaping."

Casca Highbottom took the place of Volumnia Gaul in front of the reading desk, not without stepping on a stepladder to be able to face the students conveniently. He drew out from his jacket pocket a piece of paper, four times folded and rumpled, then tried to straighten it on the reading desk. He clarified his voice and then begun.

"I won't talk more than Dr Gaul has already have, because there's nothing more to say..."
"Ugh, I could have swear that it was because he was to high on morphlings. It's not Highbottom, but High-as-a-Kite Bottom." Someone whispered.

Meliae's eyes widened when her ears processed what she heard, at the same time as Kara's did. Ignoring her powerful headache, she turned quickly to see who had said that. Her chocolate brown eyes encountered an icy blue gaze, belonging to an as iced blond man, Coriolanus Snow. He adjusted his shirt's neck, and raised his eyebrows to Kara, as if he was challenging her to say something about his words on Highbottom. She started to open her mouth, she was not afraid of people like Snow. Coriolanus Snow was the kid of the really famous general Crassus Snow, may he rest in peace. His poor mother died too, trying to give life to a little sibling for Coriolanus during the war, which left him alone with his grandmother and his cousin, Tigris. If Kara had already talked with Tigris because they shared the same passion for haute couture and the Breens had always get dressed at Fabricia's, where Tigris Snow worked, she had never shared more than two or three banalities with Coriolanus and it only was for school purposes. She was not fond of how he was treated like a semi-god by her female classmates only because he had beautiful eyes. If it were only for the eyes... Kara could not lie. Coriolanus really was beautiful. But she never, ever would admit it. After all, he was already enough complimented by her pairs.