Her alarm woke her up late. She opened her eyes and stretched before looking at the clock. '9:30 am,' it read. "I'm late!" she exclaimed, leaping out of bed. She had a quick wash and pulled on her uniform for the Academy. "Where's my tie?!" she asked herself. She walked into their lavish kitchen in the manor. Her dad, Tigris and her great-grandma sat at the table having breakfast. 

"I didn't think you were going to get up," he chuckled. He could see the confused look on her face.  "What are you looking for?" 

"My tie," she said. 

"You've lost it again?" Tigris said. 

"Mm," she says, searching through the washing to find it. 

"You're half an hour late again!" Corio said. "You don't have time," he called his chauffeur. She huffed, grabbed an apple which she held in her teeth, tied her long blonde wavy hair up and ran out the door to the car waiting for her. 

"Goodbye to you too," he said. The car pulled off and took her to the academy, she ran out slammed the door behind her, bolted up the steps and tried to sneak in without being noticed. 

"Miss Snow, late again!" Her lecturer said. "You know your father was never late, if you're late one more time, I am reporting you to your father, do you understand?" 

"Yes," she nodded, a stray wave of long blonde hair fell into her eye, her head down as everyone stared at her. 

"Take a seat," she said. Coasel took her seat at the very back and rummaged through her bag looking for her notebook and pen but poured all her pens all over the floor, her face flushed with embarrassment. A few people laughed at her, she crawled under her desk to retrieve her pens but as she did she banged her head on the desk. 

"Are you finished interrupting Miss Snow?" The lecturer asked again. She sat in her chair and didn't say anything but blushed. 

"She thinks because her family is wealthy she is going to get special treatment," she heard one of her classmates jeer, they both looked back at her giggling and laughing. She turned away instantly. She bit her pen and tried to concentrate on the slideshow, she tried to ignore everyone around her. Soon the bell rang and the class was dismissed but she was pushed out of the way, she dropped her books and not a soul stopped to help her. She sat outside alone again where she continued to eat her apple from the morning.  From where she sat she could see the countdown to the Hunger Games. While the rest of the Capitol looked forward to it, she dreaded it. Her gentle and kind soul couldn't take the violence and the mindless killing. 

But, with her father being the president she had to pretend she liked them and was looking forward to them. The tributes now flashed up on the screen, she felt sorry for them such young faces who were going to be sent to early graves. Tigris was going to be a mentor this year, Coasel made the excuse that she was still studying mentorship and didn't feel ready, the real reason she didn't want to send such young people to their deaths. She knew the guilt would be far too much for her to bear, but if her father knew he would be very disappointed in her. 'That's the curse of being a Snow," she reminded herself.