Picture Perfect {Erika}

There is a peculiar feeling that greets a person each morning - the feeling of knowing exactly what the day is going to be like. One morning a person could end up waking up on the opposite side of the bed during a rainstorm and realize that the day would only bring gloom and misery. On the other hand, in Pearl Millison’s case, one could wake up in a luxurious home, open the blinds to a balcony, and bask in the warmth of the morning sunshine. The little blonde couldn’t quite put a finger on this feeling; it certainly wasn’t going to be an ordinary day, she could sense that. But why the ambiguity? Pearl’s life was never exciting. School, drawing, training, painting. Those were her most eventful days, and although she hated training she thought of this schedule as being rather pleasant. Pearl was an artist, after all. Any opportunity to draw and paint was joyfully snatched by the famous Victor’s daughter.

Pearl maneuvered herself into some comfortable clothes. Winter was still hanging in the atmosphere, to her dismay, so instead of colorful skirts and vivid summer colors that complimented her skin she was forced to slip into a pair of blue jeans, fuzzy boots, and a fuzzy coat to match. Simple but stylish. A luxury for the victor’s daughter.

She was quick to head downstairs and eat her breakfast. She tuned herself out of her mother’s conversation with her sister, Diamond Millison, and concentrated on other things, like the cat that was rubbing itself against her ankles. The subject of their conversation was the Hunger Games, a clear indication that she was not interested in or welcome to the conversation. She ate her breakfast in silence and gathered her school supplies. She trudged through the snow alone.

Pearl was indifferent to school. It was merely a place where she sat in desks and listened to people talk. She was not into the popularity status or attention like her sister. She was the stereotypical, shy girl that sat in the back of the room and jotted notes about the lesson like a good little girl. Some would say she was a loser. Pearl never viewed herself from that perspective. She merely preferred to be alone. Years of experience taught her that there were very few people who were interested in the same things she was. District one was about career training and wealthy brats. Pearl despised training, and although her family was rich, she was far from being a brat. It is for this reason that she chooses not to talk to other students unless necessary.

Only one portion of the school day brought her joy, and that was art class. It was an environment where she could express herself and not be criticized for her creativity. She could somewhat relate to the students in there, besides the ones who were taking the class by force, and it felt satisfying to belong somewhere. With her sketchbook clutched against her chest, Pearl walked out of the classroom and into the hallway after everybody else filed out. The professor had assigned them their weekly project: Create a piece of art that depicts blank. Last week the subject had been childhood. She had hand-drawn a picture of her neighbor’s run-down tree house. She had decided not to color it to express the aging factor. Naturally, she received an excellent score. This week the subject was the beauty of district one.

Pearl could easily predict what the other students would draw. Jewelry, mainly. That’s what District one was famous for, after all. Luxury goods. Jewels were indeed the beauty of district one, but she wanted something unique. A person, perhaps. Something that would create an obvious contract between her ideas and the other students’ ideas. But where would she find a model? How could she find a model? She never used a real person before. Only photos and memories. She had considered using her sister at one point, but at the moment their relationship was unstable. Diamond was impatient enough with her - how could she stand being a model for a hobby she hated?

That’s when her eyes spotted her. She wasn’t sure if it was her beauty or her hair color; a silvery-white that reminded her of snow. But it immediately attracted her artistic eye. It was a girl - a fellow student, and she was gorgeous Pretty enough to be the beauty of district one? Most definitely. Pearl was itching to open her sketchpad and begin outlining with her pencil, but she stopped herself. She could not just draw random people without their consent. It was weird. A sinking feeling clutched her gut when she realized what she would have to do. She would actually have to talk to the girl. Pearl was not a sociable person. Asking a stranger to be a model for her drawing would just be awkward. But what choice did she have? There was nobody more suited for her project. It was now or never.

With every ounce of false courage she took a deep breath and approached the girl.