rosalind anning || district three || fin

It was a crisp morning in early spring when you first entered the world, pink and plump and unnervingly silent for a baby fresh from the womb. Not until you were lain to rest in your mother's arms did you emit your first cry, and even then, it was soft, quiet, and utterly lacking the shrill wail of most other babies. 

Though no one knew at the time, it was an act that would later come to define you both behaviorally and physically. Even at sixteen years old, you were barely marking in at five feet two, and weighing just over one hundred pounds even, making you a less than imposing site. Your attitude, too, seemed to match - rarely were you heard with a raised voice, and you tended to carry yourself in a cautious, almost timid manner. 

But timid you were not, despite your appearance, despite the facade you put up. Beneath the auburn haircut that you so diligently maintained was a brain always at work, analyzing people and mathematics and scientific formulas alike with a mere glance of blue-green eyes. Beneath smooth pale skin and soft, angular facial features was a slow-burning fire of a young woman, always with a snarky retort on the tip of her tongue to anyone who dared condescend her. 

As you grew older, there was no doubt about it. Between your looks, your intellect, and your personality, you were an Anning, through and through. 

But you were not simply just an Anning. You were also Rosalind, a girl who maintained her own unique branch of individualism in a family destined for greatness. 

---

As the rest of the District would find out as the years went by, Rosalind Anning was a truly unique individual indeed. 

You weren't a big speaker, true. More often than not, in class, at home, and in the rare social gathering you found yourself in, you preferred to listen as opposed to speaking in conversations. When asked why, on the rare occasion you answered, you responded with a single, simple sentence:

"I find that one tends to learn more when they listen as opposed to when they yap away like no tomorrow."

And indeed, the pursuit of knowledge was always one of  your more defining traits, both in the opinion of others and the opinion of yourself. It was a source of great pride to you, your relentless desire to learn whatever you could, whether it was related to science or otherwise. 

Unfortunately for you, the previous generation of Annings had been almost entirely male. And while it had ensured that the Anning name continued down several branches along with the blood, it did little to lessen the stigma that hung over your head simply because of your gender. In the past, it had been Anning men that made gained a reputation for brilliance and had gone down in history, whereas the women gradually faded, the few females from the previous generation being largely overshadowed by their brothers and cousins. 

Not even elder cousins who also carried the name Anning could lessen that weight, that extra effort required to prove yourselves, from your shoulders.

You remember one event with perfect clarity, almost as if it happened yesterday even though it's been just shy of two years. It was in your first ever chemistry class, one you had been looking forward to taking since you had first learned of the subject. You'd just entered the class, stoic mask loosened and eyes glittering with excitement. 

It had started with two boys, looking crisp and proper in brand-new uniforms, quietly whispering to each other. You had payed them little attention, instead taking in the setup of the room, until the voice of one caught your attention. 

"Due, you heard that there's supposed to be an Anning in this class, right?"

You had turned to face them, about to introduce yourself, when his friend responded with a sentence that both chilled your blood and set it alight in one fell swoop. 

"Yeah man, haven't seen him yet though. Shouldn't be that difficult to spot, though."

It was then that you decided to interject. 

"How do you know that he isn't a she?" you had said boldly, a smirk widening on your face. 

The boys had turned and stared at you for one, two, three, four seconds. Then, sounding as if he was in disbelief, one of them had spoken. 

"Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that you're the Anning that everyone's been talking about?"

When you had nodded in confirmation, both boys had erupted in laughter. 

"Well, would you look at that! That girl actually thinks that she's as smart as her relatives! How laughable!"

Your face had heated up with anger and your fists had clenched in rage, but self control ultimately won out against anger, and you had held your tongue. 

But only barely. 

Since that day, you were driven to excel, driven to never settle for second best. Where your cousins had specialized in music and evolution and even subjects as complex as radiobiology, you set your sites on the very subject where you were scorned and ridiculed simply because of your gender. 

Some might question your interest, given both the unique nature of the subject and the hostile environment it embodies, but you simply shrug off their concerns like a ladybug might shrug off a droplet of water. 

You know you can endure whatever is hurled your way, as your brilliant mind works to solve any mathematical problem solved your way and your indifference to the opinions of others becomes a strength. 

Besides, when you become the most renowned chemist in all of District Three - no, in all of Panem - it will be worth it. 

After all, you've never been one to simply settle for second best.