The twanging of the bow sounded throughout the woods. A small groan followed.
"UGH! Why can't I do it?" The voice belonged to a little girl, about 7 years old, holding a full sized bow rather awkwardly.
"It's ok- it'll take time." Her father comforted her.
"But Gale could do it, so why can't I?"
"Because Gale is just naturally good at these things."
"So I'm not good?"
"No- no not at-"
"You think I'm bad."
"No, I-"
"Yes you do." Katniss slumped onto the cold, dry ground. Her arrows hadn't gotten anywhere near the target- they had made it about a metre.
She pouted her lips, and furrowed her brow. she picked up a stick and started scratching the dirt. Her father came up behind her, and whispered into her ear, "You're right- Gale is better than you."
Katniss spun around with shock. She had expected sympathy from her father.
"He is not better than me! I'm better than him!"
"He can shoot an arrow and you can't!"
"Not true!"
"Yes it is!"
Katniss snatched up the bow and loaded it with an arrow. The aimed it at the tree stump they had used for a target. She pulled back the string. It resisted. She tried harder. It resisted more. At this point,she would have usually just let go and let her arrow drop to the ground. But not this time. She was going to be better than Gale.
She had...
She pulled harder...
To be...
She stretched the string to the tightest it could go...
The best!
She let the arrow loose, and it rocketed forward.
The arrow buried itself deep into the wood of the tree trunk. Katniss raised the bow above her head. She had done it!
She put on her best I-told-you-so face and turned around to her father, who was wearing an equally smug look.
"I told you you could do it."
"No you didn't- you told me I was bad. You told me Gale was better than me."
"Well, I was wrong."
Katniss smiled. She was better than Gale!
"Good job, Catnip." Gale said when he heard about her archery lessons.
"Do you know what that means? It means we can go hunting together!"
Gale grinned. "We can't do that!"
"Why not?"
"Because I'm gonna get all the animals before you!"
"No you're not!"
"Yeah I am!" Gale laughed and ran towards the fence.
Katniss, laughing as well, ran after him.
This was so much fun.