I was always the bad sister. No one ever liked me, and no one ever would. I was a shadow of the one they did like: the second-born.
She was perfect. Beautiful blue eyes… the kind of blue you get lost in. Curly blonde hair, a smile that was brighter than the sun. I had dull brown hair and gray eyes. I rarely smiled.
When we walked to the store, everyone's eyes looked at her. Smiles were thrown her way, and candy was given to her. She was the favorite, and I might as well have been a ghost. I was the invisible one, the second one mentioned… if I was mentioned at all.
She got perfect grades, had so many friends, anything she wanted. I got C's and D's, and had no friends. I only had three things; a bed, a dresser, and a chair.
"Of course!" was a common phrase my sister heard. Toys, stuffed animals, makeup, ribbons, she got it all. After hearing 'no' so many times, I stopped asking.
My sister was a beacon, she helped things. She wouldn't squash bugs; she'd give the hungry man a coin. She laughed often.
I, however, didn't give out coins. I never laughed, and I drew on the killing of bugs. Like I said, I do smile. But only in private. I only smile when the last leg was pulled off the millipede, or the bee's wings were crushed in my hand. I liked to look down on the squirming bugs and imagine my sister in their place.
She couldn't hurt a fly. Which is what killed her in the hundred and fiftieth Hunger Games. Her looks didn't help her. Her personality didn't help her. She was killed in the first half hour.
When she had been called at the Reapings, a slow smile spread across my face. This one time, during one of the rare moments I smiled, my smile was in public. It was perfect… some would say too perfect. The Quarter Quell's 'special rule' this year was no volunteers. I wanted to laugh. I'll admit a chuckle may have slipped out. Luck was not on her side. No one could help her. She was weak… she had coasted through life on looks and charm, but now she was in the Games. Nothing but strength mattered there.
I saw her die on the T.V. my mother was crying, my father was crying, I imagine the whole town was crying. Well, the whole town minus one person. One person was laughing.
