Disclaimer: I don't own THG. Santa better give it to me for Christmas.
Those seven words render me speechless. I stare at Marlin, who is looking at me with a hopeful look in his eye, until I can get my mouth to open. "I-I…" I stammer, "I love you, I really do, but please… give me some time to think about it." The hopefulness on his face evaporates.
Just then, a crash comes from outside the room, followed by someone sobbing loudly. I'm immediately out the door and running down the stairs. Marlin closes the door behind us and shoots down the stairs after me. There is Pearl, sprawled at the bottom of the stairs. I help my father pick her up and lay her on the couch. Marlin goes to get an icepack in the kitchen. I kneel down beside her. "Pearl, what happened?" I ask her, but it's Azula who answers me, smiling in her usual way.
"Pearl and I were walking down the stairs side-by-side, and she accidentally tripped over my foot." She smiles innocently. Now I'm not bragging or anything, but I'm pretty smart, and I know sabotage when I see it on Azula's face. I glance down at Pearl's foot and see it's pretty bent up. My father is a trained medic, though, so he can take care of Pearl's foot. I, meanwhile, am left to deal with Azula and her attitude.
As soon as Marlin hands my father an icepack, I grab his hand and Azula's arm and pull them into my father's bedroom. I close the door behind me and lock it. "You know, Azula, I'm not as stupid as you look," I practically spit at her. "Oh," Marlin says, in an attempt to clear the air, "you just got schooled, Azul-," "Shut up right now, Marlin," I snap, glaring at him. He backs away, his hand raised in surrender.
"How much of our conversation did you hear, Azula? And the reaping is in an hour, so tell the truth," I ask her. "I don't know what you're talking about, ViVi. I told you the truth. She accidentally tripped over my feet and fell down the stairs." "Don't lie to me Azula, I can tell when you do. I know you have a crush on Marlin. I see you frown every time he kisses me. You practically worship him. 'Marlin this…', 'Marlin that…' Lay off, because he's my man!"
Azula turns redder and redder, but I'm not done yet. "You were eavesdropping on us, don't shake your head. I know you were. You heard him propose to me, and you were so jealous that you pushed Pearl down the stairs. How dare you push her down the stairs! She did nothing to you whatsoever! You are a despicable little girl, you know that? I don't know why you would push a seven year old down the stairs just because your social life isn't turning out the way you want it to!" Out of the corner of my eye, I see Marlin flush and raise an eyebrow at Azula skeptically.
I turn away from her. I feel terrible. I just revealed her deepest secret in front of the boy she likes. She may be mean, but she is my little sister. But instead of felling ashamed, she thinks my anger is comical! "If you don't watch out, your other precious little baby is going to take a tumble down the stairs," she taunts.
I turn back around and narrow my eyes at her. For a twelve year old, she sure n knows how to aggravate people. "If you ever threaten one of them like that again, I will slap you so hard, you'll she stars," I snarl. "The twins are your sisters too, Azula. You need to take care of them, not go out of your way to hurt them. If you keep acting up like this, I will make sure you are sent to the training center. You will train for the rest of your childhood. You won't live in this house and you will only see your family once a year."
It's an empty threat, but she doesn't know that. Tears start to spill out of her eyes before she runs from the room. "That was a bit harsh, ViVi." I totally forgot that Marlin was in here. "I'm tired of her being a bully. She needs to learn how to respect other people," I snap back. "Whatever you say, ViVi. So, do you have an answer to my question yet?" "No, and I will tell you when I do, so stop asking me." He opens his mouth to say something, but then he wisely closes it.
I escort him to the front door and kiss him goodbye. He waves goodbye and speeds off on his moped. He has to be there early because he has to stand on the stage during the reaping, since he's a victor. I go back into the house just in time to see Pearl get to her feet her ankle wrapped tightly with a bandage. Pearl, Coral, and I walk out of the house together, followed by my father and Azula, whose eyes are red and whose mouth is contorted into an angry sneer. We head towards the square, where in less than half an hour, two children will be headed to their death.