Amira Grimm | District 1

I've learned so many things out of the pathetic excuse of a life that I live.

For the seventeen years that I have been alive, I have learned many things.

For one, you shouldn't mess with Leo's pets. The foul little beasts scamper across every inch of this house, as if we were living in a home built for lowly and pathetic farmers. Once, a tarantula got loose from its crate (I say loose because Leo swears that she wasn't pulling one of her pitiful pranks.) and found its way into my bedroom. I'm not above admitting that I nearly had a heart-attack when I realized that the fuzzy thing I pulled off from my eyes as I awoke was not my regular sleeping mask. Unfortunately, whilst going through said heart-attack, I carelessly smashed the minuscule thing in my hands, causing a thick and yellow slime to gush onto my fingers. In a second frenzy of panic, I dashed to my restroom to wash the filth off of my slender and shaking hands. What did I find when I opened the door, you ask? Cerberus Grimm, my annoying brother who I viewed as much more of a piece of gum attached to the bottom of my shoe that I just couldn't pull away. No matter how hard I tried. He ran his fingers through his glossy hair, styling it this way and that, as he looked over his reflection. I screeched at him to move away from the sink so that I could cleanse my hands (Why mother and father insisted that Cerberus and I share a restroom, you wonder? Because they're damn fools, I feel.), but he only shrugged and spoke with a drawn-out yawn. "My hair's more important than a bug's blood, Amira. The toilet's free if you're that desperate."

Lesson 1: siblings suck.

One other thing you shouldn't do is visit Nero's lovely little abode. It's not as if he longs for the company, but mother seems to always feel that it is best that I be the one to visit our dear cousin with treats and delicious foods that we can't possibly fit into our stomachs. Leftovers? In my family? How funny. Anyhow, there was once a moment in my past where I found my own little treat while visiting Nero. Well, what I thought was a treat. A darling little toy was placed upon his work-table, and I was absolutely certain that it was crafted just for me. Its style was adorable and intricate, and I was positive that it would look grand on my shelf. I should have listened to Nero when he yelled at me to stop as I reached for the toy, but as stubborn as I was, I deemed it as him trying to hide the fact that he had been working ever so hard on a gift for me. I proclaimed how he shouldn't have taken the precious time out of his life to repay me for all of the short walks and long groans to his house as I picked up the toy. He really shouldn't have, I now realize. Because when I picked up the toy, when it's beady little eyes started to flash, it exploded in my hands. Five stitches later, my left arm was slightly damaged due to my stubbornness. My family said that the scars would heal, and they would. But what was said that pissed me off the most? "You should be glad that I wasn't finished with it, you know? I don't think District One's doctors are so advanced as to stitch someone's hand back on."

Lesson 2: Nero should be banned from the toy-making industry for life.

Did you know that you should never let Leo comb your hair? Yeah, she's pretty and obviously she should know what she's doing, but the thing with Leo is that she always has a little plan for everything that she does. In the case of combing my hair whilst my arm was in too much agony to control my hand, she decided that letting her pet monkey take control of the comb would have a fun outcome. She didn't even warn me. I yelped in agony as Leo laughed. I spat curses at her, snarling in disgust at the foul beast that clumsily held onto a comb full of clumps of my silken and ebony hair. "Calm down," Leo started as she patted the evil creature. "Don't you know how to have fun?"

Lesson 3: between playing with Leo or playing with Nero's toys, I'll take the latter.

It's a classic District One myth that everything will be perfect if you're pretty and rich. What's the deal with me? My skin is clear and smooth, my hair is straight and silken, I'm tall and my clothes are always neat and proper, and I carry myself with elegance. Not only that, my family is one of the richest in the district. Aside from the obvious, I also make good grades and I'm never above helping people improve against their flaws. Still, no matter how hard I try, my family drags me down. They're ignorant fools, to be true. Leo with her pets, Cerberus with his hair, Nero with his toys, Lyrica with her music, and all the others with their fucking flaws. To be honest, I had hoped that Xanthus dying would ease the weight of my family's idiocy from my shoulders. Hell, it's only gotten worse. They're like a damn disease, weakening me more and more with each step that I take. There have also been rumors that Nero has entered an arranged marriage, as if I need another piece of foul scum in my family. There's not much that I can do, I guess. Then again, I can pleasantly bitch my way into happiness for a short while. After all, as I had stated, it's nice to help people improve.

Lesson 4: being a bitch is rather a nice deed.