gorgina mahdavi | d1 | fin

growing up in a dynasty of infamy had never really fazed you. from a young age, you were told that everything had happened for a reason. you did not start from meagar means, but your mother did, and so did her mother, and so on, dating all the way back to a woman named luja who had been reaped and died in the 8th hunger games. it was something that your parents mentioned from time to time, an important day in the mahdavi household. they told you that they used to mourn, but now they throw big parties in honor of her death.

those were the best moments to be apart of the mahdavi family, because everyone forgot the bad blood that ran through the veins of the family tree. your parents had been kinder to you, even more so than before. your twin had always said that you had been the favorite child, because you never acted out or had been fussy as a kid. you did what you were told, as long as you understood what was being asked of you.

xaa had picked on you when you were younger because she saw you as a target. when something would go wrong at work, or something would break in the house, xaa would always say it was you. you, the five year old child that didnt know any better. you, the girl that simply just kept to herself, playing with her coloring books and toy dolls that were brought home because they were "defective".

xaa would always say that your parents didnt notice the wild streak in you, even as a kid. that you would quickly act out in rage and then go back to doing whatever innocent act you were participating in before.

you had always been confused by this, because you never did something like that, even when your parents were physically watching you, and xaa would claim that you did the thing they claimed you did... you didnt.

maybe one day you will find someone that can help you escape this hell hole of a district. sure, its all about luxury, but its also about crime, and fame, and being willing to sell your soul for all of that and so much more.

you didnt want most of it. maybe a little crime, and maybe just a touch of fame. xaa had pretty much garnered all of the fame, and your twin had been much better at the crime part. however, you werent willing to sell your soul for it. so where did that leave you in the mix?

it left you being the girl that would do the little things to keep the hustle alive. its not like everyone knew all the ins and outs of the books, but you did. your mom had made sure that someone in the family could read the numbers like she could, and obviously, your proclivity to reading almost anything the was put in front of you was her queue to at least let you try too.

its what made you in charge of the register.

sometimes your mom would come in at random points of the day, and each time, she would walk right up to the register first thing. shed ask you to pull out the drawer and before she could even pick up a bill, you told her exactly how much was in it, down to the coin. shed corroborate it. youd smile, and she would give her a small nod. whether it was of approval or not wasnt really for certian, but it at least gave you a leg up in this.

a part of you knows that your mother wants you to step up in xaa's abscence, but you dont offer because you know those are not shoes that you can fill. in fact, you wouldnt be surprised if they remained empty for a good long while. its very clear that she needed someone to be the mouthpiece of the shop, and you were not going to be it.

you didnt have too after all.

xaa was the one that would get into verbal shouting matches with people just for the hell of it. you could barely talk a couple of sentences before realizing that maybe you were in over you head. its hard here, so hard here, but you want to fit in to a family that would sooner throw you out before anything else.

you didnt rise up and you wouldnt though, because it was clear to you that you could only do what you were good at, and your mother was just going to have to accept that she did not raise you to be the one to stick it to anyone that got in your families way.

you played the long and hard game.

unlike everyone else.