clara burns / district 6 / cb (fin)

 You're half of a set. A part of a pair. One out of two. But that's never stopped you from being singular. Unique in any and every way possible. From those streaks of red beneath troves of blonde curls, to the permanent ink in the shape of a tiny flame on the inside of your left wrist. You have done whatever it will take to be recognizable, to be known not just as a Burns twin but as Clara—a girl all her own.

 Some would say you care too much what people think, that one day you'll drive yourself mad trying to always be so perfectly unforgettable. If you were actually honest with yourself or anyone else, you might agree. But keeping up with Cleo is a full-time job. Anything you can do, she can do it better. So you give them a show, you break your back to leave a damn good impression. You hold court at Salvatore like it's your would-be kingdom and place your academic accomplishments atop your head like a crown because that's the one thing your sister can never take away from you.

 Cleo can have your same eyes, she can don a perfect replica of your nose, she can even use the same sultry voice, but she can't have that brain of yours. But what she lacks in smarts, she makes up for in the best carefully concocted subterfuge this generation will ever see. It's astonishing, the way your sister can read and dissect a person. Books may be your area of expertise, knowledge easily memorized for later regurgitation, but in a game of wits—of truth or humiliation—your sister will win every time.

 You're half of a set. A part of a pair. One out of two. But you were born second. Exactly three minutes apart. A fact Cleo never lets you forget. A simple truth turned lifelong complex. A meaningless difference in time transformed into every mean thought about yourself and every anxiety-fueled breakdown. But it hasn't crushed you yet. You still fight back against the tide with each waking moment, striving for the next title of winner like you were born to do nothing more than compete.

 An olympian in righteous pride and unpredictable hubris. But what's that old saying? Something along the lines of first the worst... second the best.