p r o l o g u e
If there was one person, one villain in my life... it would be my sister. Well, my mother wasn't any better, and my father barely ever acknowledged my existence, but my sister... oh my god. If my mother was lightning, then my sister would be the fire that the lightning caused. My sister. My sister. My freaking sister. So pristine and perfect- all the girls crowded around her, asking what she did to her "glowing" fur, and all the boys, they practically licked the ground she walked on. Me? I was the laughing stock, leading the parade of dorks, bullied and stared at. And all of that chaos-
It was started by my sister.
I was bullied by my own sister.
By my own blood.
"Lee'Ann, can I play with you?" I would ask.
"Ugh! No! My name is
XOYANA, you stupid creep! Only lions outside of the pride call me Lee'Ann! You ugly bird brain, get away from me!" She would shriek, and run off.
And worst of all- my mother let Le-
Xoyana (my sister) wear all of her leopard-print items! All her leopard-print scarves, tail braces, e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. And the only time that I got to see them is when Xoyana was the manikin, the hanger, the model.
I loved leopard-print...
Anywho.
The day started quite routine. I got up, I messed with my bangs (same thing as brushing- just run your claws through), and bathed myself, since my mother didn't even bother to check on me. I said hi to my younger twin, Alec, who was my only friend, and tried to tip-toe past Xoyana, who was wearing my mother's leopard-print scarf/sash. It didn't work.
"Hey, you." She snarled, raising her tuftless tail.
Then it struck me-
No lion in my family had a normal tail. Either it had no tuft, or something else (like a split tail, or a bobbed tail, or a fluffy, wolf-like tail). I was the only one with a tufted tail!
Was it, all along, only for my tail?
"EARTH TO LOSER!" Xoyana shouted.
Oh, boy, here we go.
"How come you haven't learned to listen to me, you trashy little rat?" The blonde lioness snorted. (She was born that way- its some new disease. And of course, she was the first one to have it.) "Are you stupid enough to never learn? Oh, wait, even stupid lions listen to me. You're so dumb, you're probably a mutant with no brain!"
A mutant.
My tail.
Well, that hurts.
"Ugh, go away, you furless weasel." (For a lion, that's supposed to be offensive. And it is.) "And don't even try ruining my perfect day."
She turned, kicked her feet (pretending to throw dirt), and walked off, snout in the air.
Tears ran down my cheeks as I slipped out of the den. Another day to be spent alone. No one played with me, maybe Alec, but then Mom would ruin it by calling him for something.
I curled up and closed my eyes, drifting into a deep nap...
(To be continued)
