two , match, not flame

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by CherriSlush

by CherriSlush

My mother used to talk that if I was material, no one would buy me. I would sit behind that glass case, people stopping only to gawk at how something so expensive could look so cheap. As I tied my letter to an owl, that's what I felt—cheap. The brawn owl flew off, as I stared at it till it was just a little dot in the sky. I shook my head. I thought back to what I had written. did. didn't. does. why. It's not right to think like that , I know. 'It really isn't.' I take this as another voice or thought, but as soft flesh pinches my neck, I spin around.

Him.

'Elaborate.' I look back at the window. The wind prickles against my skin. I remember the warning. DO IT , a voice screams. Hot air plunges through my chest, settling itself in my stomach. Diggory chuckles. 'A girl shouldn't think about death when she isn't near it.'

How does he know?

'Are you saying that if I was going to die in a day, that's all I should think about?' I throw him a match, thinking it's a flame. 'Yes,' he says, without skipping a beat. My cheeks turn pink, but my eyes harden. 'Then you should be thinking about death.' There it is again.

Match. Not flame.

'Think. Thinking. Thought. All the same. I think about life as much as you think about death. Perhaps I can put it into words you'll understand. Simple. Simpler. Simplest. Simpleton. The list goes on. And you think about flames quite a lot—'

'I like to cook. Bake. Fry. Hunt.' This time, I had just thrown a feather. Weak. Do something right. Try. You're worthless. Sesame Well , the voices continue to whisper, and I feel my hair pulled.

DO IT.

Diggory scoffs. 'Please, you couldn't put salt on a crisp.' Then silence falls. Why am I not doing it? 'Touché. Having twenty lipstick marks down your pants isn't something to boast.' I change the subject from what's going on in my head.

'I don't boast.'

'So you don't deny it. You have lipstick marks. Purple or black?'

'Maybe I do.'

'Pink or red?'

'Now you're touché.'

I wink, pushing past him. Diggory still smiles, whispering as I walk down the stairs—but I still hear him.

'TRY TO SLEEP WELL—DEATH GIRL.'

ELLE SPEAKS !

y'all, this is so good !! not to toot my own horn ...

this is where we see that the voices in sesame's head MIGHT leave her alone if she engages ina cat and mouse race with diggory. this is the REAL plot, or the sprinkle plot, so stay tuned !!