"I give up!" Sierra slammed her book closed and ran into the bathroom, once again failing to keep the leaf in her mouth for the full 30 days. She had finally made it to 10 days on her fourth try, but the taste never got better. It had somehow managed to get worse. "Fourth time, and fail." She mumbled to herself before filling her mouth with toothpaste.  

"Your breath stinks" Regan mumbled as she entered the bathroom. The sight of her older sister spitting out a chunk of toothpaste into the sink was one to remember. Sierra's hair was starting to mix with the toothpaste that had fallen from the tube. But the older sister did not care,  She rather have hair in her mouth than the flavor of the leaf. "I'm glad you finally spit it out."

"Is it that obvious?" Sierra mumbled back and checked her teeth. Regan nods and pinches her nose in disgust. It makes her laugh. "It's so awful." She whines as she starts adding more toothpaste to her brush, Sierra once again tries to scrub the taste away.

"What is it anyway?" 

"I'm trying to win this challenge with my friends, I'm slightly winning but the experience is horrible." The younger Black sister laughs and shakes her head. It didn't really answer the question, but it was enough to have her change the subject of the "about" 

"I hope it's worth the trouble, Siri." Regan pats her on the back as she quickly leaves the shared bathroom. Sierra follows closely behind, wiping the dripping water off her face with the sleeve of her jumper. There weren't many moments she shared with her sister, but when they did, Sierra tended to try to lengthen their time together. Even if it meant bugging her sister in private. Sierra reaches over for Regan's face and it makes the younger Black push her hard enough to hit the wall of the hallway. The voice of their mother fills the room. Regan lets out a small groan as she looks back at her older sister. Sierra stopped walking for a quick second, trying to think what might have possibly made her mother call out for her. "What did you do this time?"
"Exist."
——-

It was the night that Sierra gave up. She no longer had the urge to make her mother proud or make her father notice her. It was the night the sisters hugged each other for the last time.

"I'm sorry." 

"No, you're not." Regan pushed her sister hard enough to have Sierra fall on her own bed. "It wasn't that hard to keep them happy." 

"Reg, they didn't like me from the moment I got sorted and you know that." 

"You could've switched!"

Sierra shakes her head as she fixes her hair. "That's not how this works, Regan." 

"I swear, Sierra. If you leave this house, I will also disown you."