fourth place

Always good, but never the best.
That's how Lina Short always felt. Pewter medal. Shortest trophy. Standing next to the podium.
She always had to have a smile on her face when she recieved them. Nana said she was incredibly lucky to be able to swim, and plus, Lina tried hard, and medals weren't what swimming was about. Lina thought different. What was the good of swimming if you don't win something. That's why Lina swam. To win.
Lina had a swim meet. She swam fast, but not fast enough. Three people touched the wall before her. Three people stood on the podium. One stood on the ground.
When Lina arrived home, she decided she had a curse. So she got on her bike and went to the library.
"Do you have any books about witches?"

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The librarian looked up. "Oh, hello dear. I do believe we have a few books about witches. Are you learning about the Salem witch trails?"
"No."
The librarian- whose name tag said "Mary"- looked a bit taken aback. "Oh, well then, I'll show you to the books." She gave Lina a nervous smile and led her to the "W" nonfiction section. "Here you go." Mary trotted off.
Lina ran her hand against the books, her fingers going through the cracks between them. She found the right section and pulled out a very old book called "Cursed: Help for the Victims of Witches" by Loni Ly. Lina noticed her name sounded like "lonely", but she paid no mind to it.
Lina flipped to the table of contents. She looked through the two pages listing the chapters, and finally found the one she was looking for. "How to remove a curse".
Eagerly, Lina flipped to that chapter- page 113- and read.
What's wrong with you? you wonder. Bad things always seem to happen to you, and they are in a pattern.
Is this you? Do you feel this way? Do you want to get rid of this? If so-
The ink was rubbed off there. Anger surged through Lina. She chucked down the book and stormed out.

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"No," Lina said to her friend, Becca.
"Please?"
"No!"
"I just want a taste of the ice cream! I never had strawberry before!"
"I don't care!" Lina screamed. She shoved the cone into Becca's face, smearing ice cream all over it. Becca gasped and ran away.

That was the last Lina saw of Becca Thornley. Or, at least, spoke to. They had nodded to each other sometimes, but weren't any friendlier than that. And Lina had regretted doing that. At the time, when they were seven, she hadn't regretted it. "It was my ice cream!" she had said to Becca's mom after Becca squealed to her. But she was older now. Things were different.
One day Lina saw Becca and a few other girls at the mall. They were the "it" girls at school. Everyone wanted to be one of them. Lina ran up to them.
"Hey, guys! Could I hang out with you?" Lina asked.
One of the girls snorted. Tanya. The "Queen Bee". "Sorry, but you have to pass a test to get into the "it girl's" club. You have to jump off the Empire State Building without a parachute and not die." She and the other girls howled with laughter, Becca the loudest. Lina sulked off. So much for trying to make friends.

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