Shattering Constellations | Countryhumans |

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Scene I

Young America POV (January 7th)

I watch as my sister plays on the monkey bars. She swings and grabs the next bar, then dangles with one arm. She grins smugly, her pearly teeth shining brightly, boasting about her accomplishment while I sit on the bench, staring at her. "Erica, I bet you can't do this!" She giggled, pulling herself up and sitting on the bars.

"Get down, you'll get hurt," my mom says worriedly. She puts New Zealand down from her lap and walks over to my beaming sister.

I look down at my feet. I can't play with the monkey bars. They're too high, I'm scared for my safety, and I'm not strong enough to hold my own weight. I sigh, wanting to play, but I know she will take the spotlight away from me when I start doing good. That's why it's better not to try.

"你好!" I look up to find a boy with dark brown hair smiling sweetly at me. "Do you want to play tag with my friends and I? You look lonely." He asks, pointing at his group of friends waiting for him.

I look at my sister, dreading her presence. I shouldn't be afraid. I'll make friends one day. Maybe I will make some today before she steals them away with her charms. I smile, looking at the boy, "sure!"

"Great!" He beams, taking my hand and dragging me to his friends. "I'm China!" He says.

"I'm Union, but you can call me America or Erica." I mumble shyly.

He chuckles, "okay America!" We reach his friends who all give me a nice smile. "Let's start shall we?" He grins.

"Girls have cooties! What are you doing?" A boy with an eyepatch gags in disgust. I retract my hand from China's hold.

"Sorry," I mumble, looking at the ground.

"She doesn't have cooties! You're the one with cooties!" China snaps, holding my hand again. I look at our hands, shocked. Why is he standing up for me? I'm nobody.

Another boy with chocolate brown hair laughs softly. "Does China have a crush?" He teases, making kissing noises.

China glares, "I do not! You are the one who likes her!" He points at the girl in a blue and white floral dress.

She rolls her eyes and smiles at me, "would you like to introduce yourself?"

I nod, feeling my palms sweat with all this attention. "Hi, I'm Union, but you can call me America or Erica. I go to Farrell elementary school and I'm in 3rd grade!" I beam, suppressing myself from running away and hiding.

"Are you the girl who revolted against her father?!" The boy with chocolate brown hair gasps, "I'm Finland by the way."

I nod, "yeah. My sister and I gained our independence. Now we're free from his bondage—sort of."

"I want to meet your sister! She has been so vocal about everything and she seems like a great country! Also, I'm Estonia." Estonia claps her hands.

I flinch, my smile soon becoming fake, "sure! I'll call her over." I turn to look at my sister who's playing with Australia. They run around New Zealand who's playing on the ground with her dolls. "Sissy! Come here! We're going to play tag," I scream as loud as I can.

She rushes over to me and stands between China and I, breaking the hand holding. She smiles widely, "hi everyone! I'm Confederate, but you can call me Connie." She shines brightly.

"Hi Connie, I'm Cuba. You have to tell us more about your revolution." The boy in the eyepatch says.

Confederate chuckles, waving her hand, "of course. I'll tell you everything from the beginning!" As she begins talking, I slowly back away from the group. I'm only a shadow of my sister that no one notices. It always happens like this: I meet someone, they meet my sister, they forget about me. That's why I sit in the corner, knowing that no matter what I try, I will always be hidden from plain sight.