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Show -104- Pepperrminc Monda; combined with the cold sqeeze somewhere in my chest. I lifted the satin material from the box, shaking it free from the folds. It was beautiful. I hoped Grandma had finished it before her arthritis had acted up. Andrea hadn't said a word either. It wasn't hard to understand why. Grandma had made a big, satin ribbon, much bigger than the actual size. It was a bright, prize-winning blue. She had tatted neat lettering down the side of the ribbon with glossy, white floss. It read: "Carly Hodkins is a winner". "Grandma," I said in a voice nowhere near my usual loudness. "I lost the election." The smile never faded from Grandma's plump face. Her eyes didn't mist up or anything. She just sat there, without making a sound, waiting for me to say more. "I didn't win." I repeated a little annoyed. "I lost by sixteen votes." "Is that all?" Grandma Ruby said after a long pause. "Sixteen votes is nothing to be ashamed of." "I'm not ashamed J" I was shouting now. Grandma didn't like angry shouting in her house. She'd made Jason go outside once when he had shouted at her. He was a lot younger then too. I half expected her to order me to leave. "Good," Grandma said simply. "I'm not exactly proud either. Sixteen or a hundred, either way I lost. I'm not a winner." "Of course you are. You tried. That's more than a lot of people ever do. You are a winner in my eyes." I was crying now. Not just little prick in the corner of my eyes, but |