The narrator, Sally, describes her difficult relationship with her older sister Rachel, who is jealous of Sally's intelligence and red hair. Throughout their childhood, Rachel bullies and teases Sally, making her feel self-conscious about her hair. In high school, Sally tries to fit in by dyeing her hair black, but Rachel continues to sabotage her. When Sally starts to connect with a boy named Skyler, Rachel interferes, threatening to reveal a embarrassing photo of Sally unless she cancels her plans with Skyler. Sally reluctantly agrees, but ultimately decides to confront Rachel and assert her individuality, embracing her red hair and rejecting her sister's cruel behavior.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The narrator, Sally, has a sister named Rachel who is one year older than her.
2. Sally was talking before Rachel and learned to read while Rachel was still struggling with the alphabet.
3. Sally's parents loved showing her off and thought she was special.
4. Rachel hated Sally because she felt overshadowed by her.
5. Sally and Rachel were in the same class in eighth grade.
6. Their history teacher, Miss Sheldon, would often compare Rachel unfavorably to Sally.
7. Sally's parents moved to a new state when she was 16, and she started at a new high school.
8. Sally wanted to change her hair color to black to fit in better.
9. Sally's mom allowed her to dye her hair black.
10. Sally joined the drama club as a costume designer at her new school.
11. A play was being held, but the main actor fell ill, and an understudy named Skyler had to take his place.
12. Sally had to help Skyler with his costume and was attracted to him.
13. Skyler asked Sally to the homecoming dance, but Rachel interfered and tried to sabotage their plans.
14. Rachel showed Sally a picture she had taken of Sally wearing a kilt with her bright red hair and threatened to show it to the entire school if Sally didn't cancel her plans with Skyler.
15. Sally told Skyler she couldn't go to the dance with him, but she later decided to attend the dance anyway.
16. At the dance, Rachel revealed the picture of Sally to everyone, but it backfired, and people ended up liking Sally's unique look.
17. Sally and Skyler danced together, and Sally felt happy and accepted for who she was.
18. After the dance, Sally decided to stop dyeing her hair black and went back to her natural red color.
19. Rachel, on the other hand, dyed her hair red, but it wasn't a natural color like Sally's.