State Twelve: North Carolina

North Carolina (NC)
Nickname – The Tar Heel State/The Old North State
Ratified – November 21, 1789
Capital – Raleigh
Largest City – Charlotte
Size by Area – 28th in U.S.
Size by Population – 10th in U.S.
State Flower – Dogwood
State Bird – Cardinal
State Song – "The Old North State"
Motto – Esse Quam Videri (Latin for To be, rather than to seem)
Random Fact – The first miniature golf course was built in Fayetteville.
Height – 5'7
Gender – Male
Personality – Arrogant; hates being coddled by his older sister South Carolina, but loves to mess with her. Very competitive. Close friends with Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.

"I swear, I'm going to prove her wrong." North Carolina clenched his fists and rummaged through the refrigerator.

"Seriously, North Carolina?" Tennessee said while munching on an apple. She was leaning up against the counter across from the fridge and watching as North Carolina shoved items aside. "You just can' let it go, can you?"

"No, I'm gonna win this time!" North Carolina spun around quickly to set something on the counter and turned back to the fridge. Tennessee sighed and glanced over at the door to the kitchen when she heard the knob turn.

"Hey, guys," Kentucky smiled as he and Mississippi walked into the room. "The door was unlocked, so we just let ourselves in. But we didn't think you guys would be huddled into the kitchen. We already ate…"

"Naw, North Carolina here just got himself into another argument with his sister and now he has to prove himself better." Tennessee bit into the apple again, nearly finishing it off.

"Again?" Mississippi sighed. "Don't tell me…"

"Does it have to do with…" Kentucky didn't finish as North Carolina pulled out another condiment onto the counter and slammed the fridge shut. He then rushed over to the closet and yanked out a huge bag of brown sugar and set it onto the counter with loud thud. Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee glanced at each other and spoke in unison:

"Barbecue."

"Yes!" North Carolina shouted. "For decades, South Carolina has somehow proven that her barbecue is much better than mine, but those people that vote are biased! I'm not going to let her win this time!"

Mississippi looked at Tennessee and the latter shrugged. "North Carolina, I'm sorry, but out of any competition out there, I'm pretty sure that this is one that is a little pointless…"

North Carolina glared at her. "And you're my friend why?"

"C'mon, North Carolina," Tennessee took her last bite of the apple and tossed it in the trash. "Don' be that way. She's just being honest."

"Are you saying that my barbecue sucks?"

"No, that's not what we're saying," Kentucky waved his hands. "Your barbecue is fine. It's just that when you try to get others to agree that yours is better over your sister's, well…I don't think you've been able to win for a reason."

North Carolina stared at Kentucky with a scowl. "I'm glad to know you guys have such faith in me."

"Y'know, we're there for you whenever your competitive kick gets the best of you, but you should know how we feel about the barbecue argument," Tennessee grabbed one of the many bottles of North Carolina's barbecue sauce that had been removed from the fridge. "Like you said, it's been goin' on for decades."

North Carolina returned to the fridge and opened the freezer. "Well, it will keep going until I win!"

Mississippi crossed her arms. "Okay, North Carolina, how about we bet on this one?"

North Carolina paused as he reached into the freezer. "What?"

"Yeah," she said and walked up to him, leaning forward to get in his face. "If you lose this competition, you owe the three of us twenty-five dollars."

"Twenty-five?" Kentucky said in a tone that indicated that that amount of money wasn't enough. Mississippi glanced back to glare at him and he held up his hands in defense.

"Okay," North Carolina removed one hand from the freezer to out onto his hip. "And what if I win?"

"Then the three of us give you twenty-five dollars apiece."

Tennessee nodded while Kentucky just made a face. North Carolina smirked.

"All right!" he reached back into the freezer with both hands. "You've got…a…deal…!" he huffed as he pulled out a giant bag of what looked like meat and slammed it on the counter. Everyone jumped.

"What the hell is that?" Kentucky asked, pointing to the bag. North Carolina closed the freezer door.

"Pork!" North Carolina patted the bag and some crushed ice rolled off of it. "I've got some other meat in the freezer in the garage, too!"

The other three States sweatdropped. This was going to be a long day…

"What?!" North Carolina's mouth flew open as he saw the score. He had 484 points while South Carolina had 496 points. She had won. Again.

"N-no, that's not right!" North Carolina pointed at his sister from across table. The judges across from them, who were still enjoying both plates of barbecue, glanced up at him. "I was so close! How could she still win?"

"You're barbecue is getting better, Mr. Carolina," one of the female judges said while wiping her mouth of barbecue sauce. "But Ms. Carolina's is superb. I understand you keep trying, but I don't know if you'll ever—"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" North Carolina charged toward the judges' table, but was held back by several arms. Kentucky grabbed him from behind, his arms wrapped around North Carolina's abdomen, while Tennessee and Mississippi each grabbed an arm. South Carolina stood next to him, as North Carolina was kicking his feet in protest.

"North Carolina," she said to him in a soft voice while eating a plate of his barbecue. "I have to say, this barbecue is really good! You are getting much better, and I appreciate the effort."

North Carolina stopped moving to look at his sister. His eyes were wide for only a split second before narrowing and looking away. "Whatever."

"Thank you, judges," she smiled at the terrified looking judges before walking off.

North Carolina put his feet back onto the ground. His friends let him go as he fixed the collar on his shirt.

"Well, I think this is your best score yet," Kentucky said.

"And, hey, your sister praised it as well," Tennessee smiled. Mississippi had walked over to the barbecue table and grabbed a plate of North Carolina's barbecue. She brought it back over to where they were standing for everyone to grab a piece. "And it is really good!"

North Carolina watched as his friends chowed down on his barbecue and blushed. He turned his head and tried not to smile. "T-thanks…"

"But you know what this means," Mississippi said.

North Carolina turned back around. "What?"

"You owe us twenty-five dollars."

"Dammit!"

"Each."

"DAMMIT!"

Ah, tsundere North Carolina. :P

Now, I'm not one to say which barbecue is better. I've never been to either State, and I don't even like barbecue. From what I know, South Carolina is very well known for their barbecue and it's, like, totally amazing or something. And because of how I made North Carolina's personality…I figured this would be a good chapter to do. So I'm definitely not knocking is NC barbecue or anything. I promise.

~Midori