I Gave My Sister the Last Cookie Without Asking

So here’s the deal. I’m a freshman at this big college and it’s my first time away from home. But sometimes, when I miss home a lot, I get into weird mood swings where I just want to feel connected to the people I left behind. Like last night, while I was talking on the phone with my sister Lily about how much I miss having her homemade cookies here with me, we got into this friendly but still competitive little argument over which of us is better at video games. Anyway, later that evening, I was sitting in our cozy kitchen back home, it’s really one of those things you can only appreciate when you’re away from them, and my mom walked in holding a bag. Inside were four cookies, the last of her famous recipe batch. There were two left for me since Lily had already gotten her share earlier that day. I was about to munch on these delicious treats while watching Netflix but then it hit me, why not get ahead in this sibling rivalry thing? I quickly pocketed one cookie and sent a text to my sister: “Got you beat, you missed the last cookie!” At first, she didn’t say much back. But soon enough, she was texting me asking where her cookie was. And here’s when it got real messy, I told her I had no clue what she meant because our mom said there were only two left. The guilt started creeping in right away as we chatted back and forth late into the night. My sister is pretty chill, but this one really hit a nerve. Even though we’ve made up now and I mailed her cookies to apologize, I can’t shake off how sneaky my actions were and feel awful about it. I mean sure, maybe it was just a silly argument over something trivial, but lying even in jest felt wrong. Now that I’m thinking back on it, I think the real issue might be that I need to sort out my homesickness in healthier ways than trying to one-up my sister.