A Tiny Leap

A Tiny Leap in Family

            Bernadette leaped up as her alarm woke her. The sun peeking over the horizon welcomed her last first day of school. She switched her alarm to her first-day-of-every-semester song, one full of eagerness for the future. After a quick shower, she dressed in her favourite dress, ready to conquer the day. Yet, in all her excitement, she knew that at least a moment of melancholy was also due the day. Bernadette sat at her desk and stared at a silver-framed picture she refused to leave home without.
            Within the silver confines of the frame laughed a moment, captured in eternity. In it lived the younger versions of Bernadette and her twin sister, Beatrice. "Trix," as she was called, carried her one-minute older sister on her back, displaying even in a photo the difference a minute can make. Though unique from each other, both sisters chose to attend Volta University for their undergraduate degrees. Bernadette fought her way into the School of Robotic Engineering, and Trix melded into the School of Communications. Due to their differing schedules, the sisters elected to live apart for the first time, but they spent much time together in the Fall of their freshman year. That's when it happened. Bernadette clutched the photo to her chest as she forced herself to relive the day, as she did every special day in school.

            "Come on Birdie, we worked hard all semester. Loosen up for one night and come have fun with us," Trix said.
             "Do you really have to keep calling me Birdie? I'm trying to go by my real name now, and you're not helping any." Bernadette grimaced, unhappy to be arguing with her twin for the second time that week. "Plus, I'm exhausted. I just want to go to bed."
            "But we invited the chem nerds, but only if they provide the drinks, and you know they go all out with their drinks. You can go be nerds with them, if you want."
            "Trix, I'm really not in the mood to go out tonight."
            "Guess I'm going to have to do this. My friends really want to go, Birdie, but we need a sobre buddy, and we all know you won't drink, so they asked me to ask you. Plus, I know we'll be safe with you. You're my big sis; you always take care of me." Trix smiled at her twin.
            "Can't you ask someone else?"
            "We could, but they would probably ditch us, and I know you'd make sure we're all okay. Safety first, right?" Trix continued to smile at Bernadette, her eyes full of innocence and youth. She was good at playing her sister, but she felt bad about it at the end of the day.
            "Fine, but if I want to leave, we're leaving."
            "Fair, but you have to let us stay at least an hour."
            "Deal."

            Once at the party, it was obvious that the chemistry students did deliver. Most of the partiers were either dancing so hard they fell over, or they lay on couches, barely able to keep up a conversation. As promised, Bernadette gave them an hour, and by that time, the other two girls she drove had decided to leave with someone else.
            "Trix." She tapped on her sister's shoulder. "Trix."
            "Just a couple more shots, Birdie. They're awesome. Here, t-try some." Trix wobbled on her feet as she handed her sister a small cup before sliding to the floor.
            "Trix, it's been well over an hour, and I want to go. I didn't meet anyone remotely interesting, and you won't even remember the rest of the night, so why bother?"
            "Has it been an hour? But Birdie..." she trailed off. "Oh all right, I guess I promised, and you're my sister. Just let me say bye to Nathan. It'll only take a second."
            "Fine." Bernadette walked outside to wait on her sister. A minute passed on her watch before she looked back in to see her sister sloppily kissing "Nathan."
            "I should have dragged her out when I got the chance," she muttered to herself. "Trix, it's time to go, now!" she yelled.
            Her sister pushed away from her new friend and fell out the front door of the house. Refusing help, Bernadette marched to the car and let Trix stumble through the night behind her. Once in the car, Bernadette ignored every comment from her sister. As their car wove around the mountain roads that led to their dorm, she began to zone out, the mumblings of her sister's voice putting her to sleep.
            Trix's scream snatched her from the momentary stupor. It was too late. The boulders that escaped the wire netting on the cliffside lay around her crushed car and on her sister. Beatrice's broken body did not pull through as Bernadette's did. Perhaps if her body was free of toxins, she would have survived, but Bernadette was certain of one thing. If she had dragged her sister out of the party with her instead of waiting for her to say bye to Nathan, the rocks wouldn't have hit them. They would have driven through peacefully, and the rocks would have fallen on the empty road behind them. Instead, they struck the twins. That's the difference a minute makes.

            "I'm so sorry, Trix," Bernadette said to the picture. "But, it's our senior year. At least one of us made it." She wiped the tears that silently glossed her cheeks. "I might let people start calling me Birdie again. I miss it. Don't worry, Trix, no matter what, I'll make every minute count. You taught me how important every minute is." With that, she wiped her face clean and grabbed her books. "Now it's time to take on the world."