The Heart of a Sister

⎯one//days⎯

❝days of school & moments of laughter❞

⎯andrea⎯

We were so different.

As I sat on the bench at the edge of the crowd, a textbook open on my lap, my notes next to me, I watched her.

She was vibrant. 

A beautiful, lively, energetic ball of passion and laughter. Her hazel eyes sparkled with laughter, her motions excited and clear as she joked around with one of her friends. Her hair was black today, thick and full of life, just as she was.

I pushed away the edge of jealousy that I detected in my thoughts, rolling my eyes as I focused back on my homework.

"Oh, good," someone muttered, drawing my attention as they slid my notes towards me and sat down next to me. "I thought I was the only one."

"Hey, Linni," I greeted, reaching over to hug her. My best friend since I was a baby, this girl was closer to me than most of my family. "When did you arrive?"

"Just now," she replied, focusing on her own textbook. "I can't believe we're in the same school. Finally."

I chuckled but didn't reply, agreeing silently. We'd been friends because of our church, elementary school and because our families were close. When I'd reached middle school, they'd moved to a neighbouring town and I was placed in a different school.

If possible, our friendship had only grown closer.

"Hey, Andrea!" 

I looked up to see who had called my name, smiling as Tris stopped by my bench, her friends stilling around her. Tris and I have known each other for years but we've only managed to stay sorta-friends.

She's popular, athletic, and loved by everyone.

They forgot about me.

"Hey, Tris!" I called back, getting up to hug her. She hugged me back; we were both huggers so it wasn't weird. "Ready for this year?"

"My last," she grinned, waving at Linni. "So, yeah. You?"

I rolled my eyes, shrugging. "Ready as I'll ever be."

And then Tris was swept away with a promise to chat later, and I rejoined my best friend on our bench. We both continued our work silently, interjected by greetings from someone who knew one, or both, of us.

I would look up and check up on my sister, unable to push aside my protectiveness. I knew she was fine with people and crowds, but as her older sister, I liked to keep an eye on her as much as I was able.

"We need to get together," Linni spoke up, breaking into my thoughts.

I glanced over at her, thinking back to the last time we'd seen each other. It was two weeks ago now, a sleepover at my house, and it was way too long.

"Yes," I agree. "Are you busy this weekend?"

"Nope," she replied, her pen scratching notes onto the paper.

I grin, focused on a few sentences, and then pushed my pen to fly across the paper in mixed handwriting and types of letters. Each subject's notes looked like they had been written by different people and not one girl.

I liked it that way.

"Rea!" A loud voice, full of laughter and mischief, echoed throughout the grounds of the campus. 

Mariah must've noticed where I was, I realise, smiling and waving as she headed towards me. Most of her age group had congregated, and several moved down the path with her.

All of them were chatting and joking if their big gestures and happy laughter were anything to go by. There were a few girls in a group, quietly talking, but the rest were obnoxiously happy to see one another after a summer apart.

"What's up?" I ask, wondering why she was wanting to talk to me. She usually enjoyed sticking with her friends.

"Nothing," she replied, grinning. Her friends all watched me and I felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the younger girls. "Just wanted to say 'hi'."

"Hi," I said, nodding. And then I gestured to the small crowd around her. "Who's this?"

Mariah flipped her hair, a habit that I hated, and then she gestured to each girl, and boy, in return. "Lilly, Hayden, Jill, Ted, Charlie and Max."

We all exchanged greetings, my own best friend just offering a wave before she focused back on her own work, and then they were off.

I watched them travel up the stairs and into the school, observing every move they made and my eyes tracking everything they wore. 

They weren't any set stereotype; so far, my sister's friend group had a couple of athletes, a nerd or two, several that looked like they could be bad news, and some non-descript undecided students. 

This could either be the best thing, or the worst... and with Mariah, nothing was ever easy.

The bell rang, signalling that everyone should head to their classrooms, and Linni and I quickly grabbed our books and bags before heading inside.

We were quiet, smiling and greeting everyone we knew, and found our way to the lockers we'd managed to claim earlier. And then it was off to class, our grade all sharing the same schedule, and I just focused on the here and now and forgot the weight pressing on my shoulders.

I could think about that later.