The Spring

Chapter 2

When school was dismissed that afternoon, I was in such a hurry to go home that I dint bother to visit my locker to check to see if I had any homework. Outside the main doors of the school building, underneath the flagpole, I found Emma waiting for me. Emma was Rebecca’s younger sister; she was sixteen and was in the second year of high school this year. She looked a lot like Rebecca; the same blond hair, the same hazel colour eyes, and the same friendly smile, although Rebecca's smile wasn’t permanently fixed to her face like her sister’s seemed to be. With Rebecca, one never knew for certain whether the good attitude she put forth was genuine, but there was a sincerity in Emma’s smile that only made her natural kindness and warmth all the more impressive.

I and Emma had always gotten along well. Just as Rebecca was popular and well-liked among the senior class, so was Emma very popular among the sophomore year, and she never had any trouble selecting a boyfriend from among her many admirers. I often recognized her in the hallways, walking hand in hand with her latest boyfriend, but the only times I ever spoke to her was when I gave her and her sister rides to and from school.

When I approached her, she smiled and said, “Hi! Rebecca will be along in a minute.”

I just stood by and nodded, watching the doors and the stream of students exiting the building.

Rebecca and Emma didn’t ride with me every day. Rebecca had a car, an old clunker that, although in very poor condition, still ran, but when Rebecca’s father was out of town on business, Rebecca and Emma rode with me. Last year Rebecca and Emma’s mother passed away after a long suffer from cancer. Because their father’s business obligations required him to travel around the country frequently, Rebecca and Emma were left to themselves. Whenever their father went out of town, he asked Rebecca not to drive the car except to work or in case of an emergency. Their father was afraid that Rebecca (or Emma, who had recently earned her own driver’s license) might get into a serious car accident while he was away. A year ago when I and Rebecca had been close friends than we were now, Rebecca had come to me first when looking for a ride to school. I agreed, and this arrangement had become a habit. I didn’t mind, because it guaranteed that I still kept in touch with Rebecca even though we have drifted apart, and it was always nice to see Emma too.

Obviously, the death of their mother had an effect on the siblings. For about a month after her mother’s death, I had noticed that Rebecca was withdrawn and depressed, but over time her usual cheerfulness returned. Rebecca had always been kind of a clown and quick to laugh and smile, but over the past year, I noticed the smiles seemed to have become permanent. As for Emma, I had only met her a few times before her mother died. Once she and Rebecca started riding with me, and I got to know her a little better, I found Emma to be far more mature than her age suggested. After all, with her mother gone, she had a great deal more responsibility heaped upon her shoulders, and she almost became like a parent to Rebecca, especially when their father was away, though Rebecca was the eldest one.

I and Emma had only been waiting for a minute before I heard Emma mutter, “C’mon, Rebecca hurry up.” Her words magically produced their intended effect as Rebecca at last came up from the main school building. She wasn’t alone: a boy was walking by her side and eagerly listening to her tells a joke. I didn’t know his name, he looked like a junior. Like her sister, Rebecca was popular with the opposite sex, but it seemed like neither Rebecca nor Emma could ever develop a relationship that lasted longer than a month or two. I could never understand what it was that attracted boys to Rebecca. Maybe it was her smile, or her accessible personality. But all that was superficial, and perhaps her lack of depth was the reason why boys dint stay with her for very long. Of course, that explanation didn’t solve the mystery of Emma’s brief relation since there was a substance beneath her outer surface, a beauty and warmth that wasn’t just a mask. Perhaps, I concluded, such a brief relationships were all just a part of being a teenager in high school.