The Test of Time

2 ~ July

"I don't want to talk about it Elle!" I mutter as my sister follows me around the kitchen.

"I just want to know what happened!" She pesters.

"Some idiot pulled out in front of me. I failed. End of story." I snap and she lifts her hands up in surrender.

"Hey! Don't worry, it will be okay Ann. I'm sure you'll pass next time!" she says, an encouraging grin on her face. I smile back weakly, but know it'll be months before we can afford to pay for more lessons. 

I pick up a cookie from the side and grab my school bag, pulling it over my shoulder and following Elle out of the apartment. She locks the door, both of us heading down the stairway, her tucking into an apple as I munch on my cookie, a classic breakfast for the Hurst sisters.

"Have a good day, Ann!" Elle yells after me as she walks towards her car. Her job as a nurse means she works almost all day every day and I therefore walk the long distance to school, as much as Elle hates it.

Just one of the main reasons I need to pass my driving test.

"You too Els!" I call back before beginning my walk to school.

I don't always mind it. It lets me daydream, mindlessly wishing the day away as I kick stones along the road.

It was different when my parents were alive.

My Mom would stay at home as my Dad drove us to school before work. We lived a lot closer to the school then, something which an eighteen year old Elle loved. I, a mere thirteen years, had no real thoughts on the matter, oblivious that things could go drastically wrong so fast.

My parents went out for dinner one Friday night and Elle was supposed to be babysitting me. She spent her night in her room with her friends whilst I watched horror movies by myself downstairs. When the doorbell went at half eleven we both walked to the door, moaning about how they always forgot their keys.

Instead of our excitable, energetic parents we found a cop.

Our parents had crashed on their way home when a drunk driver hit them. My Dad had attempted to swerve to avoid them, and instead they ended up plowing into a tree.

At eighteen, my sister was now my legal guardian.

We moved out of our plush family home and into a small apartment across town. Elle got a job in the evenings at the diner to support us, going to college twice a week to train to be a nurse. I started working at the diner just over a year ago.

We aren't rich, but we certainly aren't as poor as we once were. We made it work, my sister and I. And I blended into the background of high school without any cares in the world.

My walk to school allows me time to myself despite how horrible it is in the rain, the snow, and the wind.

A familiar black car suddenly screeches to a halt beside me, making me jump as I glance up and down the empty street. I look down at the car, startled, as the window begins to roll down. I'm even more surprised when I realize who it is.

"Hey cheerleader! Let me give you a lift!" Brett grins.

"No thank you," I reply, turning away as I begin to walk once more.

"Come on, it's such a long way!" His car rolls along beside me and I turn back to him.

"I told you to stay away from me."

"You didn't mean that!"

"Actually, believe it or not Brett Winters but I did. I'm not the type of girl to drop onto my knees in front of you." I snap and immediately blush as he grins mischievously.