Emma

“That is not the way you drive a car!” yelled Gena Collarins. The Collarins family was pulled over at the side of the road after having another run-in with a semi during a driving lesson. “Well if you wouldn’t yell at me all the time I wouldn’t be as nervous and I would drive better.” said wendy. Her little sister, Emma was in the backseat giggling. She wasn’t really supposed to be riding in the car with a fifteen year old getting a driving lesson, but she never wanted to miss the near-death experiences when her sister got behind the wheel. Wendy glared at Emma “Will you stop laughing at me?” “No, You know I love seeing mom yell at you.” she replied. “Both of you stop.” said Gena. “Wendy, You need to learn not to be so nervous. You have to concentrate on the road.” Emma sat back and relaxed. Even though they were sisters and only three years apart, Emma and Wendy were completely different. Wendy was always worried about something and She was afraid of just about everything. Emma, on the other hand loved excitement and adventure. She was very carefree, but When she really believed in something, she could get very passionate about it. Wendy would never tell anyone, but she secretly admired her for it. “Look, Wendy, Just put the car in gear, turn on the turn signal, and pull out into the road.” explained Gena. “Just make sure nothing’s coming first.” added Emma. “I know that!” yelled Wendy. “Mom, can’t you just drive home?” Gena gave Wendy one of her “don’t start” looks. “no. You aren’t going to be able to have someone else drive you home every time you have a scare in the car Wendy. What if you’re driving by yourself someday and this happens?” “Wendy would never drive by herself. She’d be too scared.” said Emma. “you are not helping this.” replied gena. “Go, Wendy.”
Emma decided to be quiet the rest of the trip. She liked giving her sister a hard time, but she knew it was time to stop when mom got involved. They made it the rest of the way home without threat of death which, for Wendy, was good. Emma was glad to be home because she wanted to finish reading her new book, but before she could get inside, her mom stopped her. “Emma, would it kill you to leave your sister alone sometimes?” she asked. “I know mom.“ Emma smiled. “But sometimes it’s so easy.” Gena put her arm around her daughter and sighed. “Honey, that’s a cop-out and you know it. You need to do what’s right not what’s easy.” “Ok. I will. I’m sorry.” said Emma, and she ran into the house before her mother could say anymore. Gena sighed again and looked over at wendy who was on her cell phone chatting away. She hadn’t even left the car yet.
Emma spent the rest of the day in her room. Gena and Wendy both knew that it was useless to suggest she go out and do something when she was reading. Once, when she had spent a particularly long day in her room with nothing but a book wendy had made a comment. “you know, for someone who loves adventure, she doesn’t do much.” Of course that wasn’t entirely true. Yes, Emma read a lot, But when she wasn’t reading, she was looking for something new and exciting to try. Her favorite books were fantasy, and she was always wishing that magical things like those in her books could happen. She didn’t let it bother her to much that they couldn’t, though. Instead, she found her own form of magic in everyday life. She performed in school musicals, Played the flute in band, and danced. She couldn’t understand how Wendy was so afraid of life when there were so many amazing things in the world. Emma wanted to see it all, and Wendy just wanted to sit and talk on her cell phone. That’s what it seemed like to her at least.
Emma didn’t think she’d ever be able to understand her sister. They were so different, and she had trouble appreciating her because of that. Of course she loved her. She just didn’t know how to show it sometimes.