sisters

My sister Annie is seven years younger than I.

We went to a small school in Georgia, grades 1-8.

On Annie's first day of school she cried piteously! I remember seeing her blond head tucked down and her bottom lip quivering as we got off the bus. But I was in the 7th grade and anxious to find my old friends and meet new ones so I turned away and left her crying.

I was in homeroom, feverishly passing notes to my right and left, making sure my hand was under Mrs. Cobb's line of vision when the door opened. The principal whispered to Mrs. Cobb and she came and whispered in my ear. "Your little sister is quite upset and Mr. Dobbins would like you to see to her."

My face flushed I followed Mr. Dobbins to the first grade class. Annie did not leave her seat but held her arms out to me, her face tear streaked, her little chest heaving unevenly. I knelt beside her desk and she threw her arms around me and whimpered something that sounded like, "Please don't leave me. Please."

Don't leave her, I thought! I have friends to talk to, notes to pass, boys to make eyes at and maybe even English to learn. Don't leave her? What did she want from me? I was in the 7th grade. Did she want me to sit beside her and hold her hand?

Apparently so. Mr. Dobbins pulled a first grade desk up beside hers and there I sat, long skinny legs at an awkward angle, knees to my chest holding her clammy hand and wiping her tears. I stayed with her all day! All day! Me. A 7th grader.

That afternoon I jumped off the bus, ran in the house and yelled, "I had to sit with Annie in her stupid first grade all day!"

"I know," said my stepmother, "when Mr. Dobbins called I suggested he take you to her. I knew you could calm her down. Annie's scared, that's all."

What? My family knew about this and approved? I was sunk. There was no higher court I could appeal to.

Next day Mr. Dobbins put a 7th grade chair in Annie's class and I spent the day there again, listening to little kids recite the abc's while my friends had a wonderful time without me. I know they did because they told me all about it on the bus ride home. "Mrs. Cobb is superb! She taught us the "state of being" verbs today!" The state of being verbs? What was a state of being verb? I was going to fail 7th grade because of my little sister.

And still Annie cried every morning and still I held her hand and listened to the abc's.

Somewhere in the second week, someone said or did something just right and Annie smiled for the first time in her little first grade desk. I don't know what it was. I wasn't paying attention. Things got better slowly and by the end of that week Annie was talking to the other kids, smiling at the teacher and even saying, "a-b-c" loudly.

I returned to my 7th grade class and learned what state of being verbs were and what Haiti looks like on the top and on the bottom and that Mrs. Cobb's first name was Queequeg, yes, Queequeg from Moby Dick. Queequeg, the savage harpooner. I was so happy to be back with my friends, passing notes and whispering and I was totally enthralled with Mrs. Cobb.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that time of great personal sacrifice to Annie and she said, "That's what big sisters are for." My mind reeled! That's what big sisters are for? But she also said, "Thank you for being there for me Miss Scarlett."

Awww… what the heck! That's what big sisters are for.