My big sister Ashley has always been my hero. From the time that we were little, anything she was doing I wanted to do, too, despite the fact that she was 7 years older than me.
“Remember that time you had that hot date with the boy from your Pre-Calculus class and I tried to help you get dressed?” I said.
“Yeah,” Ashley smiled. “I also remember how you helped yourself to my heels and makeup when I left. Then you fell down the stairs and broke your leg,” she laughed. “Mom was so frantic when she called me to meet y'all at the hospital.”
“I guess that is funny in retrospect,” I said sheepishly. “That first step was a doozy. I thought I saw my whole life flash before my eyes.”
Ashley and I both collapsed in a heap of giggles at the memory. She slowly got up from her chair and stretched.
“Kendra, I never thought the next time we’d be back at General Hospital would be for Dad,” Ashley said pensively, pacing the waiting room floor. “He’s always been in such great health. I never would have seen this coming.”
Even after having spent the whole night in the ER, I still could not believe this was happening. My dad was lying in intensive care not 400 feet away and they wouldn’t even allow us to see him. Mom hadn’t left his side except to give us updates on what the doctors were saying.
Shortness of breath. Chest pain. Pulmonary embolism. I could only take in a few words at a time. My head was whirling. My dad, who had never had so much as a chest cold, to my recollection, was now suffering from a blockage in his lung?
“Ashley, you can’t keep pacing back and forth like that. You’re going to wear a hole in the floor,” I said wearily. “You know broke grad students can’t afford to pay for repairs like that, so who’s going to keep me company when they haul you off to the slammer?”
My big sister, who had always been so sure of herself and optimistic about things working out for our good, was afraid for once. That’s when I realized just how serious this was.
Ashley smiled nervously and returned to her seat near me.
“We'll get through this together,” I said, taking her hand in mine. “We always have and always will.” Ashley just laid her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.
My big sister Ashley has always been my hero. But sometimes even a hero needs to know everything will be okay.
The character Kendra can be described as
A.
a bossy little sister.
B.
a caring little sister.
C.
nosy and annoying.
D.
an absent daughter.