Chapter II - Sofia
662 Words
Aurora's smile vanishes in an instant.
Her shoulders tense and her step toward the bedroom has all the grace of a condemned man.
I follow her, impatient; she moves with that infuriating slowness that's so her. She sits down at the desk, her trembling fingers hovering over the keyboard.
A sigh. Then she finally clicks on «reload».
I stand behind her, my hands itching to do it myself, she's so slow.
«Here they are... they're out.»
She freezes. I can't even hear her breathing. Then, slowly, she opens the results page. She checks once, then twice: her movements become faster, her fingers racing across the touchpad, her eyes darting back and forth as if she were deciphering a code.
But she says nothing.
«Well?» I murmur, trying to sound casual as the lump in my throat tightens.
Nothing.
She continues to scroll up and down the list.
«Aurora, come on!» I exclaim, grabbing her by the shoulders.
I have to resist the urge to throw myself on the keyboard and check for myself.
«I'm not in the top ten,» she whispers, and the disappointment in her voice takes my breath away. I didn't expect that.
«But I don't understand... I can't find my name. I've looked through the entire list at least five times. I'm not there.»
«Impossible,» I hiss, moving closer to her, my heart racing.
But Aurora is convinced. Her fingers keep tangling and untangling, as if searching for something to hold on to, while her gaze remains fixed on the list.
«I'm telling you, I'm not there! Maybe they canceled the test... or I did something wrong...»
Aurora making a mistake: now that would be a truly unique event.
She's Miss Precision, and I can't believe that on the most important day of her life she made a mistake stupid enough to invalidate her test. Like forgetting to sign it or not putting her name on it.
No, it can't be.
I snatch the computer from her hands, ignoring her indignant look.
«Okay, let's see...» I flop down on the bed and settle against the headboard, tucking my hair behind my ears. «Five thousand participants?»
God, did there really have to be so many?
I scroll up the list and clear my throat, preparing to read the names one by one until I find my sister's.
But there's no need to even start.
«Aurora,» I say seriously, my voice firm, «I think you need to see an eye doctor. Right away.»
She was so convinced she hadn't made it that even with her name written in large letters and surrounded by neon lights, she might not have been able to see it.
«What? You found my name?»
She jumps to her feet, reaching me in an instant, the blue of her eyes darkened by a veil of fear.
«It was a little hard not to see it, given that—» I stand up, give her a push, and turn the screen toward her. «—you're number one!» I explode, screaming, unable to contain myself for another second.
I jump around like a maniac, while she stands there, petrified.
«Sofi, I can't see you moving like that!» She stammers, still in panic mode.
I freeze, tapping my foot impatiently, waiting for it to finally sink in.
Auri rubs her face, as if she can't trust what she's seeing. Then she looks at me. The computer. Back at me, still incredulous.
And then I see her change: her eyes light up, she opens her mouth, but says nothing: she throws herself at me and crushes me in a hug that almost breaks my chest. The computer flies onto the bed, I don't even know how. We hug. And in a second, we go from hysterical crying to chaos: screams, laughter, tears, all at once.
We jump on the bed, laughing like maniacs, while the slats creak, begging for mercy.
But that's okay. She's number one.
My damn, incredible sister.
- Writer
