Day 22 Required and Bonus Completed

She was the oldest and with that, she had a great responsibility. Her three younger siblings – Veronica, Micah, and Stephanie – would look to her for guidance and help as they grew. She would help them as much as she could, whether it be answering questions or telling them their choice of wardrobe was not right. Ewa Vaughn took this responsibility to heart and flourished in it.

Ewa – pronounced Eva – sat in the café nursing a plain croissant and hot chocolate, waiting for her sister Veronica. Ronnie, as family and friends called her, wanted to talk, needed help and guidance with a decision. Ronnie gave no hint to what the decision was about, making Ewa’s mind work, creating far too many scenarios and making the older teen upset. She told herself to relax and wait.
She looked and saw her sister come into the café. She stood and motioned for her. A smile came to Ronnie’s face when she saw.

“You’re late,” older sister said.

“Class was long,” was the answer. Ronnie put her backpack down and slide into the booth. The waitress came quickly, but Ronnie knew what she wanted, “Chocolate croissant and hot chocolate,” she ordered.

When the older woman left with the order, Ewa asked, “What can I help you with?”

“You don’t waste any time, do you?” The younger Vaughn sister showed nervousness for the first time, giving older sister some idea of what was to come.

“No, I don’t. Now, what can I help you with?”

Before she could answer, Ronnie’s drink and pastry arrived. She thanked the server and took a sip of the hot drink. “I want to change majors.”

Ewa exhaled; it wasn’t as bad as she thought it could have been. “What do you want to change to?”

“I like the business classes,” Ronnie began. She wanted to continue, but the words escaped her.

“But, you think you’d do better if you were studying something else?” Ewa continued.

Ronnie nodded. “I don’t want to work in an office, at least, not in a business office.” She took a bite of the croissant and mentioned how good it tasted before continued. “I’d like to use my artistic side, maybe do some graphics.”

Ewa knew that Ronnie was the only sibling that could paint and draw. In fact, there was a scholarship for Ronnie to attend a small Midwestern college to study Graphic Design, but the family couldn’t afford it. She decided to take business classes at the community college before making a decision on whether or not to attend a four-year school or join the work force. “Does the college have a Graphics Design major?”

“No, but they do have an art major. I was thinking of changing to that next semester.”

“Sounds like you have it planned out. Why do you need my help?”

“I need you to be with me when I tell mom and dad. You know how they felt about me taking business classes, how mom was when I turned down the scholarship.”

“Yes, I do. She called it ‘utter nonsense’ for you to be a graphic artist, that there was no money in it.” Ewa took a big sip of her chocolate and smiled. “What changed you mind?”

Ronnie reached into her backpack and pulled out a brochure. She handed it to her older sister, who smiled. It was for a job fair, for businesses that needed people with marketing and graphic design experience. “You’re going to use this to show mom you can earn money drawing?”

“Yes.”

Ewa sat silently and sized up her sister. She wanted to be sure that Ronnie was being truthful, that she was following her heart and not changing to spite their mother. She smiled and said, “I’ll help you.”