Lily was adopted into our family almost three years ago. She was one of those poor babies in China, abandoned because of gender. Since she got to America, Lily had moved from family to family, never settling in a place for more than a year. The families said she had a horrible behavior and attitude, and that she was very hard to manage. I didn't think so.
When Lily came to live at our house in Miami, Florida, she was fifteen, and the typical goth girl. She had thick black bangs low over her forehead, and long straight hair with dark red and purple streaks. She wore heavy eyeliner, and always colored her lips a dark purple. Not to mention her many piercings in her ears. Her clothing consisted of tight black shirts and tall combat boots. i remember the first day she was driven here. My parents immediately had that look of disapproval on their faces.
I was raised as a proper young boy, with the "good-boy" hair cut and collared shirts and dress pants. As I got older, I had more freedom with my clothing. I pierced my ears, dyed the tips of my black hair blond, and wore street-punk clothes. I had a long speech about proper dress, and after a long argument, I won. Three years ago, I was eighteen and was seriously considering to be a full-time musician after college. I did, and almost every day, Lily would ask me to play music for her, and she would smile widely, her dark brown eyes shining with love. After a few months living with us, Lily began to change. She started to wear less black and more girly clothing, gave her hair blond streaks, and started to take singing lessons. My parents were amazed. All the families before her complained of a nasty attitude and loud rock music, and here Lily was, a polite teenager who made up lyrics to my songs and sang with me during my fundraisers. Everyone said that I had a positive influence on my adoptive sister. I felt ridiculously proud.
A few months ago, Lily graduated from high school. She was applied to Harvard and was accepted, with a $2,000 scholarship. The night her acceptance letter came, we immediately drove out to a fancy restaurant and treated her to dinner. When she flew over to Massachusetts, we all left the airport in years.
The summer of my twenty-first birthday, Lily secretly flew back to Florida to visit us. My parents were out for work, and I was alone at home, strumming a few chords on my guitar. A copy of my first CD was propped against my computer. On the homemade cover was me and Lily, laughing happily.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I was surprised, all my friends had left somewhere for the summer. Who could it be? I went over to the door and peeked out the window. A slim Asian girl with long flowing black hair stood there with a light blue suitcase besides her.
"Lily!" I cried, throwing open the door. When the door opened, a huge grin stretched over Lily's face.
"Max!" She threw her arms around me, the momentum throwing me back. I stumbled into the living room, laughing, my arms wrapped around her waist. I swung her around for good measure, and she squealed in delight. "Max! where's mom and dad?" she asked, looking around excitedly. I fetched her suitcase and closed the door.
"They're at work. You never told us you'd be coming!" I said, smiling. She giggled.
"I wanted to surprise you! Are you surprised?" she looked at me expectantly. Her eyes were shining brightly, and her face was red from the heat.
"Of course I am!" I exclaimed, laughing. "I missed you so much little sister," I said seriously. "How's Harvard?"
"It's a lot of fun. Hard work, but fun. Some smart people there," she said, twirling around. She wore a slim white dress that clung to her curvy body, and when she spun, the hem of the dress lifted up, showing me her smooth, toned thighs. She ended her twirl in my arms, looking up in my eyes. "I missed you too. I wanted to see you so, so much!" She snuggled against my, pressing herself against me. I could feel her soft breasts through her thin dress, protected by a sports bra. She pulled away and smiled at me.
