It was a hot summer day when I met her on the construction site next to my parents' house. Under the sweat and dirt, Lisa Manoban was as beautiful as the sun was bright. She was older, darker, experienced. I wore a smiley-face t-shirt and had never even been kissed. Yet we saw something in each other that would link us in ways that couldn't be broken...no matter how hard we tried.
I loved Lisa before I knew the meaning of the word. I was too young, she said. I would wait. Through all the carefully-chosen words hiding what we knew to be true, through her struggle to keep me innocent, and through infinitely-starry nights—I would wait. But I'd learn that life isn't always fair. That no matter how much you achieve, none of it matters if you suffer the heartbreak that comes with falling for someone you can never have. Because even though I saw Lisa first, that didn't matter. My older sister saw her next.