This year, I am a senior and my youngest sister, Abbey, is a freshman. I wear green, and she wears red.  We are both in our class solo deck performance, which means we are competing on a personal level as well as a class-level. Before winter break, she kept asking me for help. And, I turned her down. We may be sisters at home, but not at school and certainly not when it came to Aquacades. 

And then, the break came and my older sister, Madison, a Maverick from the Class of 2018, was home for winter break. She was sitting with my younger sister, Abbey, at the counter in front of a laptop when I got home at around ten o’clock at night. I walked in and said hi to the both of them as I poured myself a glass of water. Then, I heard something come from the computer – just a blurb of music. Abbey paused it so fast as her eyes shot up to me. I asked what it was.

“Oh, just music,” they both responded. 

I walked around to where they were sitting to look at her computer. Abbey was making a mix of country songs, and Madi was helping.

NDB is divided into sister classes. Blue and green are the even graduation years. Red and purple are odd. We are all sisters over the four years, but our sister classes are our “teams” for competitions. Aquacades is the biggest event or competition of the year that NDB hosts. Sister teams matter for this. I knew the freshman had country music this year, so I knew immediately that Abbey was making her Aquacades mix. 

Madi, a blue class member, helping Abbey, a red class member, was not only completely against all sister class rules, but so disrespectful to all blue and green class members now. I am a Gator, a proud green class student. So, watching this, I was mad. 

It wasn’t long before I was providing every reason why Madi should not be helping Abbey. She was a Wildcat. She was one of “them.” The Mavericks know best that the “Blue and green dream team” needed as much help as we could get. So, what was she doing?

Madi’s excuse was, “I am just helping my sister prepare for her Aquacades routine.”

Her sister? Okay, sure, maybe by blood. But, I was sisters with her in two ways and deserved more than that. So, I kept arguing. I could not believe the betrayal. Sister classes are special. They are how you win and how you get ahead. Blue and green. Red and purple. There is no such combination of blue and red, and there shouldn’t be. But, that night in my kitchen, there was. 

Sister rivalry is a thing at school in terms of sister classes and also a thing at home, which is normally a fight for the position as the favorite.

But, for many NDB students, those two rivalries merge, especially during Aquacades season. 

Just because you have the same blood, does not mean you can overlook your class color and your sister’s class responsibilities. Fight fairly, but hard for you and yours. And, whatever you do, do not be a Maverick and stray from your colors.