Chapter 1 - Holidays

Lizzy Bennet gazed up at the swirling steam above her. Her dark hair swam around her face in the warm depths of the bath water. She hadn't turned on the fan, and for that she was sure to be reprimanded by the next to use the bathroom, but she so preferred to lay enveloped in the warm atmosphere and drift off with the eddying particles that rose above her.

She ignored the steady thumping on the door caused by one of her younger sisters, and closed her eyes, dropping her head back into the water and letting herself forget the trials and tribulations of daily life. For just a little while.

By the time she had managed to gather up her courage to face the real world again Lydia was about to break down the bathroom door. Lizzy sighed, wrapped a towel around her thick, dark hair and opened the door. Lydia who had been ramming the door with her shoulder nearly tumbled through the now open entrance as Lizzy emerged, and had to pull herself up short before she also knocked over her elder sister.

" What took you so long?" Lydia exclaimed, " I'm going to be late for the movies now!" Lizzy rolled her eyes, flicked on the fan and walked past her sister before she realised that the mirror was all steamed up and was of no use until wiped down.

Walking the length of the hallway Lizzy turned at the last right and collapsed on the bed. Her eldest sister Jane smiled at her in the reflection of the mirror as she finished plaiting her long golden hair.

" I thought Lydia was going to end up flying through that door and unwittingly joining you in the bath for a while there." she joked, placing the brush back on the dresser and walking over to her own bed.

" I can't wait to go back to college." Lizzy murmured, pulling on a navy skirt and a white blouse – the uniform of her holiday job.

Jane laughed, "I never thought I'd hear you say that" Lizzy just rolled her eyes and then laughed with her at the chaos of it all.

Jane and Lizzy normally lived on campus at the college they both attended. They came home for the holidays to see their family and earn some extra money through their holiday jobs. Sometimes they wondered whether it was really worth it.

Besides the eldest two girls, the Bennet family consisted also of three more girls, Mary, Kate and Lydia, as well as their mother and father.

Lizzy loved college and the independence it offered her, but even if she rarely admitted it, she enjoyed coming home as well. Glancing at the clock Lizzy swore and quickly pulled her air into a fast and rather messy bun before grabbing her handbag and running for the front door. Jane followed suit and they both called out a hasty goodbye that was soon lost in the cacophony of the house. Jane reached into her bag and tossed Lizzy the keys to the car as they opened the doors and jumped in. the minute the key was turned in the ignition No Doubt's 'Just a Girl' blasted from the stereo.

" Lizzy" Jane berated, while turning down the music until it was at a comfortable listening volume.

" Well what Jane?" Lizzy retorted back, " The words to that song are still relevant today."

" I have no doubt that they are Lizzy, but the fact remains that this is our car to share and my ears do not feel like being accosted with loud music at this time of morning."

Though sisters and alike in some ways, the two eldest Bennet sisters were also very different. Jane was studying Early Childhood Teaching at college while Lizzy studied history, specialising in women's history. They had many of their classes on opposites sides of campus to each other and only saw each other when they met up for lunch, went to parties and of course went to sleep.

Both girls were quite popular and well known for both their beauty and their differing characters, and by and far college was a most agreeable experience for them both.

When Jane had received her scholarship and then the next year Lizzy everyone was very impressed, although their mother was unsure of the values of a higher education as she made it quite clear that she would prefer to see them settle down and secure her some grandchildren.

This fact however didn't stop her from being very proud of their accomplishments and making sure that all the most recent news of their progress and affairs was spread around the town via the grapevine ass soon as she received it.

Since this was the Easter holidays it was only a short break, which suited both girls quite fine as as much as they loved their parents and sisters, they found that these days they could only stand them in small doses.

Lizzy rounded the corner and parked roughly near the guttering to let Jane climb out and walk into the preschool where she worked as a casual. The director loved Jane and made sure that there was a position for her every holidays as she was so good with the children and so friendly with the staff.

Lizzy worked at the library on the next block, where she could be surrounded by books everyday. Both girls found their jobs very agreeable and didn't mind working at all. It provided them with a little extra money for when they went back to college and gave them experience in the fields that they studied.