By Alaina Risse-
Senior Nate Marti has some company this year with his little sister Alaina joining high school as a freshman. Nate is the oldest, with two younger sisters. Nate and Alaina don’t share a lot of classes together, but they do play together in the band program and both run for cross country.
In band Alaina plays the clarinet, while her brother plays the french horn and mellophone for marching. Both of them have been playing their instruments for about the same number of years. Nate explained, “Band with Alaina can be fun because we both enjoy Mr. Moore and a lot of the other band members.”
Alaina had a very similar response to her brother’s description of the relationship they have in band. She said, “I like how he’s in band, so that he experiences all the stories that I would’ve told him when I got home.”
In addition to playing their instruments in school, they are running after school in cross country.
Nate started running before Alaina, but their father encouraged both of them to run. Alaina and Nate both agreed that Nate is the faster runner. Alaina encourages Nate by telling him to run faster. Alaina expressed, “It’s good that we’re both in cross country, so that he can give me a ride home.”
When they are finished running, they hit the books and studies. Some siblings don’t care to see each other in the hallways, but that’s not true for the Marti’s. Alaina enjoys seeing her older brother throughout the day.
Does Nate watch over his sister? “Sure, sometimes. Especially since she’s 4-feet, 10-inches,”
Alaina said that her brother definitely watches over her. “I don’t mind it,” she said. Even though they are related they aren’t really compared to each other. Siblings usually leave some footsteps or legacy behind for their other siblings. Nate said, “I try not to wear dirty shoes inside, and Steve is a pretty thorough janitor. (I’m kidding.) I don’t think Alaina and I are really compared that often because we’re so different.”
Alaina added, “Nate’s surely smarter than me, but I like to have my older sibling have that reputation.” It’s clear that Nate and Alaina are different but, also close.
