Ariel, Keith's little sister, had convinced him it would be fun. He had fought her on it for weeks, but she kept asking. He finally gave in when their parents were out and he was stuck babysitting, it was harder to distract her then.
"Pleeaaaasssssssssseee," Ariel whined, "It'll be so fun and so preeettttyyy!"
"No, let's watch a movie," Keith tried to suggest.
"No," Ariel pouted and looked up at Keith with her big, blue eyes.
Keith sighed heavily, "Okay, let's paint my nails."
Ariel lit up and hugged Keith tightly before running to her room. Keith could hear the clattering of her nail polish containers as she threw them into her little carrying case and raced back downstairs. She grabbed Keith by the hand and took him over to the couch.
"Okay, so what color should I pick?" asked Keith.
"No," said Ariel, "We're not ready yet." Ariel then went to the kitchen and, with the help of her little blue stool, pulled down some paper towels. She came back to the couch and put the paper towels in his lap. "In case it drips," she said proudly.
"Okay, so what color-"
"No," said Ariel, "We're not ready yet." Ariel seemed to be getting more exasperated with Keith, but there was also a hint of pride in her voice that she enjoyed knowing more than him for once. She ran to the bathroom and came back with a bag of cotton balls. "In case I paint outside your nails," she explained.
"Okay, so-"
"No," said Ariel, "We're not ready yet." This time there was a hint of mischief in her voice that Keith did not appreciate, but when she ran off, she only returned with his smart phone. "I'm going to take pictures after," she said excitedly.
Keith looked at her for a moment, waiting to see if she'd forgotten anything else.
"We can start now," she said, beaming.
"Okay, so what color should I pick?" Keith asked, smiling at how excited his little sister was.
"Your favorite color," Ariel said matter-of-factly.
"Not a color to match my outfit?" Keith enjoyed teasing Ariel a bit.
"No."
"Not a color to go with the season?"
"No."
"Not your favorite color?"
That one made her stop and think for a moment. "No," Ariel replied, "but it would be nice if we had the same favorite color."
"Well mine is blue," said Keith.
Ariel scrunched her face a bit (Keith knew orange was her favorite color). "Okay, I have some blues." Ariel took out three different shades of blue. At this point, Keith decided she had too much nail polish.
There was a dark blue with silver sparkles in it. "What's this one called?" Keith asked picking it up.
"Deep ocean night," Ariel said without looking.
There was a light baby blue one with swirls of light purple, "And this one?"
"Like it, sorbet it," said Ariel, either not getting the attempt at a pun or just not being amused by it. Keith couldn't blame her either way.
There was an electric blue one. "And this one?"
"Blue Tesla," said Ariel smiling, "It's my favorite." She trained her smile on Keith, telling him without words what she hoped he'd pick.
Keith probably would've picked it anyways, it had the best name, but he figured he'd just go with what she wanted. "Let's do blue Tesla," he said.
Ariel very gently painted his nails. She was careful to fix up the edges when she painted off of his nails (which she did a lot). She also instructed him to blow on them and to not touch anything for a while.
While his nails dried, Ariel told him all about her favorite colors. She had different ones for different things it turned out. Keith had just thought her favorite color was orange all the way through, but Ariel told him that was just for skirts. Her favorite color for shirts was yellow and for pants it was red. She really liked pink shoes, but purple ones could be fun too. She always wanted her coats to be bright, no matter the color (she thought this made gray or cold days look happier).
The electric blue was pretty cool looking on his nails, Keith thought (and Ariel agreed) and Keith found that he liked having his nails done and chatting with his little sister about what her favorite color for everything was.
(Prompt by Sonia Soto)
"Pleeaaaasssssssssseee," Ariel whined, "It'll be so fun and so preeettttyyy!"
"No, let's watch a movie," Keith tried to suggest.
"No," Ariel pouted and looked up at Keith with her big, blue eyes.
Keith sighed heavily, "Okay, let's paint my nails."
Ariel lit up and hugged Keith tightly before running to her room. Keith could hear the clattering of her nail polish containers as she threw them into her little carrying case and raced back downstairs. She grabbed Keith by the hand and took him over to the couch.
"Okay, so what color should I pick?" asked Keith.
"No," said Ariel, "We're not ready yet." Ariel then went to the kitchen and, with the help of her little blue stool, pulled down some paper towels. She came back to the couch and put the paper towels in his lap. "In case it drips," she said proudly.
"Okay, so what color-"
"No," said Ariel, "We're not ready yet." Ariel seemed to be getting more exasperated with Keith, but there was also a hint of pride in her voice that she enjoyed knowing more than him for once. She ran to the bathroom and came back with a bag of cotton balls. "In case I paint outside your nails," she explained.
"Okay, so-"
"No," said Ariel, "We're not ready yet." This time there was a hint of mischief in her voice that Keith did not appreciate, but when she ran off, she only returned with his smart phone. "I'm going to take pictures after," she said excitedly.
Keith looked at her for a moment, waiting to see if she'd forgotten anything else.
"We can start now," she said, beaming.
"Okay, so what color should I pick?" Keith asked, smiling at how excited his little sister was.
"Your favorite color," Ariel said matter-of-factly.
"Not a color to match my outfit?" Keith enjoyed teasing Ariel a bit.
"No."
"Not a color to go with the season?"
"No."
"Not your favorite color?"
That one made her stop and think for a moment. "No," Ariel replied, "but it would be nice if we had the same favorite color."
"Well mine is blue," said Keith.
Ariel scrunched her face a bit (Keith knew orange was her favorite color). "Okay, I have some blues." Ariel took out three different shades of blue. At this point, Keith decided she had too much nail polish.
There was a dark blue with silver sparkles in it. "What's this one called?" Keith asked picking it up.
"Deep ocean night," Ariel said without looking.
There was a light baby blue one with swirls of light purple, "And this one?"
"Like it, sorbet it," said Ariel, either not getting the attempt at a pun or just not being amused by it. Keith couldn't blame her either way.
There was an electric blue one. "And this one?"
"Blue Tesla," said Ariel smiling, "It's my favorite." She trained her smile on Keith, telling him without words what she hoped he'd pick.
Keith probably would've picked it anyways, it had the best name, but he figured he'd just go with what she wanted. "Let's do blue Tesla," he said.
Ariel very gently painted his nails. She was careful to fix up the edges when she painted off of his nails (which she did a lot). She also instructed him to blow on them and to not touch anything for a while.
While his nails dried, Ariel told him all about her favorite colors. She had different ones for different things it turned out. Keith had just thought her favorite color was orange all the way through, but Ariel told him that was just for skirts. Her favorite color for shirts was yellow and for pants it was red. She really liked pink shoes, but purple ones could be fun too. She always wanted her coats to be bright, no matter the color (she thought this made gray or cold days look happier).
The electric blue was pretty cool looking on his nails, Keith thought (and Ariel agreed) and Keith found that he liked having his nails done and chatting with his little sister about what her favorite color for everything was.
(Prompt by Sonia Soto)
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