Jenna couldn’t hold back the laughter as Anne filled in the missing details of her disastrous fall into the mud. The image of Anne, so proud, laughing and posing in front of the "scene of the crime," only to end up becoming its next victim, was pure comedic gold.
"Let me get this straight," Jenna started, barely able to keep her voice steady, "you were literally standing there, modeling your pristine, untouched white Tretorns—the shoes you’d been bragging about, while Beth was still muddy and trying to get herself together. And then, you took a step back and… BOOM. Oh, Anne, this just keeps getting better."
"Ugh, don’t remind me...," Anne muttered, though a tiny smile curled at the corner of her lips. "It all happened so fast, but at the same time, I can still picture every second!" She paused for a moment, rolling her eyes as she mentally replayed that ill-fated moment. "Okay, so... there I am, laughing and cracking some joke to Beth, thinking how ridiculous SHE looked all covered in mud. And I’m standing there, showing off my shoes—trying to be cute—feeling invincible. And then, all of a sudden, whoop—I step right back onto that stupid root.”
Jenna was practically in tears at this point, but she managed to ask through her giggles, "What were you thinking while you were posing? Were you thinking you looked fabulous, or were you just hoping you wouldn’t get splashed by mud or something?"
"Oh, I was feeling fabulous," Anne admitted, feeling her cheeks flush again with embarrassment—though this time it was tinged with amusement. "I mean, I was flexing my toes, for crying out loud! I thought I looked so cute. The white sneakers, crisp, pristine, like a picture in a magazine... everything was perfect, Jenna. I honestly thought to myself, ‘There’s no way something like that could happen to me. Not me. I’m just here having a little fun, right?’"
Jenna burst into full-on laughter. "Oh my God! This is every person’s downfall, isn’t it? The second you think you’re too perfect for the universe to mess with, it comes for you with a vengeance."
"Yeah, well, it definitely came for me," Anne sighed, now laughing along with her sister. "One moment, I’m showing off my shoes like I’m in some kind of sportswear commercial, and the next? I’m airborne. My arms are flailing, and then... SPLAT." She mimicked the motion of an exaggerated fall with her hands, only adding to Jenna’s amusement.
"So," Jenna managed to get out between her giggles, "what went through your head the moment you hit the ground? Were you still having a good time—you know, until it sunk in? Or did the horror hit right away?"
"Oh, let me tell you, the horror hit immediately, Jenna," Anne groaned, running her hand through her hair as the memory of that cold, slimy mud clinging to her body resurfaced. "The second I felt that disgusting squelch of mud ALL over me, I realized I was done for. And the worst part? My Tretorns! Oh God, seeing them half-submerged in that filthy brown muck... that was the first thing I thought about when I looked down. I didn’t even care that I was sitting in the mud. It was like, ‘Not my shoes!!’”
Jenna howled with laughter. "Of course! Of course your first thought was your shoes! Oh, Anne, you are such a disaster in the best way possible. You slipped backwards into the mud like you were a character in an old slapstick comedy scene—and instead of worrying about yourself, you grieved for your Tretorns like they were some priceless artifact."
"I wasn’t thinking logically!" Anne protested, though now she couldn’t stop herself from laughing too. "Everything happened so fast! There I was, just a second before, so confident. And then I was wallowing in the mud like Beth. My amazing entrance turned into the worst exit in history! And poor Beth? She was beside herself laughing—she didn’t even help! She just stared while I sat there, covered head to toe, in complete and utter shock."
"Can you blame her?" Jenna teased, barely able to breathe through her laughter. "If I had been Beth, I would’ve been rolling in the mud next to you from laughing so hard. You were just so sure of yourself and your cute Tretorns—until, of course, nature reminded you who was really in charge."
"So that’s what you think I was thinking, huh?" Anne said, trying to reign in her own laughter. "My shoes?"
"Oh, absolutely," Jenna replied confidently. "I would’ve given anything to see your face when you realized what had happened. I can just picture it—a perfect mixture of disbelief and fury, all because your pretty Tretorns were no longer pristine. You wouldn’t have even cared about yourself at first—you were mourning your shoes like they died a tragic, undeserved death."
Anne sighed deeply, though the grin on her face betrayed her real feelings. "Yeah... you’re right. I really did think about my shoes first. I mean, Jenna—THEY WERE BRAND NEW! They didn’t deserve that! I didn’t deserve that!"
Jenna’s laughter finally began to wind down as she caught her breath. "Well, sis, life’s not always fair. But at least this whole thing has given me the best story to tell—for probably the rest of my life, by the way. Oh, and as for your Tretorns…" Jenna paused, clearly smirking across the line.
"Yeah?" Anne asked cautiously.
"Maybe next time, skip the flexing and just stick to walking."