Detail Emma’ phone call to her far less fashion minded sister later where Emma explained what happened. Have Emma’s sister amused and interjecting along the way.
Emma sat on her bed later that evening, finally back home and scrubbed clean of every last trace of the humiliating mud bath she’d taken at the fair. But the memory of it? That was going to take a lot longer to wash away. Draped in fluffy pajamas, she stared at her phone, piecing together how to explain the whole event to her sister, Megan.
Calling Megan felt like signing up for teasing on a gold platter. Her sister had always been more laid-back, often sporting basic jeans, sneakers, and hoodies—the opposite of Emma’s delicate, curated outfits. Megan would [*definitely*] have something to say about this.
Emma sighed and pressed the “call” button, bracing herself.
The phone rang twice before Megan picked up, clearly already on edge for some juicy story. "Hey fancy pants! How was the fair? You finally manage to walk through a patch of dirt without breaking down?”
“I… had a bit of a mishap," Emma started, already hearing the amusement Megan was about to throw into her voice.
“Emma,
what did you do this time?” Megan interrupted, but Emma could hear the anticipation through Megan's loud grin.
Taking a deep breath, she began, “There was this pig pen—"
“Oh no," Megan burst out laughing immediately, not even giving Emma a full second to explain.
"Wait,
just listen!" Emma insisted, almost defensively. “It was fenced in, and there was
so much mud, like
unbelievable amounts of it. And... I wanted to get a closer look.”
“A closer look at mud? This is new for you.” Megan chuckled between fake gasps. "You? Getting close to anything that could ruin your precious dress or—oh wait. Were you wearing those
new white shoes? You know, the ones you rubbed in my face three weeks ago?”
Emma groaned, already regretting the call but pushing through her mounting embarrassment.
“Yes, I was wearing the Keds, okay?
And, for the record," Emma stubbornly pointed out, "I was doing fine! Really! I hadn’t gotten a
single spot on them the whole day. I was walking around like I was in some mudless alternate reality. People noticed!”
Megan snorted on the other end, barely able to keep up. “
Spotted, huh? Wow. Good for you, Em. Gold star for staying clean at a county fair.”
“I’m serious, Megan! You should’ve seen how careful I was. Like,
I knew what I was doing.”
“You mean like walking on eggshells for hours while everyone else just enjoys the fair? Okay, continue your perfect fair day, Miss Sunshine…”
Emma rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the faint smile playing on her lips. Despite the embarrassing details, she knew Megan was having a field day with this. There was no stopping now.
“So, I'm standing at the pig pen, right?" Emma continued, her voice picking up pace. "I put my feet up on the lower rail of the fence
really gently—"
"Right. Because there’s a
gentle way to engage with a pig mud pit."
“
Gently,” Emma repeated emphatically, dismissing her sister’s sarcasm. “And I leaned in. I was honestly just trying to get a better look at the pigs…”
“...And? This is where it goes south isn’t it?”
"And then," Emma could feel the color creeping up her face as she paused, "...I might’ve leaned a
little too far."
Megan all but howled on the other side. "Oh my GOD, Emma! Did you fall? Tell me you
fell."
“Yes.”
“Like,
fell fell? Into the
mud? With those precious white shoes and that precious little dress!”
"Megan, stop! I'm trying to explain!"
Her sister was in full chaos mode of amusement now. “Oh, this is AMAZING! What did you do? Flail around first or just go right down in one graceful splat?”
Emma winced at the memory, running a hand through her now-dried hair. "It wasn’t graceful, that’s for freaking sure. I-I just...I slipped over a stupid little rock and then—SPLAT. Right into the muck.”
"And when you say 'right into the muck'…?" Megan coaxed, on the verge of laughter.
Emma sighed deeply. "I mean face-first. Completely.
I was caked, Megan. The pigs were literally laughing at how ridiculous I looked. My dress—"
"The dress!” Megan exclaimed joyfully. “Please tell me this goes
exactly where I think it’s going!”
"It was totally ruined. It felt like a wet rag stuck to my legs." Emma spoke quickly now, wanting to relay the horrors before Megan could interrupt her again. “The mud stuck to everything. And my Keds? Gone. Literally disappeared under the mud. You couldn’t tell they were white anymore! There were
people everywhere laughing at me. Kids… adults… the pigs. I was a walking disaster.”
The phone exploded with Megan's boisterous laughter, broken by her trying to get a breath in between all the chaotic joy. “I can’t… I can’t believe this is
real. Please tell me Alex tried to capture that on video."
Emma groaned. “
Not the time, Megan. He
helped me pull myself out or I might’ve drowned in that pit of shame. I spent the rest of the walk back to the car feeling like one of the pigs. My shoes squished the whole way.”
“Squelch, squelch,” Megan mimicked, still doubled-over with laughter. “I wish I’d been there. That would’ve made my year.”
“Well, lucky you,” Emma said dryly, finally breaking into a small laugh herself. “It’ll probably be the talk of the fair for a while. Everyone saw me, Megan. Everyone.”
Megan finally tried to catch her breath. “Okay, okay... but seriously, are you alright? Because despite all of this, I gotta say…
I told you not to wear anything
remotely white to a fair.”
Emma rolled her eyes, a smile creeping back onto her face. “Yeah, I know.
You told me. But hey, I
looked flawless for most of the day.”
“Before the mud claimed its victim," Megan teased gently. "Well look, at least you’re alive to tell the tale. And remember—you can borrow my hoodies and sneakers next time.
They don’t mind a little dirt.”
Emma chuckled, shaking her head, relieved to finally shake off her embarrassment—at least a little.
“Yeah, yeah,” she added. “Next time, you might actually have a point.”
Megan grinned through the phone. “That’s
all I wanted to hear.