Eilir watched and waited patiently as his eyes trailed after Phenex who was stealthily climbing up into his treehouse. She called softly, “Hey, Eilir! Look, what I brought for us today! It’s a new book and it isn’t a used book! It was cheap at this new bookstore across my house and I bought it so I could show you today! I’ve also got . . .” She held out a tiny bottle of white nail polish as Eilir looked on in surprise, his eyes widening slightly, “Wha-wha-what is that Phenex? I don’t want to―” Phenex giggled gently and his eyes widened even more. “It’s not for you, it’s for me. You’re going to paint my nails for me.” That’s it. She said with such finality that Eilir didn’t know how to respond at first. He stared in awe, opened his mouth in a hesitant moment, then closed it. There was a clearly audible gulp, as he carefully picked the dainty little brush and poised it, hovering shakily above Phenex’s nails. She looked at him with smiling eyes and his eyebrows furrowed, “What now?” And Phenex laughed, causing Eilir’s ear to twitch, but he didn’t mind because he was too focused, making sure he didn’t spill any nailpolish.
“Hey, listen to me Eilir, I don’t do this too often and my other friends wouldn’t have time for me anyway, so I wanted to ask you, my best friend, to help me out, kay? Our nails can match! It’ll be just this once.”
He set the bottle down, glanced at his best friend wearily, and, for just a moment, smiled.
(269 words)
