Prompt Fiction

PROMPT : CLEAN

Perry stifled a laugh as he caught sight of his reflection in the glass panels of the back door. “Mum’s going to kill us,” he said, cheerfully.

His little sister, Chelsea grinned. “Probably, but at least the ship’s clean.”

“The ship and the dogs and the yard trimmer and the siding and the garden fence and the—“

“I know, I know,” Chelsea interrupted. “I helped wash ‘em too, you know. Now everything is nice and clean.”

“Except for you two,” came the faintly disapproving tone of their mother. She stood in the doorway of the backdoor, her arms crossed over her chest and the wrinkled, dirty kitchen apron. “When I said for you to get along, I didn’t mean for you to try and see who could get the dirtiest from doing your chores.”

“…That was kind of an accident,” Chelsea admitted. “We didn’t mean to get all—but, it’s hard to clean stuff without getting dirty.”

Perry nodded from behind her. The newly bathed dogs were now sunning themselves on the patio beside them, looking lazy and calm as if they hadn’t just led the siblings on a merry chase around the entire property half-soaped.

Mother shook her head, faintly, but her lips twitched even as she surveyed them. “What am I supposed to do with you two?”

“Love us, keep us and hopefully feed us snacks?” Perry suggested. He offered his most charming smile.

“Everything is really nice and clean, Mum,” Chelsea piped up. “Dontcha like it?”

Perry winked. “We did our best.”

“So I see. Stay right there—I’ll hose you off. Then you can come inside.”

(c) S. Harricharan