Beth asked Sarah, " you know me pretty well, what's your image of my day from getting ready to crawling in the mud? What thoughts do you think I was having as I ventured out onto the rocks and then as I started to wobble and then as I sat in the mud? Do you know how gross it is to have muddy water sloshing around inside your sneakers?"
Gone Fishing
- Thread starter RonR
- Start date
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Sarah swirled her latte around as she leaned back in her chair, grinning widely at Beth’s question. "Oh, Beth, you know I’ve got a very clear mental picture of how your day went," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye. She straightened up, gesturing dramatically like she was setting the scene for a grand tale.
“Let me paint the picture,” she began, eyes sparkling with amusement. “It all starts in the morning, right? You’ve got your outfit planned in your head for days because, of course, it’s a ‘first outdoor date’ with this guy you’ve been seeing. And you’re probably thinking, ‘Okay, I’m nature-chic. I can totally blend being cute and outdoorsy. I’ll find the perfect balance.’” Sarah leaned forward, lowering her voice as though narrating the drama. “‘You know, effortless and athletic, but also flirty? Like, maybe something you’d see on an influencer’s Instagram when they go ‘hiking.’ A white sundress — just enough to be playful, but, it also says, hey, I’m ready for nature. And the Keds… oh, the Keds. Like, you’re thinking to yourself, ‘They’re sneakers, so obviously I’ll be fine, right?’ Oh honey…”
Beth couldn’t hold back the snort of laughter. “Nailed it so far.”
"I can just imagine you in front of the mirror," Sarah continued, “turning this way and that, adjusting the dress, making sure your hair’s in place, probably thinking, ‘Yeah, this looks good… casual, but if we take a selfie, I’ll still look cute.’ You’re totally prepared for a sunny picnic, imagining yourself laying gracefully on a blanket by the lake, maybe holding one of those cute sandwiches he made.”
Beth’s laughter grew as she shook her head, silently agreeing.
Sarah mimicked lifting a can dramatically, then teased, “Aaaaaand then the sparkling water happens, and you’re probably like, ‘Oh yes, this is very on brand for the picnic aesthetic.’” She raised an imaginary glass. “‘Cheers to me being adorable in nature.’”
Beth leaned forward, resting her head on her desk from laughing so hard, her shoulders shaking as Sarah continued her theatrics.
“That’s right,” Sarah persisted, now getting dramatic with her gestures as if acting out the moments of the day. “After lunch, you decide you're not just going to sit there all day — you’re going to [*explore*]. You’ve gotten comfy, and you’ve probably convinced yourself, ‘Yeah, this isn’t bad. Trees. Grass. Water. Totally got this.’”
Beth beamed through her laughter and chimed in, “Yes! That’s exactly what I was thinking! I started feeling a little too confident.”
Sarah nodded emphatically as if reading Beth’s mind. “That’s it! You see those rocks and you say to yourself, ‘I can totally pull this off. A little skip across some stones? Everyone does this. Princess of the wilderness, right?’” She raises an imaginary, triumphant arm into the air to illustrate Beth waving at her date.
“And right after you proudly show off your pristine Keds, you’re probably thinking, ‘I’m killin’ it out here,’ all while your date is probably shouting, ‘Be careful!’ and you’re like...pfft, I’ve got this.” She waved her hand dismissively for emphasis.
Beth was full-on cackling now. “Oh my God, it’s like you were there!”
Sarah put her hand to her chest and gazed off dramatically. “Of course you hear his concerned voice echoing in the distance, and in your head, it’s like, ‘He’s worried, but I’ve got this! Oooh, look how cute I look having fun with nature.’ But THEN…” She paused, leaning in for effect. “DISASTER STRIKES.”
Sarah mimicked wobbling, flailing comically as if she were about to fall. “‘Oh God, the rock is slippery! But no wait... I haven’t gotten dirty [yet]. Keep it together. Keep. It. Together, Beth!’” Sarah waved one hand in the air in mock panic while the other steadied a pretend invisible boulder.
Beth was wiping her eyes at this point. "You're killing me!"
Sarah wasn’t stopping though. “And then, that moment where you know you’re going down… when you’ve passed the point of no return but there’s a split second of hope?! You’re like...” Sarah theatrically whispered, “Dear universe, please don’t let this happen, not now.”
“And then... plop!” Sarah symbolically slapped her hand on the desk. “There you are, sitting in mud, just staring at your destroyed pretty little outfit. Your dress. Your shoes. Gone. And what’s the first thought in your head?”
Beth, gasping for air through the giggles, tried to get the words out. “Nooooooo!” she cried out, mock-crying like Sarah.
Sarah joined in, waving an imaginary fist at the sky dramatically. “‘Why, nature! WHY ME?!’”
Then both women doubled over in giggles again.
“And then,” Sarah said, wiping tears from her eyes, “you sit up and think, ‘It’s fine, Beth, you just need to... regroup. Climb out of this hole of shame before he runs over to help.’ But you make that face. You know the one, like ‘don't look at me!’ while you’re all mud-covered.”
Beth shook her head, laughing harder. "That was the face I made — like, please don’t come any closer!"
Sarah caught her breath and smirked, leaning in with a mischievous grin. “Okay, now tell me — how gross was it, really? Come on, I need details. Mud inside your sneakers? Water sloshing around with every step?”
Beth groaned dramatically. “SO gross. The worst. It was like my personal nightmare in sneaker form. Every step I took back to shore was literally squish-squash, squish-squash. The Keds? Totally heavy and filled with dirty water. It felt like I had mud soup sloshing inside, sticking to my socks.”
Sarah’s face lit up in pure amusement, laughing so hard she had to slap the desk again.
“I swear,” Beth continued, “I could feel the mud getting colder every second, like it was soaking all the way through into my soul. And then, of course, my socks were just clinging to my feet—totally miserable.”
Sarah gasped between giggles. “I’m dying! Imagine, your poor Keds… they probably looked like swamp monsters by the end of it!”
Beth nodded, leaning back in her chair with a helpless grin. “Pretty much. By the time I reached him, I had fully accepted I was just living in the mud now. The Keds came, they tried, and they were conquered.”
Sarah shook her head, wiping away a tear. “Beth, sweetie, you need to stick to parks with concrete trails.”
Beth gave a fake-dramatic sigh. “I think nature and I need a break.” Then, chuckling again, she added, “But next time you hear a squished sneaker inside your shoes, trust me, Sarah... you’ll know exactly how I felt.”
Sarah collapsed into another fit of laughter as Beth dramatically gave up any hope, recovering from a weekend that really belonged on the silver screen.
Beth described how the cute little Keds were so light and comfy when she put them on for the first time that morning. So dainty and white. Like not wearing anything. Then....soaking wet, heavy, black and squishing with every step. How mortifying.
Beth asked Sarah if she would have laughed at her. Why? You know, I wasn't dressed for getting dirty. (Not that I ever am.)
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Sarah let out a low, playful laugh before leaning forward, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "Beth, you already know the answer to that," she replied with a mischievous grin. "Of course I would’ve laughed. But not in a mean way! More like... the way you laugh at a romcom heroine who stumbles through life’s ridiculous messes — completely adorable, even while everything around her falls apart."
Beth groaned, shaking her head with a faux frown as she leaned into the back of her chair. "Oh, great. I knew it. Mortifying and hilarious? Perfect combo for a day."
Sarah practically bounced in her seat as she continued, clearly enjoying this too much. "But come on, you’ve gotta admit, it’s the shoes!” She threw her hands up theatrically. “You’re walking out of the house in these cute little white Keds, thinking, ‘Oooh, so light and comfy! They’re practically invisible on my feet!’” Sarah’s voice turned mock-serious as she continued, “They’re pristine, Beth. Angelically white, practically glowing as you stepped out the door, full of hope.”
Beth couldn’t help but laugh. “Exactly! They were so light, like... like I wasn’t even wearing shoes. Just floating along,” she said, dramatically lifting an invisible shoe before faking a swooning expression.
Sarah grinned widely. “Yes! That’s it! You’re floating — until you’re not.”
Beth’s eyes sparkled with exaggerated horror. “And then...” She shuddered, drawing out the words for full effect. “Then they turned into what felt like bricks. Arched foot? Forget about it. They were literal sponges filled with mud-slush-water soup. My poor little Keds went from airy dreams to soggy nightmares in a matter of seconds!”
Sarah was practically rolling in her chair at this point. "Oh noooo! You’re clomping around and the whole time it's..." She exaggeratedly imitated Beth’s steps, loudly mimicking squelch, splash, squish with each footfall.
Beth raised her hand to her mouth as she tried to stifle her giggles. "Yes! Oh my god, every step was unbearable—like dragging mud anchors tied to my feet! And the worst part? I could hear every single squish. It was like the mud was mocking me!"
Sarah could barely contain her amusement. "And your shoes were probably screaming, 'Please! Why did you bring us here?! We belong in clean, dry places!'"
Beth threw her head back in mock frustration. "I swear, those cute Keds may never recover from the trauma."
Sarah still had tears of laughter in her eyes as she wiped them off with the back of her hand. After catching her breath, she leaned forward again, her voice lowering mischievously, as though she had a secret to share. “But listen, when we’re being real here... I mean, you weren’t exactly dressed for getting dirty, were you, Beth?”
Beth shot her a playful look, raising an eyebrow. “Sarah... when am I ever dressed for getting dirty?”
They both burst out laughing again.
“Oh my God, I knew you'd say that!" Sarah exclaimed. "You turn up to a lake in white — pristine white — and you’re somehow surprised when nature is like, 'No ma’am, not today!'"
Beth shook her head, still laughing but with a mock sigh of disdain this time. “You know, I thought I could pull it off. I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll be careful.’ I genuinely believed I could exist in nature without actually touching it.”
Sarah reached over and placed a comforting, yet teasing, hand on Beth’s arm. “Oh, honey...that’s never how it works. Nature has a way of finding out exactly how to ruin a cute, well-planned outfit.”
Beth wrinkled her nose in faux annoyance, glancing off into an imaginary distance. “Clearly. And I mean, it’s not like it’s ever an accident when I get this clean, either. There’s work involved in looking this put-together.”
Sarah grinned, nodding knowingly. “Yep! Heels for city days. Trendy sneakers for brunch weekends. Never anything that says, ‘I’m ready for dirt.’ And then, there you are... in a field of mud.”
Beth groaned again, dramatically clutching her chest. “I swear, if you’d been there, Sarah, you would’ve been laughing till you cried.”
Sarah didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, trust me, I am crying! The mental image alone is gold.”
Beth finally threw up her hands in surrender. “Okay, I admit it—it is kinda funny. But honestly, the worst part was that horrible sloshing around in wet shoes. Just... ugh, I can’t even think about it without shuddering.” She pushed an imaginary curl behind her ear with mock grace, like she was still trying to recover her dignity.
Sarah, still glowing with amusement, offered a sarcastic but loving smile. “You know what? Next time we go out, I’m giving you rain boots. Pink ones. And a towel. Just in case.”
Beth snorted. “Deal. But I’m still keeping the Keds… battle scars and all.”
They both laughed again as Sarah reached across to high-five Beth.
“You’ll rebuild, my friend,” Sarah teased. “But remember—nature doesn’t care how dainty and white your Keds are.”
Beth sighed dramatically. “Too late, Sarah. I learned that the hard way.”
Beth asked Sarah, don't you remember that one prissy girl in college having a major wipeout in the mud in her white sneakers and preppy outfit? How did all that unfold?
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Sarah’s eyes lit up instantly at the mention of the incident and she practically squealed with excitement. “Oh my God, Beth, how could I ever forget that?!” She leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath, already gearing up for the retelling of one of their favorite stories from college.
Beth folded her arms with a knowing grin. “I knew you’d remember. Go ahead then, remind me of the whole thing again.”
Sarah clasped her hands, eager to dive in. "So, okay, do you remember who it was? Stephanie with a PH,” she said, emphasizing the “PH” with exaggerated reverence. “Queen of looking like she just stepped out of a J.Crew catalog. Always in polos, pearls, and not a single hair out of place.”
Beth’s eyebrows shot up instantly. “Ohhh yesss," she groaned in exaggerated recognition. "The preppy girl. Always dressed for a yacht party.”
Sarah snorted. “Exactly! That day, she was in those crisp white sneakers—immaculate, of course—and that navy pleated skirt. She had this whole country-club-disguising-as-a-student vibe. I swear, she could’ve handed anyone a glass of iced tea at any moment and no one would’ve questioned it.”
Beth shook her head, chuckling. “I remember thinking, ‘Who shows up to campus in the rain looking like she’s headed to an alumni luncheon?’"
Sarah raised a finger into the air like a teacher giving a lesson. "Right?! Now, picture it. It had been raining all week — and of course, Stephanie with a PH thinks, 'Oh, these are just puddles; they won't affect me.'"
Beth laughed immediately. "Classic! Completely unaware of the dangers lurking all over campus. And of course, there was that huge mud patch right by the quad."
Sarah’s eyes gleamed as she nodded, continuing with increasing fervor. “Yesss! The quad! They had been doing construction or landscaping or something, so there was this giant muddy area between two buildings. And there she is, delicately tiptoeing along, carefully picking her steps, holding a latte, of course!”
Beth leaned forward, elbows on her desk. “Oh my God, I remember. She thought she was invincible. Like, poor thing had never encountered an actual uneven surface before.”
Sarah flailed her hands in mock horror. “Yeah! Like she thought she had a protective force field around her Polo shirt and Sperrys. But no, nature was lurking.” Sarah grinned wildly as she shot Beth a wicked look, "And you know the exact moment, right?"
Beth gasped, nodding enthusiastically. "Of course! She looked so focused, determined not to let even a smear of mud touch her precious loafers. But then, out of nowhere—"
Sarah exploded with laughter, cutting her off, “BAM. A single misstep—one wrong move—and she slipped. But not just any slip. It was spectacular. It wasn’t a casual stumble, it was like flashy supermodel runway tumble!" Sarah mimicked a full-body flail, hands flying into the air. “She lost her balance, and whoosh, straight into the mud. Everything happened in, like, glorious slo-mo. Her arms flailed, her latte soared into the air, and down she went—right into the sloppiest pile of mud you’ve ever seen.”
Beth was already cracking up. “Yes! And the latte!” she cried between giggles. “The latte was launched into the air like some flying projectile of failure!”
Sarah clutched her sides, unable to contain herself. “And I remember we heard her shriek before we saw her fall! That high-pitched, ‘Oh noooo!!’ just echoing across the quad. I swear, it was pure movie magic.”
Beth winced as she imagined it playing back again. “Her pristine skirt. The perfect little bow on her headband. Her sparkly shellac manicure. All... in the mud.” She buried her face in her hands, laughing too hard to speak for a moment.
Sarah flailed her arms again, recreating the moment with new animation. “And she didn’t just land, oh no. No, no. Her legs slid out completely, like a cartoon character on ice. By the time she hit the ground, she was half-covered in that squishy, watery mud.”
“Her white sneakers!” Beth gasped, leaning in as her eyes widened dramatically. “Those perfect, preppy white sneakers—destroyed!”
“Oh PLEASE, those sneakers were gone,” Sarah replied, nodding furiously. “I mean, they went from freshly bleached to looking like they crawled out of a swamp. Every time she tried to stand up, I swear more mud just squelched around her. Like the mud was actively claiming her. It was a whole thing.”
Beth wiped her eyes, the laughter still bubbling out of her. “She was literally in the worst-case scenario for a prissy girl.”
Sarah leaned closer, lowering her voice as if letting Beth in on some juicy gossip. “And the best part? There were all these people walking by, right? But no one knew if they should help her or just... watch. Because she was flailing, and no one wanted to get in the splash zone!”
Beth snorted in disbelief. “She was probably thinking, ‘This CHANGES NOTHING, I’ll still hold my head high!’”
Sarah slapped the desk lightly, laughing even harder. “Exactly! She tried to be regal as she got up. Kinda wiped her hands on her skirt, as if that was going to magically clean her perfectly messy disaster. And then she gave this little flustered huff, like it was the dirt’s fault for not obeying her wishes.”
“I remember that!" Beth chimed in. “She was so indignant about it, like the mud owed her an apology.”
Sarah wiped her eyes again, calming down just enough to finish her story. “And she power-walked out of there, covered in mud and pride. But girl, those shoes? They never stood a chance. I saw her in flip-flops the next week.”
Beth shook her head in mock sympathy. “R.I.P. to the most perfect, white sneakers to ever set foot on a university quad. They died as they lived—completely unprepared for nature.”
They both dissolved into hysterical laughter again, the image of that wipeout forever etched into their shared memory.
What brand sneakers were they? I forget.
Did anyone warn her that she was heading towards the mud?
What did she say as she sat in the mud? What kind of look was on her face?
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Sarah smirked, her eyes glowing with the memory. “Oh, Beth, how could you forget? They were Keds! The most classic, pristine-white Keds you could imagine — you know, the kind of sneakers that practically scream, ‘I never get dirty, I’m just for show.’”
Beth snapped her fingers, a look of realization crossing her face. “Right! Those preppy little Keds. How could I forget? Of course. I don’t know why I was thinking they were some overpriced designer brand.”
Sarah chuckled. “Nope, but she wore them like they were designer. And honestly, that made it even funnier. Like, she really thought she was on the cover of a summer catalogue, and then—bam—Mother Earth decided to welcome her with open, muddy arms.”
Beth laughed, then tilted her head, more curious now. “But wait, didn’t anyone warn her? Like, she wasn’t heading toward that mudpit all blissfully unaware, right?”
Sarah’s face scrunched up as she laughed harder. “Oh, we tried!" she said, waving her hand dismissively. "There were like three people who saw it coming before she did! Jenna, that guy in the red hoodie, I think even the groundskeeper was shaking his head. Someone—maybe Jenna—yelled like, ‘Watch out, the ground’s slippery there!’ but, in classic Stephanie fashion, she ignored it. Like, she probably thought, ‘That won’t happen to me. I’m too graceful for mud.’ I swear she did the whole ‘polite smile and nod’ thing and kept walking."
Beth rolled her eyes in mock disbelief. “Of course she did. She had no idea she was on a collision course with humility.”
Sarah nodded knowingly. “Exactly! She had her head so high in the clouds, probably thinking, ‘I can’t be bothered by the world beneath me.’ And then — splat!” Sarah mimicked an exaggerated fall, flailing her arms dramatically.
Beth pressed further, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “But what did she say? Like, what were her words after the full wipeout?”
Sarah giggled, eyes sparkling as she imitated Stephanie’s voice, still perfectly clear in her memory. “Okay, so she’s sitting there, covered in mud, and her face is just... I can’t even describe it, Beth. Her mouth is wide open, but like, in slow motion, because she’s so shocked. You could see her brain trying to process what had just happened — like, her entire existence had been insulted by gravity.”
Beth snorted. “That’s iconic. She honestly didn’t expect the laws of physics to apply to her.”
“Oh, you should’ve seen her,” Sarah said, lowering her voice and doing the best haughty impression she could muster. “‘Ugh! This is SOOOO unacceptable!’ She was so horrified, it was like the mud had personally offended her family legacy or something. She kept staring at her hands covered in muck, and her shoes—" Sarah paused for dramatic effect, "her Keds were so ruined, Beth. Truly. She just sat there, all red-faced, muttering things about ‘how this sort of thing doesn’t happen to her.’”
Beth dissolved into another fit of laughter. “Oh my God, she really thought she was above... mud. Like the ground didn’t apply to her.”
Sarah grinned mischievously. “She had that perfect mix of shock and disgust on her face, like, ‘How dare the universe do this to me?’ At one point, I swear she stared down at the mud like it had betrayed her. You know, full-on ‘You have made an enemy today, dirt.’”
Beth was wiping tears from her eyes again. “Oh nooo, I would’ve died. I can’t imagine having that much pristine-smug energy while sitting in a literal puddle of mud.”
Sarah shook her head, still chuckling. “It was legendary. And the best part? She tried to get up, but the mud kept her anchored down a bit, so she slipped AGAIN, making it even worse.”
Beth gasped dramatically. “Nooo! She doubled down on the fall?”
“Oh yeah,” Sarah said, nodding emphatically. “Her hands went back down into the sludge, and by the time she got up, her whole back was caked in mud. It was a spectacle.”
Beth grinned, leaning in even more. “And let me guess, she did her usual ‘too good for this’ power-walk right afterward?”
Sarah giggled. “Of course. She stood up, tried to brush off the mud — failed miserably, by the way — and then power-walked away like she was still on top of the world. Mud and all. No apology to the ground. Not even a quick glance back.”
Beth shook her head with a laugh. “Classic Stephanie. Humility was never on her to-do list.”
Sarah sighed nostalgically. “Sometimes I think about those Keds… their beautiful, pure, shiny white lives were just... gone in a moment. Ruined forever by one small misstep.”
Beth raised an imaginary glass in the air. “To the untouchable white Keds, who learned a valuable lesson that day: Nature doesn’t care who you think you are.”
“Cheers,” Sarah added, as they both dissolved into another round of giggles, reliving one of their favorite campus memories.
What caused her misstep? Was she close to successfully tiptoeing around the mud?
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Sarah burst into laughter again, shaking her head as she tried to compose herself. “Oh, Beth, let me tell you, it was so close! She was almost there, practically this close to making it out looking all perfect and untouched, not a speck of dirt on her.” She held her fingers up only a tiny bit apart to emphasize the closeness.
Beth raised an eyebrow, grinning. “Wait... seriously? She nearly got away with it?”
Sarah nodded, wide-eyed, still giggling. “I swear to you. She had actually done an impressive job up until that moment. No joke! She tiptoed around the puddles like a ballerina in ballet flats, with her skirt perfectly swishing and that latte delicately balanced. Like, she looked ready to declare victory. She had that cocky little smile on her face, like, ‘Look at me, not a drop of mud has touched me. I am invincible.’”
Beth snorted. “I know the one! That little smug smirk she always wore. It was like she thought the mud was beneath her—literally and figuratively.”
Sarah laughed and nodded again. "Exactly! She was strutting, floating over puddles, when out of nowhere comes the—" Sarah paused dramatically, drawing Beth in closer, "—the unstable tree root."
Beth’s eyes widened in disbelief. "That was the culprit?" she asked, almost laughing at what seemed like such a trivial thing to take Stephanie down.
Sarah threw up her arms in wild enthusiasm. "Yup, some sneaky tree root poking up from the ground caught the edge of her pristine and untouchable Keds, and just like that—game over!" She mimicked Stephanie’s foot catching on the root, flailing with mock drama. “Her whole introverted tiptoe was instantly transformed into a complete body flail. I swear, it was like watching slow-motion physics take over.”
Beth wheezed in laughter, wiping her eyes. “Seriously?! She went from tiptoeing around the mud like a diva to getting obliterated by a root?!”
"Yes!" Sarah replied, wiping tears from her eyes as well. "I mean, the earth literally reached up and said, ‘Nope, you’re not getting away that easily.’ She was so close to avoiding everything, but… nope. Physics had other plans.”
Beth shook her head, still laughing. “So tell me, what happened the moment she tripped?”
Sarah tried to catch her breath and leaned in, as if sharing a juicy secret. “Oh, it was like watching someone who had never fallen before in her life. One second she was on cloud nine, and the next her face was a mix of pure betrayal and disbelief as her foot caught and she lost all control. Her arms went out, the latte was air-born, Beth! Then she tried to recover mid-fall, flailing like she was going to save herself, but—”
“—down she went,” Beth chimed in breathlessly.
“Down. She. WENT!” Sarah clapped her hands in comic synchronicity, rolling with laughter. “Right into the biggest, dirtiest splash of muddy water. She slid — oh yeah, she didn’t just fall — she slid. At least a good foot-and-a-half forward on her back like she was on a slip-n-slide for the first time in her life.”
Beth covered her face, laughing harder now. “Oh my God, poor Stephanie! She almost made it but was humbled by nature at the very last second!”
Sarah nodded, still breathless from laughter. “It was unbelievable—and so poetic. That one little root, hidden in the mud, got her where all the dirt and puddles couldn't. And the best part?” She said, eyes gleaming mischievously.
Beth leaned in, already knowing something spectacular was coming. “…What?”
Sarah raised an eyebrow and grinned. “The look on her face as she sat there in the mud. Not anger, not even sadness! It was pure indignation! Like, she looked around as if the universe had made a mistake. That classic ‘How dare this happen to me?’ face. You know the one — chin up, lips slightly parted, eyes wide in disbelief, like someone had just stolen the last designer bag on sale.”
Beth was doubled over in her seat laughing, clutching her stomach. “Nooo, she really thought this wasn’t supposed to happen to her, didn’t she?”
Sarah wiped her eyes, still catching her breath. “Oh yeah. She looked like she was processing a betrayal by the universe itself. Like gravity had personally offended her. And after a beat, she just muttered, ‘This is so undignified,’ and tried to scrape off the mud like she was still salvageable.”
Beth shot back a fake regal pose, trying to mimic Stephanie's attitude. “So undignified! The world exists to ruin my perfect preppy aesthetic!”
Sarah let out a loud laugh and clapped her hands together. “Exactly! She tried to stand up and power through, but the best part? The back of her skirt and Keds were covered in mud, and her hair was hanging down with wet leaves stuck in it. It was the ultimate fall from grace.”
Beth couldn’t take it anymore. “That level of chaos and yet she still thought she could save face?! That’s next-level confidence!”
Sarah covered her face, shaking her head as she laughed. “If she’d just listened when people warned her!”
Beth nodded in agreement, her laughter finally beginning to subside. “I love that she's forever known, in our memories, as the girl who tried to tiptoe around the mud only to be taken down by a rebellious tree root.”
Sarah looked up at the ceiling nostalgically. “R.I.P. to those Keds. They didn’t just touch the mud; they were fully baptized in it.”
Beth raised a mock glass again. “To the fallen white sneakers and the perfectly preppy queen who learned, just like me, that nature doesn’t mess around.”
Sarah raised an imaginary glass too. “Amen to that. Cheers to the mud that keeps us humble.”