Myshuno! Prompt: Getting a sunburn (459 words)
The prompt for this story was “Getting a sunburn,” submitted by penguingirl03. This story fits into or just barely before Act I of Myrna, a two-part college special from Ruth’s (un)Officially Wacky Boolprop Challenge.
Suitable for all ages -- but perhaps not for fans of a certain popular series featuring sparkly vampires.
Dramatis Personae
Oakapple Shankel, insecure Popularity Sim with a carefully cultivated resemblance to a certain highly popular fictional vampire.
Buttercup Shankel, his older sister, with whom he does not get along very well.
Bunthorne, his bunnybear.
Setting
Oakapple’s dorm room. Buttercup appears only as a voice on the telephone.
OAKAPPLE (panicked): Buttercup, you gotta help me!
BUTTERCUP: Well, hello to you, too. What’s your problem?
OAKAPPLE: (chewing at a hangnail) I need help with makeup.
BUTTERCUP: Call Mom. Or Dad. I’m busy.
OAKAPPLE (frantically): No! No, Buttercup, please! Mom only knows about greasepaint, and Dad only uses eyeliner. Please, you have to help me!
BUTTERCUP: (huge, put-upon sigh) Fine. What’s up?
OAKAPPLE (much agitated): I went to the baseball game yesterday. And I wore my sunscreen, I swear I did, and it’s SPF 85. And I reapplied it every hour on the hour. But it was hot and I sweated a lot, and I wiped the sweat off, and now my face is sunburned! My whole face is sunburned, and I don’t know what to do!
BUTTERCUP: How bad is the burn? Are you peeling or anything?
OAKAPPLE: No. But it’s pink - especially my nose - and it’s dry, and it’s tender if I touch it.
BUTTERCUP: (scoffs) Don’t be such a baby! You got a little color is all. Put some aloe on it. You’ll be fine.
OAKAPPLE: I haven’t even asked my question yet! Can I wear my foundation? And my glitter lotion?
BUTTERCUP (witheringly): Of course not. You need to let your skin breathe and heal. Don’t put anything on your face unless it’s going to help. Moisturizer or aloe.
OAKAPPLE: Not glitter lotion?
BUTTERCUP: No. The glitter would be too abrasive.
OAKAPPLE: Not even a little foundation?
BUTTERCUP: I already said no! Why do you even care? Most straight guys don’t wear either.
OAKAPPLE (wails): You don’t understand! I need them! I need them to look pale and sparkly, like Edwin Collins from The Gloaming!
BUTTERCUP: Why on earth do you want to look like anyone from that Esme-awful series?
OAKAPPLE (sniffles): Girls love it.
BUTTERCUP: I don’t.
OAKAPPLE: You’re my sister. You don’t count. (hopefully) Not even a smidge of foundation? I can’t let anybody see me like this!
BUTTERCUP (unsympathetically): Then I guess you’ll have to stay in your room until you heal, won’t you?
OAKAPPLE (protests): But -
BUTTERCUP: Look, you asked for my advice. I gave it to you. And I’ve kind of got… company right now, so I’m going to hang up.
OAKAPPLE: But I -
(The phone beeps and then switches to a dial tone as Buttercup hangs up. Oakapple turns his own phone off and sinks to the floor. After a few moments, he picks up Bunthorne, clutches the bunnybear to his chest, and buries his face in between its ears.)
OAKAPPLE: Ruined! My life is ruined!
BUNTHORNE:
OAKAPPLE: Oh, you’re no help! (pushes Bunthorne away and draws himself up small, head on knees and arms wrapped around his shins) I wish I were dead.
Note for those who have read some of my other shorts featuring Oakapple
Yes, Oakapple ended up with a husband, and yes, he is very much worried about impressing the ladies here. When he became a zombie, most of his personality characteristics reversed. For example, he went from 10 Neat points to 0. Similarly, he went from an autonomous gender preference for females to one for males. …It makes sense in my head, okay?
Suitable for all ages -- but perhaps not for fans of a certain popular series featuring sparkly vampires.
Dramatis Personae
Oakapple Shankel, insecure Popularity Sim with a carefully cultivated resemblance to a certain highly popular fictional vampire.
Buttercup Shankel, his older sister, with whom he does not get along very well.
Bunthorne, his bunnybear.
Setting
Oakapple’s dorm room. Buttercup appears only as a voice on the telephone.
OAKAPPLE (panicked): Buttercup, you gotta help me!
BUTTERCUP: Well, hello to you, too. What’s your problem?
OAKAPPLE: (chewing at a hangnail) I need help with makeup.
BUTTERCUP: Call Mom. Or Dad. I’m busy.
OAKAPPLE (frantically): No! No, Buttercup, please! Mom only knows about greasepaint, and Dad only uses eyeliner. Please, you have to help me!
BUTTERCUP: (huge, put-upon sigh) Fine. What’s up?
OAKAPPLE (much agitated): I went to the baseball game yesterday. And I wore my sunscreen, I swear I did, and it’s SPF 85. And I reapplied it every hour on the hour. But it was hot and I sweated a lot, and I wiped the sweat off, and now my face is sunburned! My whole face is sunburned, and I don’t know what to do!
BUTTERCUP: How bad is the burn? Are you peeling or anything?
OAKAPPLE: No. But it’s pink - especially my nose - and it’s dry, and it’s tender if I touch it.
BUTTERCUP: (scoffs) Don’t be such a baby! You got a little color is all. Put some aloe on it. You’ll be fine.
OAKAPPLE: I haven’t even asked my question yet! Can I wear my foundation? And my glitter lotion?
BUTTERCUP (witheringly): Of course not. You need to let your skin breathe and heal. Don’t put anything on your face unless it’s going to help. Moisturizer or aloe.
OAKAPPLE: Not glitter lotion?
BUTTERCUP: No. The glitter would be too abrasive.
OAKAPPLE: Not even a little foundation?
BUTTERCUP: I already said no! Why do you even care? Most straight guys don’t wear either.
OAKAPPLE (wails): You don’t understand! I need them! I need them to look pale and sparkly, like Edwin Collins from The Gloaming!
BUTTERCUP: Why on earth do you want to look like anyone from that Esme-awful series?
OAKAPPLE (sniffles): Girls love it.
BUTTERCUP: I don’t.
OAKAPPLE: You’re my sister. You don’t count. (hopefully) Not even a smidge of foundation? I can’t let anybody see me like this!
BUTTERCUP (unsympathetically): Then I guess you’ll have to stay in your room until you heal, won’t you?
OAKAPPLE (protests): But -
BUTTERCUP: Look, you asked for my advice. I gave it to you. And I’ve kind of got… company right now, so I’m going to hang up.
OAKAPPLE: But I -
(The phone beeps and then switches to a dial tone as Buttercup hangs up. Oakapple turns his own phone off and sinks to the floor. After a few moments, he picks up Bunthorne, clutches the bunnybear to his chest, and buries his face in between its ears.)
OAKAPPLE: Ruined! My life is ruined!
BUNTHORNE:
OAKAPPLE: Oh, you’re no help! (pushes Bunthorne away and draws himself up small, head on knees and arms wrapped around his shins) I wish I were dead.
Note for those who have read some of my other shorts featuring Oakapple
Yes, Oakapple ended up with a husband, and yes, he is very much worried about impressing the ladies here. When he became a zombie, most of his personality characteristics reversed. For example, he went from 10 Neat points to 0. Similarly, he went from an autonomous gender preference for females to one for males. …It makes sense in my head, okay?