“POLLLLYYY!”

Uh-oh.  That was my eldest sister, Tweety, and I was the unfortunate fledgling she was squawking at.  I peeked behind her door.  “Ummm, yes?”

“You promised you wouldn’t touch my make-up again!” she shrieked, her feathers standing on ends.  On her nest bed were pecked strawberries, squashed grapes and broken twigs.  I tried digging a shallow hole to bury the evidence, but I couldn’t hide the fruit stains.

“I’m s..sorry,” I squeaked in an almost mouse-like voice.

“That won’t cut it.  That’s what you said the last time.  You’re completely banned from my room!” she said, pointing to the door.

“But you have all the best make-up,” I whined.  “Mom never allows me to put anything on my face.”

“Make-up is not for fledglings.  Concentrate on learning how to fly, and not on my make-up!  If you touch my make-up again, you’ll find your face stuck with make-up forever,” Tweety warned me.  When she saw tears forming from the corners of my eyes, she softened her voice a bit. “Why do you need make-up for anyway?  You’re such a pretty fledgling.  You’re lucky you don’t need to cover up anything.”

I hopped back to my room with my beak down.  I understood why she was angry, but still, I just loved hanging out in her room and going through all her stuff.  I couldn’t wait to be a juvenile.

The next few days, I tried to be at my best behavior.  I didn’t go to her room unless she invited me over.  And more importantly, I didn’t touch any of her things.

Lately, she hasn’t really asked for me to be around.  I would wait outside the door and hear her talking for hours with her friends.

“Yeah, mine’s totally gorgeous,” I overheard Tweety say to her best friend, Tiki.  “So, who’s your date for the Senior’s Ball?”

I didn’t wait to hear who it was going to be.  Boys.  Ugh.  But then, I heard something that did interest me.

“I’m shopping for my make-up tomorrow, wanna come?” I heard my sister say to Tiki.

Brand new make-up!  This was gonna be hard to resist.

The next day, I saw my sister fly out the house early to go with Tiki to the mall.  When they came back, they just dumped their stuff in my sister’s room and flew off again!

I quickly hopped through the door and aimed for the make-up.  The nest bed was an explosion of color!  Dark ruby red cherries, shiny blueberries, and popping pomegranates.  With my heart pounding a million beats per minute, I carefully pecked on each fruit, and got a little of the juice to stain my beak, my cheeks and my eyes.  After having applied every available color to my face, I hurriedly hopped to my room.

With full make-up on, I faced the mirror and pretended I was talking with my sister.  “Look at this shade,” I said.  “Don’t you just love it?”  I got carried away with my fake conversation that when I looked out the window, I suddenly noticed that it was dark already.  I hopped to the bathroom and splashed water on my face to remove any trace of evidence.  When I looked at the mirror, I was shocked!  None of the make-up had come off.  I rubbed a leaf directly on my face, but it only added a green stain.   I was starting to get really annoyed.  My face was now a rainbow of colors. This was my curse for touching Tweety’s things!

“POLLLLYYY!”

It was my sister’s familiar squawk, but I just didn’t have the strength to answer.  I covered my face in feathers.

“Polly, what did you do now?”  My sister had her wings on her hips.  But when she saw me crying on the bed, she quickly rushed to my side.  “What happened?

I raised my make-up filled face and burst into noisy sobs.  “The make-up won’t come off!”

“Oh my,” my sister covered her beak with her wings.  “Your face is all red…and green, and blue!”

“Is this your idea?  Are you trying to punish me?”  I was convinced my sister set up a trap for me to learn not to use her stuff.

“Of courses not silly,” my sister smiled kindly.  “I picked these fruits because they stained the most,” she explained.  “It wasn’t meant to be removed easily.  That’s why I wanted to use these to the prom.”  My sister rummaged through her bag, as if looking for something.  “Ah!  Here it is.  I also bought some lemon juice to remove all that goop off.  Want some?”

I nodded eagerly.  While my sister was helping me remove my makeup, she talked to me.  She told me what she would wear to the prom, and who her date would be.  I listened quietly, and then when it was my turn, I told her about my school friends and our many pop quizzes.  It felt good to spend time with her again, while she carefully erased the makeup.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, I was make-up free.  I grinned sheepishly at my sister.

“Thanks, and… sorry,” I said in my sincerest voice.  “I know you’re disappointed in me for playing with your make-up again, but you know what?  I’m still glad I did it ‘cause then I got to spend time with you.”

My sister smiled.  “I had fun, too!” she remarked.  Let’s do this again, minus the make-up!”

Now, I go to my sister’s room more often to talk and hang out.  She lets me use her cologne sometimes and she volunteers to style my hair.  But I kinda lost interest in using her make-up.  I’ll just wait for my turn, thank you very much!