Disclaimer: Any Twilight characters that may appear in this story belong to Stephenie Meyer. The remainder is my original work. No reproduction is allowed without my written consent.
"Stains"
. . .
At thirteen, Daisy was no ordinary teenager. She had a steady boyfriend she adored and a job she loved. In fact, just last week the investor of the website she worked for, Mrs. Evans, had raised Daisy's salary to five hundred dollars a month.
Sadly, though, she only saw about a fifth of that money. Once Mrs. Evans discovered that Daisy had spent her entire first month's pay on Lord of the Ring's memorabilia for her boyfriend's Christmas present, she had insisted that Daisy open a banking account and start a college fund.
Secretly, this infuriated poor, teenage Daisy and she debated telling Mrs. Evans some rather rude things to express her feelings on the matter. However, by an unfortunate twist of fate, Mrs. Evans was also her boyfriend's grandmother. Daisy knew that she could never truly be mad at the person who gave birth to the person who gave birth to the most beautiful and perfect boy on the planet.
On January 31, 2002, a dejected Daisy trudged to the bank with her father and opened a savings account. With repeated sighs and constant grumbles, she filed away most of her monthly earnings for her "future." With yet another sigh, she thought about what a waste it was. The only future she could ever want was with the love of her life.
Her feelings on the matter were proven valid only a few months later when a crisis arose. It was June 7, 2002, and her boyfriend's birthday was only two weeks away. Daisy had found the most perfect present for him – the ring of Aragorn (retail price: $124.99) – but she needed more money in order to afford it. She had approached her father, Chief Swan of the Forks Police Department, about withdrawing money from her savings account in order to buy this perfect gift, but he had simply laughed at her and went back to watching baseball.
Daisy had huffed in irritation and fled the house, making sure to slam the front door as she left, so as not to make a scene in front of her father (or rather, to make a large enough scene that her father would understand how dire her circumstance was and yield in his judgment to allow her to withdrawal the necessary funds).
As she marched down the driveway to no place in particular, a small child of no more than two years old ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her legs.
"Basketball!" the child said, his face hidden by her kneecaps.
Mrs. McGregor, her neighbor from three houses down, ran down the sidewalk to capture her runaway son, but was stunted in her task. She attempted to pry the child away from Daisy's legs, but the boy started crying.
Not knowing what else to do, Daisy patted the young boy on the back (a move she had obtained from both her father and boyfriend). The boy immediately stopped crying at the touch of the stranger and muttered, "Basketball," before turning back to his mother and grabbing her hand.
Mrs. McGregor, impressed by Daisy's natural skill with her child, smiled brightly at her and explained that she was in need of a babysitter for the next three days because she had a work conference in Port Angeles.
Daisy hesitated at first; she had never baby-sat before. She was about to say no when Mrs. McGregor mentioned that her son's name was Anthony.
Anthony was the middle name of her beloved boyfriend. Just the sound of her boyfriend's middle name sent shivers down her spine. As she looked into Anthony's young eyes, her heart immediately softened towards the child.
Daisy could only think that anything that reminded her of her boyfriend could not be a bad thing. She had accepted Mrs. McGregor's offer to baby-sit, pleasantly surprised to find that the wages she would earn over the next three days would be enough to finish paying for her boyfriend's birthday present.
These are the circumstances that led to the giant stain of red fruit punch that now covered Mrs. McGregor's beige love seat.
. . .
Swirl was getting increasingly agitated. He had not seen or heard from his girlfriend in almost three days and he missed her dearly. She hadn't answered his calls and he was beginning to worry. He had taken to eating Lucky Charms, his girlfriend's favorite cereal, to feel connected to her.
It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and Swirl was still in his pajamas, sitting in the beanbag chair in front of his duel-monitor computer. He kept the beanbag chair hidden in his closet when his girlfriend came over, not wanting her to know that he did, in fact, spend so much time in front of his computer that he required something of such leisure to keep him comfortable.
Grabbing a handful of Lucky Charms, he shot a yearning glance at a picture of his girlfriend, before returning his attention to the LotR RPG forum he was participating in.
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Re: A Quite Existence
-Reply #143 on June 10, 2002
SwordOfAragorn
Full Member
Muyuril gazed longingly at the sword he now held in his hand and he suddenly felt like he was being watched. He continued to look upon the divine craftsmanship the elves had placed in the weaponry, though his focus was now divided. He tightened his grip on the sword, preparing to whirl around at a moment's notice.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #144 on June 10, 2002
RedHeadsHaveMoreFun
Full Member
Elelith watched Muyuril from a distance, wrapping her arms around herself, suddenly feeling cold and alone. She pretended it was Muyuril's arms around her instead of her own.
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Swirl rolled his eyes at the computer screen. Elelith was always pining away for him and he couldn't understand it. He had made it clear on several occasions to Victoria, Elelith's creator, that Muyuril was not interested because he had a beautiful elf, Bellewyn Riel, waiting for him in Lothlorien. He was beginning to think that Elelith liked the fact that Muyuril was a taken man.
The shrill sound of the phone ringing saved Swirl from having to answer Victoria 's ridiculous post. "Thank you for calling. This is Edward Cullen, the founder and president of MyT-Spot .com speaking. I appreciate your call, how may I help you?"
"Help me!"
"Bella?" Swirl's face lit up with the sound of his girlfriend's voice and his heart started beating a hundred miles per second. "I can't begin to tell you how glad I am to hear your vo–"
"I don't know what to do! There's a huge stain and I tried scrubbing it but it's still pink and I can't figure out how to get it out!"
"Okay, first you need to calm down," Swirl said in a reassuring voice. "You don't need to worry; I have a lot of experience with this kind of thing."
"With fruit punch stains?"
Swirl shot a glance over to his bed. "Not exactly with fruit punch stains."
"What kind of stains?"
Swirl's cheeks grew warm at the thought of exactly what kind of stains haunted him. The, uh, "stains" had increased exponentially since he started dating Daisy and after a rather humiliating talk with his parents, his mother had appointed him the task of washing his own bed sheets. "Um, it doesn't really matter. It's all the same thing."
"Whatever. What should I do? I'm doing everything I can, but it won't come out!"
"It's really simple. Throw the sheets in the washing machine with color-safe bleach and set the temperature to cold."
"Anthony spilt fruit punch on a beige couch, not bed sheets!"
Swirl's face paled and he couldn't seem to form any coherent words.
"Edward?"
"Who - who is Anthony?" he asked quietly, both anxious and afraid to know the answer. Whoever this other boy was, he was the reason Swirl hadn't seen Daisy in days. He immediately hated him.
"The little tyrant that lives down the street from me that I've been baby-sitting for the last few days. He spilled fruit punch on the couch and I can't get it out!"
Relief flooded Swirl and he let out a breath. It was quickly replaced with doubt, since he did not know how to get a fruit punch stain out of a beige couch and he did not want to fail Daisy.
"Give me a second, okay?"
"All right," Daisy said.
Normally, it was an unspoken rule that you did not post messages of a personal nature on the LotR RPG forum, but this was an emergency so Swirl made an exception.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #145 on June 10, 2002
SwordOfAragorn
Full Member
The boy my girlfriend is babysitting just spilled red fruit punch on a beige couch. What should she do? Is it a hopeless cause?
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #146 on June 10, 2002
RogueDemonHunter
Full Member
Are you talking about the hottie from the Midnight Showing of FotR?
Se vain gîn palan-istannen!
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #147 on June 10, 2002
EnelyaNessae
New Member
club soda? oxiclean?
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #148 on June 10, 2002
Dili Longbeard
Full Member
seltzer?
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #149 on June 10, 2002
gothmog
Full Member
I don't know for sure, but there ya go! www. Goodhousekeeping .com/ home/ stain-buster/stains-fruit-punch-may07
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #149 on June 10, 2002
Witch-King
Junior Member
Club soda or seltzer! Blot, don't rub. If that doesn't work or you don't have it...stain stick. Shout/Tide.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #150 on June 10, 2002
SwordOfAragorn
Full Member
Thank you!
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Swirl let out a sigh of relief, content that his RPG group had not failed him. "You need to get some seltzer and blot it on the stain."
"Okay, I will do that. What exactly is seltzer?"
"Bella, how can you not know what seltzer is?" Swirl asked, adding a tone of indignation for good measure.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #151 on June 10, 2002
SwordOfAragorn
Full Member
At the risk of sounding like an idiot - what is seltzer and what does it look like?
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #152 on June 10, 2002
RogueDemonHunter
Full Member
How can you not know what seltzer is?
It's water infused w/sodium bicarbonate, aka soda water.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #153 on June 10, 2002
Witch-King
Junior Member
Plain carbonated water - not tonic!
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #154 on June 10, 2002
RedHeadsHaveMoreFun
Full Member
Isn't it carbonated water?
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #155 on June 10, 2002
gothmog
Full Member
drugrecallwatch. files. wordpress. com/2009/12/alkaseltzerfizz. jpg
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #156 on June 10, 2002
EnelyaNessae
New Member
It looks like sprite...Its just carbonated water. Good for stains!
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"How would I even begin to know what it is? Stop acting like a know-it-all and tell me or the stain is going to set!"
"It's carbonated water. It looks like Spite," Swirl replied, once again barely managing to keep up the façade that he was a perfect boyfriend. He thanked his lucky stars he had made such great online friends.
He could hear Daisy in the background shuffling through cabinets and the refrigerator. She growled in irritation before clamoring back to the phone. "She doesn't have seltzer! Who doesn't keep a bottle of seltzer around? She has a bottle of Woolite pet stain remover. I'm going to try that. Stay on the phone with me?"
Swirl's heart jumped at her words. "Of course I will," he uttered with complete sincerity, elated that she liked him enough to want him to stay on the phone with her.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #157 on June 10, 2002
SwordOfAragorn
Full Member
Okay, she doesn't have seltzer or club soda but she does have a bottle of Woolite pet stain remover. Do you think that will work?
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #158 on June 10, 2002
Witch-King
Junior Member
Tell her to put the woolite on very heavy and let it sit for ten minutes.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #159 on June 10, 2002
EnelyaNessae
New Member
What kind of material is it, is it a suede or microfiber?
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"Bella?" Swirl asked, pulling Daisy's attention back to the phone.
"Yes?"
"Make sure you put the Woolite on heavy and let it sit there for a few minutes. What kind of material is the couch?"
"How am I supposed to know what kind of material the couch is?" She screeched in a slightly hysterical voice.
"Tell me what it looks like," Swirl prompted patiently.
"Um, it's beige and really cushy but tough. It kind of feels like jeans, except not at all."
Swirl tried to stifle his laughter. She was too cute.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #160 on June 10, 2002
SwordOfAragorn
Full Member
She has no idea.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #161 on June 10, 2002
gothmog
Full Member
www. mrscleanusa. com/en/cleaning-tips/stain-removal/
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #162 on June 10, 2002
Witch-King
Junior Member
Tell her she needs to use the Woolite more than once and make sure she's using cold water and not hot or it will set the stain.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #163 on June 10, 2002
EnelyaNessae
New Member
Peroxide and baking soda. Test a spot first and make sure it doesn't lighten the fabric.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #164 on June 10, 2002
SwordOfAragorn
Full Member
She doesn't have any baking soda.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #165 on June 10, 2002
RogueDemonHunter
Full Member
What kind of person doesn't have baking soda in their house?
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #166 on June 10, 2002
Witch-King
Junior Member
Be careful w/ beige... test whatever you use so you don't end up w/a white spot. Put it on an area nobody can see first and make sure she's using cold water not warm. Warm water will set the stain faster.
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"Make sure you're using cold water. Warm water will set the stain faster," Swirl said, hoping this little tidbit would impress Daisy even further.
"How do you know all of this stuff?"
Swirl paused. Telling Daisy the truth would take away some of the bravado. He decided to change the subject. "Where's Anthony at?"
"Huh?"
"The kid? Anthony?"
"Oh, he's in front of the TV, watching Tarzan… again." He could hear the exasperation in her voice, and swore he would never let her subject herself to this kind of torture again for finances sake.
"How's the stain looking?" he asked.
"Maybe it's wishful thinking, but it does look less pink. I don't think it's going to come out completely."
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #167 on June 10, 2002
SwordOfAragorn
Full Member
The Woolite doesn't seem to be working all the way…
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #168 on June 10, 2002
RedHeadsHaveMoreFun
Full Member
Damn Woolite and their false advertising!
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #169 on June 10, 2002
KaylieFaye
New Member
Hello!
I looked it up… pretend it's red wine: It says you will need: White wine, Salt, Baking Soda, Talcum Powder, Club Soda & Boiling water
1. Begin by blotting with a clean cloth to remove as much of the wine as possible. BLOT throughout this entire process DO NOT SCRUB
2. Dab the stain with white wine and blot with a clean cloth.
3. If the stain still remains, try dabbing a little bit of club soda on the stain and blot to remove.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #170 on June 10, 2002
SwordOfAragorn
Full Member
Uh, she doesn't have white wine, baking soda, talcum powder, club soda…
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #171 on June 10, 2002
RogueDemonHunter
Full Member
Again, what kind of person is this?
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Re: A Quiet Existence
-Reply #172 on June 10, 2002
EnelyaNessae
New Member
2 cups warm water with 5-6 drops blue Dawn dishwasher liquid. Soak, cover with towel, warm iron. Lifts the stain right out.
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Re: A Quiet Existence
Reply #173 on June 10, 2002
KaylieFaye
New Member
Maybe you could just try with salt?
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Daisy was growing more irrational on the phone. "It's never going to come out! What if she takes away all of the money I've made in the last three days to pay for the damages?"
"That's not going to happen, I promise," Swirl said, at a loss for how exactly to comfort his girlfriend. She did tend to get hysterical over the smallest things.
"You can't guarantee that! This is never going to come out…" She sounded so defeated on the phone and Swirl felt as if his heart may crack at the disappointment in her voice.
An idea hit him – one so brilliant that he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before. "Wait! Don't give up yet; I have one more idea!"
. . .
The last three days were probably the worst of Daisy's young life. Anthony was the most obnoxious child in the history of the world. He said the word "basketball" at least twenty times an hour and was obsessed with the movie Tarzan. Daisy had already watched that movie six times in the past seventy-two hours.
On top of that, Mrs. McGregor had a seven-month old dog that was in heat. She pranced around the house in her doggie-diaper, acting like Daisy was her personal chew-toy. Throw in the three hours that she had just spent cleaning the damn couch, and Daisy had hit her limit. She'd already sworn off ever having children and she vowed never to baby-sit again.
The sound of the McGregor's doorbell ringing was like angels singing to Daisy's ears. Her savior was here.
She practically ran to the door and flung it open with a huge smile on her face. "Thank God you're here, Esme!"