365 Days (Part 2) | ✓

316. Come to Life

316. Come to Life: Imagine ordinary objects have come to life. Write about what they do and say.

"Oh my gosh, Toothbrush, did you hear what she was muttering?!" Hairbrush shrieked, bristles grinding against each other.

Toothbrush shuddered. "How could I hear when I was logged down with toothpaste?" he demanded grumpily, casting a resentful look at the container from which the suffocating stuff came from. It was a cheap brand, preening while still plump and full. Toothpastes always got thrown out eventually, growing thinner and more tired rapidly. He looked forward to this young upstart's removal. She was too thick and pasty to allow his bristles to move freely. Besides, Toothbrush still wasn't over the last toothpaste tube. Ah, she had been a lovely thing, all creamy white and vivid red and refreshing blue. He had mourned when she was thrown away.

"Oh hush," Hairbrush scolded. She liked to act older than him because she was real wood and he was just plastic. They had been bought together, though, and were actually best friends. "She said she was going to go on vacation! She waas rifling through the makeups, didn't you see?"

The makeups, which were unruly things now scattered across the counter, giggled and jostled with each other. One lipgloss kept laughing in a high-pitched, nervous way.

"Again, I was bogged down!" Toothbrush said indignantly.

"Shh!" Hairbrush looked over at the new toothpaste. She lowered her voice and said, "You could be nicer to her. Yeah, she's lower quality than we're --"

"We're?"

"Okay, okay," Hairbrush said, exasperated. "She's lower quality than you're used to, but it's not her fault she was raised in a bad factory."

"She suffocates me," Toothbrush said stubbornly.

Hairbrush rolled her eyes. "You’re an old thing."

"We're the same age!" Toothbrush said.

"But I wear it much better," Hairbrush said smugly, and it was true she did. She still looked brand new, although a few strands of long blonde hair twisted around her plastic bristles. Toothbrush, on the other hand, looked decidedly rougher. He grew old and cranky much faster than Hairbrush. Neither of them quite realized Toothbrush would be trashed sooner than Hairbrush.

"Never mind," Toothbrush said petulantly. "What was it she said again?"

Hairbrush's enthusiasm returned. "She's going on vacation! We're going to get to go on vacation! See the world! Maybe you'll even get to taste unusual food!"

Despite himself, Toothbrush liked this idea. "Her meatloaf was pretty good today, though," he said.

"But think of what else could be tasted from between her teeth!" Hairbrush said, trying to get her oldest and dearest friend excited.

"Yeah, I guess. Yeah..." he said, with dawning anticipation.

"Have fun," came a wheezy voice. It was Toilet.

"Oh dear!" Hairbrush exclaimed. She had forgetten about Toilet. "I'm so sorry. It's insensitive of me to speak of going away when you can't."

"Don't apologize," Toilet said kindly. "There's good and bad to being both a portable and an immovable."

"Yes, don't mind us," came a light, airy voice: the shower. "We get to talk to others like us through our drainage pipes and pass news along. You don't get that privilege. Just bring me back some bath bombs. Ooh, I love those!"

"Calm down, Shower," Sink said, with a husky laugh.

"When it comes to bath bombs, I am never calm!" Shower said.

They all laughed, even the makeups. "I can't wait to go!" Hairbrush said exultantly.

"It'll be fun," Toothbrush said.

"I'm glad for you," Toilet said thickly. He always sounded permanently congested.

The door opened and sbe came in. She made quick work of packing, choosing a few of her favorite lipsticks. They smirked at the rest of the makeups, being all too conscious of their own esteem. Then, to their astonishment, she chose an unlikely shade: a dark purple that she had never used before. The dark purple was stunned to be chosen, and the other chosen makeups glared at it. Hairbrush saw a thick black mascara comfort the dark purple.

Hairbrush was thrown into the small bag. "Away I go!" she yelled in excitement.

"Whee!" Toothbrush said, sounding young and new again.

But then -- then their human withdrew something from a plastic sack hanging on her arm. She drew out another toothbrush, small and compact and dashing. He was still packaged and came with his own mini tube of toothpaste.

The travel size toothbrush winked at the makeups, and they all squealed.

Hairbrush snapped out of her daze and yelled, "Toothbrush! Toothbrush!"

He stared at shock in his replacement.

"Son, it'll be alright," Hairbrush heard Toilet say to Toothbrush.

"Yeah, we'll have fun," Sink rejoined.

"Toothbrush, I'm sorry!" Hairbrush yelled, hating that she got her friend's hopes up.

"You go on without me," Toothbrush managed to say.

Their human started to leave.

"Will you be okay?" Hairbrush yelled.

"Sure! Have fun! I'll be okay," Toothbrush said, as Hairbrush was carried away. "I'll be okay," he repeated, but it sounded more hollow without his best friend around.

The bathroom was silent for a long time.

*

I am a little worried about how weird this piece is, but I swear I am completely sober. 😂 The sad part is, I actually care about these hygienic products and want to continue writing their story.