ribbons
01. who wraps presents horribly and has to get help from the other
"Marisa, I'm really happy that you've decided to help me, but I'm not sure that's how you do it."
Still struggling to loop the red-and-gold ribbons through her fingers, Marisa swiveled her head towards Alice and sighed. "Alice, I've told you twice before I'm doing just fine. Look at the stuff I've wrapped, I've already gotten seven of them done!"
She eyed the growing pile of gifts in the corner of the room, shapeless mounds wrapped in wrinkled paper and tied hastily together with ribbons. "All I'm saying is if you need help, just ask me—"
"Puh-lease. I'm doing just fine." Even if she sported an optimistic grin as she tied the ribbon into yet another lumpy knot, she still nervously glanced at Alice's packages: Wrapped neatly in perfectly creased paper and with the ribbons tied impeccably. "I-I… I don't need help."
"Suit yourself." She returned to drawing dotted lines on her wrapping paper with utmost precision, the faint hum of Christmas carols in the background blocked out by frustrated grunts and the crinkling of waxed paper. The aroma of baking gingerbread drifted into the living room, reminding Alice that sooner or later she'd be forced to get up from her very comfortable spot on the couch to check up on her cookies. The tree they had set up blinked with multicolored lights and sparkling decorations.
All in all, it would have been a very peaceful, week-before-Christmas present wrapping was it not for one thing.
"Alice?"
She looked up mid-snip from her wrapping paper. "Yes?"
"Help meee."