Stumpd

There were three of them.

“My favorite car is … Esteem,” a girl, the eldest of the three said.

The younger ones, a girl and a boy, watched her in awe, stumped by her brilliance.

They didn’t know how to top her choice.

Why? – asked the little girl, attempting to understand how god could give her all the good ideas.

"Because I like how it looks..!" the eldest replied.

The boy was silent.

Next day, the girl, the middle one, walked into the hall, where popular Kannada serial starring Sihi Kahi Chandru was running on TV.

"My favorite car is Esteem!"

The eldest scrunched up her face. “You cannot. It’s mine.I chose it yesterday already,”she said.

“I don’t know, I want it too,” the younger girl despaired.

The youngest boy joined in the conversation. “I want Esteem too,” he said.

Two against one. The eldest knew she had to do something.

“Why? Why is Esteem your favourite car?” she asked them.

“Because I like how it looks!” both said in unison.

“Naa ..That was my answer.Cheating!” the eldest said.

“aaa..ummm.. I know I know,..” The two young ones came up with random phrases; looked up at the sky with big round dumb eyes until they realized they truly did not know the answer.

The eldest smiled and explained “I like it because it looks is run on petrol and petrol smells so nice.”

“Ah.” Stumped again! The two kids go back.

Next day, the younger girl sees a black jeep on the road and tells her sister. “My favorite car is jeep! You can smell more petrol in jeep. Aaannd it’s black! My favorite car is the best!” she beamed proudly.

The boy, sensing new development, half falling off his cycle said, "Mine too!"

The eldest smiles. “Esteem is not my favorite anymore. I have new best favorite. You can have it if you want, "she says to the boy.

The boy, confused between jeep and Esteem, again looks up, big eyed, hoping for a solution.

The younger girl meanwhile challenges her sister. “Why? How come? No way is your car better than mine.”

The eldest smiled, contented with her smarty-pants-answer.

The boy, in shorts, meanwhile, is still figuring out what to choose.

“Pss..My favorite jeep is black in color” the little girl offers.

“Oh!” That seemed to clear up his confusion. “Okay.My favourite car is black jeep,” the boy announced. 

The two triumphantly look at their elder sister. 

The elder drops a bomb. She smiles and says. “My vehicle needs no petrol.”

“Ha ha ha..” the kids guffaw.. “You can run esteem on water? Ha.. hoge le … no chance!”

“Is it black?” the younger girl questions suspiciously.

“No.”

The boy turns away disinterested. What is not black isn’t interesting, he decides. But still hangs around for the eldest's answer.

“Then?”

“I don’t need petrol.. I can run my vehicle on air!” she proudly announces.

With no hint of a prank on her face, the two kids make a horrified there’s-something-in-the-world-I-don’t-know expression. The defiant girl looks up at her and asks, “What is this vekcle (she couldn’t pronounce or know what a vehicle was back then)

“I can ride it without a license. I don’t need to spend money on petrol, can your “black” jeep do that?,” eldest prodded.

The boy comes back to join his sister in her dumbfounded expressions. They look at each other gloomily and look down.

“My favorite vehicle is a Cycle!” she happily says.

Realization dawns.

 Another day, another challenge, we will win, the kids think.

Besides eating-pooping-sleeping, the younglings had to now think of newer ways to beat their sister. Phew, life’s hard; the girl thinks and goes to sleep, skipping her usual poop routine at bed time. “I have to think. I will not do extra work I won't poop,” she declares to herself and drifts away to sleep.