Fantas-Tickle

"Hmmm? Master Jake? What are you...? KYAAAAAHH!! What... what's going on?! I can't move! No! Not my feeheeheeheet! Stahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!!"

I saw what happened. I remember everything.

***

Everyone stared at Jake as he stood there, shuffling awkwardly just inside the classroom door. He supposed he deserved to be gawked at for interrupting class, but still, it was kind of embarrassing.

"Oh... uh... hey, everybody," he said, blushing just a little. "How... uh... how are you doing? I'm... uh... I'm just gonna... yeah...." He slinked off into his chair at the back of the class. One girl – a young lady with glasses and long, dark hair that covered one of her eyes – continued watching him dispassionately as he assumed his proper place. She was his childhood friend, Sharon.

"You're late," she said, quietly. Her tone wasn't accusatory, but very blunt and to the point, as if she were merely stating a fact. She had never been very good at expressing her emotions, even back when they were kids.

"Um... yeah, sorry," Jake whispered back. "I guess I slept in too late. I was having such a nice dream, too."

"Nothing happened, did it?" Sharon asked.

"Uh... not that I know of, no."

"That's good."

Jake would have continued talking, but then he heard the sound of someone loudly tapping their finger on their desk. He turned and found a girl with short, red hair glaring at him. This was Kelsey, the class president.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Kelsey," Jake apologized.

Kelsey just scowled at him and held up her notebook. The words "No talking in class!" were printed in big, angry, red letters.

"Ooooh, don't give the guy a hard time, Kels," another girl, Maxine, said. She had boyishly short blonde hair, a golden-brown tan, and a huge grin on her face. She also didn't seem to have any idea how loudly she was talking. "I mean, I've slept in plenty of times. Did it just last Thursday, but, I mean, can you blame me? The new Dragon’s Wrath game was out, and I just had to play it. It was so awesome, too! The first boss battle is just amazing! How do they make stuff like that? It's so cool!"

Kelsey flipped her notebook to another page that read, "Shut UP, Maxine!" Jake had to wonder just how many times this had happened for her to have that ready.

"A-hem. Are the four of you done back there?" the teacher asked, glaring at the back of the classroom. Kelsey's face turned bright pink, and she nodded pathetically. Jake's expression fell, too. He didn't want to get anyone in trouble, and Kelsey seemed upset. He felt a sense of guilt creeping into his stomach at the way her lower lip quivered. On the other hand, Sharon's face didn't change at all, and neither did Maxine's.

"Yep! We're good, teach!" Maxine loudly proclaimed.

"Well, it's a good thing you four are getting along so well, because I'm assigning you to the same group project," the teacher said, turning back to the blackboard. "Now pay attention so you know what you'll be doing."

"Sure thing, teach!"

Kelsey looked like she wanted to strangle someone.

***

"Oh, my gosh, what is wrong with you people?!" Kelsey exclaimed. "There's a time for messing around, and a time for school work! Can you tell me which is which?"

Maxine shrugged. "Nope. Not at all,” she said, laughing.

Kelsey glared at her, but then sighed. "Deep breaths, Kelsey, deep breaths. A lady doesn't lose her temper like that." She took a few calming breaths, and turned back to her three "compatriots." "Okay, look, I want us to get a good start on this thing, so let’s head down to the school library and decide what we’re going to report on, okay?"

"Oh... uh...," Maxine mumbled.

"What?" Kelsey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Can it wait a little bit? I've kinda got swim practice, so...." Maxine bowed her head and gave Kelsey a sheepish grin. "Pleeeeease?" she begged.

Kelsey sighed. "Fine, I'll accept that. But you'd better get to the library as soon as you’re done, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Maxine said, skipping out the door.

"This is already starting to spell disaster," Kelsey moaned.

"Oh, uh... Kelsey?" Jake started to say.

"Do you have an objection, too?" Kelsey asked, frowning.

"Um, uh, no...," Jake said. "I just... well... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble. I'm really sorry that happened. It was my fault for being late. I have no excuse."

Sharon bowed in her own apology. "I ask you to please forgive him, as well," she said.

"Fine, you're off the hook for now, just don't do it again," Kelsey muttered. "Now follow me. We have work to do."

The three of them made their way to the library. Are far as Jake could tell, they were the only ones there. Then again, who likes to stay in school any longer than they have to? Well, considering the situation, he wondered if maybe Kelsey did.

Kelsey, meanwhile, quickly took up a seat at the nearest table and motioned Sharon and him over.

"All right, you two," she said, whipping out a notebook and pen, "we've got work to do."

Sharon nodded, and took a seat on the other side of the table, alongside Jake.

"So," Kelsey continued. "The idea of the project is to choose a period of history, choose a book written in or about that period, and examine the way it relates to that part of history. We'll have collect our findings in a report, give a critical review of the book, and present both orally in class. I don't really get why this requires a group of four people to do, but it'll at least be quick. So, what can we do?"

"There are plenty of books and media about World War II," Sharon pointed out. "How about we choose that as our topic?"

"That should be simple enough to deal with," Kelsey said, taking notes.

"Uh, that's kind of a... depressing period of history, isn't it?" Jake asked.

"Of course it is," Kelsey replied. "That's why there's so much written about it. 'Lest we forget,' you know?"

"She has a point," Sharon said, nodding.

"I guess so," Jake admitted.

"Well, in that case, shall we start looking for books, or are there any other suggestions?" Kelsey asked.

"No, I guess that will work," Jake sighed.

"Okay, then," Kelsey said, flipping the notebook shut, "start looking for anything that might work, then meet back here. That should help save us some time."

"Okay," Jake said. Sharon just nodded.

The three of them split up and started looking for any interesting titles. Nothing Jake could find really caught his attention, though. He hated stories about human suffering. It always put a knot in his stomach. There were plenty of other things he'd rather be thinking about. He looked off to the side and saw Sharon on the other end of the aisle, perusing some books. She then bent down and adjusted her sock. He swallowed hard and blushed. Part of him wished she'd pull it down instead.

As if she sensed his thoughts, Sharon returned his gaze. She glared at him and shook her head.

"Oh, uh, right, sorry," Jake apologized.

Sharon just put a finger to her lips to quiet him, then went back to her search.

After some time, they had all gathered their fair share of books, and were discussing which to pick for their report, when Maxine came in.

"Hey, guys, looks like practice was cancelled," she said. "Sorry I'm late!"

Kelsey sighed. "Well," she said, "all things considered, it's probably better you got here now then... wait, what are you wearing?!"

Jake and Sharon both looked behind them to find Maxine in her school swimsuit.

"Oh, this?" Maxine asked. "It's just my swimsuit. Why do you ask?"

"Why do I... are you serious?!" Kelsey cried. "You can't just run around school in your swimsuit! It's not decent!"

"What are you talking about?" Maxine asked, frowning. "It's just a one piece. What's so wrong about that?"

"What's so...?! Help me out here, you two," Kelsey said through gritted teeth.

Jake wasn't paying attention, though. His eyes were firmly glued on Maxine's bare feet. They were the same lovely golden-brown as the rest of her body, and, for an athlete, looked surprisingly soft. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks as she curled those tanned little toes of hers.

Sharon was staring at them, too. "Maxine, I must insist you put some shoes on," she said, firmly.

"Thank you... wait, what?" Kelsey asked, giving Sharon a weird look. "You're worried about her feet?"

"Oh, come on, girls," Maxine whined, plopping down on a chair and setting her bare feet up on the table. "What's it even matter, anyway? It's not like I'm bothering anyone, right Jake?" she asked, wiggling her toes.

Jake just stared at her wriggling digits, hypnotized like a snake under a charmer's spell.

"Maxine, you need to stop that, right now," Sharon said. "You're going to regret it."

"And get some decent clothes on, while you're at it!" Kelsey chimed in.

"But I like wearing my swimsuit, and I like being barefoot. It helps me relax," Maxine argued back.

"That doesn't matter," Sharon insisted. "Put some shoes on, now."

"I don't wanna."

"Please."

"No."

"Uhh... is something wrong with Jake?" Kelsey asked.

"Oh no," Sharon gasped. "Too late."

Suddenly, a flash of light filled the room.

"What the heck?!" Kelsey cried.

"What's going on?!" Maxine asked.

"Right now, anything," Sharon replied.

***

"Uugh, what happened?" Kelsey groaned. Whatever that light was, it had left her head spinning. She felt like she'd just stood up too fast. She placed one hand on her head to steady herself, and another hand on the table.

Wait, something's not right, she thought. The texture of the table's surface felt strange. It almost felt like the cover of one of her library books.

And that's exactly what it was.

"HWAAAAH!!" she cried, leaping back. She stared in disbelief. The book was as large as a table. How had it grown so big? "This... this can't be happening," she murmured, taking a step backwards, only to trip over something behind her.

"Ow..." she moaned, rubbing her sore back. She almost screamed again when she saw what she had tripped over: her pen.

"Wh... what is this?" she whimpered, looking around in horror. "Why is everything so huge?"

"It looks like we shrank," Sharon said, walking up to her.

"I can see that!" Kelsey snapped.

"Then why did you ask?" Sharon asked.

"I... but... you...!" Kelsey stammered, unable to process what was going on anymore.

"Oh, man! Look at all this! This is so COOL!!" Maxine exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear, soaking in everything around her. "Everything's so big! I could take a nap on a book, and use an eraser as a pillow! I could swing this pencil around like a staff! Oh, wait, that's kinda heavy...."

"What is wrong with you two?!" Kelsey cried. "How can you be so calm?! You should be freaking out right now!"

"Well, this kind of thing happens to me a lot," Sharon explained, as nonchalant as ever, "so...."

"Wait, what?!"

"Huh?" Maxine asked, wandering over to the other two. "What's wrong, Kelsey? Aren't you having fun?"

"Graaah!" Kelsey screamed. "Shut up! I'll deal with you, later." She then immediately turned back to Sharon. "What do you mean this happens a lot? How?!"

"Hey, wait, where's Jake?" Maxine interrupted.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon," Sharon replied. "He has something planned for us, I'm sure."

"Wait, are you saying Jake did this to us?!" Kelsey exclaimed in disbelief.

"Whoa! No way!" Maxine gasped. "Are you saying Jake has superpowers?!"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Sharon replied.

"That's. So. AWESOME!!" Maxine cheered.

"NO, IT'S NOT!!" Kelsey barked.

The girls' conversation screeched to a halt, however, as a shadow spread over them.

“It looks like he’s found us,” Sharon said, looking up.

“Wait,” Kelsey said, following her gaze, “what do you mean he… KYAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

There, standing over them, like a giant out of Grimm’s fairy tales, was Jake.

“He… he’s huge!!” Kelsey cried.

“No, we’re just tiny,” Sharon corrected her.

“Semantics!”

“Holy cow,” Maxine gasped. “This is the coolest thing ever!” She stepped forward and waved up at him. “How’s the weather up there?”

Jake, however, didn’t answer. He just looked down on them all, grinning. Kelsey shivered a little at the sight. There was something wrong with that smile. Instead of looking like a friendly greeting, it looked more like the look a cat gives a mouse it just spotted.

“Well, well, well,” Jake said. “It looks like we have some intruders in my library. Trying to take my books are you? Can’t have that, I’m afraid.”

“Wait, what?” Kelsey asked, yet again. “What is he talking about?”

“Whatever he wants to, at this point,” Sharon said.

“GAAH!!” Kelsey screamed. “Will you stop with the cryptic riddle-speak?!”

“Ooof!” Maxine grunted. The other two girls turned to find her laying on the ground, pinned down by a pencil. “Uh… Jake?” she asked. “I can’t really move with this on top of me....”

“Of course,” Jake said, flashing her a smirk. “You need to be punished for breaking in. Wouldn’t want you escaping, now would I?”

“It’s starting,” Sharon said.

“GIVE ME A STRAIGHT ANSWER, DAMMIT!!” Kelsey screamed, shaking Sharon.

Sharon didn’t say a word, but instead pointed back at Maxine and her gigantic captor. The girl had been kicking and squirming, trying to get out from under the writing implement. She froze, however, when she saw Jake approaching. The giant boy had picked up a pen, uncapped it, and started inching the tip closer and closer to Maxine’s bare feet.

“Jake?” she asked, tilting her head to the side, like a confused puppy. “What are you doing? Are you…?”

Before she could finish, Jake squished the tip of the pen into her sole, scratching up and down on her soft, creamy skin.
                     
Maxine just exploded into laughter. “WAHAHAHAHAAA!!” she shrieked. “Stahahahap, Jahehehake! That tihihihihickles!” Her legs thrashed through the air, forcing the pen tip to give chase, as it continued to mark up her soles with inky black streaks.

“Hold still, will you?” Jake muttered, pinning her legs under his forefinger.

“HAHAHAHAHAAA!!” Maxine cried. Her energy seemed to back up into her toes, which were now wiggling like mad. “Uhuhuhuhuncle! Uhuhuhuncle!”

But Jake knew no mercy, continuing to doodle up and down her poor, sensitive soles. The pen tip swirled and danced wherever it desired, and every shrunken inch of skin brought peals of laughter, especially on her soles.

“I’m gonahahahaha get youhoohoohoo for this, Jahayhayhake!” Maxine squealed.

Kelsey, for her part, could only watch in a strange mix of horror and confusion, as one classmate tortured another.

“Okay, Sharon,” she moaned, mentally exhausted by all the weirdness in front of her. “Explain. Now.”

“As I said before, Jake is no ordinary boy,” Sharon finally explained. “When his powers activate, he can transform the world, reshaping it anyway he sees fit. He can’t control these powers, though. They only activate under certain circumstances.”

“Certain circumstances?” Kelsey asked, turning from the tickle torture, to Sharon, and back again. “What do you mean? So something triggered this?”

“Yes. Jake’s powers are incredible, but they only emerge when he’s sexually aroused.”

The room fell silent.

“WHAT?!” Kelsey cried. “Are you kidding me?!”

“I have no reason to.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“I suppose it is, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. Right now, we’re all trapped in his fantasy.”

“Wha… but… how…?” was all Kelsey could sputter out.

“It all started when we were kids,” Sharon began. “Jake was the only friend I had, so he used to come visit me all the time. It was fun. Then, one day, things got weird. One of my maids, a pretty young girl, had decided to take a nap in the guest room, and had kicked off her shoes and stockings. Jake and I had planned to use that room as our secret hideout, when we came in and found the maid lying barefoot on the extra bed. Jake was transfixed by her feet, watching them wriggle in her sleep. Just as she started to awaken, his powers took hold of him for the first time. The blankets flew into the air of their own accord, and bound the poor maid in place, while Jake had his way with her, relentlessly tickling her bare feet. I could only stand there, hiding behind the door, watching as it all unfolded. We were able to pay the maid off for her silence, but I’ve had to keep a close eye on him ever since.”

“So…,” Maxine panted, trying to catch her breath, “you mean… when Jake… sees… girl’s… feet… stuff… like this… happens?”

“Exactly,” Sharon said, nodding.

“So, how do we get him to stop?” Kelsey asked. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that to happen to me.”

“The only way to end this would be to either snap him out of his fantasy via some kind of shock, or to let it run its course.”

“That… doesn’t… sound… too… bad…” Maxine panted.

“Speak for yourself,” Kelsey muttered, turning to Maxine. Then a thought struck her. “Wait, wasn’t Jake tickling you just now?”

“Yeah…,” Maxine wheezed. The poor girl’s soles were dyed black from so much inky tickling, but other than that, she seemed fine. “I guess he got bored or something.”

“Then… where did he go?” Kelsey asked, dreading the answer. She didn’t need to wait long to find out, though, as a giant shadow spread over her.

Before she could run, or even scream, Jake had scooped her up in his massive hand. “Gotcha~!” he cheered, in a sing-song voice. He held her tight in his grip, with her head, shoulders, and arms sticking out the top of his fingers, and her feet out the bottom.

For her part, Kelsey didn’t sit there quietly. She shoved her tiny arms down on her constraints with all her might, and her little feet kicked and flailed through the air.

“Urrgh,” she groaned, straining to squeeze out of Jake’s grip. “Put me down, now, you big idiot!”

“Sorry,” Jake jeered. “I can’t do that juuuuust yet.” With his free hand, he started reaching towards his captive’s feet.

“HWAA!!” she cried. “Don’t you dare!”

Quickly, but with surprising delicacy, he plucked her shoes off. Already he could see her toes wiggling inside her socks.

“S-stop it!” Kelsey cried, as her face flushed bright red in both anger and embarrassment.

But he didn’t. Instead, he pinched her socks between his fingernails and peeled them off, exposing her bare feet. Like Maxine’s, they were soft and lovely, but hers had a cute, pinkish blush to them, infusing them with an adorable sense of childish innocence. She desperately tried to cover them, placing one foot over the other, then vice-versa.

“H-how dare you!” she cried, with humiliated tears stinging her eyes. “Stripping a lady like this! It’s beyond low!”

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Jake cooed. “I’m a pretty reasonable guy. I’ll even put you down, like you asked.” He then grabbed one of the books from the table and opened it. He plopped Kelsey down on it, then quickly shut it again, instantly trapping her inside, with only her head, hands, and feet exposed.

“Oooff!” Kelsey gasped, as the shutting pages squeezed the air out of her. “You… you dirty…,” she groaned. She tried to push the book open, but it was no use. Even if it wasn’t so heavy, her arms were pinned down at such angles that she couldn’t get enough force behind her shoves. She was helpless.

And Jake knew it. He picked up the pen, and brought the tip to her rosy soles.
                                                         
“I s-swear, if that thing touches me…!” Kelsey growled, but her threats were cut off by a sudden snicker bursting from her throat as the pen scratched at her tootsies. Unlike Maxine, she managed to hold in most of her laughter, though the occasional giggle still burst out.

“Wh-when I get *snrk* out o-of h-here *hrnk* y-you’re g-gonna – KYAHAHAAAA!!” A loud noise – half shriek, half giggle – burst out of her, right after the pen brushed against one of her toes.

Jake’s expression turned to silent confusion, then twisted into malicious glee.

“Ohohoho!” he exclaimed. “What have we here? Looks like I found somebody’s weak spot.”

“N-no!” Kelsey cried. “N-not there! Not my toes!” She curled her toesies, desperate to protect them from the evil pen. But she could only curl them so far. She had no means left to protect her vulnerable, sensitive tips.

Jake went after them, drawing tiny circles on her big toes. Kelsey, unable to resist the tickling sensations pouring into her biggest digits, burst into laughter.

“KYAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!” she cried. “Stahahahahahap ihihihihit! Pleeheeheeheehease! I cahan’t tahahahahake ihihihiiiiit!”

“Well, Kelsey, you wanted me to study, right?” Jake jeered. “You didn’t tell me it was fill in the blank, though. That makes this so much easier.” He went down the line, from pinky toe to pinky toe, coloring in the tips of her toes. Unable to take this sort of intense stimulation any further, Kelsey fanned her toes out, exposing her vulnerable undersides. Jake left no opportunity wasted, and immediately went after these, too, causing her toes to squirm more and more.

“Nohohoho mohohohohorrrrrrrrre!” Kelsey cried. “I’m gohohohonna dihihihieeee!”

Sharon seriously doubted that claim, but she had to wonder how much more Kelsey could take. To her surprise, though, the other girl’s laughter started dying down. That could only mean one thing.

Sharon looked up to find Jake staring down at her, hungry for more.

“I seeeeee youuuuu~!” he cheered, before snatching her up like he had Kelsey. Unlike her, though, he kept Sharon’s arms firmly pinned to her side. “You didn’t think I’d forget about you, did you?” he asked.

Sharon merely stayed quiet. She knew what was coming, now. It was far too late to try to resist him.

“The old silent treatment, eh?” Jake teased. “Don’t worry, I know just what to do with you.”

 He reached out and picked up a tape dispenser. He stretched out one end of the tape, and stuck it to Sharon’s shoulder. The girl’s eyes widened in surprise, as he wrapped the tape across her chest, then spiraled downward, firmly binding her until he got to the tips of her socks. Then he stopped to gingerly tug her shoes off. Her feet remained perfectly still. Jake merely smiled and pulled her socks off.

Sharon’s toes instinctively stretched out when exposed to the cool air of the library. Her feet were pale, as white and soft as freshly fallen snow, and as delicate as the tootsies of a princess. It seemed almost a shame to dirty them up. Almost.

“Time to help you smile,” Jake cooed. He brought the pen up to her feet, and poked her soles, but it did nothing more than provoke a very slight snicker. He drew little smiley faces on her feet, drawing her own lovely smile out little by little, but that wasn’t enough.

“You don’t think I’ve forgotten, do you?” Jake asked, smiling down on her. “I know your weakspot, and this will never do,” he said, throwing the pen over his shoulders. He snapped his fingers, and a feather materialized in his hand. He waved it in front of her feet, teasing her before he went in for the kill. He poked the feather into her toes, slipping it between them with all the skill of a surgeon.
                                                                                     
It was enough. Sharon finally burst out laughing. “Heeheeheeheeeee!!” she laughed. Of all the girls, Jake thought her laugh was the cutest. It was definitely worth the extra effort of digging between her toes. Her feet thrashed and squirmed, but there was no hiding those dainty toes from Jake’s feather. He sawed it in and out of her wriggling digits. He missed every now and then and only catching her toes, but he kept getting just enough of that sweet spot to wrack her with giggles.

“Heeheeheeheeheeheeeeeee!!” she continued to giggle.

“That’s it, girls,” Jake cheered. “Laugh for me! Lauhahahahaaaa?!” Suddenly, Jake burst into laughter himself, clutching his sides and guffawing uncontrollably.

“What…?” Kelsey panted, trying to breathe again. “What’s… going.. on..?”

“I…,” Sharon wheezed, “I don’t… know….”

But Maxine knew. There she sat, clinging for dear life to Jake’s neck, whooping and hollering as she dug her fingers in to the flesh of his neck.

“Hahaha!” she cheered. “Told you I’d get you back! Yee-haw!” she continued shouting her lungs out as she tickled his neck more and more.

“I guess… she found… his… weakspot…,” Sharon panted.

“She’s… crazier… than he… is…,” Kelsey muttered.

Jake continued thrashing about, trying to resist his own laughter and remove the pest from his neck. But the ball was no longer in his court. He continued squirming about, laughing his head off, until he lost his balance and knocked his head on the table.

“Ow!” he cried.

That flash of pain had disrupted the spell, and instantly, the three girls grew back to their normal sizes. Sharon and Maxine fell to the floor with a THUD, while Kelsey just lay there on the table, dumbfounded.

“Whew!” Maxine sighed. “That was fun!”

“Owww…,” Jake moaned. “What happened?”

“There you are, you little twerp!” Kelsey cried, seizing him by his shirt collar. A white-hot fury flashed in her eyes as she glared into his soul. “What the hell were you thinking?! You… you….” Her word faded, as she got a good look at Jake. To her surprise, his expression wasn’t one of guilt, annoyance, or fear of her wrath, but rather one of confusion and horror.

“Oh… oh no,” he whimpered. Tears formed in his eyes as he turned to Sharon. “Did… did I do something bad again?”

“Wait… what?” Kelsey asked, her rage fading to confusion. “Are you telling me that-”

“He doesn’t remember,” Sharon interrupted. “When that stuff happens, he can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what isn’t. For all he knows it’s just inside his own head. And he can’t ever remember what happened afterwards.”

“R-really?” Kelsey asked, loosening her grip on Jake’s shirt.

“I… I’m so sorry!” Jake cried. “I… I didn’t mean to do it. I… I… I….” his voice cracked, leaving him unable to finish his sentence as tears of remorse flowed freely down his cheeks.

Kelsey, for her part, looked to Maxine, then to Sharon, unable to respond to Jake’s sobs. True, she was still mad at him for what had happened, but he seemed genuinely sorry for it. She knew she’d regret it, but….

“It’s okay,” she said. “Nothing happened, really. You just fell asleep, that’s all.” She had no idea why she was saying this, but part of her couldn’t just leave him miserable like that.

“R-really?” Jake asked.

“Yeah!” Maxine cheered, a wide grin spreading across her face. “And even if something had happened, I’m sure it would have been tons of fun!”

“Will you put a sock in it?” Kelsey muttered through gritted teeth. She looked over at Sharon, who was busy tugging her socks back on. Smart girl.

“Anyway, I think our study session’s shot for the night,” Kelsey continued. “You guys head home, and I’ll catch Maxine up on everything.

“Uh, right,” Jake said, standing up and walking towards the door. He turned back one last time, catching a glimpse of Kelsey’s bare feet as she gathered up her socks.

“Jake,” Sharon scolded, giving him a look of disapproval.

“Right. Sorry, sorry,” Jake said, bowing his head as he took his leave.

“Ugh, I’m going to have to scrub so hard to get this stuff off,” Kelsey grumbled, as she rubbed her ink-stained toes.

“I think it’s kinda cool,” Maxine giggled, showing off her blackend soles and wriggling her toes.

“Yeah, you would think that,” Kelsey muttured.

“Um…, girls?” Sharon asked. “I just want to say, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Maxine said.

“Yes, please don’t,” Kelsey moaned.

***

The next day at class, things went on their normal way, as if nothing had happened. The teacher gave another boring lecture, and a few students took notes, while others took naps.

“Hey, Sharon,” Maxine whispered. “So, all that stuff really happened yesterday, right?”

Sharon nodded.

“I still can’t believe it,” Maxine continued. “It was like something out of a dream, you know? I’ve never had so much fun in my life! And that kind of stuff happens to you guys all the time?”

Sharon nodded, then passed Maxine a note. It read, “Only when he sees girls’ feet, though.”

“Got it,” Maxine replied.

A soft thunking noise caught Sharon’s attention. It sounded like it came from under Maxine’s desk.

“So, one more question,” the swimmer said. “Do you think he can see my feet from here? I can’t wait to see what happens next!”