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As Carrie returned with Sarah to the school, they waved goodbye. Carrie had already confirmed via text that Eva was still doing fine, so she decided to check on Beth. She spotted the fake redhead leaving the restroom and moved to intercept her at the door. “Hey there. I’ve been watching your progress since earlier today. You can be a real star student when you put your mind to it.”

Beth grinned back at her. “I usually am. You just caught me having a bad day.”

“Let’s hope so,” Carrie said. “I want to believe in you, and I’d hate to embarrass my daughter by having to show that video to her principal.”

Beth laughed, but there was no mirth in her eyes. “You underestimate me, Mrs. Larson. If you're still worried about that, then prepare to be surprised.”

“Challenge accepted, then. Make me proud, okay?”

Beth turned away and strolled down the hallway. “And the world is a slightly better place,” Carrie said, nodding to herself. In the distance, as Beth was nearing the end of the hallway, a large suntanned hand reached out from a nearby doorway, grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her inside.

Carrie stared at the doorway. It could just be more of Beth’s mischief catching up to her, but it was too suspicious to ignore. Carrie bolted down the hallway, brushing past several 16, 17, and 18 year-olds with backpacks and murmuring a hasty apology.

    As she neared the point of Beth’s disappearance, she saw an empty classroom. With her ear pressed to the door, she listened.

    “Jesus! Did you have to pull so hard?!” Beth snapped.

    “Sorry. I’ve just been antsy,” a girl with a brusque thuggish voice said. “We could get in some serious trouble for this. Are we still doing this?”

    “Of course we are! Do you think that woman scares me?”

  Carrie shook her head as she listened, hoping Beth didn’t really mean it.

    “Seriously, I’m scared. Eva said she used to be a cop,” said a girl with an annoying low crack in her voice that seemed to carry through every word she spoke. “I’m definitely up for finding another way to get my grades up at this point.”

    “Please! There’s got to be something else we can do for you to get that favor from you?” a squeaky voice added. “Something less dangerous?”

    “Enough!” Beth said. “It’s this defeatist attitude of yours that’s put you all in this situation. If you all had more guts, more gumption, you wouldn’t need my help to get your grades up. We’re doing this, and you’re all going to give it your best. Now, what is everyone’s status?”

    As Carrie listened on, their words became harder to understand. “Phase A is all set. I’ve still got the key, so there will be no problems getting inside,” the girl with the cracking voice said.

    “Phase B is all set too. I had to hassle a few timid nerds for it, but I got it,” the brusque girl said.

    “And Phase C too,” the squeaky one said. “After getting the recipe, I was able to make it, but I couldn’t get the effect to last as long as you’d asked.”

    “It’ll have to do,” Beth said. “That just leaves Phase D then.” Her voice grew quieter. “Now listen carefully to what I have to say.”

Carrie strained her ear, but all she heard were low murmurs and the occasional “Uh huh,” or “Got it.” Her powerful hand tightened around the door knob, ready to break in so she could confront them and force the answers out of them. Getting a bunch of high schoolers to confess couldn’t be that hard.

    The professional in her stayed her hand, though. Why resort to something as draconian as a confession when she could catch them, up to their knees in their little conspiracy? There had to be some sort of physical evidence of their plan. All she had to do, was find a lead and follow it.

    “It’s all up to you Jenny,” Beth said from behind the door. “Mess this up and the whole plan is ruined. We’re counting on you.”

    Carrie ran around the corner of the hallway and watched from the edge as the door opened and a small mousy brunette girl in a blue and white blouse emerged from the door. She walked towards the school’s side exit. Her head was upright and perfectly still, but her eyes darted everywhere. Her 4’8’’ body stood perfectly straight, almost rigid. Her doll-like arms swayed in a stiff mechanical motion. Her small checkered slip-ons moved across the floor one step at a time if she were walking on ice.

    Carrie had seen the “I’m trying too hard to look natural” walk a number of times before. Keeping to the corner, she watched and waited until “Jenny” had passed through the side exit and let the glass door behind her swing shut. Using long brisk strides, Carrie caught up to the door and pushed through it.

    There were more students hanging out outdoors than she’s expected, playing Hackey Sack, talking on their phones, or standing in circles and chatting. Amid the crowd, Jenny stood out as she moved like an animatronic doll away from the main school building and towards a wooden shed with a sliding metal door. It was connected to the school by a concrete walkway, but was otherwise completely isolated from the rest of the school. Bingo! Carrie thought as she followed after her.

    She approached the door, pressed up to it and listened. On the other side, there was the ping of glass against something equally hard. Something metal fell to the floor. Several loud and clangy objects shuffled around, bumping and banging against each other.

    Carrie used the noise to mask her entrance as she slid open the metal door and slipped in, only half-closing it behind her. Before her stood Jenny, small arms buried in a handful of junk, humming to herself, but stopping every few seconds to regulate her breathing.

    “There!” she said as she pulled her hand free from the pile. As she spun around, her face went white, her eyes snapped wide open and her tiny jaw trembled. “Aaa…AAH!” she cried through quivering lips. A glass vial tumbled from her hand and shattered on the floor. Stammering, she did her best to speak. “D-did you…?”

    “I heard everything between the four of you back at the school building,” Carrie replied in a calm voice. It was difficult to feel any resentment towards the meek girl trembling before her.

    “Oh no. No no no…” she stared up at Carrie, watery eyes darting between her and the exit behind her.

    Carrie put up her hands. “It’s okay. Relax. If you cooperate, I’ll see to it that the principal is lenient with you.”

    “R-r-re…” Jenny’s lips moved, but nothing intelligible came out. Her eyes drooped and her body went limp. Then, she fell to the ground.

    Carrie dropped to her knees, grasped Jenny by the shoulders and began shaking her. “Hey! Jenny? What’s wrong?”

            Jenny did not respond. Carrie began to wonder if she’d fainted, but then noticed a movement. Jenny extended a small shaking arm and pointed to her side. Following Jenny’s finger, Carrie spotted the remains of the glass vial Jenny had dropped. A small cork lay among the scattered shards of glass. Then she felt it. Her legs went numb and her arms grew weak. Everything went black before she hit the ground.

                                                *                                  *                                  *

            Carrie awakened in the same dusty shed as before. The only difference was that Jenny was nowhere to be seen, her own wrists had been tied to her sides and her ankles had been bound together with lengths of rope. Carrie lay on her belly, forced to either rest her chin on the cold dusty floor or turn her head to the side. Staring straight ahead, she saw a black flip flop, a very fair foot with shiny green nail polish resting atop it, and two wooden chair legs flanking it on either side. Sure enough, as she followed the leg further upward, she saw Beth sitting across from her in a wooden chair. She sat upon it like a throne, leaning on the armrest, and resting her chin in her hand with her other foot resting atop her knee. Carrie had to crane her neck to meet Beth’s gaze. Meanwhile, Beth looked down at her as if she had just noticed her for the first time.

            “Oh, look who just woke up. You should be ashamed. I had worked out a complex plan to capture you, but it looks like you went ahead and got yourself captured on your own. I’ve got to say, you look a lot less imposing when viewed from up here.”

            The mockery Beth’s voice made Carrie laugh. “Well, from down here, you look exactly the same, like a naïve high school kid who thinks she’s become some mafia kingpin. You really have no idea what you’re dealing with.”

            This time Beth laughed. She let her sandal dangle from her big toe and fall to the floor. She then reached down, pressing the warm ivory ball of her sloping foot to Carrie’s forehead and mussed her dark hair. “Silly police woman. See this?” Reaching into her green purse, she fished out Carrie’s cell phone. She swiped across the screen multiple times. "Ah, here it is. The video of my wrongdoing." She delivered a final dramatic press to the screen. "All gone. I told you that you wouldn’t need to worry about putting this to use. I always keep my promises. Do you really think I should be afraid of you, just because you used to carry a badge?”

            Carrie jerked her head to the side, shaking off Beth’s foot, and looked Beth in the eyes. “No, I think it’s the law that you should be worrying about. I’ve seen plenty of young kids, convinced that they’re untouchable, run afoul of the law. It never ended well for them, and the same goes for you. Kidnapping’s an offense that could land you in prison.” Carrie softened her gaze and put on her best “good cop” impression. “But, if you let me go, and agree to leave my daughter alone, we can both just pretend this never happened.”

          Beth stared down at her. Her eyes narrowed, but she did not speak.

          “Look! The last thing I want is to see another kid make a mistake she can never take back. I know it probably seems too late to turn back right now, but there’s still time to correct your mistakes.”

            Beth grumbled to herself. “Patronizing as always. How typical for an adult.” She gripped the armrest of her chair and leaned forward, eyes narrowing further as she began to bare her teeth. “Just like the principal.”

            “You mean your mother?”

            Beth ground her teeth. “I don’t have a mother! If she were my mother, maybe I’d be more to her than just another one of her students.” Beth jumped to her feet and loomed above Carrie, fists clenched and shaking. “We’ve barely known each other for more than a day and already you think you know what’s best for me. I think it’s time I taught you a lesson!”

            Carrie wanted to move a step back, but all she could do was lie still and hope a kick didn’t get sent her way. “Look! I if you want to talk about this, I’m all ears. I know how badly kids like you need someone who will listen to them. Just drop the criminal mastermind act. I told you already, heard it a hundred times before.”

            Beth stared down at her, her lower eyelid quivering for several seconds before she let out a sigh and retreated back to her throne. In one motion, she was back in her practiced bored monarch pose. “Sorry, I let myself slip a bit there. So, you say my words have no effect on you? Maybe you’re right. Sometimes it’s better just to act.” She cupped a hand around her mouth. “It’s time!”

    A wooden side door to the shed opened and two girls stepped out. The first to emerge into Carrie’s view was a pair of lightly sun-tanned feet in a pair of flip flops, much like her daughter’s. However, looking further up, her hopes were dashed, as the pair of legs attached to them had spent far more time doing squats and leg lifts. These in turn led to a pair of loose blue gym shorts and a brown tee shirt with the “Summerdale Hurricanes” logo for the school’s field hockey team. Beyond a pair of powerful shoulders, Carrie spotted a fierce-eyed girl with short blonde hair. “Glad you could make it, Meg,” Beth said.

    “No problem,” Meg said in a rough voice, before she moved past Carrie and disappeared from her line of sight.

    The next to emerge was a pair of black velvet ankle boots and equally black stockings, or possibly spandex pants. The rest of her was covered in a black hoodie, making everything but her round face, alabaster hands, and the mop of pink frizzy hair atop her head one big black silhouette. “Come on in, Clarissa,” Beth said.

    “Coming,” she said with a light carefree sigh. She stopped and stared down at Carrie. “So, this is the normie’s mom huh? There’s no mistaking that face, that’s for sure. It’s like if Maria started hitting the gym more.”

    “Maria?” Beth asked.

    “Yeah, from West Side Story? Don’t tell me you want the lead role in a play and you’ve never heard of that classic!?”

    “I’ll give it a watch later,” Beth said. “We’ve got a job to do.”

    “Oh, you mean with this one?” Clarissa asked. “She looks tough. I can't wait to see how well the hot tip we received works.”

    “What hot tip?” Carrie asked, eyeing Beth with concern.

  Instead of responding, Beth grinned and gestured towards Meg, who was already busy undoing the laces on Carrie’s sneaker. Clarissa scurried past her and soon Carrie felt another hand working on her other sneaker. She had a hunch about what this “hot tip” might be, but was hesitant to ask. There was a final tug on her left foot as her sneaker came free. She stared through narrowed eyes at Beth. “Who gave you this ‘hot tip’?”

    Beth leaned forward, resting her chin on her folded hands. “Someone very close to you. I’m sure you’ll know soon enough.”

    Carrie cursed under her breath as another tug made her cotton white sock slide off of her foot, exposing her stout ankle, then her heel, arch, and finally her thick toes. Her foot scrunched as the damp air sent a chill running along the her sole and up her leg. She tried to focus on the vague clue Beth had fed her. Someone very close to you.

    A trio of fingers settled atop her foot, just between the dip of her curved arch and her rounded heel. They began walking, or rather speed skating downward in a slow zigzag pattern, much like a skier, sliding from one side of her uneven arch to the other before descending a bit and repeating.

    The journey down the wide slopes of her tan bare foot was slow, but each side-to-side trip came with several light finger strokes, which made her scrunch her feet and giggle through her clenched teeth. "Tchehehehehehee!" She fought to stay in control. The last thing she wanted was a demotion from adult to tickle slave. It had been embarrassing enough the night before, when the tickler was Eva. Still, deep down, she her knew that she was fighting against the inevitable. She’d never made it out of a foot tickling session with her composure intact.

    Meg’s fingers skated towards the ball of her foot and she blushed as she let slip a girlish squeal. Think, she urged herself using this small mystery of her betrayer as an excuse to distract herself. The principal came to mind, thanks to their recent exchange of feet and tickles, but could someone like Sarah really be a partner in crime with her own daughter?

    Meg’s fingers continued their descent down Carrie’s sole, lightly scratching along the protruding ball of her foot, and making her bang her feet against the floor. “Hey! Hold still!” Meg said, as her thick forearm pinned Carrie’s slightly darker ankles to the floor.

    Oh crap! Not this! Carrie bit her lip and forced her mouth shut. Pressure built up in her head at an alarming rate and only a second later, it all burst from her mouth as mirthful wail of laughter. "Eeeahahahaha!"

    “I can see those gears turning in your head,” Beth said. “Still wondering who told me about your weakness? Who told me about those adorably ticklish feet of yours? Honestly, are you really unsure, or are you just afraid to face the actual truth?”

    This proved to be a brain teaser for Carrie as she writhed on the floor. Introspection had never been a strong point for her, and the foot tickling affected her brain much like a pint of vodka taken straight. Her other sock was rolled off her right foot and once it had cleared her red toenails, a new set of fingers began their slow descent downward, killing any hope she had of achieving rational thought as she arched her back and cackled aloud.

    Meg’s firm nails cleared the ball of her foot, and then Meg’s warm hand pressed her toes against the floor, preventing them from curling, stretching her foot until all the wrinkles had faded from it. That was when she had her eureka moment. She was receiving a Toe-Tickler, and only one person knew about that. “EEEVAHAHAHAHAHA!” she cried, rolling side to side and shaking her head as Meg’s nails stroked the worst area in her entire foot. Meanwhile, as her toes came under assault, Clarissa’s fingernails continued tickling down towards the toes on her other foot, traversing the ball of her foot in several small stokes, only to pull back halfway, and make Carrie yelp between laughs as they returned to their work.

    Beth’s eyes widened and she nodded her approval. “Is that a flash of insight I just saw flicker across your eyes? I guess you found out who your betrayer was.” She grinned in silence, giving Carrie a few moments to let it sink in, while she appeared to soak in Carrie’s hysterical cries of laughter.

  As Clarissa’s sharpened nails reached her toes, Carrie snapped her head back and spewed laughter from the depths of her lungs for a good two or three seconds before lapsing into silent laughter. Panic took over as she fought for breath. Did these girls know what they were doing? Did they care if she suffocated?

    Beth raised her hands and clapped over the noise. “That’s enough ladies!”

  Carrie released a long sigh and forced herself to take slow deep breaths as normalcy began returning to her feet. She curled and uncurled her exhausted toes until the sensation was gone. It had only been a minute or two, but the shock had left her completely out of breath. She glared up at Beth, who leaned back in her throne, eyes gazing down past her upturned nose. Her legs were still folded, arched bare foot still dangling just above Carrie’s head as a constant reminder of who was in charge. “Well, I must say, you look terrible.” Carrie did not dignify her with a response. “Please, don’t be too hard on your daughter. She did not give up this information freely.”

    Carrie’s toned arms strained against the ropes that pinned them to her sides, and she wriggled on the ground like a snake.

  Beth barely stifled a giggle. “Oh come now! Are you really surprised? If we were able to do this to you, what do you suppose we could do to someone like her? Believe me, we were just trying to send her a message. Her devilishly ticklish feet were no secret to me after all, but after enough tickling, she just started talking.” Beth shrugged and shook her head, as if she were stating something absurd. “She was probably hoping that we’d accept her information as payment for a bit of mercy. I know, silly right? We just wiggled a finger or a feather near those pink toes of hers and her lips began flapping. She told us secrets about many of the school teachers, shared many of the student council’s plans, and helped Meg with her math homework. Honestly it was fun to see just how much we could get out of her. When she ran out of things to tell us, she started talking about you. About your job, about the games the two of you played at home, and of course that then led to her mentioning how the two of you seem to share all your worst tickling spots. She was just trying to catch a break, so there’s no need to hold it against her.”

    Carrie felt like her gaze alone could burn through the center of Beth’s insolent skull. Her death glare did not go unnoticed.

  “Oh dear. It looks like I may have said too much.” Beth leaned back in her seat, spreading her arms and gesturing towards herself with her hands. “Tell me, Mrs. Larson, do you hate me? I’ll gladly take that over the Principal’s non-parenting.”

    Carrie did not speak right away. She worried about what would come out if she said the first thing that came to mind. “I… I don’t hate you,” she said after a pause. “I pity you. I said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’ve seen this sort of thing before. Do you think you’re the only person with parents who never had time for her? I’m worried that you’re going to use that bitterness to make a huge un-fixable mistake, just like all the others.” Carrie sighed as those last words came out. Withholding some of the harsher responses she had in mind took more restraint than she’d thought it would.

    It did not come without its rewards however. Her words earned her a satisfying look of bitter disappointment from Beth, whose hands shook as she gripped the armrests of her throne. She closed her eyes and straightened her posture before responding. “I see,” she said with a sharp bite in each word. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m not looking for a new mother.”

    “Then what am I here for?” Carrie asked. “I thought you just wanted me out of the way, but that doesn’t explain why you’re still here, keeping me company.”

    “Oh, I do want you out of the way,” Beth assured her. “Eva’s my main concern. I assume she told you about the upcoming auditions?”

    “She did,” Carrie said. “I don’t understand why you couldn’t just compete against her. The role of a bitter, cold-hearted noble woman really suits you.”

    Her comment was met with laughter. “Your flattery is appreciated, but my mind is already made up. Despite my insistence that she stop showing up for class until auditions are over, Eva continues to defy me, and I believe you are a big part of the problem.”

    Carrie grinned. “Part of the problem, eh? I’ve never been so happy to be called that before.”

    “You give her hope,” Beth continued, “and confidence. Your closeness to each other is a strength I cannot abide by if I wish to break that stubborn will of hers. That’s why you will help me to break this bond of trust between the two of you.”

    Carrie scoffed at the idea. “And, I have a feeling ‘asking nicely’ wasn’t how you planned to make me do that?”

    “Nope.” There was a clap and before Carrie could figure out what was going on, a hand pulled back her head, a cloth gag was stuffed in her mouth, and a strip of tape was slapped over her lips. Her heart rate jumped up as two pairs of arms hoisted her off the ground, stuffed her head-first into an empty cloth sack and then tied it shut around her ankles. Completely blinded, she screamed as she was hoisted up, set back down on something hard, and then fastened in place by straps.

    “Meg, come with me. We have business in the drama supply center,” Beth said. “Clarissa, wheel our parcel to the supply center as well, but take the walkway. Make sure no one sees you.”

    “Okay then,” Clarissa replied.

    “Oh, also,” Beth added, “If Mrs. Larson complains, tries to wiggle free, or if you’re just feeling curious, give those feet of hers a good tickle.”

    Carrie cursed her luck as the platform she was on began to set into motion. Thanks to the smooth wooden floor, the beginning journey was painless, but she then recalled the metal bump by the doorway, and right on cue, grunted as the sudden jolt knocked her chin against the platform.

  “Guess it’s just us now,” Clarissa said, oblivious to Carrie’s groaning. “So, ever seen The Producers? It’s basically a show about these guys, who want to make a musical, but they want it to fail for some reason, I dunno, accounting stuff.” The low crack from Clarissa’s voice ground into Carrie’s ears. She rolled her eyes as she lay there, unable to move. She crossed her feet and sighed. At least Eva was waiting for her at the end of this short trip. “Oh right. I think I’m supposed to tickle you.”

    Carrie shook her head and tried to protest, but all that came out was a muffled whimper, which dissolved into a helpless stream of giggles as soon as Clarissa’s nails started running up the sole of one foot and down the other.

    “You know, you’ve got a pretty cute giggle for someone your age,” Clarissa said. “Kind of like Kate Monster. By the way, have you seen Avenue Q?”



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