Judy smiled at the pleasant picture painted for her by the pleasant weather. She loved dressing for summer and finally after weeks of dreary weather was an opportunity. She slipped on her slippers and walked to her kitchen for breakfast. No matter how often it happened, Paul could not get used to being quickly thrust towards a shoe. The freshness he had from last night had gone and the mustiness of the slipper was now more apparent, despite seeming clean the other night. The weight above pushed him right into the soft material, until once more all he could see was blackness. With every step, Paul got a fleeting glimpse of the environment and Judy lifted her heel up, but there was not enough time to take everything in.
Judy, glancing at her clock, noticed she was running a little late, she would have to get breakfast at work she decided and hurried to get dressed. Since it seemed to be a nice day, she decided on an airy summer dress and flip flops. She grabbed a pastel blue dress from her wardrobe and slipped it on. She then reached in and grabbed her old flip flops, a pair she’d had since she was a teenager. Paul was pulled from out of the slipper to find another type of footwear waiting for him on the floor. This was a beat up looking sandal, it looked as if it was originally cream coloured, but years of use had darkened it. On the sole was a dark imprint left by her foot and the straps looked warn. Judy slid her feet into the old flip flops, feeling her toes resting in the grooves.
For Paul the taste of 1,000 wears consumed him, these shoes tasted so stale. Years of accumulated grime and filth was now pressed right up against Paul’s body. He tried grasping for a positive; at least like this he was cocooned inside a boot. He felt he would be able to breathe a bit easier. Judy rushed out of her apartment and down to her car. Something Paul wasn’t prepared for was the difference in Judy’s gait from her being in her flat compared to being outside. She walked quicker and more urgently outside, always seemingly in a hurry, compared to the laid back way she sauntered around her place. With his increased visibility, Paul saw the world from a very low down position and it was moving quickly.
With each step, Judy’s foot arched into the air, then he got struck in the face by the filthy insole with an audible slap, which to Judy was distant, but was quite loud to Paul. Also the thinness of the insole was apparent to him now with Paul very conscious only an inch or so of material separated his soft body from the rough ground below. Judy reached her car and got in, from down in his position, Paul could see up close how dirty everything was. Previously disgusted by the flip flop, he now saw it as his only protection from the dangers of the outside world. Being more free also meant he felt the vibrations from the car more too. The flip flop wasn’t particularly tight around his body, so he jiggled a little as he was stationary, though being pressed into the surface of the shoe as Judy used the pedal he was assigned to. Judy arrived at work and walked briskly towards the building, leaving Paul disorientated as the world flashed so quickly by him. Between the rapid fire glimpses of a blurry world and getting hit in the face by the shoe, Paul became very dizzy, something he never got when stuck in the boot, he felt safer there, he never thought he’d miss that experience.
Judy arrived into her office space and sat at her desk, noting that once again Paul’s desk was unoccupied. Paul was lazy, but it was unlike him to miss work, she thought. She figured he centred his life around his work, despite not putting much effort in. She sat at her chair and crossed her legs, letting one of her flip flops drop from her foot.
Paul was now free of the dirty shoe prison and found himself dangling over a familiar carpet; it was the office carpet. Judy was rocking her ankle, meaning Paul couldn’t get a proper look, but it was strangely comforting to know he was somewhere familiar, particularly after the ordeal he had during Judy’s morning commute.
“You’re in early” Alice, one of the office girls said to Judy. Judy shifted her position so she was now sitting on one of her legs, her foot poking out under her. This allowed Paul to view the office in full, which amazed him as his perspective was so much different than before. Here he saw his desk with all his knick-knacks, undisturbed from the day he left them.
“Yeah, been trying to get some headway on this Project” Judy replied “Though I’m not usually the first in, I usually have to put up with some snide remark from Paul” If Paul could have rolled his eyes he would have. It wasn’t his fault her feet stank. Even now, as one of then he knew she could do so much more to combat the smell.
“He hasn’t called in sick or anything” Alice mused, “If he keeps this up tomorrow, I’m going to have to contact him to see what’s up”
It hit Paul like a ton of bricks, Judy couldn’t keep Paul like this! Her weird friend in the white suit would have to change him back eventually, people would start to notice his disappearance. Smugly, he thought of the ways he could get Judy back for this humiliation she had put him through. After all it had to be her who did this, who else would have the motivation to turn him into one of her appendages!? He did realise though that he would have to put up as a foot for the rest of the day, but now he knew there was light at the end of the tunnel. As Judy got on with her work, she shifted position again, crossing her other leg and pressing the other down to the ground. Paul was getting a face-full of carpet, he could feel dried gum pressing against him, if only he could gag, he would.
Time passed slowly for Paul, even slower than yesterday. Then it seemed not knowing the time was making life hell, but it was a blessing, as Paul could sense the time moving and the unending monotony of not being able to move aside from hen Judy flexed him was driving him to madness. It was to his relief when finally, Judy rose for lunch, putting her flip flops back on, she headed out of the office and to a near-by deli. The day had only gotten hotter, as just being outside was causing Judy to sweat. Fanning herself with her hand, she ran across to the deli and got herself a sandwich.
The smell of fresh tuna started to cut through the smell of the rancid sole for Paul, reminding him of what he was missing. He realised he had not eaten for the day and a half he had been a foot and remarked how he didn’t feel hungry at all. Granted he didn’t have a stomach, but the thought was an uncomfortable one.
Judy decided to eat outside, she found a free park bench and sat down. She propped her feet up along the bench, flicking off her sandals, allowing her feet to take in the heat a little. It was instant for Paul as he felt the intense heat beating down on him. He felt his body involuntary tart to leak. The smell he hated so much was coming from him and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He started to sweat so much the pleasant smell of Judy’s lunch became lost underneath the vinegary stench emanating from him. This only angered him more, impatiently waiting for his chance to see that berk in the suit, get his body back and plan his revenge.
Lunch was over and it was time for Judy to get back to work. She slipped her thong sandals back on and duly walked back to the office. The day was so warm she could feel herself sweating. The A/C in the office wasn’t great either, she thanked God she had a desk fan. She noted a quiet slap as she walked and smiled, she always liked that sound. For Paul that sound wasn’t so quiet. As the body of the shoe hit him it felt deafening, as she pressed him down into the ground, he heard a disgusting squelch and as his body peeled away from the shoe there was a distinctive ‘SCHLORP’. The worst part was it was his body that was causing this. Well it wasn’t really his body, just the part of Judy he possessed.
Judy got back in the office, glad of the shade the building provided. It was a good lunch and she felt motivated to carry on with the report. After an hour or so, the fan had cooled her down, but the heat from her computer was still warming her lower half. Improvising, she grabbed her fan and placed it below her desk. It felt so good as she held her feet up to it, cooling them off. Paul’s feelings were mixed, his body was hot and it was good to be cooled down, but he could feel the sweat drying on his sole.
Judy finished up at work and headed out, knowing she was due to meet Aiden, her boyfriend after work. He’d been away with work for a while, so she was excited to see him. There was a skip in her step as she left work and went into her car, something Paul noticed, as her movement seemed to sway more. It didn’t help as the constant shift in his vision between total blackness as Judy stepped down on him and seeing the worked in terrifying motion as she lifted him was so disconcerting.
Judy parked up and headed out to her local bar where she was due to meet Aiden. As she saw him get out of a cab far down the street, she couldn’t contain herself and sprinted towards him. The sprint was terrible, as bad as the treadmill was yesterday, through this time, Paul could see the world move. He tried to cling to the flip flop’s strap by clenching the big and second toe on his body, but he knew he had no control. He just hoped the only thing protecting him from the rough ground would dislodge as Judy ran. As Judy reached Aiden she embraced him in a big hug, he lifted her off the ground; a huge relief to Paul, gave him a chance to recover from that run.
Judy and Aiden walked and talked arm in arm as they went to the bar for an evening of fun, Paul just lay there, unknown to either, fuming in his motionless shell as his body ached from the run. This wasn’t fair, this wasn’t right. He was a man, Judy had no right to do this to him, make him feel like an object. Worse than an object; an object is independent, he was attached to Judy, he couldn’t get a moment alone.
The evening wore on for Judy and Aiden as they caught up and generally had a great time. As Judy had more to drink, Paul felt a mild affect too, messing with his concentration, though that had taken a pounding anyway, from the day’s events. Judy was feeling flirty, which she expressed as she rubbed her foot along Aiden’s leg beneath the table. Paul envied the other foot as he spied it, just lying there under the table as he was forced to brush a stranger’s leg, his leg hair itching him somewhat.
Aiden and Judy exchanged a look and they knew what was to happen next. Paying the bill, they left the bar and set off for Judy’s place. They were barely through the door before they embraced and started making out. They stumbled, still making out to the bedroom, where they collapsed onto the bed together and got things started. Aiden was a master at this and Judy had been looking forward to it since he left a week previous. After clothes had been removed they got to work, and it wasn’t too long before Judy approached climax. Paul knew something was coming, he was already disgusted by what he was forced to be a part of. He may have been stuck at the bottom of Judy’s leg, but he knew exactly what was going on and as Judy got closer she scrunched him right up.
When it came it was heaven for both Judy and Paul. He had never experienced anything like that before. In the throw of such pleasure, Paul was momentarily glad he was stuck like this as what he was feeling was bliss. That feeling lasted less than a second before he snapped himself out of it. The waves kept coming, but he had calmed down since the crescendo. He couldn’t let it distract him from what he needed to do. Soon he would be sent again to see the man in white and this time, he would force him to make him a man again. Then he’d get his payback. Somehow, he’d get retribution.