“Do you have to go to work?” Tom asked, giving Ashley a soft kiss on the back of the neck.

“I'd rather not.” For a moment, she sunk deeper into her big spoon, snuggling against his warm body. “But if I don't, I doubt I'll be able to laud my employment over you for much longer.” Eyes closed, Ashley grinned.

“Ouch. For someone so pretty, you're damn mean.” Tom said, smiling. He retracted the arm that went over her body and gave her a firm squeeze to the side.

“Ah!” Ashley yelled, jumping out of her sideways position on the couch and falling to the floor. She turned her head to Tom with a fearsome glare.

Tom held up his hands in surrender, laughing. “I'm sorry! You started it.”

“It would be so much easier to believe you if you weren't laughing.” Ashley said as she climbed to her feet. She surprised Tom by leaping on top of him. Her hands were like homing missiles, grabbing his sides and squeezing them just as he had done to her. “Let's see how you like it!”

Laughter was forced from Tom as his smiling tigress of a girlfriend mounted him, her hands continually squeezing his sensitive sides whilst he uselessly tried to bat those hands away.

The door to Ashley's shared apartment opened then and in walked Kirsty. The first thing she saw was Ashley and Tom doing their thing on the couch. “Why hello there guys. Looks like you're having fun, do you need a hand Ashley?”

Ashley stopped her attack, looking down at Tom's pleading eyes. Then she raised her head to look at Kirsty. “Thanks for the offer Kirsty, but I have work soon. I fear we'd get carried away playing with ticklish Tom. How was work?”

“Good, for once. Something exciting happened.”

“Really?” Ashley moved from mounting Tom to simply sitting sideways on him, using him as a chair. He wasn't pleased but didn't throw her off, choosing to groan instead which only fed Ashley's smile. “What happened?”

“Well, you remember Daniel?”

“Ugh, how could I forget.”

“Today he tried it on with an SCO in plain clothes. He crossed a line by touching her and she put him on the floor, telling him that she has been warned about him. Police were called and he was taken away in tears. It was so funny! Even Rhonda was laughing and when Rita came out to see what was going on she joined in!”

“Oh my god, no way!” Ashley sounded almost as happy as Kirsty. Tom however had mixed feelings. Sure, he had been creepy and too forward with female customers, but the shrinking sentence seemed too extreme. And yes, it was highly likely that he would get a shrinking sentence. During Tom's recent research into the Association and their regulations, he found a lot of statistics, one of which told him that 90% of arrests made by SCOs led to a shrinking sentence.

“Work is going to be so much better without him around.” Kirsty flexed her feet and made a face of disgust. She leaned forwards quickly and ripped the black ankle socks off of her feet, making a gagging noise as she did. “Gross, my feet reek.”

“Duh, you just got off of work.”

“But look how pretty they are! They are too cute to be stinky.” Kirsty wiggled her chubby little toes, proudly showing off the perfectly painted pink toenails. “Are you still refusing to lend me your foot massager?”

“Sorry,” Ashley softly laid a possessive hand on Tom's head “he's mine and mine alone.”

“I'm glad I get a say in this. Hello by the way Kirsty. I didn't get chance to say it when you came in, Ashley is too busy using me as furniture when she really should be getting ready for her shift.”

“You were complaining a minute ago!” Ashley sighed. “However, you are right. I don't want to be late. Wait here, you're walking with me.”

“Am I?”

“I suppose it's up to you, Tom. Either you walk your beautiful girlfriend to her workplace and make her happy, or you laze around here and I give my room-mate permission to force her stinky feet upon you.” Ashley threatened with a smirk, before standing up and strutting away.

“I'll walk! I'll walk!” Tom sat up, making sure Ashley heard him. She didn't respond, stepping into her bedroom to get changed out of her pyjamas.

“Hey! My feet aren't that bad!” Kirsty lobbed a smelly used sock at Tom, putting on a mock sulking face and crossing her arms.

Tom swatted the sock away. “I know, I know. I just want to spend time with Ashley. You may not know this, but I think I might like her.” Tom smiled and winked at Kirsty.

Kirsty giggled. “You're an idiot. I can see why Ashley likes you, you're her type.”

“Oh I know. She simply melted in the face of my idiocy. Although I am scared of losing her to an even bigger moron, so I sometimes pretend to be less intelligent.”

“Sometimes?” Kirsty cocked an eyebrow, a smirk on her lips.

“Both of you are so quick to insult me!” Tom shook his head, chuckling.

“Birds of a feather Tom. Since you're going soon, pass me the remote.”

Kirsty got the remote and soon enough, Ashley returned to them, ready for work. After saying goodbye to the fatigued blonde they left, walking down the street holding hands. It was a nice day for walking honestly and Tom started to feel happier that his mom had needed the car for work. It wasn't too far either, much better than the prospect of having to walk to Kirsty's place of work. Plus he got to spend more time with Ashley. That was always a bonus.

Since their initial 'date' they had started seeing each other frequently. Although it had only been a week it felt to Tom like he'd known her for much longer. And Tom was very happy that Ashley had told him to stay over at her apartment this weekend, allowing them to become properly intimate. While they weren't actually official or anything, they had discussed it and were fine with the terms boyfriend and girlfriend. All in all, things were looking up for Tom.

Across the road from Crave Explorers the couple came to a stop. After embracing they broke apart and came back together briefly for a warm kiss. “So, when will I next see you?” Ashley asked.

“I don't know. My mom is basically using me as a maid until I get a job and because I've been away all weekend, the tasks will have piled up. Give it a few days. I'll text you and let you know.”

“Fine.” Ashley smiled, walking away backwards. “Hurry up and find a damn job.”

Tom smiled back. “I'm looking, I promise. Have fun at work Ash.”

“Yeah, yeah. See ya!”

Tom couldn't help but stare as Ashley twirled around and walked away. Clearly some kind of divine being was looking down on him that fateful Friday, granting him something good amongst all the bad. Sadly, her leaving meant one thing. It was time to go home. Tom had spent nights away a few times since his mom lumped all of the chores on him and upon returning he was always treated to a long list when he did get back. He certainly wasn't looking forward to that.

Nothing really interesting happened on the way. Without Ashley, it proved to be a boring walk. Tom had little else to do than revise the usual Association regulations in his head, he'd need them considering Riley's end goal. The little book of regulations that he had found in the library proved useful, although Tom had a sneaking suspicion that he might have been added to a list somewhere; the librarian had regarded him with a rather strange look. Supporters of the Association were everywhere. When recalling such information, it helped Tom to visualise it. He began with the one he was most familiar with, the one that Riley originally told him of.

Regulation 5:

A shrink correctional officer must not expose anyone to her feet unless authorised by the Shrink Correctional Association. Other rehabilitation methods are acceptable, as long as they do not cross the line and become assault. Exceptions can be made under the discretion of the Shrink Correctional Association in conjunction with the relevant authorities. Consenting individuals in licensed establishments also act as exceptions to this rule. Failing to follow this regulation shall result in disciplinary action the first time and a repeated failure to abide by this regulation shall result in severe disciplinary action. The Association understands that accidents can happen however and will launch a thorough investigation into any case should the offending shrink correctional officer request it.

Regulation 12:

Shrink correctional officers should view justice as their highest priority. While the Shrink Correctional Association does encourage shrink correctional officers to have pride in their work and we understand that some individuals are better suited for shrink rehabilitation than others, it does not condone framing. A personal grudge is just that. A shrink correctional officer proven to be framing an individual of a crime for any reason shall be subject to severe disciplinary action.

Regulation 17:

Extortion is a serious offence for a shrink correctional officer to commit. There is NO justification for using your power over a shrinkee to extort money or services from individuals, groups or businesses. If proven guilty of this, a shrink correctional officer shall be subject to disciplinary action. Exceptions to this rule can be made in certain circumstances, such as sting operations working alongside the relevant authorities or if the extorted party is a shrinkee themselves. In the latter case, extortion can be considered as contributing towards rehabilitation and is permitted.

Regulation 18:

Blackmail, in a similar vein to extortion, is a serious offence for a shrink correctional officer to commit. Using your knowledge of sensitive information regarding a shrinkee to obtain anything from individuals, groups or businesses for personal benefit is strictly forbidden. Any attempt to blackmail anyone using information gained from your position as a shrink correctional officer shall be punished with disciplinary action.

During his first read of the Association's book of regulations, these were the ones that stood out. Regulation 5 was a blessing, preventing Riley from tormenting him with her stinky feet whenever she felt like it. Tom simply needed to pay attention to the places he visited with his sister. Were they to visit a licensed location together, he had no doubt that Riley would lie and claim that he consented.

Regulation 12 served to protect him from being set-up by Riley, so long as he could prove it. That was one of Tom's fears ever since she had visited him in his room and boldly announced her master-plan. Knowing this regulation existed did ease some of the anxiety on his shoulders, but didn't disperse it entirely. If she did make a move to frame him of a crime, he needed proof that she did so. Solid alibis had to be formed. There would be no staying out with untrustworthy friends, only those he knew would rush to his defence. Thankfully, he trusted Ashley and by extension Kirsty, so their apartment was safe. Possibly the safest place for him. His mother, although she clearly favoured her daughter, would not stand to see her son convicted of a crime he did not commit; so she was an option too.

Although Tom doubted that the chances of Riley being assigned a shrinkee that he personally cared about were particularly high, Regulation 17 and perhaps even Regulation 18 might be useful. Even if she successfully tried to abuse his empathetic nature and threaten to punish a shrinkee who was a stranger to Tom it might be considered breaking Regulation 17, something he would have to keep an eye out for if he ever decided to report his sister. Obviously his mother would be against him reporting Riley, but she wasn't the one at risk of being subjected to an unfair shrinking sentence. Regulation 18 was even more of a stretch, but definitely worth keeping in the back of his mind.

The rest of the regulations weren't too useful to Tom. Sure, it was interesting to read about the rules that kept SCOs in line, but he couldn't afford to pay them too much attention and distract himself. Although this knowledge did provide some form of defence against Riley, Tom was aware that the Shrink Correctional Association was more likely to back a shrink correctional officer than one disgruntled young man, so if he were to strike back against his sister he would need solid evidence. For now, this knowledge best served him to avoid falling into any traps set by Riley.

One thing was for certain, Tom owed Kirsty one for suggesting to look up further regulations. Somehow the possibility hadn't crossed his mind.

Coming within sight of his home, Tom saw that the driveway wasn't empty. He didn't recognise the car, a white coupé. His mother's car was missing as she was at work, something he had expected, so it couldn't be any of her friends. That left only one remaining possibility. And as he walked up the driveway, Tom saw three people in the living room and sighed.

Not hesitating, Tom bit the bullet and entered through the front door. He took his shoes off and left them by the shoe cleaning station that his mom had set up the other week. Because Riley was unable to remove her boots if anyone else was around, the shoe cleaning station had proven to be a necessity. Oddly enough, there were three other pairs of shoes here, all trainers. This confused Tom, the people he had spotted through the window looked like Riley and a couple of her SCO buddies he saw her with at the graduation ceremony. So how were they shoeless and not stinking out the entire house?

He wasn't sure if it was curiosity driving him or if he felt the need to find out what task his mother had left for him but Tom rounded the corner into the actual living room itself. Three sets of eyes immediately turned to him. On the couch were the two girls he knew from Riley's graduation, the tall blonde girl who had seemed nice for an SCO, and the short, black haired girl of few words. Then, sat in the armchair with a small, collared man rubbing her feet was Riley herself. He looked rather defeated already, and Tom was aware that his sister had only just acquired him today. None of them wore their uniforms, instead they wore spandex workout gear of differing colours. The shrinkee didn't dare let Tom's interruption distract him. Tom couldn't help but notice that his sister's feet weren't bare, she wore a pair of black socks that looked as if they were made from latex. Sneaking a quick glance at the feet of the other girls he saw that they were the same.

Riley giggled. “Wow Tom. You haven't even said hello yet and you're already looking at our feet.”

A light blush came to Tom's cheeks. “That's not why I'm looking. How are you not wearing your boots?”

“And here I was thinking you'd finally developed a foot fetish. Shame. That would really have made our relationship more interesting. I've always dreamed of having a brother so hopelessly in love with my feet that he'll obey my every command.” Riley grinned and raised the foot that wasn't being massaged, wiggling her toes at him. “In answer to your question, wearing those big boots all the time can be both boring and uncomfortable. Especially when exercising. Thankfully, these smell shield socks exist. The three of us had a nice little trip to the gym with our shrinkees. You'd be amazed at how much having a little person around motivates us.”

Tom turned to Riley's friends. “I don't believe I've met either of you before. I'm Tom, Riley's older brother.” He smiled charmingly.

The black haired girl gave a sharp nod. “Taylor.”

The blonde girl was far more reactive. She blushed and let an oversized smile take her lips. “I'm Beth. I remember you from the graduation ceremony. That was so nice of you to come along and support your sister. She's told us so much about you.”

“Oh really?” Tom raised his eyebrows. “None of it good, I assume?”

Beth giggled. “Not all of it.”

Riley's left eye twitched with annoyance. “Are... are you ignoring me Tom?”

Tom was indeed ignoring his sister, and he continued to do so. “That's upsetting. Here I thought I was being such a good role model.”

“Teddy. Go upstairs. I've left a pair of shoes out for you. They're a pair of black Mary Janes, you'll recognise them, I can assure you of that. I haven't worn them for many years now, but considering how much I used to wear them, I'm sure they'll reek. You might be the only person alive right now who can compare my foot odour from when I was young to my foot odour now, so I expect you to give a report when asked. Also, if those shoes are still dirty or stinky when I investigate later, you will regret it. If you thought one SCO was bad, wait until you're at the feet of three.”

Riley's shrinkee didn't stick around after she gave the order. Almost as if it was arranged in advance, he stopped rubbing her socked feet without so much as a peep and crawled over to the stairs before ascending them to reach Riley's bedroom. The now unattended young woman interlocked her fingers and stuck her arms out in front, cracking her knuckles in an all too obvious manner. “So brother, you seem to be ignoring me. That ends right now, of course. Otherwise I'll be doing everything in my power to stop you completing your chores and get you in trouble with mom. How about that?”

Tom grimaced. It wouldn't be difficult for Riley to get him in trouble, especially with two witnesses. Hell, her shrinkee could make for a fourth witness. “Fine, you win. No more ignoring you.”

“See? Was that so hard?” Riley smiled sweetly. “If you want to know where the list of chores mom left you is, I have a clue.”

“She didn't leave it on the fridge as usual?”

Riley and her friends giggled. “She did, but I moved it.”

Tom exhaled loudly through his nose. “Of course you did. Where did you put it Riley?”

“I'll tell you, but you have to do something for me first.”

“Is it going to take long? Mom is not going to be happy with either of us if I neglect doing housework to act as your servant. Besides, can't you use your shrinkee?”

“It'll take... about a quarter of an hour. Maybe even half an hour. Not entirely sure. And no, I can't use Teddy, not only is he too small but he's also very busy cleaning a pair of shoes that don't fit my big feet any more.” Riley chuckled.

“Let me guess, I have to rub your feet or something?”

Grinning, Riley shook her head. “Did you not see Teddy rubbing my feet before? He's big enough for that. Unless you're offering your services, I have something else in mind. Although I'll have to share you with my friends, mom tells me that you've become quite the masseuse under her watchful eye.”

“Nope, not happening. Unless you stop stalling and tell me what you want I'll go find the list myself.” Tom was getting sick of his sister's games. He was well aware that his mom planned to keep him busy today after spending the weekend at Ashley's and this wasn't helping.

“So boring.” Riley pursed her lips. “The three of us need help practising our physical take-down manoeuvres. And you're going to be the one who we practice on.”

“What? Why can't you practice on each other?”

“Because we're all shrink correctional officers. What are the chances we will have to take down one of our own? We've had plenty of training with each other and instructors anyway. What we need is to practice against an untrained civilian and you fit the role perfectly, big brother.”

Tom was backed into a corner. Even though he knew that he was probably stronger than these girls younger than himself, they had received combat training. So the choices were to spend up to half an hour getting beat up by his sister and her friends, or earn his mother's wrath. “Will it hurt?”

“A little.” Riley answered with a smirk.

“I'll do it. Whatever.” Tom wasn't happy with the decision, but the alternative would likely prove worse.

“Yay! You hear that girls? Who wants to go first?”

Surprised, Tom joined his sister in looking at the two girls sat on the couch. He thought that this was just a dumb excuse for Riley to physically dominate him in front of her friends. Beth looked excited at the prospect and seemed eager to volunteer but didn't immediately do so. Taylor shrugged. “I suppose I could go first, if no one else wants to.” This pleased Tom. As the smallest of Riley's posse, Taylor might prove the easiest to fight.

“I-I-I want to!” Beth raised a hand and blushed deeply. She looked down, as if she regretted the sudden outburst. “I want to...”

Riley laughed. “Beth is up first. Pull the coffee table to one side Tom, we need an arena.”

After pulling the table well out of the way, Tom stood face to face with Beth in the clearing. She was taller than him, but he reminded himself that size didn't mean she was stronger. Tom examined his opponent and couldn't help but admire her slim build. It was obvious through the tight fitting clothes that she kept fit. As his eyes reached her feet, they bulged. Her feet were huge.

Remember Tom, all you have to do is stay standing. Resist her moves, don't let her take you down.

“Begin!” Riley shouted from her armchair.

The playful girl from a minute ago had disappeared. With staggering speed Beth had cleared the space between them. She had a serious look on her face and the blush in her cheeks had evaporated. Stunned, Tom was unable to do anything other than raise both hands to try and keep her away, but her long, outstretched arm found its way between them. Her hand grasped his shoulder, her arm was flat against his chest. A leg placed behind both of his was her finale before pushing him to the ground effortlessly.

But it wasn't over there. Beth did exactly what she had been taught at Hemlock. Her shapely rear end cut off Tom's shout of surrender as the sounds were collecting in his throat to be spewed forth. He couldn't use his arms to try and throw her off as her own had pinned both of his to the ground. Tom's face was buried in Beth's wriggling ass. The material of her shorts was damp with ass sweat and clung to his face.

Suddenly, Beth threw herself off of Tom and was kneeling by his side, a concerned expression on her face. “Oh my god, are you okay? I went too far, I'm so sorry!”

Meanwhile Riley was howling with laughter and clapping her hands. Taylor had finally chosen to be expressive, grinning with amusement at either Tom's humiliating defeat, her friend's awkward apology to the loser, or maybe even both.

The smell of post-gym ass was still hot in Tom's nose. His face had reddened from the warmth and pressure. Trying his best to ignore these things, he laid a reassuring arm on Beth's leg. “It's fine. You're really good at this, unfortunately for me.” Despite the embarrassing situation, Tom couldn't help but be touched by Beth's display of concern. She wasn't like Riley at all.

Beth became a little flustered when Tom's hand made contact with her leg. “B-but still, I should have realised it was only practice. They taught us how to subdue our opponents in the most humiliating way possible.”

“Taylor, you're up against my brother next. Tom, try not to lose so quickly this time.”

Riley instructed and the room obeyed. A once more blushing Beth returned to her seat on the couch and the black haired girl stood up, stretching her limbs as she stood where her friend had been. Tom felt better about his chances here; Taylor was shorter and lighter. Tom reckoned that if he could wrap his arms around her, she wouldn't be able to break free and the win would be his.

“Don't worry.” Taylor spoke with a smirk. “Because the three of us decided to participate in spin class, my shrinkee is currently occupying my ass, and he doesn't like to share. He wants these sweaty cheeks to himself. So you won't be getting my bum in your face.”

“Lovely.” Tom responded dryly. The fact that they did spin class explained the state of Beth's bottom. Tom tried not to think about the tiny man in Taylor's shorts having to endure being bashed between a perspiring ass and a bike seat that had seen plenty of perspiration from asses in its time. Although it certainly was impressive that they all had so much stamina left after such a tough gym session. It seemed that Hemlock Academy trained its SCOs well. Taylor had more exposed skin than Beth, with a cropped top showing off her stomach and the pierced bellybutton in the middle.

“Begin!”

Taylor was even faster than Beth. It made sense, given her smaller frame. However this time, Tom was ready for such speed. He opened his arms wide and stepped towards the advancing girl. As his arms closed Tom felt the rush of victory incoming.

But his arms caught only air.

Taylor ducked the bear hug and dashed behind Tom. He felt a rush of wind across his back just before a pale arm wrapped around his head. Prickly, foul smelling skin was forced over his eyes and nose as he was dragged backwards and to the ground by the Taylor's full body weight. They landed with her knee underneath Tom's back. The blow stopped him from hitting the ground and made him wince in pain.

“How does that smell, huh?” It seemed that Taylor became slightly less quiet while she was dominating someone. With Tom's head firmly stuck in the small girl's arm lock, she moved around, rubbing her acrid armpit all over his face. At this point Riley was crying with laughter and even the far less sociopathic Beth was giggling at the expense of the person she had recently apologised to.

“MMMMPPPHH” Tom was muffled by Taylor's pale skin, his nose and eyes subjected to somewhat fresh armpit sweat.

Taylor then shuffled the centre of her armpit, the worst smelling part of the sweaty pit, over to Tom's mouth. “Kiss. Give my armpit a kiss right in front of your younger sister. Otherwise, I ain't letting go.”

Tom didn't give in. Well, that wasn't totally true. He didn't give in immediately. For a few minutes he struggled around as the juice made from the fruit of Taylor's exercise was smeared all over his face. Whenever it seems like he was about to break free, Taylor expertly moved her body to remain out of reach of Tom's arms whilst also keeping him on the ground with his head lodged in the one place he didn't want it to be lodged. He eventually gave an exasperated sigh, allowing his limbs to flop in defeat. Puckering up, Tom lightly kissed the disgusting armpit of Riley's friend.

Taylor laughed harshly. “That it? Gotta be louder, I want Riley and Beth to hear.”

With his taste buds still in recoil from their first contact with the bitter sweat that soaked the flesh of Taylor's armpit, Tom gave another kiss. This time it was exactly what Taylor desired. Loud and wet. The bitterness completely filled Tom's mouth this time and he gagged.

“No way! He actually did it!” Riley wiped away tears, still laughing obnoxiously.

“Damn, I could have made him kiss my ass.” Beth almost sounded remorseful at having missed out on such an opportunity.

Thankfully Taylor made good on her promise and released Tom, letting him collapse into a defeated heap on the floor. She looked down at her fallen foe and sniggered, blowing a kiss before returning to the couch. She certainly had livened up, and Tom didn't think he liked it.

“Two losses in a row Tom. Let's see if I can make it three!” Riley just about leapt out of her seat, walking straight over to her downed brother. Surprisingly she extended a hand to him, offering to help him up from the floor. But it was a jest, of course. When Tom reached out for her support Riley whipped her hand and smirked with an insufferable level of smugness.

Tom gritted his teeth. He couldn't think of a witty remark so he stayed silent. Climbing to his feet, he saw Riley limbering up in an exaggerated manner. All the while her gleeful eyes were on him. Unmoving. Unblinking. Eerily reminiscent of a lion eyeing up a gazelle. Except Riley didn't want to eat him.

“You ready?” She asked with a smile as she stopped stretching her limbs, taking up a sumo stance. Judging from the reaction of her friends, she wasn't taking this seriously in the slightest.

“I am. Are you?”

“I'll always be ready for you Tom. Taylor, if you don't mind?”

“Begin.” Taylor said. She didn't match Riley for enthusiasm, but since fighting her Tom could detect an underlying amusement in her otherwise apathetic tone.

“Here I come.” Riley was still smiling as she advanced slowly, taking one ridiculously large step after another with her mocking gait.

Tom remained on the spot. Somehow, this approach made him even more nervous than he had been in the encounters with Beth and Taylor. He couldn't even begin to predict what she would do next. Cautiously he held out both hands in front of himself, fingers open as if ready to catch anything Riley would throw his way.

Riley mimicked her brother's defence, maintaining the crouched sumo stance until she got close enough. Then she pounced. Perhaps she could have slipped right past Tom's guard had she tried. Perhaps she would have been held back by his greater reach. But no, Riley made contact with Tom and the two were suddenly holding hands.

“Aww bro; if you wanted to hold my hands you could have just asked!” Her voice was sweet, but her actions were not. As she spoke her hands squeezed Tom's hard, pushing upwards to bend his fingers backwards. He felt himself begin to crumble, the rapidly increasing pain in his knuckles was beginning to be too much.

Dominating her brother with her surprisingly strong grip strength, Riley started to push him back. With a simple exertion she forced him back a step. “You know Tom, you're welcome to give up anytime. Just tell me that I'm the best, and that you love my feet, then I'll let go of your hands. There's a forfeit too, obviously.”

The option to give up was tempting. The pain was getting worse by the second. Not only was Tom slowly being pushed back, but his legs were also failing him. Although Tom was the taller of the two siblings, Riley was now looking down at him. The hope that she would show mercy and relent disappeared from his mind when it felt as though his fingers were soon to be ripped out of their sockets.

“Riley! You win!”

“That's not what I want to hear, is it?”

Had he not been in this situation, Tom would have sighed at his sister's verbal antics. But a sigh wasn't appropriate here. He closed his eyes. “Riley, you're the best!”

“Aaaaaaand?”

“I...” It was unclear if Tom's face was turning red due to the pain or the building humiliation. “I love your feet.”

Satisfied, Riley lets go and allows Tom to hit the ground. He immediately tried to nurse his aching hands, gently rubbing them against his chest. The pain wasn't intense any more however a certain soreness remained. A shadow fell across Tom's face and he searched for the source, finding it to be Riley's oncoming foot. Before he could react the sole hit his face and pushed his head to the ground.

Tom tried to shake the socked foot from his face but Riley kept the pressure high and his head immobile, crushed underneath. He thanked whatever gods were watching for the existence of smell shield socks, even though this might have been the perfect opportunity to bring down his sister.

“As forfeit, you have to kiss my foot. One hundred times.” Riley marinaded in her victory, staring down at Tom under her foot.

Tom kissed. Once. Twice. Three times. He kept going, all three girls counting in unison with each contact between his lips and his sister's peculiar sock. He couldn't go too quickly, knowing that they would take any excuse not to count a kiss. At the beginning of this humiliating display Tom reasoned that giving one hundred kisses to his sister's sock, devoid of the odour hiding within, was better than kissing Taylor's armpit but when he reached his thirty-third kiss he changed his mind. This wouldn't have been better if it were just him and Riley. With her friend's here it was so much worse.

“Ninety-nine. One hundred!” The girls finished the count and cheered. Riley removed her foot and took a bow.

Tom endured. He had to. He stood up, his face bright red, and somehow managed to look his sister in the eyes. “I've done it. I've played my part as practice dummy for you and your friends. Where's my chore list?”

Riley smirked. “You honestly thought I'd tell you?”

Feeling his fists clench up involuntarily, Tom stomped away, infuriated. He questioned why he had ever trusted in Riley keeping her word.

“Wait!” Riley called out. Her voice gave away that she was on verge of more laughter at her brother's expense. Despite everything, Tom stopped in his tracks. “Good to see that you obey my commands. I appreciate your help Tom. You're such a sweet older brother. I put the chore list inside mom's smelly trainers. They're in her bedroom, inside the closet.”

For a moment, Tom stayed silent. Then, he supposed he should say something. “Thank you.”

“Don't mention it.” Riley sounded as though she were finished, but after two steps Tom stopped once more at the sound of her voice. “Be warned Tom, next time I won't be wearing a smell shield sock. And you will be a lot smaller.”

Ignoring the threat, Tom stormed off. For a second there, his anger had dissipated. But Riley just had to have the last word and reignite the annoyance he felt. Up the stairs he went. Luckily, the anger did somewhat distract Tom from the fact that he'd have to put his hand inside his mom's stinky, greasy shoe to fish out his list.

Riley's bedroom door was open a crack and as he walked past, he couldn't help but take a peek. He convinced himself that his motivation was morbid curiosity, but perhaps there was a part of him that wanted to look into his potential future, know what might be in store for him. Inside, in the looming shadow of a large pair of black boots, the shrinkee known as Teddy was on his knees, his face stuffed deeply into one of two small shoes. Judging from his movements, he was lapping away obediently, the brief pauses between each motion implying that the task was far from pleasant. Even outside of the room, the odour of the boots touched Tom's nose. Within the room, the odour must have been unbearable. And anywhere near the boots, it had to be even worse.

Shaking his head, Tom moved on. Riley hadn't told him which trainer she had put the list in and of course he picked the incorrect one first, doubling the amount of gross shoes he had to shove his hand inside. Unfortunately the list seemed to be tainted by his mom's foot odour, leaving him with no choice but to use a foul smelling piece of paper as he worked around the house. On the plus side, Riley and company decided to leave him alone save for a few passing comments, saving their cruelty for another day, and hopefully, for another victim.