Abbott Elementary's garden was finally happening thanks to Jacob and Mrs. Howard taking the time to start one just outside of the building. Even though there were no plants yet, Jacob was thrilled at their progress and couldn’t have been prouder of their work. But Gregory wasn’t nearly as impressed, in fact he knew the way they’d gone about it was all wrong; the plants would die, the soil wasn’t right, and he needed to fix it if there was gonna be any kind of fruitful garden. To avoid telling his co-workers they were wrong, he snuck around un-doing their work to make it right once they were gone. Years of working with his family planting produce had left him with a real knack for it but he didn’t actually wanna get roped into helping out on a regular basis; he’d have to garden in secret.

School let out and Gregory slipped down the hallway just after, quickly dragging the bag of soil he’d brought to re-fill the area they’d set aside for the garden. But as stealthy as Gregory was, he failed to realize Jacob hadn’t actually left school yet either, walking out the back entrance around 4 to find the long-term sub finishing up. “Gregory? What are you doing? You hate gardening” a confused Jacob asked. “Yeah…yeah I do, totally hate it. I was just uhh…seeing what kind of stuff you guys were planting” Gregory lied as he pretended to check the soil.

“Dude, you know we haven’t planted anything yet. What’s going on?” “Alright, fine! You and Mrs. Howard are doing this all wrong; nothing’s gonna grow the way you guys had it set up. I had to come behind you and replace the soil to make sure it would actually produce life” Gregory explained, now sweaty and flustered after all the work and getting caught. “Wow, you could’ve just said you wanted to help out” “Clubs aren’t really my thing, man…I had to sneak around to make you think the garden was right the first time” Gregory answered but Jacob’s usual chipper nature suddenly wasn’t as light.

“This is kind of messed up…I mean Mrs. Howard and I put in a lot of work and you’re saying it’s all wrong; it would’ve done nothing??” “I’m sorry but I have a little bit more experience with this than I said before so yeah, I happen to know more than you guys” “Oh yeah?” “Yeah” “Alright, Captain Planet, if your soil is so good, let’s test it out” Jacob suggested with his own gentler brand of frustration. “What are you talking about?” “Let me bury you in it like people do at the beach; if you can’t get out then I guess you’re right about your soil quality but if you can, you have to take all this fancy soil back” Jacob laid out like it was all just coming to him. “What?! No way, that’s crazy” “Alright, then I’ll let you tell Mrs. Howard she’s not gardening right; I’m sure that’d be a fun conversation” Jacob challenged, making a very valid point by knowing Gregory went out of his way to not get on her bad side.

“Ugh, fine! This is so ridiculous…be glad I didn’t wear my new shirt today” Gregory grumbled as he rolled his eyes and took his tie off while Jacob grabbed the shovel and started digging a Gregory sized hole. The no-nonsense 20-something complained the whole time and tried to convince Jacob of how stupid this idea was but the rarely seen stubborn side of Jacob had come out and couldn’t be reasoned with, triggered by the insult to his gardening skills. By the time they were done Gregory was buried under the pile of rich soil with only his head and feet sticking out just like he was in beach sand, not even a little amused at his situation.

“Well at least now it looks like I grew a Gregory” Jacob teased. “Yeah yeah, whatever” Gregory answered as he started trying to move around in the soil but it wasn’t budging. “Alright, I can’t get out. I guess my soil is the best after all just like I said” “I bet you’re trying not to get out just to prove me wrong” Jacob suggested. “Don’t you see me struggling here??” Gregory pointed out as his head bobbed around and his feet wiggled in place but the soil around him didn’t move at all. “Ok fine, I guess yours is the best. We should just start calling you Green Thumb Gregory” Jacob concluded "Yeah, we're not doing that. Now can you please help me out of here?!” “You mean you really can’t get out? Don’t you work out?” “Yeah but you packed it too tight or something” “You’re the one who told me to make sure I packed it tight so it was a fair test!” Jacob reminded while watching his co-worker fail to escape, finding the humor in losing the longer that Gregory squirmed in the garden, quickly persuading his mischievous side to take the reins.

“So you really can’t get out, huh?” “No, Jacob, I can’t! Don’t you think I would have by now if I could?!” Gregory fired back with increasing frustration. “Ya know, we’ve worked together for a while now and I’ve always thought it would do you good to loosen up a bit” Jacob explained as he knelt down between Gregory’s dress shoes sticking out of the ground. “I’m stuck in the garden and you’re worried about how loose I am?? Seriously?!” “Yeah, maybe you just need to have more fun…laugh a little” Jacob elaborated as he started untying the right shoe. “Hey…hey! What are you doing, man??” Gregory tried to stop but Jacob slipped the right shoe off and started on the left until both navy-blue socked feet were exposed.

“Jacob, what the hell are you doing?? I’m serious, man, come on! Leave my feet alone!” Gregory stressed, not liking the way his buddy was looking at his feet. “Good thing your soil is so solid or this probably wouldn’t work” Jacob answered before running just a finger up each sole. “JjacCCoOOB! AohoHoAHnNOO! SSThOohPpiiIT! NoOWW!” Gregory demanded with a put-on sternness to his voice but struggled to keep it up as laughter sputtered out. “Oh come on, I can’t stop now. This is like a set up from a cartoon; it’s too good not to enjoy!” Jacob answered with a bright smile at Gregory’s reaction and added another finger to his teasing.

“AAHAHAhaLLLEETtmMMEEOOUuUuTT!! EEnNNOOuUGHhh! iIMmmNnOoOTTPLllAAyYIInNGG!!” Gregory protested the best he could but Jacob was having way too much fun exploring the thinly protected soles, letting his fingers wander in every direction. The more serious teacher began to think this was the plan the whole time, to get him buried like this so Jacob could get back at him but Jacob wasn’t that nefarious, maybe a bit overly playful at times but this was just good old fashion spur of the moment tickle torture.

“Geeze, even through your socks your feet are this ticklish? That’s hilarious” Jacob smiled as he continued drawing invisible lines all over the socked soles. “AhAohAOOkoOkK! YyOUuUWWIIiN! JjuUSSTToOPPp!” “Stop what?” “AHOHSSSToHOHPpTTiIiCCkklLiiInnGmMmEE!!” Gregory fired back, hating to even say the word like Jacob knew he would. Jacob just laughed at his strong aversion to being tickled and kept going, focusing on the arches of both feet after noticing the sudden moments of panic on Gregory’s face anytime he went over them. “NNoOO! OhnNOoOohOH!! DDAAmMMIIiTTJjJAACCOoOBbBAoHAOHA!!’ SSTohHOP!” Gregory howled harder than Jacob even thought possible, quickly inspiring him to keep right on scratching along both low arches with steady back and forths.

“Oh yeah…this is way more fun than gardening. I should just let you take my spot” “AhoAoAohBbRroOoCCOOMmEEoOONN!! TTHHiIiSSIIiSSsOOoMmMEESSSEeEDDDUuuUuPP!!” the straight-laced teacher tried to point out, hoping it would remind Jacob how bizarre the situation was but it didn’t even kind of work. “You know what’s really messed up is that I haven’t ditched these socks yet” Jacob replied before taking the toes of both socks and tugging on them. “No! Jacob, wait! Don’t take my socks!! SERIOUSLY!” Gregory pleaded with eyes full of dread as he watched his friend pull them clean off. Seeing his bare feet at Jacob’s mercy with nowhere to go was a brand new kind of anxiety, not a fan of being barefoot to start with but having them out in the open with no way to protect them from Jacob really put him on edge.

“Woah, Gregory…how did I not know how nice your feet are?” Jacob asked while eying the smooth 10 ½s and the way each of his toes perfectly rested against the other. “Why the hell would I ever tell you that?? How would I even know if they were nice or not?! Just help me outta this damn garden!” Gregory argued with understandable attitude but it didn’t deter Jacob from giving his bare feet some quality attention. “You don’t have to be humble about it; they’re great. The way the peachy color of the balls and heels and ends of your toes contrast the paler arches is fantastic…and without a rough patch in sight. I can see why they’re so ticklish” Jacob admired before wiggling all ten fingers up both naked soles. “AhOAhAOhA!! DDUUuDDEESSTTohOOohOPP!!” Gregory nearly jolted out of the soil trap from the skin-to-skin contact, already unable to handle the fingertips gliding along his satin soles.

“See, look at that smile; you’re loosening up already!” Jacob semi-taunted, happy to see him laughing but also fully aware how much Gregory was hating getting tickled. “AAHoAohaYyyEAAHHIIiMMMlLLOoOSSEe! NnOoHoOWWSSTTOhohOHPP!!” Gregory shouted as convincingly as he could while Jacob spidered from his heels to his toes and back down on a loop like some kind of tickling machine. “You don’t sound loose; you sound like you’re still fighting it” Jacob pointed out before focusing back on the arches and using his nails to rake across the silky middles of both feet. “AaAhAoAHoAHAohAOHAA OOKoOK IIIIMMMmLLOoOSSEE! IiMMMlLLOOoOSSEE!! SSEEEE?!” Gregory tried to persuade with a big fake smile through the sudden uproar.

“Much better” Jacob answered but didn’t leave the hyper-sensitive arches like Gregory had hoped, instead scratching a little faster and immediately turning Gregory’s volume up like flipping a switch. “OOHOhOAoOOMmyyYYGGOOODAOhAOHA!! JJJAACcOOOBBbSSTTohOhHOPP!!” Gregory urged as clearly as he could but he was laughing so hard he feared Jacob couldn’t even understand him. “Did you say go faster?” “NnNoOHO!!” “Faster, ok” Jacob pretended to obey as he ramped up his technique on the creamy arches to watch Gregory really lose it. His head bobbled around with an almost animated freak out while his toes flexed and flared in any direction they could to try and weaken the unruly tickling.

“You’re never this much fun at school; I wish I knew all it would’ve taken is a little tickling to change that” Jacob added after Gregory fell into silent laughter a few minutes later, persuading him to finally stop teasing the handsome feet. “Jacob, you’ve gotta stop…it’s too much, really” “It’s almost like you didn’t know how ticklish you were before now…” “...yeah, I guess it’s been a long time but you fixed that so can I go now??” Gregory pressed as he caught his breath. “Ok, I’ll stop but only if you agree to help us garden for real” “Jacob, come on…you know I don’t like committing to stuff like that. It’s just not for me” Gregory tried to explain to get through to him without coming off as harsh as he wanted, knowing his helpless bare feet were still very much at Jacob’s mercy.

“You’re really gonna make me convince you, aren’t you? Alright if that’s what you want” Jacob added as he grabbed Gregory’s discarded tie. “What are you gonna do with that…?” Gregory asked with renewed fear as he watched Jacob extend the tie between his hands like a piece of floss. “You can change your mind any time…” Jacob reminded before slipping the tie between the big and second toe of Gregory’s left foot. “Hey! Don’t do that! That’s a nice tie, man! Stop! Don’t mess with my toeOOAAOhAOhASSS!!” Gregory erupted with frantic, higher-pitched laughter once Jacob started pulling the tie between his supple toes, sawing just slow enough to draw-out every pull and fast enough to tickle like crazy. “NnONNOoOOO!! AAOhAOHAPPLllEEAASSEE!! AOhAOHAaohAA!!!” “Wow, I’ve never seen you so enthusiastic” Jacob pointed out before moving onto the next space and repeating the same insufferably ticklish back and forth motion. “AAhAHAHOAHAAohAIiiICCAAAAnNTTTAAAkkEEIIiTT!!” Gregory confessed as his shy toes tried and failed to get away from his own tie but Jacob didn’t fold, instead moving onto the next two toes for another flossing. “NnNnOOohoahoOaoAOHAOoOOoHohA!!!” Gregory fell apart as his laughter peaked with delirious squeals every few seconds.

“It’s this spot right here, isn’t it? Right between these two toes” Jacob honed in with more concentration before starting again, this time threading a bit faster and bending the tie a little to exaggerate each pull. “NNOoO! PPlLLEEASSEEAhoAHOAHAA!!! OAHOHAAOHAAohoAOoAHoahAHoHAohAAAohAAAHH!!” Gregory totally lost it better than Jacob was expecting as the sporadic unhinged laughter from moments earlier took over and the typically composed teacher was desperate to save his buttery soft toes. It was more than he could bear, gripping his entire body and driving him absolutely bonkers but the steady sawing hardly gave him enough breath to say anything, laughing too hard and too wild to even give into Jacob’s condition.

“I wonder if the other two toes are just as bad” Jacob proposed as he soon turned his attention to the opposite foot, finally giving Gregory a window to surrender. “OoK! OK! I’ll garden with you guys! I swear! Just don’t tickle me anymore…please” Gregory gave in like he would’ve agreed to just about anything in that moment. “You sure?” Jacob checked with another quick scratch along the right balls. “AhOAhYyEESs!! YyEESS!!” “Great! With you helping us we’ll have a full garden in no time” Jacob proclaimed as Gregory’s head fell to the side with relief, his toes still tingling from the intense tickling.

“Are you gonna help me out of this now?” “Oh yeah! My bad, I almost forgot you couldn’t get out for a minute” Jacob admitted with a laugh before grabbing the shovel and starting to move the soil out of the way. “Ya know, they used to actually use tickling as real torture in some societies back in the day. I could really use a demonstration for my grad school report if you’re willing to help me out” Jacob suggested, getting a cold glare from Gregory. “...the only way I’m helping you with that is if I get to tickle you instead” “Yeah but I don’t think I’m nearly as ticklish as you so I doubt it’d even work” Jacob informed as Gregory was finally able to stand up and brush himself off.

The bubbly teacher was too busy wiping the soil off his own pants to see Gregory pounce on him until he was already on the ground under him, “What the hell, man??” Jacob asked as Gregory out-maneuvered him until he had him pinned on his back with his arms under his knees. “I thought we were cool now?!” Jacob questioned. “You buried me in a garden and tickled my feet with my own tie! So no, we’re not cool! We’re not gonna be cool until I find your worst spot and tickle you until you cry enough to water your stupid garden!” Gregory warned with revenge in his eyes before plunging into Jacob’s pits and hitting the jackpot on the first try.

“HAOhANnOONnOO!! oOKOOKAOhAOH!! IimMSSoOoRRRYYY!!” Jacob tried to extinguish as his legs kicked the ground and his own explosion of goofy laughter brought a smile to Gregory’s face. “Not ticklish my ass! How do you like it, huh??” “AohAohAIIGGiiIVVEE!! UUUNNCCCLLLEeEEAOHA!!” Jacob submitted to spare the one spot he knew would break him but Gregory had a score to settle; he wasn’t about to let Jacob get the better of him and not return the favor. “Tap all you want, man…this ain’t gonna be over anytime soon” he assured with an uncharacteristically sinister tone as he dug around in Jacob’s incredibly tender pits through the polo shirt as mean as he could, ready to make him laugh until he regretted ever tickling him and then a little longer just to make sure he never thought about trying it again.