Richland High’s cafeteria looked like one of those nice movie lunchrooms that was always better than any school’s in real life. The sea of round tables sat several people each and the students were somewhat sectioned off by the various groups of the school but the table in the far corner was always Chris, Eric, and Joe’s. They’d welcomed JD to sit with them since striking up a friendship with the fellow senior football player but the transfer student soon realized this first lunch of the school year was different than usual. 

“What’s wrong with you, Joe?” Chris asked as he and JD joined him and Eric. “Nothing” “Come on, don’t give me that shit. You look like you just found out Santa Claus isn’t real” Chris pressed. “Does it have to do with what happened after practice last week with Coach Hecker?” Eric questioned, recalling how he’d clashed with their new coach the last week of summer practice. “Just chill out, don’t be so loud about it” Joe answered like he was afraid of being overheard. “He didn’t kick you off the team did he?” JD asked, getting a look from Joe like it was far worse. 

“Jesus, Joe just tell us; you’re giving me blue balls over here” Chris insisted. “...he tickled me” was all the macho muscle man said before looking up from his pizza. “What?? Are you serious?” Eric asked. “Do you think I would make that shit up?!” Joe fired back. “What do you mean??” Chris asked. “...fuck. There’s this chair looking thing in the locker room with straps and a set of those stocks from old timey carnivals or whatever. He got me to sit in it and locked me in so I couldn’t fight him or anything and he tickled the shit out of me…it was fucking torture, man” Joe explaiend as his friends’ confusion became disbelief. 

“The fuck?? That’s crazy!” Chris exclaimed. “I think that’s classified as cruel and unusual punishment” Eric added. “He seems like a nice enough guy…but that’s definitely out there” JD chimed in. “Hecker must be a fucking weirdo then” Chris concluded. “He must’ve taken too many hits to the head in college” Eric proposed, getting a laugh from the group but Joe didn’t. “Guys, shut up! What if one of the teachers hears us and tells Hecker? I’m not getting tickled again” Joe stressed. “Chill out; you’re overexaggerating” Chris dismissed, cocky as ever. 

“So does this mean that you’re not partying with us anymore?” Eric questioned. “I can’t; I can’t mess up again” “Fuck that! This is my senior year and I’m gonna keep partying as much as I want; Hecker can deal with it. Besides, I’m not even ticklish so I’m not worried about whatever stupid punishment he thinks he can dish out” Chris proclaimed, getting a smile of agreeance from JD. “Can we just change the subject? Eric, did you figure out that homework for calculus yet?” Joe asked. “Oh yeah, let me grab it” Eric, the brain of the group answered before pulling out his notebook and showing the group his answers. However, as the group checked out the homework answers, another teacher on duty happened to see them without being obvious and knew exactly who would be interested in hearing that his players weren’t doing their own work. 

Later that day after practice, the locker room was full of The Lions players, most of them packing up their stuff to head out after getting good and sweaty on the field. Coach Aaron Hecker made his way through the locker room while looking over his clipboard and stopped at one set of lockers near Chris, Eric, Joe, and JD. “Orlowski, I wanna see you in my office before you leave” “Sure, Coach” Eric answered like he wasn’t sure what it could possibly be about. “You think he heard about us at lunch?” Joe asked. “He probably just wants to talk about that play I was screwing up at practice” Eric offered. “Hope you’re not too ticklish” Chris teased with a few wiggling fingers toward him, getting a playful ‘fuck off’ from Eric before the rest of them left and he headed to Hecker’s office around the corner. 

“What’s up, Coach?” “You’re a bright guy, Eric…you probably have some of the best grades in your class from what I’ve seen. So tell me why you would make such a stupid decision like letting your buddies cheat off you?” Hecker asked like he knew Eric wasn’t used to being in any kind of trouble. “I was…I was just letting them see what I’d gotten on the homework; I wasn’t doing it for them or anything” “Giving your answers on an assignment is cheating, Orlowski; I’m sure you know that” “I do but” “No buts; that’s unacceptable. It’s unethical and doesn’t uphold the Richland High’s or The Lions’ standards” Aaron reprimanded with confidence in his stance. 

“I also know this isn’t a one time thing; I know you help your friends out quite often” Hecker added. “I just don’t want them to fail or fall behind; that’s all” “Well maybe your buddies should be more studious like yourself but cheating isn’t the way to solve that and I won’t tolerate it. Follow me” Coach Hecker instructed and led the anxious 18 yr old out of the office and down to the storage room. Eric’s blue eyes struggled to hide the mounting dread of what must be coming; he feared just how real Joe’s story was and as Hecker opened the door, he laid eyes on the intimidating chair he’d heard about. 

“Take a seat” Aaron ordered and Eric walked closer like it was some strange daydream, surely not actually happening but he was too sensible to deny the terrible reality of his situation. “Coach, we really don’t have to-” “Arms over your head and put your ankles in the stocks or you can leave the team right now” Hecker interrupted to reassert his authority and Eric reluctantly obeyed, sitting his ankles in the bottom half of the stocks and holding his arms up for them to be strapped in. Eric contemplated opting out and quitting the team right there but he knew having football on his college applications would be a major boost to his academic record; he couldn’t risk losing that advantage and potentially sabotaging his future.

Coach Hecker closed and locked the stocks around Eric’s ankles and proceeded to tugg off both sneakers, allowing the smell from two hours of running plays to escape the size 10 feet. Eric tested the straps a little to see how screwed he really was but feeling the socks start sliding off commanded his attention back in front of him with a unique fear he’d never known. The last bit of the socks coming off and leaving his feet so painfully vulnerable and exposed in the stocks was a uniquely foreign, terrifying feeling. He knew he was seriously ticklish and also knew his feet to be his worst spot but just as he expected Aaron to start teasing his bare feet, Hecker got up and left the room. 

Eric let out a sigh of relief as some of the anticipation deflated but Aaron soon came back with a white board and marker in hand. “So, I spoke to Mr. Alvarez and he agreed to give me next week’s homework assignment early just for you” Hecker explained. “What? You spoke to my calculus teacher??” “Oh yeah, Mr. Alvarez and I go way back. Here’s the deal; there are ten questions on the assignment that I’m gonna write on this board. If you can answer them correctly I’ll let you out but if you get it wrong or mess up, I’m gonna make things more difficult for you. Got it?” “...so I’m just working out the problems and answering them?” Eric asked like it was too easy of a set up. “Yep” “Ok…” “Great; here’s the first one” Aaron explained before sitting the board on the shelf in front of Eric and returning to the pale feet. 

“oAohAOOhoHWWhaAahaTT?! AohAohAIiiCCAanNntTTTThhiIINNnKKk LLLiIkKEeTTtHHiISS!!” Eric pointed out once Hecker started grazing along the fresh soles. “What? Did you think I was just gonna wait on you to figure out the answer? That’s too easy” Hecker answered, revealing why this would actually be much harder than Eric had thought just a minute earlier. Eric recognized he should be trying to find the limit of the equation but his brain struggled to focus for more than a few seconds thanks to Hecker teasing his feet. His short nails glided along the edges and in circles on the heels with sadistic patience after realizing the light attention was enough to get a good reaction.

“What’s wrong? I thought you were a math wiz?” Aaron taunted while Eric tried to think through the problem and his tender feet tried to evade his coach until finally landing on an answer. “oohooOOKOoKkoOkk TthHEElLiimMMmIiTTiIISssSFFfiIvveEe!” Eric spit out and Hecker finally stopped. “Good job; I guess you do know your stuff. But we’ve still got some more to go” Aaron reminded as he erased the board and copied the second problem. “This is ridiculous…I mean I was just helping out my friends; it’s not that big of a deal” Eric challenged. “It is to me; that’s cheating and I have zero tolerance for cheating” Aaron answered before putting the board back up and Eric gulped in his throat with anticipation, his cotton candy-pink toes curling with dread in the stocks. 

Eric tried to hurry and figure out as much as he could before Hecker returned to his feet but the few seconds weren’t enough to make much progress before he felt all ten fingers land on his balls and start dragging down. “OoohoHAOhOhoAohoohASShhIiTTaohAohaA” Eric burst with another forced smile and his initial train of thought went mostly off the rails. He concentrated enough to sort out the problem in his head the best he could but it was harder than the first one and the drawn-out raking quickly dominated almost every thought in his head. Coach Hecker noticed that Eric’s feet were a bit thicker than Joe’s, more rich under his fingers but they were also a bit softer which seemed to really work against the typically brilliant athlete. 

“AallRRiiGGhhTTIIITTsSS 27! IiITTTssS27!!” Eric shouted but this time Aaron didn’t stop. “Wrong answer. Try again” Hecker informed before starting at the balls again and pressing in this time for a more intense drag down the buttery soles. “AAAOHAoaFFUuCCkKAohAoha NnOoOnANoaohAA! JjuuSSTGGiIvVEmMEEAasSSsSEecCOCOnnDD!!” Eric protested as the new wave got him jerking back and forth and his legs yanking to get free harder than before. But he knew Coach Hecker meant business and realized the only way to get any relief was to get it right, convincing him to really concentrate on the board. 

He had a hard time even studying the problem for very long through the relentless tickling but after another minute had another answer, “OOkOoK! IiTTSs30!! iIiTSss 30!!” Orlowski shouted with newfound urgency. “Look at that; right again” Aaron answered and gave Eric’s feet a break, allowing the straight-A student to catch his breath and relax for a minute in the cruel chair. “Well at least your buddies probably copied the right answers from you but they’re not gonna have you during the tests to cheat off of. They’ve gotta learn this stuff too” “If that’s the whole lesson I’m supposed to be learning, can I just go now?” “You still have some problems to solve, Orlowski; you’re not getting off that easy” the head-strong blonde assured while writing another problem on the board. 

Eric sighed with frustration and looked back up at the wrist straps and wondered just how secure they really were but he didn’t realize how soon he’d be getting his answer. “Alright, number 3; let’s go” Aaron announced and put the board up before moving around to stand behind Eric. He started working through the problem as fast as he could but all the numbers in his head were suddenly jumbled around once Hecker was jabbing up and down his sides. “AAhoAoNNoOnONNooOAhOAHA FFuUUCCkAkaohA” Eric pulled on the straps as hard as he could only to find them impossible to escape and bounced around in the seat to get away from the stiff fingers but Aaron didn’t leave him any room to move or avoid him. His two-fingered approach excellently distracted Eric and kept him guessing where they’d land at the same time, keeping his brain even more occupied than before. 

“AAhoAHohATTTTHiiISSiISSCcrrAaAZZyYY!!” “That’s not an answer, Orlowski” Aaron pointed out before amping up his attack by poking even faster, randomly drilling in anywhere between the base of his pits and his waist. “AAaOAHoAHAOhAohAohANnOonNOAHoAhASSTTOhOPP!!” Eric let out with embarrassing desperation, kicking himself for only wearing a t-shirt that day, virtually no defense against the devious poking. The running back did his best to re-align his attention on the problem in front of him despite the fingers terrorizing his torso and worked through the equation until he was confident in his conclusion this time. 

“TTHhEelLiiiMMIMiIiTTiIISS 12!!” “I’m sorry did you say 12?” “aAyYYEESSS!!” “12 it is!” Aaron confirmed and stopped tickling him to return to the white board. “We can’t really be doing 7 more can we?? I’m too ticklish” “You mean to tell me that you can run all those yards at practice without taking a break but you can’t take a little tickling?” “It’s not the same thing!” “Well, I guess you’ll know not to cheat from now on then, huh?” Coach Hecker answered, pissing Eric off more as he heard the marker working on his next problem. 

Aaron placed the board back on the shelf and made his way back to Eric’s upper body as the flustered jock tried to find the limit. He mumbled to himself as he worked out the equation in his head and probably would’ve gotten the answer after another minute or so if it weren’t for Hecker plunging into both of his wide-open armpits. “AaoOhAOHAFFuUCckKoAhohAoHANnoOHaohA GGGEETtooOOFFF!!” Orlowski protested as if it would convince him to stop and pulled on his arms to break loose of the straps, once again wrecked by the sadistic punishment. 

“Oh man, you boys this year are seriously ticklish haha…I remember my team being tougher than this” Hecker taunted while digging around in both damp pits with a few tight fingers. “AahaohAAOhAJJJuUSSTTtsSSTtoopPPp!! TTHHiIISSSNnTTFFAaiiiRR!!” “Come on, Orlowski…I figured a smart guy like you wouldn’t have any trouble figuring this stuff out” “NnoOOTTLLIikKkEETTHHIiSS!! AhoAHAOH!!” Eric jumped in the chair once Aaron wiggled into the very center of his underarms, catching the coach’s attention and drawing him back to the sweet spot. “NnOOO! JjuUuSSTTFFfUUCCkKOoOFF!!” Eric argued with newfound panic until Aaron was kneading into the same spot again on both sides and the studious senior was full-on howling. 

The intense tickling made it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything else but Eric wasn’t about to just give up and get tickled for however long Coach Hecker felt like punishing him so he focused up the best he could to finish solving the fourth problem. He picked up where he left off but Aaron didn’t make it easy as he started clawing up and down the entire length of both pits, bringing on a new wave of sensations Eric struggled to think through. “AAAohAnNoonoHaoHAOAHAOHAOHAa OOKoOKAhOAhaOHAa IItTTSSS 54!!” Eric announced after the longest stretch yet and waited in ticklish agony for Aaron to confirm his answer. “Yep, right again” Hecker finally replied and pulled out of the pits. 

Eric slouched in the chair like his body was already wearing out; the two hours of practice before this surely wasn’t helping. “Coach, come on…I won’t give out any more answers, I swear. Just stop tickling me” Eric tried to persuade as humbly as he could. “Do you know what happens in college if you’re caught cheating?” “...no” “You can get kicked out for that. Now I won’t pretend playing football doesn’t give you an advantage but they don’t play about cheating like high school and you don’t wanna go messing your whole college career up because your friends are too lazy to do their own work” Aaron laid out. “I get it” “Good” Hecker answered before copying the 5th problem.

“Wait! I thought that was it…I said I understood” “I’ve gotta make sure it really sinks in” Aaron answered with a bit of a smirk Eric didn’t like, fearing the next round of tickling to come. Eric rolled his eyes in disbelief and pulled on the straps again but his efforts were cut short when the sound of the board landing on the shelf pulled his attention forward, only to realize this problem was a bit more advanced than he was used to. “What the hell? I don’t even think we’ve covered this yet” “Don’t worry, Orlowski…you’re a smart guy” Hecker answered as he pulled his chair beside Eric’s legs and watched his wheels turn to crack the problem before giving him a fresh distraction. 

“WWoohoAoohASShhIIiITTohOAohAAohAa” Eric bubbled over with a surprised laugh as Aaron went after his right leg with a two-fold attack; one hand squeezing into the top of his knee while the other wiggled along the underside. Eric’s shorts sat well above his knees and with his legs straight out in front of him, Hecker had perfect access to explore the new target. The light spidering was new to Eric and had a uniquely maddening effect he wasn’t expecting but of course that combined with the classic knee pinching had him bucking in the chair and kicking in the stocks the little that he could. 

“AHAOAHCCoOmMEEooNnn!! AohAOhAAGGiIVEemMEEAAAbbBRREAAK!!” “Answer the problem then” Aaron answered without a lick of sympathy for Eric and even stepped it up after a couple minutes. He switched to squeezing both knees and drifted up his thighs a bit to push Eric even more, “AaHoAHOAOnNooNNO!! aohAANNOoOTTbBOoOTTHH! AohAohAHaIiICCAAAANnNTTAOhAAOH!!” Eric shouted as if he’d forgotten his way out altogether, just hoping Hecker would finally come around. “Fine, don’t answer it…I don’t have anywhere to be today” Aaron answered with a terrifying alternative Eric couldn’t stand to even entertain; he had to figure out the problem. 

Eric familiarized himself with the equation more and as he got to the end, like a gift from above, the answer was already on the board; Coach Hecker must not have realized he’d written that down too when he was copying it over. “IiITTssSSs18! TThEeaannSSWWEEErrRRiiiSs18!!” Eric called out before Aaron could discover his mistake and the captive senior held his breath waiting for him to be found out but Hecker stopped tickling his legs. “Wow, and I thought you didn’t know this one” “...I guess I was wrong” Eric excused, putting together that Aaron probably wasn’t familiar enough with calculus these days to even know he’d given away the answer. 

“Alright, I guess we’re moving on to number 6” Hecker said before wiping the board clean and starting again and Eric breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he probably wouldn’t get that lucky again. Question six and seven weren’t as tough as five but took long enough for Aaron to sufficiently make Eric really regret giving away his homework answers, teasing his neck and ears on six and drilling into the sides of his chest on seven until Eric was ready to kick him through the wall. But he got through it and soon enough he was down to three questions, catching his breath and praying number 8 would be an easy one. 

Eric silently cheered as the board came back up and he knew what to do but Aaron was already on the move, this time standing beside his torso and diving into one of the last spots he hadn’t hit yet. “aAHaohAohAohoOaOHAohAoAohAa FFuUuCCkKAhoAohoAHAOHA” Eric laughed harder than he thought he would, not remembering his stomach to be so ticklish but Hecker was a superb tickler. Both hands wiggled into his tight belly like claws and made sure to keep moving to really make him sweat. “Look who's been doing his sit-ups” Coach Hecker teased with another cheeky grin. Eric wanted to fire back but channeled all his attention on the board instead, knowing he could end this one quickly if he could just think straight.

He had the answer on the tip of his tongue after another few seconds but couldn’t even get it out when Aaron started daggering in just below his belly button, hitting a trigger Eric didn’t know he had until now. “AAAhAAHOHAFFUUUCCkkAohaNooNNOAohAOhAOHA!!” The twisted part of Hecker couldn’t help but smile at the lively reaction and continued tasering into the midriff but Eric wasn’t about to let it totally derail him. “TTHhEeaAAnNsSWEEERriiiSS7!! IiTTsSS 7!!” Orlowski forced out between his wild laughter and Aaron retracted once again, surprised and almost re-charged by how animated Eric had become. “I didn’t know you had all that in you, Orlowski” “...switch spots with me and I’ll show you why” “Ooh, a bit of attitude too? You’ve been hanging around Marquez too long” Aaron answered as if he was impressed by the response but wiped the board clean again and prepared for number 9. 

Eric was probably the most motivated member of The Lions. Sure they all pushed themselves on the field but he kept his GPA high and excelled in football ever since freshman year, something relatively no other player did so he wasn’t about to let tickling of all things get the better of him now. He took a deep breath to pump himself up and prepared to knock out the problem but couldn’t believe how much writing was on the board once he saw it, “Fuck me…” Eric let out under his breath but refused to give up, instead starting from the top and working his way down while Aaron relocated back behind the chair.

“Come on, just give me a minute!” Eric charged but Hecker didn’t respond, deciding to let his hands do the talking as they reached around and launched onto his ribs. “ooAHoAHohAOhAoHAsshHIiITtAONnOOnnOoahOAHAOhAAA” Orlowski slumped in the chair a bit to reflexively avoid the tickling but of course Aaron kept up, following him whichever way he jerked or floundered with all ten fingers wiggling into both sides. Eric had to force himself to not clench his eyes shut to endure the steady tickling and to look at the board like before but his ribs were more ticklish than he remembered and it was like Hecker was feeding off how much he hated it. 

Aaron’s wide-handed approach soon switched to two fingers on either side sinking between two ribs at random and that really got Eric going. “AAhoAOhaFFuUCCKkAOAhAOhAAuUGGH! AhoAHOHAASSTTOOPPiIitt!!” Eric grunted through the roaring laughter and thought through the equation in his head but the ruthless fingers in his ribs was like hitting refresh on a computer, shaking up the numbers in Eric’s head and almost making him start over with every few jabs. Eric feared he may not be able to crack this problem and move onto the last one after several minutes until a lightbulb went off in his head. 

In an effort to ensure quality grades, Eric often looked ahead of what was being taught in his classes. Despite not recognizing how to do the one from earlier, he finally realized number 9 was from his textbook and he’d already seen it; it was just a matter of thinking back to the right answer he’d seen while Aaron dominated his ribs. “AAAhAohAOhAaoahIiiGGOOoTTiIiTT!! iiIGGOOOTTIITT!! iIttsS 30!!” Eric announced with a smile of satisfaction, impressed by himself for recalling the answer he’d read the week before. “Nice work, Orlowski. I guess that means you’re down to the last question” Aaron pointed out, also impressed with Eric and officially buying that he was probably the smartest on the team. 

“Do we really have to do one more? I mean even the people in Saw only have to solve one thing” Eric tried to push, getting a laugh from his new coach as the board was cleaned off again. “You might be right but this is my team and I intend for it to be the best. That means no attitude, no partying, no cheating, and nobody’s rules but mine” Coach Hecker explained with a firmer tone as if to assure Eric that he wasn’t about to be swayed by a bunch of 18 yr olds like him and his friends. “Whatever…” was all Eric said, ready to just do the last equation and get it over with. 

Aaron soon finished and put the board back up but Eric’s confidence deflated within seconds. “Is that…that can’t be right” “You really shouldn’t question your coach” Hecker answered without giving much attention to his confusion and pulled the chair back in front of the stocks. “Wait! No, that’s not even calculus!” “Only one of us has a high school diploma and a college degree; I think I know a little more than you do” Coach Hecker assured before really giving Eric something to stress about. 

“AAAAAAHAOhAOHaOHFFfuuUCCckKOhAOHNnnOoNnOOAHOHA!! CCoOmmEEOOnNoAOhAOHAOAHAA!!” Eric erupted with full-bodied laughter, heavier than any he’d let out before as Aaron ravaged both incredibly supple soles. He proved he was holding back earlier as he worked over the stocked feet in front of him, scribbling all over with controlled chaos to his attack Eric didn’t know how to handle. With a stark tan line around his ankles, Eric’s feet only rarely touched the ground without shoes or at least socks and even then, most of his house was carpeted so Aaron’s nails going full force was unbearable. 

His wrists fought with the straps and his legs kicked around to break out of the stocks but if the chair had held Joe, it could definitely hold Eric. “AAhohAOhAOAHALlLLEETTmMEEGGoOOAOhAO!!” “Answer the problem and I will; you know the deal” “AHOhaaAhoIIICCaAANNntTt!!!” Eric confessed after realizing the problem wasn’t calculus; it was far too advanced for even him and he had no chance of solving it in such insane circumstances. Hecker watched Eric go haywire in the chair but still figured he could go harder after a few minutes, suddenly focusing on the creamy pale arches and doing his worst. 

“AAAAAHAOhAOHAOHAOHAOAHAOHMMoOOTTHEheERRFFUUCUCckKKEERR!! AohAoHAAOHAsSTTHoOPPP!! PPPLLLeEEEAASSEEE!! AHoAHAOHAaGGETToOFFmMyYyFFEEEET!! aHoAHAOHAAOAOAHA!!” Eric lost any last bit of composure he had with sharp shrieks and squeals slipping out every few seconds, not even bothering to look at the board any more. Of course Hecker knew he’d given Eric a problem he couldn’t solve but he wanted to really prove who was boss and really torture him a bit while he still had the ridiculously ticklish feet at his mercy. “So what are you not going to do anymore?” “SShhAAREeAAnNnSSWWEEERrsS!!!” “Try again” Aaron pressed and tickled a little faster. “AAHAOhaaOHAACCHhEeEAAATT IiIiWWOonnNTTTCCHHEEAAATT AAnNYYMmMoOORRREE!!! IiISSWWwEEAAARR!!” “See there, I knew you were a smart guy” Aaron answered and finally stopped tickling Eric’s feet. 

“Now that we understand each other, I expect you to be an example for the rest of the team including your buddies. I don’t wanna hear about any more cheating on anything like that; I don’t care if it’s homework or a test or whatever. The Lions don’t cheat. Got it?” “Yes, sir” Eric answered like he didn’t have the energy to do anything but agree. “That’s what I thought” Aaron answered and unlocked the stocks before undoing the straps to release him. Eric quickly put his shoes and socks back on and got a chill up his back even thinking about the fingers on his feet again as Hecker started to leave, “See ya tomorrow, Orlowski. It’s gonna be a good year.”