The Tickle Arcade

"Come on Sammi, don't lag behind!" Jemima shouted back. "I promised your parents I'd stay right by you at the arcade today. Don't make me a liar."

"I'm hurrying!" Sammi sighed as she picked up her pace to keep up with her friend. The young middle school girl was usually able to keep up with her energetic friend, but today she found herself left behind a lot. Jemima had promised to show her to the arcade that every kid in their class talked about, and she had never been to this part of the city before. The area was like a child's dream - game shops, toy stores, and candy stalls nearly everywhere you looked. Sammi was awestruck by such a place and could not help but fall behind now and again as she stopped to stare in the shop windows.

When she finally caught up with Jemima this time, the older girl grabbed her firmly by the hand. Sammi smiled and entwined her fingers with Jemima's. She did not mind holding the other girl's hand like she did with her mother. Her mother did it because she thought Sammi was too young and needed an adult. Jemima did it because she just wanted to be friendly, and Sammi liked that about the girl. The older girl had always been so nice and helpful to her ever since Sammi transferred to St. Lolita's just last month.

Hand in hand, the two girls finally found their way to the popular arcade that Sammi had heard so much about from her classmates. From what she had heard, the place was cool and fun, but she did not know what kind of games to expect. She wasn't one who was drawn much to video games, but Jemima had promised that they would have fun together, so she had finally decided to give it a try.

Inside the arcade, Sammi rubbed her eyes as they adjusted to the dim lighting. She looked around at the other kids milling around the lobby, happy to recognize quite a few of her classmates, all of whom were still wearing their St. Lolita uniforms. While she had never been a shy child, it did make her feel better knowing that there were plenty of people around that she already knew. Jemima lets go of her hand now as she led the way to the front counter that was manned by a teenager who looked like he would rather be anywhere else than here. When Jemima kicked off her shoes and started to pull off her socks, Sammi frowned in confusion.

"Come on, silly," Jemima laughed when she saw Sammi's face. She handed her footwear to the teenaged boy and motioned to Sammi's feet. "We can't go to the games if you keep on your shoes and socks."

The no shoes rule was something that Sammi was use to with a lot of play areas, but she was use to having to keep her socks on. Still, she did not want to argue with Jemima and did as she was told. After balling up her socks and stuffing them into her shoes, Sammie handed her footwear over to the teenager and followed Jemima into the game room.

All around them were various video games, most of them with a large line to play it or a group of kids who had already wasted all their money standing around as they watched someone else play. Everyone was laughing and giggling as they struggled in their seats, and Sammi could not help but smile to herself. It seemed like Jemima had really picked another fun place to visit, as usual. The girls milled around aimless for a bit, pointing at games to try and before turning the idea down for one reason or another.

"Hey, that one looks like it might be fun," Sammi said as she nudged Jemima. She pointed to a racing game that surprisingly was not in use.

Jemima's face broke into a large grin. "Ha, that's one of my favorites. You got good taste, pigtails," she teased, giving one of Sammi's long blond pigtails a gentle pull. The older girl quickly ran over to the racing game and slipped into the first player spot. "Hurry up before someone else joins!" she yelled.

Giggling, Sammi jogged over to the racing game and checked it out. It seemed like the standard type of race car game, where the player presses pedals to go and maneuvers their car with a steering wheel. She glanced at the side of the game where the name 'DAYTONA USA -TICKLE EDITION!' was emblazoned on the side. The 'Tickle Edition' gave her a bit of a pause, but Sammi brushed it off and climbed into the second player seat. She slipped her money into the machine and grabbed the steering wheel. When the game refused to start up, she frowned.

"Why won't it work?" she asked confused.

"You gotta put your cuffs on," Jemima laughed. She pointed to the pedals at the bottom of the seats, and it was at that point that Sammi noticed something strange. There were cuffs attached to the gas and brake pedals, ones that did not seem to have a keyhole to undo them. The pedals themselves also looked strange, as they were only thin strips of metal for the feet to rest on. Just below the pedals were feathers that were slowly spinning, and it seemed that just by pressing down even in the slightest on the pedals would cause your feet to be tickled throughout the game.

All of this seemed weird to Sammi, but she did not want to say anything. After all, all the kids around her acted like they were having the times of their lives, so these games must be a lot of fun. And she did not want to shrug off the game and find something different to play because Jemima seemed so excited that Sammi had chosen this game in particular.

Sammi bent down and lightly put her feet on the pedals and locked the cuffs in place around her slim ankles. She shivered for a moment as the cool metal came in contact with her warm, bare skin, but she did her best not to think on it. Once the cuffs were in place, Sammi's screen lit up to display a track selection page.

Jemima began bouncing in her seat, eager for the game to start. "Which track would you want to try out? What about this one - it has a lot of twists and turns, so it's kind of hard but super fun! Or this one - it has a lot of short cuts, and I like trying to find them all. Or maybe . . ." Jemima trailed off as she noticed Sammi's nervousness. "Or we could do this track," the brunette suggested, highlighting a very simple track. "It's a bit long, but a good one to start on if you've never played before. What do ya say?"

Grateful for her friend's understanding, Sammi nodded her head in relief. If Jemima liked this game, that must mean she was at least somewhat good at it. While a bit of competitive spirit was all fun, the last thing she wanted was to fail horribly her first time playing the game. "Can we do easy mode too?" the younger girl asked nervously, to which Jemima agreed.

Once everything had been selected, their screens started a countdown, announcing that the game will begin shortly if a third and fourth player were not added in the next few seconds. Sammi glanced around and saw that a small handful of children had started to gather around the game to watch the race, but no one hopped in to play. The blond took a deep breath and grabbed ahold of her steering wheel, her knuckles turning white from gripping it too tightly and her palms sweaty. She felt a bit nervous playing a game she had no experience in with a bunch of people watching, but she quickly reminded herself that these people were her friends and soon relaxed.

Jemima glanced over at her and gave a thumbs up. "Just have fun, okay Sammi?"

Sammi nodded and turned back to her screen, feeling better about most everything now. The game had finally stopped waiting for new arrivals and displayed the selected track. The girls watched as their cars rolled up to the starting line, flanked by six other computer controlled cars. A new countdown appeared on the screen, and Sammi counted along underneath her breath. Five . . . Four . . . Three . . .

At this point, the gas pedals locked themselves down in place and forced Sammi and Jemima's feet against the spinning feathers. Both of the girls began to giggle, biting down on their lips to hold it in. Sammi tried to pull her feet off of the pedals but could not as the cuffs kept her feet firmly in place. It seemed that now there was no way to get the cuffs off except to wait for the game to end and for the cuffs to unlock themselves.

. . . Two . . .

By now the girls were unable to hold back their laughter, giggling loudly as they struggled in their seats. Tears had already begun to form in Sammi's eyes from all the laughter, and she wiped them off with her shoulder, not wanting to let go of her steering wheel with the race being so close to starting.

. . . One . . . GO!

The computer controlled cars zoomed off from the starting line, all driving in a perfectly straight line. Sammi and Jemima's cars, however, were swerving all over the track as the girls struggled to control their driving while their bare feet were being tickled mercilessly. There were several times when they had nearly crashed their cars off the course or into each other, but after a bit the girls managed to pull ahead of the pack as they raced along the track.

Their good driving skills only lasted for so long. After only making it halfway around the first lap, Sammi's car swerved and ended up crashing into another car, putting Jemima in the lead. The older girl was not able to stay in first place for long, as she struggled and twisted in her seat as she laughed, moving her steering wheel with her body. This led to her car going off the track and crashing into a rock. The girls did not mind their mishaps and continued laughing as their cars were placed back onto the tracks, and they continued on, struggling to keep a steady hand on their controls as they were tickled.

As the game went on, more and more children gathered around the two girls to watch the race. The constant tickles at Sammi's delicate feet were distracting enough, but now she also had to listen to the kids all about her.

"Stay on the track, stay on the track!"

"Go that way! There's a short cut that way!"

"This track doesn't have shortcuts, silly."

"Oh, come on! Hurry up and finish the race. I wanna play it next!"

All the different voices and advice made things even more difficult for her, and Sammi's car ended up crashing around the course multiple times. It seemed as though Jemima was not doing much better, her own car falling behind as it veered off the road and into the other vehicles. By now, the girl's were not concerned with their horrible driving or their rank in the race. They were too busy enjoying the game, laughing together as they struggled to complete their finals laps while the tickles continued endlessly against their bare, pink feet.

"Yeesh, Sammi, you're such a bad driver!" Sammi recognized the voice as her classmate Becky. She did not even need to turn around in her seat to know that Becky had fixed her with a disapproving glare. "I've seen five year olds come in here and play this game better than you."

"Knock it off, Becky. You can wait your turn," came Hannah, yet another girl from their class at St. Lolita's. "Remember Jemima telling us that this was going to be Sammi's first time coming here to the arcade? She's never played this game before, and I think she's doing pretty darn well, considering." Sammi could feel a gentle hand patting her on the shoulder and knew that it belonged to Hannah. "Don't listen to her. You're doing great. Just make it to the finish line!"

The next thing Sammi knew, a pair of hands had reached around and began to tickle her sides. The blond girl shrieked with laughter. She tried to lean forward in her seat to escape the wiggling fingers, but it was no use. As she squirmed in her seat, Sammi's sweaty hands released the steering wheel, and she fell back. Her seat reclined, and she could now see Becky leaning over her, tickling her without end.

"S-stop it, Becky!" Sammi gasped. She wrapped her arms around her body, trying to close off her most sensitive area from her attacker's prying fingers. But it was no use. Becky's tickles along with the feathers that were will brushing against the soles of Sammi's feet left the girl helpless. All she could do was lie on her back as she screamed with laughter.

On the screen, Sammi's car veered off the road and crashed into random objects over and over again. Jemima's car lapped her, and it seemed as though the older girl would win the game.

"Hmph. This isn't fair," Hannah complained. She watched as Sammi rolled around in her seat, giggling as she was tickled, and an idea popped into her head. The young girl slipped past the other students and came around to Jemima. She began to tickle Jemima's ribs, digging her fingers into her delicate skin.

Jemima burst out laughing but tried to wiggle away from her attacker. She had seen how this tactic had taken down Sammi, and she was not about to let it work on her. The older girl managed to hold out much longer than Sammi had, but once Hannah's tricky fingers found their way into her armpits it was all over. Jemima released her steering wheel and fell back in her seat, laughing loudly as Hannah continued to torture her with tickles.

Both of the girls were at the mercy of their classmates for the next few minutes. After a bit, Hannah and Becky finally stopped their tickle attacks and allowed the girls to sit back up to continue the game. The race was pretty much finished, with all the computer controlled cars already having made it through the finish line. Out of breath and feeling weak, Sammi and Jemima did their best to steer their cars back on the course and slowly make their way to the finish line as the losers.

GAME OVER

The game screen displayed the racing times, and Sammi sighed, happy that the game was over. She tried to pull her feet off of the pedals but found that the cuffs were still locked tight. "Wh-why won't it let me go?!" she giggled, her feet still being tickled by the feathers.

"It's a penalty for losing," Becky informed her smartly. "You and Jemima had the worst scores, so you two have to stay locked in for extra time and be tickled."

Sammi began to struggle against her cuffs as she laughed, but they refused to give. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Jemima was still being tickled as well, her friend squirming all around as the feathers seemed to blast into overdrive and rub their bare soles. After what felt like an eternity, Sammi heard the metal cuffs finally unlatch, allowing her to pull her feet away.

The young girl tried to stand on her own, but found that her legs were too weak, and she grabbed onto her seat in order to keep from falling. Her feet felt tingly and numb, and she giggled as she watched Jemima struggle to stand up as well. The two girls clung to each other as they hobbled away from the game, allowing the other children a turn.

"See, wasn't that fun?" Jemima giggled.

"It was," Sammi agreed. "But next time warn me if tickles are going to happen! You know I'm overly ticklish." She looked around at all the other games, wondering which one would be best to try next. She doubted that her body could take any more tickles right now, but it had just been so much fun that she could not help but want to play more.

As the girls stumbled around, they kept giggling as their delicate pink feet tingled with each step. Jemima wobbled and tried to throw more of her weight on Sammi, but the young blondes' weak legs were unable to support them both. The two girls ended up falling down on the floor in a pile of limbs and giggles.

"Ugh, I can't even get up," Jemima laughed. "This day is great."

Sammi nodded in agreement as she allowed her body a moment to relax. She certainly did have the time of her life.