Chapter 1

Alice heard the door bell, made sure her bookmark was in place before she set her book aside, checked her watched, and smiled. It was six o’clock sharp.

She opened the door, and invited Tina in. The girl was small and shy, and carried a folder with her. She went in and kept her eyes on the floor.

“Take your shoes off”, said Alice. “We all do.”

Tina left her shoes on the hall, looking old and battered compared to the others there. At least they were clean. She walked behind Alice, softly treading on the thick, warm carpets with her socked feet. The living room was large and well-lit, and Alice sat down on a big, comfortable, leather easy chair, rather than the sofa.

“Thank you, Alice”, said Tina. “I owe you one.”

“You really do”, said Alice. “Now, let’s see what you got.”

The shy girl gave Alice her folder, and stood there awkwardly, wondering what to do with her hands. Alice took out a red pen from her pocket, opened the folder, and sighed.

“Don’t loom over me like that”, said Alice. “Sit.” She pointed at the floor at her feet.

“Uh, you mean there?” said Tina.

“No, I mean on the moon. Of course I mean there.”

Tina blushed, jumped at Alice’s sarcastic words, and sat on the floor at her socked feet, trying to find a comfortable position.

“Stop fidgeting”, said Alice. “It’s distracting.”

“Sorry.” Tina wondered why she couldn’t take a place on the sofa, or one of the other seats available, but she tried her best to keep still as her schoolmate checked her work.

“Alright”, said Alice. “You agreed you owed me a favour, didn’t you?”

“Sure, anything”, said Tina.

“Give me a foot rub then”, said Alice, stretching her long, socked feet towards Tina’s lap. Tina dithered as the dirty, white, thick socked heels rested on her legs. As soon as Alice lifted her soles off the floor, a pungent, sharp smell wafted towards Tina, making her nose wrinkle.

“Uh, Alice? You want me to--”

“Unless you don’t nee my help, of course.”

Tina sighed.

“And no sulking!” said Alice.

“Uh, sorry. I just--”

“Quiet, I’m trying to work here! You don’t need your mouth to massage my feet, do you?” Alice snickered. “Well, unless ... but no, get on with it now.”

Tina barely avoided another sigh, held one of Alice’s feet with both of her hands, noticing the sweat on the damp sock, and began to rub Alice’s sole, tracing circles with her fingers, hoping this wouldn’t take too long.

Alice smiled down at her, and started checking the work, marking mistakes with her pen.

“You are really stupid, aren’t you?” said Alice.

Tina kept quiet. She continued rubbing Alice’s foot, hoping she wouldn’t have to answer. Alice prodded her soft belly with the toes of her other foot, making her squirm.

“I asked you a question, Tina. It’s rude not to answer.”

“I’m sorry”, said Tina, rubbing harder. “I guess ... I guess I am quite stupid, yeah.”

“You’re a silly girl.” Tina looked down at the feet on her lap, avoiding Alice’s gaze. “Say it.”

“I’m ... uh, I’m s-silly.”

Alice snorted, and went on marking Tina’s work. Judging by the movements of her red pen, there was a lot wrong with it. She began to wipe her free foot on Tina’s skirt, staining it with her sweat. Poor Tina didn’t dare say anything. It looked like an unconscious movement, like something Alice might just do without noticing, and Tina didn’t want to be told off for being annoying.

Looking at one particular equation, Alice gasped and glared down at Tina.

“Are you deliberately wasting my time?” she said.

“No! I’m just ... I really tried my best, ok? That’s why I asked for help.”

“This is far worse than I thought”, said Alice, still looking down on Tina, tapping her toes on her leg for emphasis. “I can’t believe you are this dumb. It’s going to take longer than I planned for and that means you’re going to owe me even more.”

Tina Nodded her head, abashed.

“Uh, whatever you say, Alice.”

“Change foot.”

“What?”

“You’re being disobedient now?” said Alice, raising her foot towards Tina’s face, almost brushing her upper lip with her socked toes, and placing the other one on Tina’s hands to rub.

“Uh, no. It just caught me by surprise.”

Tina tried to avoid the unbearable smell turning her head, but Alice’s foot kept following her, just this close to her nose, tormenting it with its powerful stench. In the end, she started breathing through her mouth as Alice giggled.

“What’s the matter, Tina? Is my foot smell bothering you?”

“A little.”

“Wow, now I feel really hurt. You come here asking for help and tell me my feet stink? I knew you were dumb, but I thought you had a good heart. Otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered. It’s not like you have money, you can’t help me with anything, and you aren’t even pretty. Still, even a stupid, useless, ugly girl like you can follow simple instructions, if she’s obedient and humble, but it looks you don’t even have that.”

Alice dropped the folder on the floor.

“Please, Alice, forgive me? I just ... I didn’t know it would bother you.”

“What, so you are not apologising for what you said, but claiming I’m too sensitive? Get out.”

“Please! Just tell me what to do?” Tina was pouting and looking forlorn.

“Tell the truth. My feet don’t smell at all, and if they did it wouldn’t bother you. In fact, they’re lovely and you’re lucky to be allowed to be so close to them.”

Tina blushed and looked at Alice, wondering if she really meant it. Alice’s gaze was firm, and Tina wilted under it.

“I’m sorry, Alice. Of course your feet are really pretty and it’s so nice of you to let me rub them and put them so close to my face. They don’t stink at all, they smell really nice.”

“Prove it.”

“Uh, how?”

“Come on, dummy! This is not a maths proof. Even a silly thing like you should be able to work it out. I’ll give you a hint.”

Alice moved her foot even closer to Tina’s face, cupping her nose with her sweat-soaked sock.

Tina was completely shocked by the penetrating smell, making her cough. She had a disgusted face, but she realised she was going to have to do better if she wanted Alice’s help, and it was her last chance.

Alice giggled. “Looks like my feet’s delicious perfume is making you cough. You’ll get used to it though, right? You just love it.”

“Yeah. I ... I love it, thank you Alice.” Tina started sniffing the toes, making delighted, yummy noises, while trying to look like she meant it and containing her nausea.

Alice couldn’t help beginning to cackle.

“Hahahaha, you really are so fucking stupid, Tina. Of course my feet are absolutely disgusting today. I had my training on those socks and then I played a match, and you’re smelling them like it’s candy. What an idiot.”

Tina began to cry with humiliation. She knew she wasn’t the smartest person around, but did Alice have to rub it in like that? And rubbing it she was, just as her damp, sweaty toes kept rubbing all over her nose. She was so beaten down she didn’t even dare to stop sniffing, though, lest Alice would withdraw her offer for help.

“Good girl. You know where you belong. Pass me that folder up so I can finish correcting your mess, and use those hands to press my foot against your face. Rub it with your nose, lips and chin now. Don’t make me do all the work.”

Tina quietly complied, tears running down her face, quietly sobbing, making sure not to make a noise so as not to disturb her classmate as she worked. She used her own face to continue Alice’s foot massage, and she couldn’t help trying to do her best. She always tried. It was just ... she didn’t have the head for most things.

Alice continued working, looking at Tina now and then with a devious smile.

“Look, Tina. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. You really are quite sweet, but honestly, there’s nothing more to you than this. You must know at some level this is true. The best you can hope for is finding someone who understands your limits and finds a use for you, right? Doesn’t it feel good to be told just what to do, and know you can do it? Isn’t it nice not to have to think and get things wrong?”

“Y-yeah, I guess, but--”

“But nothing. Kiss my feet and thank me for this. Really, I think you’ll find you can learn to like it.”

Tina couldn’t believe Alice’s words. Learn to like it? Was she joking? There was something to them, though. It was so easy to just do as she was told, and she enjoyed it when Alice smiled at her with approval. She liked being able to do something right for a change. With nothing left to lose, she began to lay kisses on her classmate’s dirty socks. First they were light, shy, squeamish little kisses, but to her surprise she realised she wanted to do this right. She wanted to please Alice and see her smile at her again, so she began to kiss more deeply and passionately, letting the tip of her tongue touch the wet, grimy fabric, tasting the salty, sharp flavour of stale sweat.

“Good girl, Tina. Keep doing that.”

Tina continued her homage to Alice’s foot as her classmate set aside her folder and closed her eyes, an amused, satisfied smile of relaxation on her face.

“Uh, how much longer?” said Tina.

“I’ll tell you when to stop”, said Alice. “hold both feet up, and bury your face deep in there.”

Tina complied, running her nose all over the groove between the feet, pressing the soles against her cheeks and laying kisses all over them, soiling her face and tongue with the sweat and lint coming off the dirty socks.

“Hmmm, that’s lovely. I think I’ll keep you, little one. Would you like doing this for me every day?”

“Yes”, said Tina, surprised. “I ... I guess it’s as you say. I mean, I don’t really like the smell so much but ... I love being able to do something good for someone for a change.”

Alice patted the submissive girl’s hair, like a dog, and gave her a patronising smile that Tina confused with affection. She responded kissing with all her devotion, feeling things she felt too dumb to put in words. She had given Alice her heart. She kept kissing, sniffing and rubbing as Alice giggled, sighed with pleasure, and finally fell asleep.

Alice slowly woke up from her nap, noticing a pleasant feeling on her soles. She opened her eyes and saw her classmate Tina still kissing and rubbing her socked feet with her face, and she remembered how well her plan had gone. Tina seemed completely focused on her servile task, taking deep breaths as she nuzzled Alice’s socks. It was nice to feel the coolness from the air she breathed in where she pressed her little nose.

“Enough, Tina”, said Alice, startling the girl at her feet.

“Oh, uh, ok”, said Tina, gently laying Alice’s socked feet on the floor. “You were sleeping for quite a while.”

“Are you complaining?” said Alice, firmly looking down on her.