Carla is tickled at the fair

This is a single story, which isn’t part of any of my series but that I wanted to write. I hope you enjoy it!

———

It was the annual fair in our local village — autumn seemed to have come earlier than planned and the trees were filled with different shades of orange, red and brown. The field usually only used by dog walkers was now filled with hustle and bustle. Crowds had gathered as usual, some slightly annoyed they had to wrap up warmer than years before due to the unexpected chilly weather, and the peaceful village was lit up by chatter, laughter and silly tunes playing as the fair became busier.

I was walking with my two best friends, Elizabeth and Carla. It had been Carla’s idea, of course. More bolshy and energetic than both Elizabeth and I, Carla was definitely the one in charge and the one we followed. Elizabeth and I would’ve preferred to spend our Saturday indoors — both of us had good books we were planning to read, and I’d looked forward after a week of working to snuggling under my favourite blanket with my dog, reading by my large window, but Carla had knocked on my door this morning not long after I’d finished breakfast with a large grin. “Fair time!”

I’d groaned, but shoved on my wellies and raincoat, not because it looked wet or rain was even due, but because if I couldn’t feel cosy indoors, I was going to feel cosy outdoors!

Secretly I was pleased she’d turned up, as the fair did excite me a bit, and I had actually thought someone like Carla would find it a bit childish and juvenile. But apparently not. We had spent the walk to Elizabeth’s small cottage on the edge of the village chatting excitedly about what kind of rides there may be, and if the really tall one that had been there last year that swung you upside down was going to be back.

There were also going to be stalls there. I had heard rumours of things like tarot readings, and face painting, but who knows what other stalls were going to be there. Once we’d stopped by to get Elizabeth, and were on our way to the field, we noticed how many people were there… even more than last year! Lights were dazzling us, people were screaming on various rides, and stalls and tents were lined up all along the outside of the field, and it stretched so far back. I got so excited, and my book was long forgotten.

Elizabeth hung back slightly behind us, her long, golden hair covering her nervous looking face. “There’s so much going on…” She said.

Carla turned her bouncy walk into a skip and bounded ahead of us, emphasising her enthusiasm. “Exactly!”

I turned to Elizabeth. “You’ll be fine.” I linked my arm through hers. I knew from last year she hadn’t been so keen on any of the rides, and this time it looked like there was much more than before. She was probably feeling overwhelmed, and I knew Carla wouldn’t have much sympathy.

“Oh gosh, they have that thing where you test your strength. Oooh, is that the upside down ride back? It is! It is, look… wait, what’s that in that tent? Is that a ghost ride? Let’s go on that, oh please! Please, let’s do that now! Samantha, come on!” Carla was buzzing with excitement, talking so quickly that her words were mostly drowned out by the loud music and voices all around us.

Elizabeth tugged at my arm. “I really don’t want to go on a ghost train, Samantha…”

I peered at where she was looking, and where Carla was headed, her oversized red sweater standing out amongst the crowd. She turned and smiled at us, her face shiny and glowing. She had on blue baggy jeans and her brown sturdy boots, and she stomped them on the ground, her energy vibrating out from her as she pointed up to the ghost ride. “Whaddya say?”

“I don’t know… who knows what’s inside?” Elizabeth wrapped her thin blue cardigan around herself more.

The ghost train looked tame to me, but I wasn’t going to say it in front of Elizabeth and make her feel bad. Sometimes this was what it was like, me having to constantly mediate between Carla’s fearless personality and Elizabeth’s more tame one.

“Oh Elizabeth, there’s kids on the ride! Stop being such a baby.” Carla exclaimed, laughing.

I gave Carla a look, and turned to Elizabeth. “We can give it a go and tell you how it is?”

Carla rolled her eyes, and giggled. “The whole thrill factor of rides is not knowing what’s going to happen!” She put her arm around Elizabeth’s shoulder and held her there, while Elizabeth attempted to wriggle away. “Not knowing is part of the fun…Let’s go! We’re at the fair! The rides are the best part! Come on!” She wailed into her ear, pleading.

Elizabeth was shy, but determined. “No, you guys can go. I’ll wait here.”

So we did, and it turned out to be incredibly bad, so we spent half the time laughing at the attempts at being scary. Carla then spent the rest of the ride reaching around and touching my ear at tense moments, like just when we were about to ride by a closed wardrobe with a creaking sound effect. Or she would touch my neck when it got dark and I couldn’t see and thought it was part of the ride, making me jump and shriek. She was, as much as I hated to admit it, the reason the ghost train had any fear factor for me at all.

We met Elizabeth after, and feeling a little bad coming off the ride in giggles as she stood there alone, we decided to head to the stalls and tents at the back of the field, and away from the rides for the moment.

Various stalls were out in the open – flashing their signs and shouting at people walking past to come and try and play some games, win some prizes, and things like that. Other stalls were more mysterious… you had to walk right up to them to figure out what was going on. We were just looking at a tent selling lots of different items when Carla pointed at where a large crowd was gathered towards the back of the field.

“What is that?!”

At first we couldn’t make out what was going on, because of the group, but walking closer we realised we were looking at what could only be described as a cabin or trailer with one huge horizontal window across the side, which is where lots of people were standing and looking into. It looked almost like a small building at a zoo, where people could look through the glass, only it was on wheels.

“Hmm.. I wonder if there are animals in there?” Elizabeth said. “Hopefully yes because that would be lovely to see, but hopefully no because it doesn’t look like the nicest looking place for them to be kept…”

We started walking over and I had to agree with her. The cabin looked very dark and dull, almost scruffy. But whatever was inside was attracting a lot of attention. People were barely interacting, but glued to the window, and smiling to themselves, some even laughing. As we approached, I got the feeling it wasn’t anything to do with animals but some sort of show.

“Look…” Carla said, and pointed to a small fence surrounding the cabin that was barely visible before, which had a sign attached to it that said: “THE CHALLENGE. Can you handle it?” along with other information.

“Oh gosh…” I said, noticing the sign was dotted with drawings of feathers as well.

“It says you get a pass to ride every ride for free! For the whole fair!” Carla said excitedly.

“If you win…” said Elizabeth.

“Well, what’s the challenge?” Carla replied. “I bet I can do it.”

We stared in silence, mesmerised by the scene in front of us. It felt quieter back here, and the sounds of the fair were just background noise in the distance. We moved closer, trying not to be noticed by the crowd, but they were clearly fixated by whatever was on the other side of the window.

“I don’t fancy that prize anyway.” Elizabeth wriggled her nose, as both Carla and I failed to push our way into the crowd.

Carla laughed. “Well, you were too scared to even go on a childish ghost train, so I doubt you’d manage this challenge…. Whatever it is.”

Elizabeth pushed her lightly. “Go on then. Let’s see what it is.”

I laughed to myself as they both went ahead of me. I noticed someone exiting the cabin off to the side, and some of the people who had been watching through the window now moving back, as if the show was over. Some stayed where they were, putting hands in their pockets and shuffling around, as if waiting for the next thing to happen. And others were also joining them, like we were, curious about what was behind the window.

We approached the side of the cabin, where a curtain hung over a small doorway. A woman was sitting on a stool behind it, with her legs draped casually. She smiled as we came over. “Hello. Fancy a go?”

“What’s the challenge?” Carla asked, boldly.

“Are you ticklish?” She smirked.

“Ticklish?!” Carla exclaimed, confused. I swallowed, already knowing where this was going. The feathers on the sign.

“She is!” Elizabeth answered for her, suddenly looking eager. I also knew for a fact that Carla was incredibly ticklish. Anytime we’d accidentally poked or tickled her she’d react wildly, nearly kicking us. And once when she was in front of me I’d lightly tickled the back of her neck and she stopped talking to me for an hour. So Elizabeth and I knew not to do it.

“No I’m not!” Carla shot back, as she turned to the woman. “What do I have to do?”

The woman giggled. “Well, be tickled of course! For ten minutes straight.”

“That’s it?!” Carla snorted.

“That’s it.” The woman said.

Carla looked at us. “What a joke. Tickling! It really is a kids fair this, isn’t it?”

I glanced at the woman, who winked at me. She leaned towards Carla and spoke in a whisper. “Don’t let the guys see you have that arrogant attitude, or they’ll make it hard for you, sweetheart.”

“And people can watch through that window?” Elizabeth asked.

“That’s right. Spectators. To make it all the more embarrassing.” The woman said.

“How many people have won a pass today?” I asked.

“Zero.” The woman stood up off her stool, and drew back the curtain. We still couldn’t see right in but I could make out a chair of some sort in the background.

“Zero? Are you kidding me?” Carla turned to us, laughing.

The woman ignored her and asked us to come inside. I was surprised, as I imagined Elizabeth and I would be asked to wait outside and watch through the window. But she closed the curtain over behind us and suddenly we were in the cabin, with people from the fair looking in at us from outside. It suddenly felt very strange. Elizabeth and I were directed to one side by the woman, who told us to sit on the floor. “Front row seats for your friends.” She said to Carla, who was suddenly looking nervous. I could understand why.

In the middle of the room was a chair that looked incredibly scary. It had arms that stuck out either side with straps or buckles on them, and the same at the bottom end for what looked like your feet. There were two young guys who were on the other side of the room, right next to a large bucket of different utensils. I could already see feathers poking out of the bucket, as well as some other objects I wasn’t familiar with.

“Hey guys! So… you’re up for the challenge?” One of the men said, introducing himself as Evan and his friend as Jack.

“Just her.” I pointed at Carla, making sure I wasn’t involved in this. I noticed more and more people gathering outside to watch.

“Uh…” Carla said, quietly. She looked at the chair. “What is that thing?”

“So here’s the rules. You’ll be tied to the chair. Removal of both socks and shoes. And probably your sweatshirt, as it looks pretty heavy. You’ll be set a time of 10 minutes. You’ll be tickled for those 10 minutes. If you want it to stop at any time, we stop and you get off the chair. If you don’t stop, you win the pass. Understood?” Jack said.

“Also, any tool you don’t want us to use out of these, let us know beforehand. Any questions?” Said Evan.

Carla looked at the bucket of tools, biting her lip, before looking upwards to the window, with all the faces looking in, people smiling and waiting for the fun to begin. “Uh…” She turned to us. “You know what? This is kind of lame, isn’t it? Shall we just go somewhere else?”

“Wait, have we found a ride you’re scared of?” Elizabeth smiled at her. I tried to hide the smirk forming on my lips. It wasn’t like the roles to be reversed like this. Jack gave a little laugh in the background.

Carla went red. She hated being embarrassed in front of others. “No! I just-“

“I’ll go on the ghost train if you win this. Myself. No, I’ll go on the upside down ride.” Elizabeth said.

“What?!” I turned to her, laughing. Elizabeth was terrified of the rides.

“Oh, I know she won’t complete it.” Elizabeth said casually, and this time both Jack and Evan did laugh out loud.

“Your friends don’t beleive in you!” Jack laughed, twirling a feather in the air.

Carla was blushing like crazy.

“You know what, fine. I’ll prove you wrong. It’s just a stupid challenge.” She said, kicking off her boots and bending down to take off her socks. She threw her sweatshirt over her head in a hurry, revealing her white tank top that showed off her tan skin. Elizabeth was giggling beside me. Part of me felt sorry for Carla, but I couldn’t help but understand the way Elizabeth was reveling in it. None of us had ever saw Carla flustered or scared at all, but she routinely took joy in Elizabeth being exactly that.

Evan patted the chair. “Come on then, Miss. You show them how it’s done.” He winked at both Elizabeth and I, who were perched on the floor, and I waited in anticipation as he strapped Carla into the chair. She seemed to gulp the second her arms were strapped in place, realising she really couldn’t get out of there.

She stared intently as Jack secured her feet in the straps at the other end, revealing her bare feet sticking out the ends of her baggy jeans. She shook her head slightly and glared over at us.

“I hate you two.”

I stuck my tongue out at her. “Hey, you like a challenge!”

She said nothing in reply.

“Remember the rules?” Evan said, as he set up a clock with a countdown for 10 minutes in the corner of the room. Carla nodded. “Now, if you want us to stop.. the sentence is ‘I can’t complete this challenge’. Got it?”

“I won’t be saying that.” She muttered in reply. She glanced at the clock, as if hoping the 10 minutes were counting down already. Jack was rummaging around in the bucket and produced another feather which he gave to his friend.

“Good luck, Carla!” Elizabeth called out, with a slight edge of mocking.

“You too. That upside down ride is waiting for you.” Carla said, breathing out heavily and closing her eyes. Elizabeth nudged me and I laughed.

“Okay… time starts… NOW!” Evan called out. Carla gave a small shriek, even before they came near her, and it was so surprising to hear to Elizabeth and I that we immediately grabbed one another without thinking, sizzling with what was happening in front of us. Carla was completely helpless and we knew just how much she couldn’t stand being tickled. We were absolutely, shamelessly enjoying our friend’s helpless situation.

Evan and Jack came either side of her and bent down at her feet. They started to run each feather slowly over the soles of each foot, dragging them up and down. I cringed inside, imagining how much I myself could not handle that. Carla was doing well, though. I observed how when the feathers went down over the top parts of her foot, she seemed to wriggle a little more, but relaxed slightly as the feather went back up. She was still keeping her eyes closed, breathing slowly and clearly determined not to laugh or give any sign of weakness.

Jack seemed to notice the same thing I did. He changed his feather from up and down motions to side to side, and concentrated on the top of her foot, while Evan continued to drag the feather up and down the other one. This time, Carla let out a noise, and tried to cover it up with a cough. Evan caught on too, and then they both wriggled their feathers along the top of her soles, right under her toes, getting quicker and quicker. Carla groaned a little, and couldn’t hold it in any further. She let out a laugh, and it seemed like the minute she did, she couldn’t stop. The boys used their feathers in circular motions, and Jack moved to her toes, going in between each one with the feather as Evan drew circles with the feather tip just where it tickled most. Carla was laughing so hard that it filled the entire room, and Elizabeth and I couldn’t help but smile.

Out of nowhere, the boys put down their feathers and used their fingers instead. This time, Carla let out a yell. “No! Nooo!” However, Jack and Evan ignored her. They had all of their fingers on each foot, going everywhere, and Carla was laughing harder. She was attempting to move her feet as much as possible, her legs trying to bend, but of course she was stuck. I looked over at the clock, and was surprised to see it wasn’t even under 8 and a half minutes. 10 minutes was longer than you thought, and I knew Carla was probably thinking the same.

As Evan continued on her feet, switching between nails and fingers, Jack got up and approached her side, and this time, she opened her eyes. “Please, no!” She said as she noticed him there, clearly not wanting any other part of her to be tickled.

Jack used his hands to lightly stroke over her tank top, and as soon as he started, Carla screamed. He was moving as gently as possible over her stomach, hips, ribs and then up to her underarms, which were exposed fully due to her arms being stretched out at either side. Her hands grasped wildly at nothing, and she buckled as he went faster under her arms, as she cried out. “No, I can’t… No! Oh my GOSH!”

Elizabeth put her own hand up to her mouth as she watched, both of us smiling. Our friend was going through the worst torture and we could only sit here and witness it. I glanced at the window. It seemed everyone else was enjoying it as much as we were. People were grinning hard, their eyes fixed on Carla.

Evan now got up to join Jack, and Carla took the few seconds of not being tickled to plead with them: “Please, not up here, I-“

“Then where?” Evan grinned down at her, before both boys started tickling her stomach, one of them easing up her tank top slightly so that they got a sliver of skin they could focus on. By now, Carla was going crazy. She was thrashing around, trying to move from side to side and get away, but she was completely restrained and had to feel every single sensation they were giving her. Something strange was happening to me as I was watching. I started feeling incredibly warm, and regretting wearing wellies. My whole body was on fire, and something about seeing someone be tortured like this while they could do nothing about it was creating sensations all around me. The fact it was my friend that I had watched dominate both Elizabeth and I for years just made those sensations worse… something about seeing her completely lose it and break her usual fearless facade was intoxicating.

Elizabeth was clearly feeling the same. She looked the most elated I’d ever seen her, her eyes lit up as she watched and her cheeks flushed.

“You reckon she’s gonna break?” I whispered to her.

Elizabeth looked at the clock. “She better.”

But despite Carla’s shouting, pleading and intense laughing, she hadn’t said the sentence yet, and was showing no signs of doing so. She was a stubborn thing, and we knew it.
Evan and Jack were switching up between her stomach and underarms, and Carla continued to laugh out, begging them to stop. Evan went back to her feet and picked up the feathers again, and slowly ran them both between her toes on either foot. Carla grimaced, and moaned, and then burst into laughter again as Jack dug into her hips. Carla’s eyes watched him move, following his fingers as they teased her, going back up to her stomach.

Elizabeth stood up, and it attracted the boys attention. “Want to join in?” asked Jack, looking at her. Elizabeth was walking towards Carla before I knew what was going on.

“She can see where you’re going… ” Elizabeth said, going around the back of Carla. She placed her hands over Carla’s eyes, much to the frustration of her friend. “Let’s put a stop to that.” I couldn’t believe I was watching Elizabeth, usually shy and timid, join in, and with such confidence. She really seemed to enjoy it, and I was feeling the same. I watched the scene in front of me, almost feeling jealous, wanting to find my own ways to frustrate Carla.

Jack let out a whoop of delight at Elizabeth’s idea. “I like her!” He grinned, as he tickled her hips harder.

“Eliza-bethhhh!” Carla cried out. “Stop it! I can’t see! I really can’t… I can’t do it anymore-“

Elizabeth was grinning as much as Carla was laughing. “What did you say to me earlier? Not knowing is part of the fun?”

I laughed as I watched Carla’s face screw up as her words got used against her. Elizabeth kept her hands there, preventing Carla from being able to see what was coming next. This made Jack jump on her underarms and Carla screamed, not expecting it, making the laughter get louder and more frustrated.

Evan, who was still torturing her feet, looked over at me. “Go on, join in.”

“No! Don’t you dare, Samantha! Both of you, STOP!” Carla yelped out, clearly panicking at the thought of another person going to make her situation worse. The clock was now sitting at just under 5 minutes.

“I think I will.” I smiled, and it was as if my mind made me say it without thinking. I made my way over to the chair, desperate to get in on the situation. Elizabeth decided to move from her position and join Evan at her feet, and she used her long nails to drag them down her soles, as Evan tickled with the feather over her toes, which had more of an effect. Carla spluttered as she now felt three pairs of hands on her. “No… I really can’t, I’m gonna have to- pleaseeee, no!”

Jack ignored Carla’s cries and looked at me as I decided what I was going to do and where I was going to go. Carla glanced up at me, her face shiny with sweat and her eyes pleading. “Samantha… noooo…”

Unfortunately, I was going to be very unkind to my friend. I knew she was more ticklish on her upper body. I’d noticed that much. But I had a feeling I knew somewhere she was really going to lose it.

I bent down behind Carla, so my face was in level with hers, and she tugged at her arm straps, the intimacy of me being right there watching her face in turmoil up close being too much to deal with.

“Samantha, don’t… ” She pleaded.

But I couldn’t help myself. “Weren’t you constantly all up in my ear and neck earlier, on the ghost train?” I teased, whispering into her ear, while the two guys grinned up at me working my magic.

Carla shook her head frantically… “No-I” her words turned into laughter as Jack’s fast fingers on her stomach, Evan’s feathers and Elizabeth’s nails became too much.

“I think you were…” I whispered, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Right here…” I placed a finger on her neck, testing it out, dragging it down right under her collarbone and back up again. She squirmed in her seat and bit her lip. I could tell from that reaction alone that I’d picked correct. Bing-o.

“Oh my gosh, oh my- GOSH!” She squealed, and another side of my friend came out completely as I used all five fingers now, wriggling on the side of her neck, and then slowly did the same with my other hand. I was cupping her neck with both hands on either side while tickling, working my fingers all over her sensitive skin as she changed completely beneath me. My face was right next to hers, watching every reaction.

This time she wasn’t laughing, but was silently giggling, wriggling and tossing her head about as much as it would let her. Elizabeth was giggling too from the bottom of the chair, and I knew from the boys reaction that I was doing well.

“I can’t-please, s-s-stop!” She cried out quietly.

I continued anyway. I noticed Elizabeth moving her nails faster and harder, more determined. And Evan was now using his hands on the other foot. Jack had moved up to her ribs and was using both hands to tickle her intensely there, and I could tell Carla was losing it.

“What is it?” I purred into her ear. “Carla can’t handle four people positively driving her crazy with only their fingers?” To make my point, I used my nails and dragged them up and down her neck at the same time as I spoke, and watched as the sensations turned even more intense for her. “Surely she can? Even when I go… here?” I moved my fingers towards the back of her neck, where I’d got her before and my fingers crept from the base of her scalp all the way over the back of her neck, and to the sides again, making sure I used a light touch to make her feel it intensely.

“Mmmpphhh!” She said.

Everyone seemed to know that this was the moment to double down, and I watched as the tickling exploded further down her body.

“She really can’t seem to handle it at all…” I whispered even more quietly, my lips basically grazing her ear, and I made sure my fingers moved faster, touching every sensitive spot I knew would be driving her crazy.

This, paired with everyone else’s tickling, seemed to do the trick as Carla cried out in frustration, her cheeks on fire and her body unable to escape. “I-I-I can’t handle! I can’t-complete- this! I can’t complete this challenge! I-I…”

We all stopped at the exact same time, and glanced at the clock. 56 seconds to go.

It felt like someone had flicked a switch inside of me. Everything had halted, and my body was buzzing with excitement that now had been cut. I was suddenly aware of the people outside, noses pressed up to the glass, when seconds before I’d been so focused on the situation that they had escaped my vision. Carla was panting on the chair, completely exhausted. Jack and Evan immediately started to unstrap her from it, but let her lie there. They cleared up the feathers and started making friendly chat.

“You nearly did it!” Jack chuckled. “Closest we’ve got all day!”

Carla said nothing, and lay there with eyes closed, still in the same position the guys had untied her from. Elizabeth collected her shoes and socks and put them on for her. I grabbed her sweatshirt, and she sat up. All three of us looked at each other in pause, then burst out laughing. She glared at us, but I was pleased to see it was paired with a grin. “Don’t even say a word.” She threw her sweatshirt over her head and made her way out of the cabin.

Elizabeth and I started to make our way out. I called to Jack and Evan as we left. “You guys are clearly very good at this!”

Jack shook his head. “It was when you guys joined in that she really started to crack… and your verbal teasing! I think it done the trick.”

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at me. “I think so too.”

I blushed. “I was just joining in…”

“You have a talent!” Jack shouted, as Evan nodded enthusiastically beside him.

We left the cabin, the woman on the stool giving us a wave, and found Carla outside, her arms crossed across her chest as she stared at the ground waiting on us . It felt weird being back outside, all of us had been warmed up completely inside the cabin and the cold hit us fast.

There was a silence as we stood there. Elizabeth looked at me. Usually, Carla was the one deciding the rules, where to go, what to do. She was always the one talking first. We weren’t used to taking control. But clearly, something had changed.

“Are you okay?” Elizabeth asked her quietly. “Cos if you’re tired after that…we can walk you home.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Carla looked up and then stared ahead at the fair. She let out a deep breath. Then smiled at us. “No, I want to stay.” She unfolded her arms and slapped them against her jeans. “You guys got me good, I must say.”

I tilted my head to the side. “Only slightly…” I smirked at her.

“Let the bragging commence, I guess.” She said, and playfully pushed past us. “Back to the rides?” She bounded on ahead, determined. Elizabeth grabbed my hand and squeezed it and we gratefully followed, but there was a hint of understanding between us now. I could feel it. We had a power we didn’t have before. We started to walk back to the rides.

“You know…” I began, as we cheerfully watched the fair come back into view. “I wouldn’t have lasted as long as you did. Maybe a minute for me.”

“Same here!” Elizabeth agreed. “You did really well.”

There was a silence as we walked on, and then Carla stopped. “Don’t make fun of me if I tell you this…” She began. “Not that I trust you both now anyway.”

We faked a shock face, and then listened.

“But I kind of enjoyed it.” Carla mumbled. “It was unbearable! And awful! And all those things. But I… did like it.” We nodded, and Elizabeth looked like she was about to say something in response, but Carla decided she didn’t want any reaction to this revelation, and started to talk quickly again. “Anyway, are you gonna go on any ride at all?”

Elizabeth and I shared a secret grin. Then she looked ahead. “The Ferris wheel? I think I could manage that.”

We waited in line, and throughout the queue both Elizabeth and I would point at random strangers, pretending that they were one of the people that had watched Carla get wrecked to pieces, even though we had no clue if they really were. She would bury her head in her hands as they walked by, embarrassed, much to the delight of Elizabeth and I who had suddenly developed a new found hobby where we could tease the once too bold Carla.

When we reached our turn to get on the wheel, I got on first and Elizabeth slid to the other side of the seat. She patted the middle for Carla to squeeze into.

“I can’t wait to see the view from the top…” I said. I caught Elizabeth’s eye and she looked quickly to Carla and back to me, and I knew what she meant. A man in charge of the wheel came over to us and pushed the bar into our waists, securing us in.

“Oh dear…” I began. “Looks like there’s no way for us to escape.”

“Well, I should hope not-” Carla said, then paused, looking between us. If my eyes were anything like how Elizabeth’s looked, they were gleaming and shining with mischief. She clocked on. “What are you two up to?”

“Nothing…” said Elizabeth, turning slightly towards Carla. “It’s just… once this ride starts, you’re kind of stuck between us.”

“And it’s awful tight in here.” I said. Elizabeth and I were looking directly across at each other, and we saw the recognition in Carla’s face as she glanced down, and her face started to flush.

“No…” she said, looking around, but we were already on our way up. The wheel had started to spin slowly, letting others on and we were dangling halfway to the top.

I poked Carla in the side and she leant towards Elizabeth, who did the same, forcing Carla to go back to the middle of us, waiting for the next move. She banged her feet against the floor as she gave a helpless groan.

“Oh come on.” Said Elizabeth. “You didn’t really expect us to come on here and not tickle you again?”

“You are so adorable when you’re flustered.” I added, knowing how much she also hated compliments.

We took a moment to pause and watch her, making sure the anticipation grew. The wheel started to go higher, slowly, matching the tension we were creating in our carriage. Carla was staring ahead, but the longer the silence drew out without us doing anything, the more she was forced to look from me to Elizabeth and back again.

I reached one of my hands up towards her neck, and brushed it lightly with my fingers, and before Elizabeth could do the same, Carla had her arms up and was covering her neck with both hands. “I really… I can’t deal with that. Not like this. Please. You’re both so….” she said, her eyes locked on her legs and refusing to give us eye contact.

“So… what?” I asked. But Carla couldn’t answer. We both reached out and gently pulled her hands away, one each and she knew better than to fight us. We kept her hands locked on our own laps on either side, using our other hand to venture back up to her neck, and gently start to tickle her, right as the wheel reached the top. She would squirm from left to right, not able to escape the tickling coming from either direction, and her legs tapped on the floor in frustration as we worked, along with her giggling more and more. This position was clearly more personal, with her hands being pinned down this time, and both Elizabeth and I’s taunting faces at either side of her.

“Samantha, remember just a few minutes ago Carla told us she… liked this?” Elizabeth teased, as her hand slowly moved from Carla’s neck down her shoulder and tickled her waist.

I stayed on her neck, loving the fact that my few fingers could make someone curl up involuntarily just by me circling certain spots, watching her head lean back against the carriage to stop me reaching the worst part.

“I do, Elizabeth. I think she admitted that for a reason.”

Elizabeth let go of Carla’s hand, and used both to explore her hips and waist, and Carla burst out laughing and started wriggling, but really couldn’t go anywhere. I did the same, and now we were on both her sides, watching her feet dance even more crazily on the floor, because her body couldn’t move. With her hands free, she started to lazily try and flick ours away, while her laugh got stronger.

“I think we should ride this wheel over and over for the rest of the day, what do you think, Samantha?” Elizabeth asked, squeezing Carla’s knee and getting a shriek from her.

“We should!” I said, playfully making eye contact with Carla, who looked at me back with a mixture of pure hatred and glee. “I think it’s going to be Carla’s new favourite ride here.”

She said nothing, but grabbed the bar in front of her, leant forward and groaned out loud. To us, it just looked like she was inviting us to get her underarms. The wheel slowly made it’s way back to the ground and we went to town, squeezing and prodding and tickling even harder than we had in front of the guys. Getting her underarms from this position seemed to create an even bigger reaction in her. We told her the next loop, she was going to hold on to the bar and not let go for the whole ride, and if she could complete that, we would get off. She didn’t refuse. Only gripped on tighter, stuck her tongue out at us and told us this was the one challenge she would complete today. Elizabeth and I were happy to let her have that satisfaction for a second, and then we stuck our hands under her sweatshirt. She seemed about to let go of the bar in surprise before realising, and instead bit her lip and closed her eyes, as our hands explored her stomach and sides underneath, as we nestled in closer to her and continued to mock her in her ear. I smiled to myself as I thought… Carla was right the whole time. The rides are the best part of the fair!