Isabelle finally convinced Hugo to take her to his so-called "house". Hugo showed her around the clock tower.
"So, this is where you live!" Isabelle exclaimed and did not notice that the heel of her right shoe got stuck in a hole near the stairs. When she moved up the heel broke and she fell down the stairs and landed on her feet.
"Isabelle, are you alright?" Hugo asked in horror.
"Yes, everything is ok, except for my shoe". She said smiling and taking off the damaged shoe from her right foot. Suddenly she grabbed her foot and held it for a while. Hugo looked at her:
"You said you were ok". He commented with a concerned voice.
"Yes, I am ok". Isabelle said releasing her foot, but sat on the floor without attempting to stand up. After a few seconds of waiting Hugo understood that she was hurt.
"Isabelle, if you are hurt…" He wanted to say, but Isabelle cut him off with a whisper:
"Look at my foot, does it look hurt?"
"Well, the way you landed on it and the way you held it…Yes, it does look hurt".
"What would a gentleman do in this situation?"
"Call a doctor?"
"Wrong, first of all, take me to a more comfortable place. For instance, a chair…"
Hugo helped her up. She put her arm over his shoulder. Hugo took her in the room where he kept the "cinematron". Isabelle sat on the chair.
"So, the next thing a gentleman would do is ask: "Does it hurt?"" She continued.
"Does it hurt?" Hugo asked both amused and confused.
"Yes, a bit…I could use a foot massage…" Isabelle whispered.
"Look, it is better for you to go to the…" Hugo wanted to say, but Isabelle yawned and took of her white cotton sock.
"I do not need any medical assistance; I just need some comfort…" Isabelle said and flexed her foot. She continued:
"Don't be shy; put your hands on the foot". She whispered.
Hugo blushed and felt kind of strange. He brought a wooden chair and sat on the opposite of Isabelle, who gave him her foot. Hugo put his thumbs on her sole and began to rub it.
"No, no…You are doing it all wrong. You have to apply pressure correctly. Your thumbs should go up and down. Follow the sequence: rub in and rub out". Isabelle explained.
"Wait one second then, I will bring the motor oil for a better effect". Hugo went upstairs and brought a small bottle and applied some of it on his friend's foot.
He followed Isabelle's instructions exactly. He had never felt this strange n his life. By massaging her foot he felt relief and that there were no borders for his abilities.
Isabelle closed her eyes and a few minutes later fell asleep. She hid from Hugo the pain she experienced when she fell down. She was afraid that her foot was broken, but after Hugo's massage helped the pain soothe.
Isabelle woke up half an hour later. She found her left shoe and sock removed as well. She felt that the foot was recently massaged as well, but it felt different than the hurt foot.
"Hugo, where are you?" She asked flexing her feet.
"Finally, you are awake. I fixed your shoe".
"Why did you touch my other foot?"
"Look, Isabelle". Hugo showed Isabelle her shoes. Both of them were polished. The heel of her right shoe was in its place. They were like new.
"Thank you, Hugo. That's really kind of you". Isabelle thanked her friend.
After putting her footwear on Isabelle stood up and walked around a bit.
"Hey, it feels kind of nice. Thank you for everything, mon amie".
"You are welcome".
"Still, that does not explain why you massaged my other foot".
"It looked hurt to me…"
"You should have come up with a better argument. You enjoyed massaging them, didn't you?"
"…"
"There's nothing wrong with it… I think it is cute".
"No, that's not…" Hugo blushed and turned away. Isabelle smiled and decided to trick him.
"Ouch…I think that you forgot the ankle". She said grabbing her ankle. Hugo quickly sat on his knees.
"Got you! If you like doing this than we can reach an agreement".
Hugo just sat there red as a tomato without dropping a single word.
"Listen, I wanted a foot massage for a long time… We can do that every day. Well, I better get going".
Isabelle stood up and headed to the exit. Hugo was student by everything that happened today.
One hour later… Meles Apartement…
"Isabelle, can you smell motor oil?" Mama Jeanne asked opening the window. Isabelle who was reading a book realized that she forgot to remove bandages that Hugo put on her foot. She quickly stood up without answering to the question and ran to the bathroom. Mama Jeanne understood that the smell was related to her.
"Isabelle, open the door!" Mama Jeanne knocked on the bathroom door. Isabelle took of her shoes and socks. She removed the bandage from her right foot. It was all covered in motor oil.
"Hugo, I am going to kill you". She mumbled and began to wash her foot. The smell was gone, but it was impossible to wash off the motor oil.
"Isabelle, what is wrong with you? Open the door".
Isabelle did not respond she was trying to wash away the black stains on her skin before they could become black stains on her reputation. Suddenly someone else came in to the house: it was George Meles himself.
"What is going on here Jeanne?" He asked.
"Something is wrong with Isabelle. I smelled motor oil and when I asked where was it from, but she just ran into the bathroom. She refuses to open the door". Jeanne explained with a concerned voice.
"Come on, come on…" Isabelle repeated trying to wipe the stains with sponges. They were slowly going away, but it would have taken her hours to get them off completely.
George knocked on the door and called Isabelle for a few times, but without receiving an an answer he kicked and opened the door.
*GASP*
To be continued…