Laughter in Townsville: Tickled Pink, Green, and Blue
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The Powerpuff Girls
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Laughter in Townsville:
Tickled Pink, Green and Blue
Chapter 7: The morning afterThe following morning, Professor Utonium was greeted by the sight of three happy, though still half-asleep, Powerpuff girls.
"Morning, girls", he greeted them cheerfully.
"Morning, Dad", they all murmured sleepily back at him. Blossom rubbed her eyes and gave a big yawn. Bubbles, seeing Blossom yawning, had to stifle a sympathetic yawn of her own. Now, I know that describing the characters' clothing is considered bad, but I'll do it here anyway just to get it out of the way.
Bubbles wore a white short-sleeved t-shirt with a picture of a bunny on it coupled with a loose (i.e. not pencil-thin) sky-blue ankle-length skirt, white ankle socks and a pair of flip-flop sandals. Blossom wore a pink short-sleeved t-shirt under a pink knee-length dress, and had a pair of thong sandals on her feet. Finally, Buttercup was wearing a forest-green t-shirt with a pair of brown shorts, and had buckled sandals on her feet. Bubbles and Blossom had also painted their fingernails and toenails in their respective colours of sky blue and pink. All three girls sat down at the table, and the Professor began serving pancakes dripping in maple syrup for breakfast. They all perked up at once, and began eating, not at super speed, but it was quite clear that they were all really enjoying themselves.
Blossom could hear a slapping sound coming from nearby, and tracked it to directly beneath the table. Trying not to look to obvious, she looked at the table as she continued to eat, and using her x-ray vision saw Bubbles had her legs crossed and was dangling one of her sandals, causing it to slap rhythmically against the sole of her foot. Blossom snapped herself back to reality from her daydreaming and continued to eat as before.
Very soon, all the pancakes were gone, and Professor Utonium was glad that he had served himself breakfast first, or else he wouldn't have gotten any.
"Well, goodbye girls, have a great day at school", he said, giving each girl a quick hug.
"We will dad", said Blossom, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Yeah, don't worry daddy, we'll have lots of fun as always", said Bubbles, and gave him a kiss too.
"Ymmmph, wod deymm saippphd", Buttercup added through her final giant mouthful of pancakes.
"Say it, don't spray it Buttercup", Professor Utonium said, dryly.
"I didn't spray anything", said Buttercup after she had swallowed, "'cos I practice talking like that in the mirror." She stuck her tongue out as the Professor ruffled her hair, but it actually made it look neater.
Buttercup and Bubbles went out to wait on the lawn, while Blossom took a long pink ribbon from the coat-stand and used it to tie her hair back. Her hair still reached down to her ankles, but was mostly kept tidy; the ribbon also reached about halfway down her back. She then followed her sisters out to wait for the school bus, and for their next-door neighbour and best friend, Robyn. She got there to find that Robyn was just coming out of her own home.
"Hey Robyn!"
"Oh, hi Blossom. Hi Buttercup. Hiya Bubbly!"
"Hey Robyn", Buttercup replied.
"Hi Bobbi", Bubbles also said, blushing slightly as she did. In the bright sunshine, this thankfully went unnoticed though.
"So, what did you three get up to yesterday evening?" Robyn asked. She herself had been taken to one of her parent's parties, as the girls knew, and so had been unable to hang out with them all evening. All three girls blushed now, and desperately sought to change the subject. They didn't need to though, as a distraction presented itself at that moment. A woman came straight up to them.
"You're the Powerpuff Girls, aren't you?" she asked, eagerly.
"Yes, we are", Blossom was the first to reply. "How can I help you, ma'am?"
"Well, you", the woman turned to Bubbles, "Bubbles, isn't it?" Bubbles nodded meekly and seemed to shrink back under the woman's stare. "Forgive me Bubbles, but have you ever thought about going into modelling?"
"Really?" Bubbles asked, her voice very small, as she was feeling very shy at the moment.
"Yes, really. You are absolutely adorable". This was clearly going to be a day filled with blushing for Bubbles. "Look, I won't keep you, I have a photo shoot to get done. But, if you ever think you'd like to be a model, here's my card. I do a lot of work for catalogues and teen magazines. Just think about it, okay?"
Bubbles nodded again. "Thank you miss", she said, and the woman blew them a kiss and strode off towards the nearest bus stop. All four girls turned their attention to the business card.
"Miss Honey", Blossom read out. "What a pretty name." At that point, the school bus arrived, and all four girls filed on and took the first group of seats available to continue their conversation. Blossom and Buttercup sat next to each other, and behind them, Bubbles sat next to Robyn. Bubbles swung her legs as they chatted idly, and her sandals started to slip against the smooth fabric of her socks. On one particular upswing, the bus bumped over a small dent in the road, causing Bubbles' right sandal to go flying off her foot and land with a slap on the floor.
"Oops, lost my sandal", she muttered, and hopped off the seat to bend down and search for it in the shadows. The other three kept talking, with Blossom and Buttercup sitting facing the wrong way, leaning over the back of the seat to see their pal.
Bubbles easily found her sandal, it hadn't really gone far anyway, but suddenly had another idea. Looking up from where she was kneeling under her seat, she saw Robyn's own sandaled feet hanging right in front of her. She tried to resist - this isn't the Robyn in your fantasies Bubbles, this is the real Robyn! - she reminded herself, but she could feel her willpower crumbling.
Robyn's sandals were of the variety that has one strap high up around the front of the ankle, and a small strap over the big toe, like a flip-flop but less likely to fall off by accident. Bubbles reached out slowly and stroked a single fingernail down Robyn's bare arch. Consciously, Robyn didn't even register the sensation as she was busy talking to Blossom and Buttercup, but her toes curled slightly and her other foot came over to scratch the itch. A second stroke of the arch was noticed however, and Robyn gasped, clamping her mouth shut.
"What? What is it, Robyn?" Buttercup asked, watching as Robyn's eyes began to water from holding back the giggles. Bubbles wisely decided not to push the matter, nor tempt herself further, and sat back on the seat, slipping her own flip-flop securely back on her foot.
Robyn pouted at her. "What was that for, Bubbly?" she asked, and looked downward to indicate what "that" she was referring to.
Bubbles smiled back sheepishly. "Sorry Bobbi, I just couldn't resist."
"Oh really?" said Robyn in a singsong voice, getting a certain glint in her eye. Bubbles tried to burrow deeper into her chair, but didn't move otherwise. Robyn began to poke and prod Bubbles in the stomach, causing her to curl up in her seat and giggle helplessly.
"Tee hee hee hee...stoppit Bobbi...hahahahahaha", she said between bursts of giggles. But despite her occasional pleas, she didn't actually try to escape from Robyn's clutches, and just sat there laughing for the next several minutes as first Robyn, then being joined by Blossom and Buttercup, tickled Bubbles all over on the ride to school. Bubbles even uncurled herself slightly as she became a little used to the feelings. It was softer than usual, more playful, and she enjoyed that; and it obviously showed, as they didn't stop tickling her all the way until the bus drew up at the school gates.
"Hahaha...heeheeheehee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee...squeal!...hee hee hee...that tihihihihihihickles...pleheheheeheeheease stoohohohohohohohohohohahahahaaha..."
At long last though, the bus arrived at school, and all the children entered school for another long, long day of lessons.
"You liked that, didn't you Bubbly?" Robyn asked, casting a sideways glance at her friend as they exited the bus.
"Yeah!" Bubbles answered, enthusiastically. "I love to laugh, it's my favourite-est thing in the whole world." She had to take care while they walked, as her feet kept sliding out of her sandals with each step, and her toes were twitching in hopeful anticipation of more tickling to come.
"OK, class, good morning", the teacher said, as the students - Robyn, Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup all included - came into the classroom and sat down, the four girls in question taking the whole of the front row of seats, with Bubbles on the far left, Robyn next to her, Blossom next to her, and Buttercup on the far right nearest the door.
Buttercup rested her head in her hands and stared longingly at the door, though she was still listening to what was being said. Bubbles crossed her legs under her chair, and tried to dangle her flip-flop again, unsuccessfully; it slid easily to the floor. She let the other sandal slide off as well, and curled her toes against the linoleum floor.
"Well, it's time for your first lesson today, which is of course biology. Now, we've finished studying the skeleton for this year, so we'll move straight on to take a look at the muscles, working our way up from the bottom..."
"Ha ha, you said bottom!"
"Quiet Mitch!" Mitch at once fell silent. "As I was saying, we'll look at the muscles and how they help us to move, starting from the feet. However, today I think we'll do some practical work on this, so put your textbooks away. Also, can I have a volunteer to come up here and be a live display for us?" Blossom's hand shot up without a moment's pause, and she got out of her seat and stood, waiting for instructions. "Lie on my desk, please Blossom, hands by your sides and on your back." Blossom did as instructed.
The teacher then removed Blossom's sandals, which gave the girl some pause for thought. Clearly the teacher sensed her apprehension. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you, not that I could anyway. But as we're studying the feet, having them bare makes it much easier, right?" Blossom nodded, and forced her heart to slow down.
Gathering the class at the "foot" of the desk, the teacher took a pen and began pointing out each individual group of muscles. Every time she did, Blossom's toes wriggled, and she had to choke back a giggle or two. The teacher's rambling continued all lesson, and pretty soon Blossom's tiny feet were covering in inky doodles and she was shaking with barely-restrained laughter.
"...And finally we move to the little toe", said the teacher, trapping the pen tip right at the base of the toe and wiggling the point ever so lightly against the skin, causing Blossom to laugh out loud for some moments. "You all right there, Blossom?"
"Y-y-y-y-y-y-yes Mihihihihissss..." Blossom spluttered, "just a little ticklish", and she bit her lip to try to hold it together for the few minutes that were left of the lesson. Her toes curled tightly around the end of the pen.
"Uh unhh, Blossom, no toe-curling please, I haven't finished my discussion yet. Bubbles, could you tickle her arch lightly? Robyn, Buttercup hold her down."
When the girls did as instructed, Blossom tittered a little, but her whole body jerked quite forcefully under the teasing from Bubbles. Her toes fanned wide again, and the teacher continued her lecture on the foot's muscle groups.
Minutes later, when the bell rang, everyone hurriedly grabbed their books and rushed off to English lesson, all except for Bubbles, Buttercup and Robyn, who waited while Blossom retrieved her sandals.
"What about all the scribbles on your feet, Bloss?" Buttercup mischievously asked her. Blossom harrumphed.
"I'll wash them off later", she said, with an implied "when you're not around". They followed the rest of the class out into the corridors and towards English. Blossom and Buttercup flew ahead, while Bubbles walked along with Robyn, talking aimlessly about how interesting the lesson had been and such like.
Upon arrival at the next class however, they found the whole class standing outside the room, and the English teacher shouting, "Come on everyone! It's such a lovely day that I thought we could have class outside today" All the kids cheered his notion whole-heartedly.
Five minutes later, having reconvened under the shade of a large tree in the school grounds, the teacher rested back against the tree and waited for the class to settle themselves on the grass in a semi-circle around him. They picked up from where they had left off, which was in the middle of doing a reading of a play.
Needless to say, in the balmy weather and out in the open air in such pretty surroundings, most of the students who were not reading parts out loud quickly became distracted, and turned their minds to other tasks instead.
"Hey Blossom?"
"Yeah Robyn?"
"You remember you said you'd like to join me next time I went babysitting?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, my parents have set me up to babysit my cousin's little children tonight - you still wanna come?"
"How old are they?"
"Jenna's eight, and Adam is five."
"Cool. Your parents are driving us there?"
Robyn nodded. "And back. We're only getting ten bucks each, but it should be fun."
"Yeah."
Meanwhile, Buttercup had become completely disinterested in everything around her, and was now taking to looking for way to similarly distract others from the lesson. Picking a small tuft of grass, she started wafting it over the back of the neck of the girl in front of her, who happened to be Betty (a.k.a. Hamster Girl).
Betty was fully engrossed in the reading of the play, and so at first merely frowned at the intrusion upon her concentration. Moments later, as the grass blades trailed up the side of her neck and slithered behind her right ear, the frown began to fall away from her face and she scrunched her head down into her shoulders to try to rid herself of the irritation. Her head shook uselessly from side to side, and a small titter fell from her lips as she caved to the feelings.
Buttercup would have continued this slow insidious pestering of poor Betty, had Blossom not chosen that very moment to lean forward from her own seat on the grass right behind Buttercup, and grab Buttercup around the waist, letting her hands rest lightly on the toughest fighter's waist. Buttercup gave a small, unnoticed yelp of surprise, and pulled her arms down, clamping Blossom's elbows in place.
"Stop annoying Betty, BC", Blossom whispered in Buttercup's ear, causing Buttercup to shiver a little despite the heat.
"Or what?"
"Or the rest of the class will see how tough you really are." Buttercup swallowed nervously, and sat still for the rest of the time. For the next few minutes after that point though, Blossom kept her hands on Buttercup's tummy, twitching her fingers every twenty seconds or so just to see Buttercup wriggle about surreptitiously, determined not to give in. She wasn't really tickling enough for Buttercup to react, just enough to act as a sufficient threat. Buttercup occasionally let out a small groan or grunt when this happened, and whispered "Quit it", or "I've learnt my lesson", once in a while too.
Blossom soon grew bored of keeping Buttercup on her toes - figuratively speaking, of course - and went back to examining her own toes. She quietly slipped off her sandals and examined the doodles that had been drawn all over both feet over the course of the Science lesson, tracing the patterns with one fingernail and imagining that it was someone else's fingers tickling her faintly. She picked up a leaf and closed her eyes halfway, thinking it's not you, it's someone else, and stroked the leaf down her sole, across her toes, around in figure eights. Apart from the occasional muscle spasm from keeping her feet still, all it did was give her a slight itch, which she scratched, disappointed.
Bubbles and Robyn were at the outer edge of the semi-circle, and were both reclining, resting themselves on their elbows, letting the recitals from the other class members just wash over them, as neither of them had a speaking part in this play until the very last scene - all parts had been allotted at the very beginning. Bubbles toed off both her flip-flops, and wiggled her toes lazily. Bubbles then slowly inched her right foot over towards Robyn's left leg slowly, so that if Robyn mentioned it she could pass it off as an accident. Taking the final bold move, she nudged Robyn's foot with her own.
"Huh?" Robyn said, startled out of her reverie. "What?" she asked Bubbles, turning to face her friend.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't realise I was touching your foot", Bubbles said, apologetically, and moved her foot away again. Robyn blushed a little.
"Actually Bubbles, that felt kinda nice, in a weird sorta way."
"Really?"
"Well, I guess." Robyn kicked her sandals off too, and Bubbles took this as an invitation to play footsie a little more. She decided she'd have to be careful though, and to make sure she didn't push things too far. So, keeping it playful, she rubbed her socked foot against Robyn's bare sole, tickling it faintly.
"Heh heh...that's tickly..." Robyn whispered to her, but didn't pull away. "It feels nice, and...soothing. Those sandals are new, and the straps were digging in." Bubbles kept up the slow and gentle caressing, and Robyn lay there, sighing a little and her toes fidgeting every now and then when the tickles built up just too much. Bubbles tried to lessen the tickling as much as possible.
Robyn lay back all the way on the grass, staring up at the sky and enjoying her friend's calming massage. She could just drift off to sleep right now, on this beautiful warm day...she was jerked back to full wakefulness when Bubbles wickedly flicked her toenails against Robyn's foot, and the tickling amplified enough that Robyn pulled her legs in sharply and rubbed her feet to relieve the tickling.
"No napping", Bubbles said in a playfully scolding voice, and Robyn stuck her tongue out and stretched her legs again. This time, she tickled Bubbles' feet with her toes, and Bubbles collapsed against Robyn's shoulder, chest heaving with silent laughter. Not one to back down, she fluttered her fingers over Robyn's ribcage, and Robyn stuck her hands in Bubbles' underarms, trying to force her to withdraw. Both girls were soon lying on the ground, exhausted from forcefully tickling the other and from NOT laughing, and just lay there catching their breath.
Becoming conscious of the fact that the teacher might wonder what they were doing, the two girls sat up and crossed their legs under them, sitting up as straight as they could to look more attentive than they actually felt on this fine day. Bubbles' feet were hidden somewhere beneath her long dress, but she leant to the side so that her left foot, crossed under her, poked out from under her dress and touched against Robyn's right foot. The two pressed their opposite feet together, and so began a little tug - well, push, really - of war.
Bubbles was clearly going to win, right from the outset, by her sheer strength. Letting her foot slip against Bubbles', Robyn wiggled her toes again and tickled the sole of Bubbles' foot, causing the puff to bite her lip and squirm where she sat. Her leg weakened, and Robyn began to push back against her, keeping up the light tickling, and whispering "Coochie coo" in Bubbles' ear every once in a while.
"Stoppit", Bubbles whispered, giggling softly.
"Coochie coochie coo, Bubbly", Robyn whispered, "I'm not stopping until you give in."
"N-n-n-n-n-never."
"Oh goody" Robyn whispered, and rubbed her foot against Bubbles, bringing a shiver from the girl followed by her leg being pushed so far sideways that she feel over to her left, pulling Robyn down on top of her. That finally brought the teacher's attention their way, but the class was practically over anyway, and their was so much commotion from the other students that he couldn't be bothered any longer, so dismissed the class five minutes early.
As it was morning break after second period, most of the students just spread out under the tree's shade a bit more or wandered off through the grounds; Blossom was the exception, heading back into the hot school building, heading for the toilets so that she could wash the squiggly pen marks off her feet. Buttercup thought about following her, but decided to be nice.
Blossom headed for the girls' toilets, only to find a sign on them saying "out of order". Undeterred, she went in the direction of the other set of girls' toilets on the other side of the school. This set of toilets was frequented by all the more delinquent elements of the school's role call, who would spend their breaks (and oftentimes some of their lessons too) smoking, drinking, mouthing off, and inventing new fashion trends. Oh yes, and picking on the smaller kids.
Blossom hovered in to the bathroom to find only three of the school's very worst offenders in attendance today. They all knew who she and her sisters were though, and didn't dare to do anything towards her. Blossom went to the nearest working sink that wasn't filled with the gunky results of failed makeup experiments, pulled her sandals off, and began scrubbing her feet with wet tissues. While she was doing this, she didn't notice the three girls discussing something behind her back. She quickly finished, and was about to put her sandals back on when one of the girls spoke up to her.
"Hey Blossom, could ya do me a favour? I dropped a lipstick behind that toilet", she said, pointing into one of the vacant cubicles, "and I can't reach it."
"How could I help?" Blossom asked, curious.
"Well, you're smaller, so I thought maybe you could reach into the gap better." Blossom agreed to assist them, and went into the cubicle, closely followed by the three girls.
"I can't see anything here", Blossom said, peering into the shadows behind the toilet bowl, "perhaps if I can reach round just a little further..." She was about to do just that when two of the girls grabbed her by the waist and sat her down on the toilet.
"What do you think you're doing?" Blossom asked, indignantly. One of the girls knelt down in front of Blossom, and began spidering her fingers behind Blossom's knees.
"We figure you're ticklish, Bloss , so you're gonna laugh for us for the rest of break", said the girl.
"Yeah"
"And you're gonna come back here at lunchtime too, for an extra half-hour", said the third, grinning evilly.
And so Blossom's day went from bad, to much, much worse.
Sorry for the heavily delayed update post; I thought I'd already put this chapter up here...clearly not though. Next chapter is just being ironed out before I start typing (tomorrow morning). Until then, be good, and if you can't be good, be happy:D