Inspection Day Ch. 03

Sabine rolled her eyes. "I would hope not."

"I'm pretty sure we're the only one." Amanda added.

"I knew about the inspections, I just didn't think they'd be so strict! I'm not even sure why I failed!"

"I don't know if you'll still be here for the next one, but I can give you a few pointers." Phoebe said.

"I suppose it would help. The exchange program goes until the end of the year." Sabine replied. "I'd like to know what I did wrong this time, if you wouldn't mind taking a look."

"I'd be happy to help."

Sabine placed a hand against the wall for balance. She lifted her right foot behind her and undid the zipper of her black suede ankle boot. She wore dress socks beneath. Phoebe could see parts of the skin beneath through the thin fabric. Sabine's foot was a few sizes larger than hers, around an eleven. Her arch was deep. Her toes were long, but not bony.

With the same hand holding her shoe, she lifted her pant leg up until she found her sock's hem. Holding her shoe and her pant leg, she struggled to get a finger underneath.

"I can get that for you if you want." Phoebe offered.

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Not a problem." Phoebe put fingers from both hands beneath the hem and slid the sock down. When she reached Sabine's heel, the fabric caught on some dry skin. The same thing happened around the ball of her foot. With the sock off, Phoebe took Sabine's shoe out of her hand. She placed it on the ground and stuffed the sock inside.

"Thanks, I wanted to do this without touching the floor."

"I don't blame you." Phoebe said, looking at the dusty concrete.

"Any advice?"

By normal standards, her foot didn't look terrible. It was the middle of winter, when feet are cooped up in shoes and socks most of the day. Anyone who didn't go to Descalcent High for years wouldn't pay any mind to the dryness on the edges of her heel and big toe, which were visible as yellowish white against her pink and cream skin. Phoebe could imagine it would look drier without the sweat from a day in shoes, though. Everything else looked fine. They were clean. Her natural nails were neatly trimmed and looked healthy. With a little love, they could be absolutely stunning, maybe even feet of the year material.

"They just need a pumice stone and some moisturizer, is all. Honestly, most of the F.I.s wouldn't have failed you like this. Who did you have?"

"I forget her name, the one from the announcements?"

"Kaylee? That explains it. The bitch..." Amanda said.

The doors to the stairwell suddenly burst open behind them. Phoebe expected it to be Kaylee making her way down from the office, arriving with perfect comedic timing. Luckily, it was just Lizzie and Maddie.

Lizzie made a dramatic entrance, and Maddie followed. Both seemed unconcerned about their impending punishments: Lizzie had a smirk and a raised eyebrow, Maddie was smiling with half-lidded eyes. The two of them had an unlikely friendship born out of their frequent failed inspections. They had endured everything the F.I.s could throw at them together, and continued to rebel against Descalent High with their feet. Maddie wore her signature barefoot sandals (though a pair of moccasins peeked out of her bag for the cold outside). Lizzie had a pair of ratty leather boots, decked out in studs and spikes.

"Sup, fellow failures! The fun just arrived!" Lizzie said with her raspy voice. Phoebe could never tell if she naturally sounded like that, or if she was playing it up for that "punk rocker" sound.

Lizzie looked at Phoebe and Sabine, who were still foot-in-hand. She didn't notice Amanda, who was leaning on the wall behind the two.

"Am I interrupting something? I can give you lovebirds a minute."

Phoebe let go of Sabine. "Uh, no, we were just getting finished..." Phoebe realized what she implied. "I mean, you know..."

Sabine blushed, turning around to lean with her back to the wall and put her boot back on.

"Relax, I was fucking with you." She put her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket and leaned against the wall opposite them.

Maddie followed. Up close, she smelled like weed buried under flowery essential oils.

"Heh, didn't realize you had a voyeur." Lizzie said when she finally noticed Amanda.

Amanda wasn't offended, but she also wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Nah, I hate feet..."

Maddie giggled. "Why? They're our connection to the earth. Barefoot is our natural state."

Amanda sighed. "Naked's also our natural state, so why are you wearing clothes?"

"You trying to get her to undress? God damn, she is a voyeur!" Lizzie said, laughing.

Amanda growled and folded her arms.

"Look, ever since I freed my feet, I've been happier and more at peace. Think about it, the F.I.s are all going barefoot, and the number of failed inspections was way down! The earth can heal your soul if you just let in her energy."

"My soul's fine." She tersely replied.

"Heh, I wouldn't recommend it. I tried it with Maddie once, the only thing earth gave me was thorns." Lizzie chuckled.

"You just need to let the universe guide your steps, that's all."

Lizzie needed to change the subject, or she would just keep going on about this. "So, what's everyone in for?"

"Dry feet, apparently." Sabine answered first. "I just exchanged here last month. I thought keeping them clean would be enough."

"Hell of an intro to the states. Welp, welcome to the club, we meet the first Tuesday of the month."

"Thanks, but I think this will be my only visit."

Lizzie gave Phoebe an upward nod. "What's your story?"

"I wore the same socks twice in a row."

"Classic. You get a good reaction from your inspector?"

Phoebe vividly remembered Rhiannon's squeak, and didn't think it as amusing as Lizzy would. "I didn't do it on purpose. I don't like inspections either, but I won't go out of my way to torment the F.I.s about it."

"Why not? They go out of their way to torment us, don't they?" She lifted a boot off the ground. "See these bad boys? They really seal in the flavor! Wouldn't want me to let the dogs out of these!"

"Yeah, please don't." Amanda tersely said.

"How about you? How'd you end up here?"

Amanda huffed. "Kaylee was my inspector." She clearly didn't intend to give more info than that.

"'Nuff said. She's such a prissy cu..."

The basement door opened again. Unfortunately, it was actually Kaylee this time. She was dressed the way she usually is, so WASP-y Phoebe was surprised her name wasn't spelled "Kayleigh". The only things missing were her loafers and knee-high socks. Her dirty bare feet had the opposite effect Rhiannon's did. Instead of complementing her style, they looked awkward and out of place.

"Well if it isn't bitch queen of the footfuckers herself!"

"Good afternoon, Elizabeth."

"Lizzie. Don't get all formal like we haven't met."

"Well, Lizzie, I see our corrections haven't made an impression yet. I'm hopeful this month's will have an impact."

"You've been saying that all year, but I'm sure you have it this time." She said, flippantly.

"I think I'm getting through to you, though." Maddie chimed in.

"Oh?"

"I got you all to free your feet, didn't I? Admit it, you feel so much more alive and one with the world in bare feet."

"We're going barefoot with permission, and with a purpose in mind which you'll be learning shortly. We have no intention of making a habit out of it."

Phoebe only knew two things about their punishment: It would involve their dirty feet, and it was apparently the worst thing they ever came up with. Something clicked in her mind. It was a conclusion she really hoped she was wrong about. Especially with Amanda here...

"I, Uh, had a question." Sabine asked. "Is there any chance you can give me a pass. I just transferred here last month, and I didn't really know what I had to do today..."

"Were you given a copy of the student handbook?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Then you had more than enough time to learn our expectations. Ignorance to the law is no excuse for breaking it, you know."

Sabine didn't say anything else, just frowning defeatedly.

"Hey Kay, I also have a question for you. Do you have trouble bending over with that big of a stick up your ass!?" Lizzie yelled.

"I care about this school, my fellow students, and the practices that help us all become better people." Kaylee replied, masking anger behind professionalism.

"Oh, for fuck's sake! You have to be the most annoying fucking person in this school, you know that!?"

"Konnichiwa, Inspector-sama!" Lindsey Stephens blurted out as she rounded the corner.

The tension in the room deflated immediately. Everyone was either stifling laughter or staring in stunned silence. Even Kaylee looked like she was struggling, red in the face.

Kaylee took a deep breath. "Let's stop loitering in the hallway and get started, shall we?" She opened the door, and everyone filed in.

The truck bay looked like the rest of the basement, with the exception of an unpainted floor scuffed with tire marks. Opposite the door, a semi-circle of steel folding chairs were set up. Phoebe counted twenty four, more than the inspectors themselves would need, but less than the total girls present. A wholesale pack of water bottles sat at one end of the semi-circle.

Every F.I. was there, all in bare feet. It was a brave choice in the dungeon, which looked like tetanus incarnate. Some were standing around, others were seated. Most of the F.I.s were socializing happily, but there were a few, Rhiannon for instance, who were doing other things like reading.

Dayun and Clara were already in there. They had shoes on, so they stood out from the barefoot crowd. They must have had class close by to beat everyone there like that.

The two of them were chatting with each other, ignoring and being ignored by the F.I.s. It was odd, Phoebe thought. Any other day, everyone here would just be students, on par with each other on the hierarchy. Hell, everyone present were seniors, so none of them really had age on each other. Now, there was a visible power dynamic at play, foot inspectors and foot failures.

Their conversation ended when they noticed the shod newcomers. They both joined the crowed, looking relieved that more of "their kind" were here. Dayun waved, Clara gave a sad smile and a quick nod. They all stood in silence for a second. It was hard to think of things to say in situations like this.

"You're a face I never expected here, Day." Lizzie broke the silence like it was never there.

"Yeah, it's kinda embarrassing... I'm testing out this chemical peel for my blog, and it's taking longer to finish than the package said. They're still peeling a little. I didn't even take my feet out for inspections, I just told my F.I. to fail me."

Refusing to participate is an automatic fail. Phoebe wished she thought to do that.

"I had charcoal on my feet." Clara said. "I came in early to finish up a still life, and I lost track of time. Didn't have time to clean my feet off before class."

About what Phoebe expected. Out of all the cliques, the artists tend to fail the most frequently for that reason. They often have their shoes off when working to keep them clean.

The final bell rang. Shoes clattered on the floor above them as students packed up and headed home, oblivious or apathetic to the plight of their fellow students beneath them. The F.I.s who weren't already seated took a seat, and those that were put away what they were doing.

"Welcome to this month's corrective measures. Remember, we do these to remind you of the expectations Descalcent High has for you." Kaylee said ritualistically, like she gave this same intro many times before.

"Do we have everyone?" She asked.

"We're still missing Jill Arnold." Another answered.

"Damn, I was really hoping she would be here. She deserves it after what she put me through this morning." Yet another F.I. commented.

"Did she..."

"Yeah, she did it again."

So the rumors are true, Phoebe thought.

"We give everyone ample time to arrive." Kaylee said. "But we can give her a few more minutes before marking her a no-show."

As if on cue, the door leading outside opened. Jill stepped in, jacketed with her nose red from the cold. The smell of cigarettes wafted in after her.

"Speak of the devil."

"Sorry, can you blame me for needing a smoke before all this?" She asked in a bratty tone.

"You know that's not allowed on school grounds, right?"

"Hey, the maintenance guys smoke out here all the time."

"Regardless, that isn't the reason you're here today. Please join the others so we can finally get started."

Jill flicked her cigarette butt behind her and joined the crowd, huffing at being lectured.

"Excellent. As many of you have noticed, your foot inspectors have been barefoot this school day. I'm sure some of you have surmised that this is related to today's corrective measures by now."

Amanda gave Phoebe a concerned look. Phoebe returned it.

"To remind you of the importance of proper foot maintenance, you will be thoroughly cleaning our feet today, and none of you will be leaving until every foot is spotless." Kaylee had a smug, devious grin.

"And you'll be using your mouths."