Staring at the gigantic shoe in front of me, I realized I must climb. The white rubber surrounding the bottom of the shoe was almost 15 feet tall; luckily, there were ridges along the rubber that looked good for climbing. I stepped up and grabbed on; immediately after I started climbing, her toes loosened up and the front tip of the shoe curved up again. The sudden increase in height made me a little dizzy but I continued climbing the white rubber. I pulled myself up to the top of the rubber and realized that it was so thick (or I was so small) that it appeared to be a sidewalk. At that point I realized I had a choice to make again. I could continue climbing a short distance to reach the flat top of her shoe, but then I would have to walk all the way to her ankle with a chance of being thrown off. My second option was that I could walk down the rubber sidewalk on her shoe to her ankle and climb from there. While I debated the options, Monica subconsciously tapped her foot up and down a few times. The violent shaking almost threw me off the shoe but I grabbed on to the fabric and pulled myself close. I looked up to see Monica just staring at the front of the classroom. It was hard to believe that with out thinking, she caused a massive earthquake for me just by tilting her ankle a bit. I figured that since my instinct was to grab the fabric, walking down the rubber sidewalk of her shoe was the best idea.

            I walked and walked and walked. I held onto the fabric in case another earthquake came. A couple of times she readjusted her foot inside, just sliding it foreword or backward or twisting it. Each time she readjusted her foot I could hear it; it was very loud but I doubt that even she could hear it. I tried to compare the size of her shoe to something but it was bigger than any ocean liner I could think of, and her foot filled it all. I also imagined that commercial jets could easily land on her foot; I wondered if she would notice it, or just think it was a bug and squish it between the sole of one foot and the top of the one it landed on. All the day dreaming lead me to her ankle that much quicker. I had walked to the side of her shoe to where I could face the other shoe if I wanted. When I looked at it, I noticed she was tapping it up and down. I thanked god she tapped the other shoe.

I climbed up her shoe with surprising ease. Sure there was the occasional motion, but because I was holding on already, it wasn’t a big deal. I finally reached the top, and I could stand on the ledge between the inside and outside. There was a gap between the ledge of the shoe and her sock; I looked into the gap only to be met with warm moist air and a never ending pit into her shoe. I could tell her shoes were well over a year old from the smell. Then I leapt the distance of the gap and grabbed on to her sock against her ankle. The white sock only reached mid ankle which was good, less climbing. The top of the sock was also very thick and I could easily stand on it with out fear of falling. I then pressed my body against her skin; it was so warm, soft, and smooth. After hugging her ankle for a few moments, the time came to get her attention. I figured the best way was to pound against her ankle. So I pounded unrelentingly but to no avail; I wasn’t even the slightest tickle.

Then came a stir. I looked up to see Monica staring straight at me with a somewhat confused look. I jumped up and down, flailing my arms to get her attention but soon realized it was a bad idea. I saw her mouth the words “Little bug.”  I stopped moving. She reached down with her index finger pointing out and coming right towards me. The tip of the finger stopped descending when it reached my level. Then it came at me slowly but I was too afraid to move. The tip of her finger pressed softly against me until I was pushed into her ankle; then she pressed so hard that I was completely covered by skin. I was so small that my face was between two lines of her fingerprint. As she pulled her finger away from her ankle, I stuck to her finger like glue. She lifted me up and up and up until I was above the desk and in her view. She stared at me for a moment so I turned my head a little so I could see her; I was still belly down, stuck to her finger. Her eyes lit up with excitement so I thought she recognized me, or at least that I was a human. But her next actions lead me to believe that she was only excited that her ‘Little bug’ was still alive. Her thumb nail came at me and pressed her skin right next to me. She wore clear nail polish. 30 feet long and wide, her thumb nail started pushing me, but to where? I soon realized when I came closer to my destination, her index finger nail. I yelled “Nooooo!” even though I knew she couldn’t hear me. There was no way to stop her thumb but I struggled anyway. Eventually I fell between her finger and fingernail. Once in, I could barely make out the image of her through her nail. Then she started pressing; her thumb and finger pressed against each other with fierce pressure. I was being squished under her fingernail; not even bugs suffer such a fate.

She stopped after what seemed like an eternity; she apparently thought I was dead because she didn’t bother with me after that. I was too weak to move so I stayed there for a bit.