Tickle and Giggle

As much as it pained her to admit it, spell work did not come easy to Lucie. She found moving a wooden stick around less natural than stirring strange ingredients in a cauldron or flying around on a broom. She didn't understand why she had so much trouble. It was just one of those things which she had to work harder at to achieve passable results. Today that was combined with having to endure feeling ticklish if her parter in the exercise had more luck than herself.

Lucie sat back as she listened to Professor Boux explain the spell and demonstrate on a hapless student. Lucie stared wideyed at her unlucky classmate who was now writhing on the floor and giggling. The professor then ended the spell and told the students to turn and practice on each other. Lucie turned to Riley and asked, "you're not very good at this subject are you? I don't like be tickled very much." She guiltily shot a look in Professor Boux's direction. The professor hadn't exactly been happy with Lucie's performance in the class last year and she didn't want to risk drawing the professor's attention this year.

Riley was a bit of a know-it-all. His quiet nature made him more observant and he didn't ask many questions. He didn't answer many either. He just studied, did his homework, and took the tests. He dreaded partner work, it was never any fun for him. He was almost always too shy to say a word to his partner and it turned into him doing the work by himself while the other person did something else. But this wouldn't be the case in this class, he would have to practice a charm on his partner. What if he messed up and his partner got seriously hurt? Or what if they didn't want to be tickled and they ended up hating him for getting the spell right and using it on them?

He was pleased that Lucie had ended up being his partner. They had talked before and since then he wasn't so nervous around her. There was something about sticking up for him that made Lucie a really swell person. "Actually," he started. He paused to look over at the professor. If his friend didn't want to be tickled then she wouldn't have to be. He turned back to his partner and bite his bottom lip. This would be the first time he didn't do something the teacher had asked of him. "I'm pretty good at this class but I can pretend I'm not." But that didn't mean she could get out of practicing. "I'll just have Bo help me with it later, but you can still try it out on me."

Lucie shot a nervous look at Professor Bouxb and then back at Riley. "Are you sure?" she asked in a low voice. She didn't want him to get into trouble but she also didn't want to be tickled. It was a horrible sensation which always made her feel sick to the stomach. Thus it wasn't surprising to hear it described as a hex rather than a charm. A fitted better.

She toyed with her wand and starred down at the hand holding it. Why did it give her so much trouble? A wand was supposed to help focus her magic but she appeared to always have trouble with that. Lucie lifted her head again. "Okay. I'll try it." The twelve year old pointed her wand at her classmate. "Ripusempa," she incorrectly pronounced.