Sugar Squad

Chapter 8 - Making Fiends

For the first time since being whisked to this world, Bel was actually alone. No one was tugging him by the sleeve. No one was barking orders. No one was plotting another embarrassing scene for him to act in. There were just thirty minutes of freedom.

It was almost too good to be true.

Yet his chest remained tight. Every elf who passed by seemed to glance in his direction, though most paid him no more attention than they would any other kid. Some spoke in a melodic elven language, while others chatted in clear English. He kept telling himself they weren’t whispering about him.

He wandered towards a food stall selling snacks that looked like popcorn, only puffier. He had just worked up the nerve to point at a bag when he bumped shoulders with another shopper.

“Sorry!” he blurted, stepping back.

The person spun around.

It was her. Brown eyes blinked at him in surprise. She tilted her head slightly, studying him like a book.

His face heated up immediately. His mouth opened, but no sound escaped.

She smiled first. “Really, I’m the one who ran into you.” She pressed her hands together with an exaggerated bow. “So I should be the one apologising.”

“I…” He swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

“Huh. You didn’t put your hands together when saying sorry. You from somewhere else?”

“I guess…” He scrambled for an answer that wouldn’t make him sound completely clueless. “I’m visiting from really far away.”

“Ah, yes. Completely different etiquette down there in the mysterious land of Far Away.” She stepped away, guiding him towards the wall so they weren’t blocking the flow of traffic. Her hand barely touched his elbow, but it felt like a shock to him. “So, stranger-from-far-away, do you have a name?”

“Bel.”

“Kassia.” She pointed her thumb towards the far end of the mall. “Since you’re new here, I bet you’ve never played bailaball.”

“Baila? Like dancing?”

“You betcha. It’s in the game hall. We’re about to start a match, but we’re short one player.” She grabbed his arm before he could retreat. “Come with me.”

“Wait!” He tried to tug back, but she was already pulling. “I don’t even know the rules.”

“That’s exactly why you should play.” She spun on her heel to face him. “It’s not serious. Trust me, we’re just playing for fun.”

The longer she held onto him, the harder it was for Bel to think straight. His cheeks burnt. Keeping eye contact felt impossible. Every instinct screamed that this was a trap. But at the same time, he didn’t want her to let go.

He took a shaky breath. “Fine. But I’ve only got thirty minutes. Probably less now.”

“Works for me,” Kassia giggled. “Each round’s only three minutes. You’ll be a pro before you leave.”

And with that, she pulled him towards the game hall.

---

From the third-floor balcony overlooking the main atrium, Cinnamon leaned forward against the railing. She watched the two figures disappear into the glowing entrance of the game hall below.

“She’s got him.” She turned back to Pepper and Marshmallow. “Now we just pray he doesn’t freak out on her.”

“So what’s the actual plan here?” Marshmallow asked as Cinnamon returned to the table.

“Exposure.” Cinnamon was already unlacing her sneakers. “Controlled social interaction with a girl his own age.”

She kicked off her shoes and propped her bare feet up on the empty chair beside her with a satisfied sigh. Her black-painted toes uncurled with a squelch.

Pepper followed suit, unlacing her boots. “The hypothesis is that peer interaction will prove more effective than authority-based correction.”

“So in normal words,” Marshmallow giggled, slipping off her flats, “we’re hoping another kid can get through to him better than we can.” She propped her feet up next to Cinnamon’s.

“If we can fix his girl problem, maybe we could even target his foot problem,” Cinnamon sighed. “We hit that, and a lot of his other issues might even start resolving themselves.”

“Explain,” Pepper said.

“It’s this phobia that’s helping isolate him. It makes him react worse to normal situations, and I can only imagine it gives bullies an easier target.” Cinnamon wiggled her toes. “I mean, I get being self-conscious. But his reaction is so extreme.”

A server approached their table, then stopped short when he noticed all three pairs of bare feet casually displayed.

He set their food down quickly and retreated.

“You scared him off,” Pepper chuckled.

Cinnamon’s tail stiffened. “I did not.”

“This cheese would probably taste a million times more intense smeared all over your feet, Cinnamon,” Marshmallow said after dipping a piece of bread into hot cheese.

Cinnamon lightly kicked Marshmallow’s foot.

“I’ll tell you, if he acts crazy in there, that might be my very next punishment for him,” Cinnamon sighed.

“Within our two-month time limit,” Pepper said, “it won’t be easy making him perfect.”

Marshmallow licked her fingers. “The best rewards are the ones earned through hard work. We’ll turn him into something wonderful. He’ll be a little angel.”

“Making him an angel might be asking too much now.” Cinnamon’s face softened as she finally took her first bite. “But normal? Yeah, let’s focus on getting him there before we expand.”

---

The game hall was sensory overload to the max.

It was nothing like the arcades Bel remembered from New York. The entrance opened into a space that stretched absurdly far. The walls were lined with what looked like crystallised sheet music. Frozen sound waves pulsed, each one emitting a different note when people walked past.

Scattered throughout the hall were various game stations, but none of them had screens.

To the left, a group of elves stood in a circle around a pool of what looked like liquid starlight. They were pulling shapes out of it with their bare hands.

To the right, several kids were running through a rotating maze.

And straight ahead, taking up the centre of the massive hall, was the bailaball court.

It was made of pure light. It flowed like water, shimmering with violet that shifted to hot pink with every subtle tremor. The surface rippled beneath the players’ feet. Each step taken on its surface emitted a low hum that harmonised with the music in the walls. Overhead, two luminous hoops drifted lazily, bobbing like ethereal balloons.

“Holy crap,” Bel whispered.

“Right?” Kassia squeezed his arm excitedly. “Get to moving.”

She tugged him past clusters of spectators. They stopped at the edge of the glowing court, where a small group of teens was waiting.

“Who’s this?” A boy with shaggy hair that covered his eyes looked Bel up and down.

“This is Bel,” Kassia announced. “He’s not from around here, so be nice, Asego.”

Asego smirked. “Then he’d better get with the programme fast.” He gestured towards Bel’s new boots. “Step one: lose the shoes.”

Bel’s blood ran cold. Not here. Not in public. The familiar dread washed over him. He could feel his face flushing.

“I’m fine,” he stammered. “I’ll play with them on.”

Asego snorted. “So you’re in a real hurry to make us lose, huh?”

A ripple of laughter spread through the gathered elves. Bel looked down.

“Stop it,” Kassia sighed. “We all wore shoes the first time we tried, remember?”

“For two minutes,” another girl chimed in. She was already barefoot, her toes flexing against the ground. “Then we learnt better. You have no flow whatsoever in shoes.”

Bel’s boots suddenly felt like weights anchoring him to the spot. Every instinct screamed at him to flee. But Kassia’s hand brushed against his wrist again; it was enough to root him in place.

“He’s stubborn,” Asego chuckled, shaking his head. He motioned to the other girl. “Be prepared to pick up his slack, Brie.”

“You should give it a try, Bel,” Kassia said gently. She nudged him with her elbow. “I won’t laugh at your feet, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’ll play like this. Watch.”

The teams were simple: Kassia’s group of four versus another team of four from a different social circle. None of the other players bothered to introduce themselves properly to Bel. They just exchanged glances.

They already think I’m dead weight, he realised. Anger bubbled beneath his fear. I’ll show them.

With a sound like a crystal ball being struck, the game began.

The court’s surface rippled outward from the centre, and suddenly the glowing ball materialised in mid-air. It dropped and landed in Bel’s hands.

It was uncomfortably warm.

“Pass!” Asego yelled from the left.

But Bel hesitated, trying to figure out how the other players were moving. The court rippled beneath his boots, but he couldn’t feel it through the soles. It was like trying to ice skate with numb feet.

One of the opposing players shot past him. The ball was swiped from his hands before he could blink.

Laughter echoed from both teams.

“No worries!” Kassia was already in motion, her bare feet leaving glowing footprints on the court’s surface. She flowed with the ripples and intercepted the opposing player with a graceful slide. She snatched the ball mid-air. With a shout, she launched herself towards one of the floating hoops.

The ball arced perfectly through the rim and dissolved into a shower of confetti-like sparks. They rained on the court before being absorbed back into the light.

The scoreboard flickered. One to zero.

“Good save, Kass,” Brieanna cheered. Then she rolled her eyes at Bel. “Still keeping your shoes on, newbie?”

He wanted to snap back at her, but the words got trapped in his throat.

The ball reformed at the centre court, rolling lazily across the glowing surface until it came to rest inches from Bel’s boots. He bent to grab it, but it slipped away as the court rippled beneath it.

Asego darted past him, scooping up the ball with his toes in a smooth motion. He flipped it up to his hands without breaking stride, passed it behind his back to Brieanna, then leapt.

As he soared, his bare heel passed within inches of Bel’s face.

The ball slipped through the hoop with ease.

But this lucky streak started to fade. Within the next minute, the opposing team used Bel’s lack of speed and knowledge to their advantage. It scored four rapid goals, surpassing Kassia’s team.

Sweat started to drip down Bel’s face. With his shoes on, he was actively dragging the team down. The court’s ripples tried to carry him, but he couldn’t feel them.

The next round, he lunged for the ball and missed. Then he tried to block a pass, only to stumble. When he attempted to change direction quickly, his boots caught on the vibrating surface, and he fell straight into Brieanna.

His face fell into something warm, damp and…

Oh my God…

He’d landed face-first against her bare feet.

The court’s coloured light painted her soles in shifting pinks and violets, highlighting every detail: the dampness, the game hall’s dust on her feet, the way her toes flexed when he breathed in musky air.

The slimy sensation made him shriek. He clawed at his own cheek.

“Get your head in the game!” Brieanna snapped, hopping to her feet. “Are you trying to throw this for us?”

“No!” Bel scrambled upright. “I’m not!”

“You’re trying my damn patience.” She stepped forward, getting right in his face. “Take off your shoes or sit on the sidelines. It’s that simple, dummy.”

“I can’t,” he mumbled.

“Can’t?” Her expression shifted from anger to disbelief. “You can’t handle the sight of bare feet? Are you seriously that much of a baby?”

Before he could answer, she lifted her leg and shoved her bare foot right in front of his face.

Time seemed to slow.

This wall of flesh filled his vision. He could see every intricate line on her sole, the calluses on the ball of her foot and the way her toes wriggled. To his dread, there was even more dirt than he had seen when his nose was scrunched against her sole.

He scrambled backwards so fast that he nearly tripped.

Brieanna’s annoyance melted into malicious amusement. “Wait, I was just joking. You’re really…” She scrunched her toes and darted her foot out to him. He flinched. “Whoa! Guys, you see this?”

Asego’s laughter joined hers. Then the opposing team started snickering. The spectators watching from the sidelines pointed and whispered.

Worst of all, Kassia’s muffled giggle reached his ears as she tried to cover her mouth.

Her too.

Something inside Bel shattered. He was used to the fear and the embarrassment.

What broke was the tiny hope that had been building since he’d bumped into Kassia at that stand. The hope that maybe she was different. That maybe one girl in this entire nightmare of a world wouldn’t mock him.

But there she was. Laughing just like Morrigan, just like Lisa and just like every other girl who’d ever pretended to be nice.

His lips curled.

“Bel?” Kassia’s smile faltered as she saw the look on his face. “Are you—?”

With a roar, he lunged.

He crashed into her and sent her stumbling backwards onto the court. Before she could catch herself, his fist connected with the side of her face.

Gasps rang across the game hall. The crystallised music seemed to screech in discord.

“Bel—” Kassia’s voice broke off as his second punch caught her jaw. Her head snapped to the side. She raised her hands defensively, but she wasn’t fighting back.

“Hey! Knock it off!” Asego shouted.

Bel didn’t hear him. He heard nothing except his own ragged breathing and the pounding of his heart.

“You’re all the fucking same!” His voice cracked as he grabbed Kassia by the collar of her shirt, shaking her. “Every last one of you!”

“What are you talking about…?” Kassia struggled to get the words out.

“Every girl!” he spat, shaking her harder. Tears were streaming down his face. “Nice for a second, then laughing! Always mocking me! Always…” His fist pulled back again.

This time, hands grabbed him from behind. Asego had crossed the court in a sprint and now had Bel in a firm hold.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“Let me go!” Bel thrashed uselessly. “She set me up! All she wanted to do was make fun of me!”

“What are you even going on about?” Brieanna yelled. “It’s not her fault you sucked out there.”

Kassia touched her cheek. Blood trickled from her lip. Her eyes were already starting to swell from where his fist had connected.

“I wasn’t making fun of—”

“Shut up!” he screamed. “Fuck that stupid bitch routine! You hear me? Just go kill yourself! All of you should—”

“Belial!”

The voice interrupted his rage. His entire body went rigid.

His head turned slowly towards the entrance to the game hall. Three figures stood there, silhouetted against the glowing lights of the Galleria beyond.

The court shifted to deep crimson, casting Cinnamon’s face in shadows that made her expression even more terrifying. Her eyes now blazed with a fury that Bel had never seen before.

Her tail lashed behind her.

For the first time since being kidnapped, he felt a real, genuine fear for his own well-being. The promise of a real bed shattered like glass.

“Thirty minutes,” Cinnamon hissed. “We leave you alone for thirty minutes, and this is what you do.”

More elves started to crowd around the scene, much to the Sugar Squad’s dismay.

“It’s not my fault!” His voice cracked. “This dumb cunt brought me here just to—”

“Don’t.” Cinnamon’s voice dropped. “Don’t you dare call her, of all people, that word.”

“That’s really bad, Bel,” Marshmallow said softly.

“She just fucked with me!” He was sobbing openly now. “Like all of you do! She’s the same as every—”

“You don’t even know her.” Cinnamon crossed the court in three strides and pulled Kassia to her feet, examining the damage. The bruise was already darkening. Cinnamon turned back to Bel, and her voice became even tighter.

“We are going home. Now. And you are going to learn some serious respect.”

“Why?” With an elbow, he finally broke free from Asego’s grasp. “Why should I respect her?”

“Lower your tone,” Pepper said, her voice even firmer than usual. “That is not a suggestion.”

Cinnamon’s eyes narrowed. “Reason one: because she only wanted to play a game with you. To make you stop feeling lonely. To be nice to you, no matter how pathetic you were at bailaball.”

“And—”

“Reason two,” she continued, wrapping an arm around Kassia’s trembling shoulders, “is because you’re living under her big sister’s roof.”

Bel’s brain stalled.

“Big…sister?”

---

From the shadows just outside the Snowflake Galleria, someone felt the scene unfold with barely contained glee. She pressed a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

“Oh yes,” she purred. “Let the drama unfold, dear Cinnamon.”

---

Author’s Note:
I think this is the shortest chapter to be uploaded so far. As I say, there’s no point in always trying to reach a certain length; end a chapter wherever you think a break is natural. And no, Kassia doesn’t have a tail. We’ll learn soon why Cinnamon is different.