Team Discipline
(Published on Tuesday, February 26, 2003)
This story was submitted by Tower982002@yahoo.com.

My best friend and I were team captains of the softball team our senior year in high school. We had a total of 7 seniors on the team. We were all a dedicated group. There was a junior on our team named Betty. We called her bitchy Betty.  She was always running late and mouthing off in practice.  If she was late, the team had to run an extra mile after practice. No one thought that was fair.  My friend and I, as well as the rest of us seniors, would curse and scold Betty, and she would just blow us off.

I finally had it! Who does she think she is talking to me like that? I convinced the rest of the team that we needed to take action. I had to get the coach off my back.  Betty cannot disrespect a senior, especially a captain. We talked about what our options were, but no one had a great idea.

In the locker room my friend Alice took off her sneakers and we all backed up saying, "Gross! Your feet stink!"

"That’s it," I said to the others. "Let’s force her to smell the team’s feet. That will show her who’s in charge."

Here was the plan: We were going to gang up on her after practice. We took an oath that none of us would wash our feet for two days. My feet smelled so badly, I could smell them when I was watching TV.  The day this was going to happen, we were all talking about how badly are feet smelled.

"She is going to pass out from my feet alone," said Alice.

Sue told us her cat hadn't slept with her the previous evening because her feet stunk up the room.

"Betty is dead after practice," one of my friends said. "Everything is set up down at Lazy Man's Hill."

Lazy Hill was a place behind the school where slackers could hide during long runs. The cross-country team made the hill into a nice hang out during practice. There was an old bench from the baseball field down there, and that’s where Betty would be tied to endure our stench.

I knew Betty would respect the rules after we got done with her. I myself had worn the same socks the past couple of days. I wore them during practice and school. I was so mad at her; today she would feel my wrath.

Betty was late to practice as usual, so I knew we could take her down during the long run. It was another scorcher outside. It was 95 degrees outside, and you started to sweat just standing still.

After practice, the coach as usual had to leave to pick up his son, so he left the captains in charge. I told the team that only the seniors and Betty would run today. The coach wouldn’t know about it so I told the rest of the team to take this run off.  I told Betty we would run the cross-country path, not the track. She didn’t seem to care, so we ran the half-mile to the spot where she would learn her lesson.

Betty was surprised we all stopped. My friend and the rest of the girls grabbed her, and had her pinned on the bench. Betty was still winded a little after the running, so it was easy to tie her down.  Betty was confused at what was going on.

"Let me go," she demanded.

Renee grabbed a duffel bag that she had stashed away earlier.  She pulled out a camera and some tape. Renee asked what we should put in her mouth?  Sarah pulled off Betty's sneakers and socks and offered her socks.

"Why not?" Somebody yelled out.

After Betty was unable to talk or yell with that smelly, sweaty sock in her mouth, we decided who would go first. We let Sue go first. Sue sat on Betty's stomach and placed her still sneakered-feet on her face. "Do you understand what we are doing now Betty? You are lower then my feet. All seniors are above you. You will see that you are lower than my feet stink."

We were all gathered around to see Betty's reaction to the smell.  As soon as Sue removed her sneakers, Betty was fighting to get free.  Sue moved her socks all over Bettt's face. When she took off her socks, she kept her toes cupped around Betty's nose. Sue's feet were still visibly sweaty. She wiped them all over Betty's face.

Kim jumped in to go next. Kim went sockless that day, so this would be fun. When Kim took off her sneakers ,the pad stuck to her foot. Her feet were really.  I touched her foot, and it was hot and sticky. Betty was going to find that out for herself. Kim’s feet scraped against her head. Kim was pushing her feet all over Betty's face. The best part was when Kim moved her one sneaker over her nose. Betty smelled some of the worst foot funk ever.

I wanted to go next. I jumped onto her stomach and removed my sneakers. I let her enjoy my sneakers for a while. Then I let her smell my aroma. I asked her if she had learned anything about respect. I watched her smell my dirty unwashed feet for a long time before letting Alice have her turn.

Alice placed her sweat-stained socks over Betty's nose and got Betty fighting again. I leaned in a little to get a whiff to see for myself. They smelled like a bag of vinegar, and that was from a foot away.  When the socks came off, it was worse.  All of us retreated from the stink.

Sarah was next to go. She was the only one wearing spikes. Sarah was wearing knee high socks with a pair of ankle socks underneath. She really wanted her feet hot and raunchy. Sarah placed her feet on Betty's face, and she was in for a more foul smell then before. I almost lost my lunch with that smell.

Alice walked over and put her foot over Sarah’s, and I thought Betty was going to pass out. Betty had no fight left in her. She had accepted her fate.

Finally Renee had her turn. She had the biggest feet in the group, a size 10. "Look," Renee said to the rest of us. "You can’t see her face under my feet." Renee kept her feet on her face as she pulled off the tape and socks, and asked her what she had learned from this.

It took awhile for Betty to regain her thoughts, but she understood she was going to have to be a team player. Sue released her, but before she could go, we made her put our socks and sneakers on for us as one last lesson. We never had to run extra laps again. The pictures we took would force Betty to follow the rules.