The stranger PT.2

Author – Nike Mike

Please read Part One first, from July 2020

He cycled off into the distance disappearing from sight. My Nikes where warm and comfortable on my feet, did I really want some stranger taking them.  I ran up the concrete steps and looked back down. My trainers lay abandoned below, the opportunity was too great to miss.

Fearing the consequences of turning around before sunset had me paralysed to the spot. The sun was nearly gone, I couldn’t resist the urge to look before it got dark, I turned around and looked down the steps, my Nikes where still there. I felt disappointed but relieved so I watched the sun set in my socked feet pretending that my trainers had been stolen.

Darkness had engulfed the unlit pier, I cautiously descended the concrete steps to retrieve my trainers but they where gone. A forced sock walk along the pier had me nervously excited. The slow careful steps in my unshod feet in the dark along the cold concrete pier got me worrying, what if he wasn’t waiting and he had actually stole them or it wasn’t him that took them, either way my Nikes would be permanently gone and a long embarrassing walk home awaited. If I was wearing shoes I would of kicked myself for being so stupid.

My anxiety disappeared as I could see his flashing red rear bike light in the distance. But the thought of getting my trainers back was short lived as there was no stranger, no bike and no shoes. Just his bike light on the ground and a piece of paper beneath it.

The note read, ‘I caught you looking before sunset, therefore I keep your shoes. If you want them back, return tomorrow, same time and shoeless too. I’ll be watching, if you cheat again by wearing shoes and hiding them nearby I’ll find them and keep them too, you have been warned. BTW I want my light back’.

I was excited that some stranger now had my shoes but not so for having to walk home without them. Fortunately nobody saw me or my white socks on the journey home, I began to relax as I entered my building using the stairs to avoid any awkward conversation in the elevator. I arrived at my door to be greeted by my mate Jimmy sitting on the floor.

‘What you doing here?’ I asked as he stared at my dirty socked feet.
‘Where’s your shoes dude’ he said laughing before explaining that his girlfriend had kicked him out. How was I going to explain this without further embarrassment.
To be continued.

My friend stole my stuff

Author – lovetoshoeswap

One day during the summer a friend of mine came over to visit and since the weather was really good we decided to go for a walk about. We found an old abandoned building which we decided to go round the back of to be out of sight. We messed around for a while and my friend kept looking at my shoes which were Adidas sambas and asked me what size they were. I told him they were a 9 to which he told me he was also a 9. He asked me if he could try them on so i told him only if I could wear his ( his shoes were nike blazers low tops), he agreed and we swapped shoes and i thought to myself if we have the same shoe size what else of his stuff would fit. I asked my friend if he was willing to swap clothes as well and he thought that would be fun too so we swapped our clothes. At the end of the day my friend had to go home so i asked for my stuff back but he told me that he really liked my clothes and shoes and that he was kind of turned on by me wearing his stuff so he was keeping my stuff. I told him to give my stuff back or else but he still refused to give me my stuff back and took off back to his place still in my clothes so i had no choice but to keep his stuff

At the gym

Author – Alexander

Today at school we had an hour extra before lunch time because our teacher was not there. Most of the class went to the cafeteria, but Marc and me wanted to do something else. Marc came with the idea to go to the gym and play some basketball. We went to the gym and to our surprise the door was unlocked so we went in. It is not allowed to wear outdoor shoes on the gymfloor so we left them at the door. We searched for a ball and started playing. After some time a few girls from our class came in and asked what we were doing. Just playing some ball, Marc said and we continued. We were on the other end of the gym and we heard the girls saying somthing and laughing and then they left again. We played on for some time untill we got a little tired. We put the ball back where we found it and walked towards the door. There we got a little shock because our shoes were gone. We looked at eachother and said, the girls… We went outside the gym to see if our shoes were in the hallway but they weren’t. We walked towards the cafeteria to look for the girls but they were not there. We walked further across the school in our white socked feet. We came across the restrooms and saw 2 of them coming out and they started laughing at us. We asked them for our shoes and they said laughing, they are in the trashbin, and they walked off. I asked them quick wich one but they only laughed. We then started looking in every trashbin we saw but no luck. We spend the whole lunch looking for our shoes and finally had to go to class in our socks. They were pretty dirty at that time. After we finished classes we asked one of the girls again and she said, try the bin around the corner at the gym. We went there and to our surprise they were in there but tied together. We spend almost half an our to untie them because of all the knots in the laces.

Football bet

Author – Dave

We had arranged to meet up with a bunch of lads from school on Sunday a couple of miles from home and one we met up a football kick about developed using coats for goal posts. One of my mates, Steve, was always competitive and thought we should, once we had split into the two teams of 6 make things interesting and have a bet on the result, we all started looking through our pockets to see what cash we had but Steve said that was boring and not fair as we all had different amounts of cash and it meant more to some than to others, there was one thing that meant the same to each of us, our trainers, so it was decided the winners keep the losing team’s trainers, they walk home in their socks, a real walk of shame equal for everyone. We played for about an hour and we won 4 – 2. Everyone gathered their coats from the goal area and I guess it was the time for reckoning. Very reluctantly our opponents kicked off their trainers and started their long trudge home in their socks, Steve who’s idea it was to play for a trainer bet looked particularly fed up in his grey no show socks having given up his size 9 checked vans most of the other lads were wearing white socks as it was the weekend, one guy, Pete, yelled keep our trainers safe you lot we will be playing to win them back. That will be the day I laughed – who knows what you might lose next time.

Grandma Babushka

Author – Jonathan

Grandma Babushka was always a wonderful and caring grandmother. 

Living on a small budget was never easy for her but she always managed to get me new pairs of shoes for my birthday, Christmas, and random holidays. Sometimes the shoes were a little too big and sometimes they were a little too small. I could never understand why my grandmother could never figure out my correct size. I remember when she would come over and surprise me with a nice pair of Nike running shoes for my track meet and some of those thick skateboarding shoes for when I hung out with my pals skateboarding, you know the shoes from the early 2000’s. When I was even younger, she bought me basketball shoes for my gym class, but I was never any good at that. My mother and father never questioned her on where she got the money to buy them and I never questioned her directly until I got older. I was 16 years old when I received a sweet looking pair of Nike Shox NZ size 12 in the blue and white colorway.

 I was so excited and went to my room to try them on. Inside the label I saw a tag that said property of Jeremy Smith. I went back into the living room and asked my grandma why there was a label inside the shoe that said property of Jeremy Smith. 

With a blushed face she said she met someone selling them and after quickly dismissing the statement, went into the kitchen and grabbed a knife to cut the tag off. There we go all good now my sweet molodoy. For as long as I could remember she called me that. My mother told me it means “young one” in Russian. My worries vanished and I put the Nike Shox on and gave my grandma a huge hug. By the time I reached 18 years of age, I had 50 pairs of shoes that I received from my grandma, my favorite was the Nike Shoxs and a pair of Osiris D3’s 2001 in yellow and black. 

I cherished all my shoes and would clean them daily when I wore them. The second to last pair that I ever received from my grandmother was a pair of Air Jordan 17 original white and royal blue colorway. These were released in 2002 but I got mine in 2003. They were awesome and my size which was a 13.

I started wearing them to school and one day this group of kids a few years younger than me were looking at me and pointing at my shoes. I got annoyed and asked if there was a problem. Yeah! Said one of the kids. I think those are my shoes you are wearing. No, they are not I yelled back. My grandmother got them for me a few weeks ago. They look nice don’t they. I said with a smile.

Is your grandmother a little old lady who wears a red scarf and uses a cane? He asked.

Well she does wear red scarfs, but my grandmother has never used a cane in her life. I responded.

Bullshit, I know it was her. She conned me out of those shoes a few weeks back. I was walking home from a basketball game when I turned a corner and saw this lady on the ground yelling in pain. I asked her if I could help her up and by then a few people started to gather. She told them that I knocked her down, when I wasn’t anywhere near her. Of course no one believed me and some were threatening to call the cops. I didn’t want that and asked her what I can do to get this resolved. I knew I was innocent but who are people going to believe a 16-year-old six-foot two tall guy or an elderly lady no more than five feet tall. I told her I only had 20 dollars on me, and I had nothing else to give her. She said that she will call it even if I gave her my shoes. I asked if she was kidding and she said no. The crowd cheered because I had to give up something expensive and everyone parted ways. I had to walk home in my socks. No one believed that I got had by a little old lady. Now, I want my shoes back!

I was not going to fight this kid and his gang of friends, but I also did not want to give away my shoes. I mean how am I supposed to know if his story was true or not. I was wearing the Air Jordan sneakers and he was wearing a new pair of Nike Air Max 2003. 

I started running in the other direction, after knocking over a few trash cans and running down 3 alleys I found that it was just him left chasing me. I wanted to give his claim some standing, and I really wanted his Nikes so when I had a minute, I layered dirt onto my clothes and face and fell down near the end of an alley that intersected a busy street. When he turned the corner, I started yelling in fake pain and it caught the attention of the passersby.  My chaser had grabbed a pipe while he was running towards me and still had it in his hands when he stopped in shock of the crowd. I said that he started attacking me yelling that he wanted to take my Jordan’s. My family is unique in that we have small general statures but large feet. This crowd saw me at five feet eight inches with dirt and scuff marks all over me and decided that this guy needed to give me his shoes or they will show him some street justice. One guy and a pipe against 5 guys, some being bigger than him scared him so much that he just froze. The biggest guy approached him and that is when he dropped the pipe. The big guy grabbed the chaser’s shirt and lifted him off the ground. He started to plead with him to stop and one of the other guys came over and snatched the shoes off of his feet. He complimented how nice they look and then gave them to me. He asked if I was okay and I said yea thank you. As I walked away, I heard one of the guys say that he pissed his pants and lets just let him go. I now know that this idea does work.

Grandmother came over the very next week and gave me a pair of Adidas shelltoes.

 I thanked her like always and then she looked down and saw that I was wearing a pair of shoes that I did not get from her. My sweet molodoy, where did you get those nice running shoes? I hope you did not buy them as you know I always get shoes for you. I told her that the jig was up and that I found out how I got my pair of Air Jordan’s. Congratulations you are now a muzhchina. I said a what? That means man from my homeland. She called for my mother and father and told them the story that I just told, and my mother gave me a hug and double cheek kiss and my father a huge handshake. This is the way my family has done it for the past century in order to get nice things. They started pointing to items around the house and told me what they did to receive them. Oh great, my legacy is I am part of a con family. I did ask my grandma how she got the Osiris D3’s and she said the same way as the Jordan’s, but I was near a skate park that time. She laughed. He wasn’t even wearing socks…

I learned to accept it and as I grew up and had children of my own, I would find ways to get what they needed using the same methods my family had done for a century. My two sweet molodoy would get the best of everything I could con out of regular people. I also still have the pairs of shoes my grandma got for me. At night, I would look at the free urn I got for her sitting on the mantle next to a “free” picture and frame I got of her. What a great family tale. Thanks grandma Babushka.

Taken From Step

Author – Eric

Me and a mate had a good night out and he invited me to stay over at his place As it was not so far a going back to my place. As it was snowy we left our shoes ( or in my case Timberland boots ) on the step. Steve left for work and left the keys on the hall stand for me to lock up when I left. I padded round in my white football socks making a coffee before I left and, after washing my cup up got showered, dressed and prepared to leave, It was still early though the sun was up and the snow from last night had turned to icy slush. I carefully locked the door and put the keys through the letterbox as Steve had told me to. I turned round to put on my boots and the step was empty, nothing there. Either someone had stolen them or Steve had hidden them for a laugh, trust me I was not laughing. I sat on the step thinking first job look round outside for anywhere Steve might have hidden them, under hedges, in bins, my feet were cold and my white socks soaked, I saw some footprints in the snow going down the garden so I followed them to the small gate at the bottom, just by the gate were my boots, I peeled off my soaking socks and put the boots on ready for the walk home.

Hanging Around

Author – Sneaked666

Sometimes life doesn’t quite work out as you expect. Well, actually it almost always doesn’t work out as you expect. It’s not always the big things, sometimes it’s those tiny little moments. A moment, an instance, maybe even something so small that there isn’t a name for it yet.

Except there will be. A mathematician will have named it, even if they don’t actually know it exists. They are a bit like that, everything in order, in its place. 

No, I’m not a mathematician, not even close, but suddenly I yearn for things to be in order. In their place. Had that been the case I may not have been doing what I’m doing right now. Hanging around, over a ravine, with just my hoodie stopping me plunging down into the trees below.

I had been out on my trusty board riding down the roads up on the mountains. Man, that board and I had been through some times. It’s so old it originally had a nose guard!I  had to replace the wheels and bearings about six times and the trucks actually snapped once! Oh, and the board, so that’s been replaced too.

As I said, that board and I had been through some times! I loved coming up here to feel the wind in my hair as we sped down the hill. There wasn’t any traffic around and the roads were okay; a few potholes which added to the fun. I tended to crouch on the board, keeping the centre of gravity at those speeds helped. Plus should I fall off it was a shorter distance to the deck. Not that I ever had fallen off.

Well, not until today. Had everything been in its rightful place, I’d be at home right now, feet up outside supping a cool one. But that hare that shot across in front of me saw to that and, just to confirm, I did manage to avoid it. The cute little bunny is safe. Unharmed. Probably at home with its feet up.

In swerving to avoid the wretched animal I ended going right into one of those potholes. I was thrown off and sent skidding across the tarmac, shredded the side of my jeans. Which was at least better than it shredding the side of me I guess. 

I wore my shoes super sloppy. I didn’t do tricks so it wasn’t a problem; I just rode the road. When I walked the heel would slip clean out of the shoe, leaving the sole on the ground and clean exposing my white socks. I just loved them like that so I usually bought a half size larger – sometimes a full size. I often wondered if they would fly off if I crashed at speed. Well I can answer that question now at least; the answer is no. Although I only have one of my battered black Etnies Callicuts on now. 

Anyway, where was I? I slid across the road and suddenly realised I was going over the edge. There were barriers but they were designed to stop cars, not fast moving persons at ground level. ‘This is it’ I thought. That’s when the hood of my hoodie caught on something. There was a ripping sound but it was definitely holding because I was slipping out of it! I managed to grab a bundle of it and it held; my motion was arrested and I hung perilously over the ravine.

I watched my board fly off, hearing the sound it made echo around as it bounced off the side before disappearing into the foliage cover far below.

I looked down to see my sneaker hanging from my white socked foot, held aloft by my toes. I could feel gravity doing what it did, and slowly it slipped off. It dropped down, entering the tree cover before disappearing, leaving my white sock hanging in the breeze, bereaved of the covering it had for so long covered it. Had it become stuck, or did it make it through into the stream that ran at the bottom I wondered.

I heard another ripping noise from above as my hoodie gave a little more. This wasn’t looking good. I made the decision to try to get a bit higher and maybe get a hand onto the barrier support above. I pressed my white socks against the sandstone side, feeling the warm stone through the fabric. I made a little progress before hearing more fabric rending noises. This really wasn’t looking good; this hoodie wasn’t going to last much longer. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade as the saying goes. Thing is, I hate lemonade.

So, options. I could try to get up to the support and cling on until someone came past. I’d need to lose some weight to give me the best chance, and my baggy jeans with a thick chain attached to my wallet filled with coins was certainly a weight. They were starting to slide down anyway. I would need to consign my other shoe to the ravine as well.

But then what? Hang around until someone finds me? And what if their intentions weren’t pure? I’d heard stories of things happening in cars to hapless people in need. Well, I could try to haul myself up completely. Then I’d be left with an hour walk home in just a tee, socks and loose boxers.

I suppose I could lower myself a bit – to the end of the sleeve of my hoodie. I would be a little bit closer to the tree cover below which would break my fall, and hopefully not much else. The trees didn’t look massively inviting and I suspect I might end up with some scratches. Worse still they could catch on my tee and rip it off. Worser still they could do the same for my boxers. On the plus side I might be able to search for my shoes and my board. 

Well, both shoes actually. It’s hanging on by my toes right now. Oh, fuck it, they are done. I should have got a new pair ages ago. A little wiggle of my toes and it was gone too, receding into the distance.

If I managed to get down the walk back would be more direct – probably 15 minutes – but it would be through the stream as there were no paths along it. I might end up back in town in just just a pair of wet socks.

Well, fuck, that’s some choice isn’t it? I guess I should be grateful I have choices, but I need some help here. What would you do? Have a think, there’s no rush, I’ll be hanging around for a bit longer…