A meeting at the Photography Studio

As Fiora left the Police station, he felt a buzz from his right pocket. Fiora pulled out his phone and saw a text from his superior at the Photography studio.

"Hey, Fiora. Don't forget the meeting later at 2 pm. We're presenting our pitch to this new company from out of town. If they like us, it could be a pretty big gig for the company!"

Fiora smiled. It would be the perfect opportunity to test out his new camera. His co-workers mostly were young interns or budding photographers, which his boss hired straight after their university studies. He fancied quite a few of them but never really had a chance to see their feet since they kept them holed up in stuffy Uggs or blood-sucking High Heels.

Firstly, there was Nia. A young Indian transfer student with immigrant parents who joined the agency not too long ago. She was fond of wearing pullover hoodies with jeans and often wore sandals that showed off her well-pedicured toes. She wore a bob cut with short bangs that hung to her shoulders, which echoed "Classy Secretary" like none other.

Next, there was Geo. A youthful Hispanic mother, she was in her 30s but never looked a day over 20. Yoga pants paired with long sleeve print tees made up her entire wardrobe, which served well to accentuate her shapely figure. Unlike Nia, Geo's choice of footwear entirely consisted of her boots, which she never took off even during her breaks. Fiora had never seen Geo's feet and was convinced that he never would. But every day was a new day, and he still held hope that he would one day get to see those feet of hers.

But mostly, he was excited to see Alyssa. Nia's Classmate in University, she was a Filipino student with an incredibly bubbly and talkative personality. She loved print tees to ****, and if she wasn't wearing denim jeans, she'd be seen in gym shorts just hanging around the office. A sporty girl, she had a pair of old running shoes that were worn out to high heaven, whose odour could, according to Nia, "Wake the Dead, the Living and everything in between".

Before the meeting, Fiora went to the meeting room to "tidy up" and scout a potential location to conceal the camera he just bought. As he took the camera out of his tote bag, he positioned it on the floor before flipping out its screen. He hoped to set it so it could capture the heels of Nia's feet, but the metal legs of the table gave him ample room to play with all sorts of angles.

As he finalized his position, Fiora could hear the clicking of heels down the hallway and hurriedly pressed the buttons on the camera. The camera shrunk to its Go-Pro mode and placing a fake plant next to it to hide it.

Just as Fiora took a seat, the door swung open, revealing Nia and the new client. Nia had changed her hoodie and jeans combo to a sophisticated black business dress and stockings in high heels. Fiora's mood instantly dropped since there was no way she'd be giving the camera any action in THOSE heels.

Thankfully, Alyssa's entrance was a ray of hope that his camera's maiden capture wouldn't be all for nothing. She wore a simple dress-down print tee and denim jeans with white flats. She plopped herself down next to Nia, who was busy fumbling with the projector to get the feed up.

Almost 20 minutes later, Nia had gotten the projector up and working, but Geo was nowhere to be seen. "Our other team member will be late, but we shall begin without her," Alyssa said. Gesturing to Fiora, he loaded their company showreel and began the showcase.

Midway through his presentation, there was a loud, frantic thudding of boots in the hallway before the door slammed open as Geo stumbled in, panting from her dash into the office. 'Sorry, I'm Late!" She said through pants. Her hair was ragged with sweat, and it was beginning to show through the fabric of her long-sleeve shirt. She sat down next to the client, who was visibly irritated by the sudden intrusion.

As Fiora finished his showcase, it was now Alyssa's turn to shine. Using her natural talent with words, she **** the client into believing that their services would prove worthy of his time. Nia and Geo went up next, offering their own pitch and showcasing their photographic skills from their portfolios. But as the girls kept droning on, Fiora felt as though his hearing had gone awry. Their voices sounded like the girls were getting further and further away with each breath. But the hum of the AC Unit above my head still sounds the same... Fiora thought to himself.

As Geo wrapped things up, the client himself stood up and began to talk about what his company really needed and the scope of this assignment. Fiora tuned out the client's words as white noise because he didn't really care for what the client had to offer. He could, however, make out phrases like "Medicine for all", "Solving Maddington's Problem", and "Talking Feet".

Fiora glanced around the floor and noticed that neither Nia nor Alyssa had taken off their shoes. Geo was a hopeless choice too. Since her feet were always stuffed behind the leather walls of her boots. The chance for any sellable footage being recovered today was looking hopelessly bleak. Fiora looked back up, only to be surprised by the client staring him right in the eye.

"I hope we'll be in touch, Mr Wu. Your talent and portfolio look the most promising." The client said as he thanked the other photographers and left the room. His other colleagues just acknowledged the man as he left the room before sitting back down.

Fiora sat back, wondering how it all went wrong when he noticed that his other colleagues had suddenly gone silent. They had closed their eyes, almost as if they had gone into a deep sleep. Fiora stood up and walked to his camera, picking it up and stopping its recording. As he held his hand out to open the door and leave the room,

"Draw the Blinds."

A muffled schoolgirl-esque voice broke the silence. Fiora turned back, but the girls were still asleep.

"I said, Draw the Blinds."

The voice repeated in an irritated tone. Fiora complied, drawing the blinds on the windowed door.

"Sit Down."

Fiora sat back in his seat. He looked around for its source, believing it to be a twisted prank by the client.

Suddenly, the loud slamming of boots on the table snapped him back to attention. Nia's legs soon followed, then Alyssa's.

Taking out the camera, Fiora pointed it at the girls, hoping to record whatever it was that was causing them to do this.

He watched in shock as Alyssa's feet began to kick off her flats, revealing a pair of red soles drenched in sweat and dotted with carpet lint.

"Much Better." The voice said as Alyssa curled and spread her toes. "It was beginning to get quite stuffy in there."

Fiora just stared back in awe. Did...Did her feet just...talk?

"Hey! Stop staring!" The voice yelled back as Alyssa's left foot shifted to hide her right foot, almost as if to shy away from the sudden unwanted attention.

"Oi. Could you hurry up? It's not like we can undo this goddamn zipper by ourselves, ya know." An assertive feminine voice spouted from Geo's feet, startling him.

"Hnnnnng! These heels are so annoying! And this stupid pantyhose is blocking my view!" Nia's heels clattered to the ground as her feet, clad in nylon pantyhose, desperately tried to stretch themselves against the taut fabric. "Get them off me!" A bitchy, valley girl voice seemed to eminate from the toes of Nia's feet.

_Dear Lord... Fiora thought to himself. _