Tickle Therapy

Jane sat on her bed, looking around her dorm room. She wasn’t sure if this was a good idea. She wasn’t sure she was even college material. Her parents had pushed her into the idea and her boyfriend she’d met last summer assured her she was more than college material, that she’d be a star here. But she wasn’t so sure. She felt lost an alone.

A knock at the door drew Jane out of her thoughts. She wondered who it could be as she’d not made any friends here yet. The only person she knew on the whole campus was her boyfriend and he was still at home packing and saying goodbye to friends. She got and went to the door. Opening it, she was surprised to see Matt, her boyfriend.

“Matt! What are you doing here?”

“I decided to come a couple of days earlier to help you settle in.”

“That’s so sweet of you. Come on in. So far I don’t have a roommate yet. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

Matt sat on Jane’s bed, leaning against the wall, making himself comfortable.

“Well, what do you think of college life so far?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anyone and don’t know how I’ll meet them. You know I’m kind of shy.”

“I know, but you’re a really sweet person, Jane. People really like you once you open up. Don’t worry. You’ll make friends. That’s part of why I suggested you move into the dorm instead of an apartment. It’s easier to make friends in a dorm. I should know. That’s where I made most of my friends when I arrived here last year.”

But Jane knew it wasn’t the same. Matt was smart and funny and outgoing. Not to mention, he’s on the baseball team. If college is anything like high school, being a jock automatically means you’re popular.

“Maybe you just need to turn that frown upside down. Last year in Psych 101 we learned about a study that showed there’s merit to the old adage, ‘Fake it till you make it.’ They had three groups of people read some comics. The control group just read them and rated how funny they thought they were. Then one group held a pencil under their bottom lip which forced them to frown. They read the comics like that and rated how funny they were. Then the last group held a pencil in their teeth which forced them to smile. They read and rated the comics. Do you know what happened?”

“Well, I’m guessing the group that held the pencil in their teeth found the comics the most funny or you wouldn’t be telling me this story.”

“That’s right. And the group who was forced to frown found the comics the least funny. So, Jane, that means we have to get you smiling in order for you to enjoy college. Not to mention, people who smile more have more friends.”

“Or is it that people with more friends just smile more?”

“Perhaps it’s self-perpetuating,” Matt said with a laugh. “Now smile, you!”

Jane puts on a fake smile.

“You gotta smile bigger than than.”

Jake plasters a giant fake smile on her face, making her look almost creepy.

“Yikes! Well, that won’t win you any friends. How about a smile more like this?” He pokes her in the ribs.

Jane’s smile turns genuine.

“That’s better.”

“So, what, are you going to just follow me around school and poke me from time to time?”

“If I have to.” Matt pokes her again.

This time Jane lets out a small giggle.

“Another option is to give you some therapy that will keep you going for a while.”

“Therapy?”

Matt pounces on her and yells, “TICKLE THERAPY!”

“NO!” Jane cries out as she begins laughing and trying to protect herself from the onslaught of Matts fingers. “Stop!” She keeps laughing.

“I won’t stop until you’re happy.”

“I’m happy! I’m HAPPY!” she calls out.

“No, I think you’re just faking it.” Matt moves from one ticklish spot to another, keeping her laughing and off guard.

Jane decides if she can’t get him to stop, maybe she can just fight fire with fire. She tries to tickle him back, but it’s exceedingly difficult as her body reflexively tries to protect her ticklish areas, but she’s able to get Matt laughing as well.

“Truce!” Matt yells, tears in his eyes.

Jane backs off as Matt falls back on the bed, breathing hard from the laughter.

“Thanks, Matt,” Jane says with a smile as she looks over at him. “I think I really needed that. Maybe you’re right. Maybe college will be okay after all.”