Don't provoke a tickler, or else...

I have many fond memories from my childhood, and although details do tend to fade as I grow older, there's one from my school years I still remember enough to tell.

In my class there were around thirty students, and each of us had a different behavior or personality from one another: some of us were more athletic, others preferred puzzles; some were social butterflies, while others were very awkward; there were the kids who got good grades with seemingly little effort - whether they simply learned more easily or cheated -, those who did their best and the ones who just didn't bother trying.

Among my classmates I was the nerd, and although I cannot say I suffered a lot of bullying, I was the target of mockery in the form of less than appropriate acronyms or intentional mispronunciation of my own name. Or being compared to cartoon characters. But, on the other hand, I also had good friends and didn't really hold any vendettas against anyone.

While I was shy and reserved, Gabriel was jolly and talkative. He enjoyed pulled pranks every so often, specially in between classes. He used to sit in the middle of the class, and I was two rows closer to the window. Even then, he'd get up from his seat and walk around the room, going behind an unsuspecting classmate and poke both of their sides at once. We were often caught off guard, jumping and protesting the unsolicited tickling.

One day, after having already been poked by him, I decided to attempt revenge. I got out of my chair when he wasn't looking, went around the back of the room, approached him and did the same thing he used to do, eliciting a similar reaction. I remember having giggled and feeling proud of myself, before returning to my seat before class was resumed.

Unfortunately for me, I did not expect what was coming. During the following break I felt a hand grab my ribs and squeeze them, followed by fingers wiggling and raking on the area. To make matters worse, not only was Gabriel tickling me but Diego, who sat right in front of me, decided to join him! I was already at silent laughter, hugging my stomach and lowering my head. It probably didn't last very long, but it definitely felt like minutes.

After they stopped I still took some time to regain my breath. I never attempted tickling them back the same way, but at least I got even with my friend eventually, by mimicking Gabriel every so often and poking his sides. Probably because I already sat right behind Diego, so he was within reach. And we were close friends, I don't think he minded it too much.

And that was the one time I ended up being tickled at school. So the moral is... you better not provoke that one poke-happy person unless you don't mind receiving a full rib tickling (or worse) later on!