Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 ï>¿A Box of Tricks by ThanksForAllTheFish

   In a heatwave two students get tricked out of their clothes.

   539 BC, Ashkelon, Israel.

   In the early hours of the morning a young man hurried down to the
coastline, panting breathlessly as he clutched a bundle of cloth to his
bare chest and tried not to stumble on the hot, loose sand.  With the sun
beaming down onto the beach he reached the water's edge, furtively glanced
behind him to ensure that he was still alone, and then began to carefully
pull apart the ball of rags, wiping away beads of sweat from his brow as he
tried to keep his hands from shaking.

   The makeshift wrapping fell away to reveal a peculiar, small metal box,
and the man held his breath as he gingerly extracted the unusual object and
held it up to the light, allowing himself one final moment to marvel at its
unique design.

   "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world they
didn't exist..."

   The man whispered to himself in a trembling voice as he let the box fall
back down to sit in his open palm, then he turned so that he stood side-on
to the shore and launched it as far as he could, away into the
Mediterranean Sea.

   The box glinted under the sunlight as it arced across the sky, hanging
in mid-air for a moment as if it was reluctant to fall, but then it
splashed down into the water where in an instant it was gone, lost under
the turquoise swell of the ocean.  The man let out a strained gasp of
relief, squeezed his eyes tightly shut as he recited a prayer, and then
turned to trek back across the sand, satisfied that he'd done all he could.

   Deep beneath the waves, just now sinking down to settle on the
pitch-black seabed, something sighed quietly, made itself comfortable, and
settled in for a long, long wait.

   *****

   Present Day, London, England.

   Zoe Coulson, a twenty-year-old politics student who was home from
university visiting her family for the weekend, finished off her shower and
padded back across the landing to her room, wearing one towel loosely
wrapped around her hair with another held against her chest.  As her wet
legs shed droplets of water onto the carpet she shut her door behind her,
fished some clothes out from the wardrobe and threw them onto her bed, then
turned to her bedside cabinet and picked up a bottle of lotion.

   Zoe had been doing a lot of tanning in the backyard recently, and was
really starting to see the results of her hours spent lazing around in the
sun, so with that in mind she'd recently ramped up her moisturising regime
to take care of her newly bronzed skin.  After squirting some cream onto
her hand Zoe began to moisturise her arms, then her shoulders, and as she
moved onto her upper chest she casually let both towels unravel and fall
away to the floor.

   Now standing naked in front of her full-length mirror she continued to
rub the scented lotion into her upper body, finishing off her torso and
back before moving on to her thighs.  She turned to the side to check out
her butt as she massaged her glutes, which were particularly tight after a
leg session that morning at the gym, and as she proudly admired her toned
reflection there came a knock at the door.

   "Zoe?  Do you still need that light changed love?  I've think I've found
the right bulb."

   Zoe's bedside lamp had unexpectedly switched itself off last night, and
so earlier at breakfast her dad had offered to come up and swap out the
blown bulb for a new one.  Right now though Zoe's hands were still covered
in moisturiser, so she quickly began to wipe the last streaks of cream onto
her lower stomach and called out for her father to wait and give her a
moment to get ready.

   "Yeah Dad, just a min!" she shouted.

   Unfortunately for Zoe her father slightly misheard her, and instead
thought that she'd yelled 'yeah Dad, just come in'.  Admittedly it was an
easy mistake to make, but that didn't make it any less embarrassing when
Zoe's door was unexpectedly pushed open and she received the shock of her
life as her father walked straight in.

   To be fair he was equally surprised to be greeted by the startling sight
of his totally naked daughter as she stood there facing him head-on, with
her completely exposed and freshly lubricated body glistening all over and
her oiled-up hands suggestively hovering just above her groin.

   Rather understandably Zoe screamed.  "Fuck!  Dad, get out!"

   The mortified student instinctively drew both arms up and clamped them
across her chest, then drew one thigh over to tightly squeeze against the
other and collapsed down into a ball, as she desperately tried to hide
everything that her father had unfortunately already seen.  He in turn
immediately realised his terrible mistake and brought a hand up to cover
his eyes, then began to blindly back out of the room as he apologised
profusely.

   "Oh sorry, sorry!  I thought you said to come in!" he winced.

   "No Dad, I said to give me a minute!  God!" Zoe scooped up one of the
discarded towels, holding it against her chest as she stomped forwards and
slammed the door in her father's face, then she threw her head back in
exasperation and swore.  "Shit..."

   "Sorry again love!" her father called out from the corridor, but
apologise as he might the damage had already been done.

   Zoe spent the rest of the day moping around the house as she tried her
best to forget about the painfully cringeworthy accident.  It was no good
though, as every time she bumped into her dad he would give her the same
apologetic little smile, and just like that Zoe would be reminded about
what he'd seen when he walked into her room unannounced.

   She began to wish that she could mess with her father's brain, that she
could delete the memory of her naked body from his mind, so that then they
could both go back to acting like the unfortunate incident had never
happened.

   However, as Zoe would soon discover, you should always be careful what
you wish for.

   *****

   "Achoo!"

   The following afternoon Zoe's head flew back as she erupted into a loud
sneeze.  With a snivel she rubbed her eyes and tried to blink away some of
the dust that was swirling around her head, but it didn't work and she
immediately sneezed again.

   Zoe had spent the day after she'd accidentally flashed her dad
precariously wedged halfway up a ladder, blindly feeling around the
recesses of a musty old loft and tugging out boxes of ancient clothes and
long forgotten trinkets as she helped her parents to clean out her recently
deceased grandmother's house.

   "You alright love?  Do you need a break?"

   Zoe coughed as she cleared her throat to answer her mother's concerned
call from down below.  "No don't worry mum, I'm fine," she replied,
"there's only a couple more left to go."

   As Zoe reached back into the farthest corner of the attic, straining as
she tried to pull forwards the penultimate box, she accidentally ripped off
part of the faded cardboard and looked down in surprise as it came away in
her hand.  Through the tear she'd inadvertently created something small and
shiny come loose, falling out and then clinking loudly as it first hit the
exposed wooden floorboards, then rolled over a couple of times, and finally
came to a stop.

   Zoe leant over into the shadows to pick up whatever it was she'd
dropped, and as she brought her hand back into the light she found herself
staring down at a peculiar metal cube.  It was a perfect five-by-five inch
box, made out of solid copper or maybe bronze, she wasn't sure, and it felt
heavy and strangely warm to the touch, as if there was something heating it
up from within.

   There were no markings or decorations on any of the smooth surfaces to
give her a clue as to what the box's purpose was, but as Zoe rotated it
around in her palm she found that embedded in one of the six sides there
was a beautiful green Emerald, an Emerald which glinted and sparkled as she
tilted it left and right.

   When Zoe lightly traced along the surface of the precious Jewel it too
felt as if there was some energy source beaming through it from below,
which would account for its unnaturally brilliant and intense shine, and
when the intrigued student held the cube up to her ear she was convinced
that she could hear a very deep, albeit almost imperceptible, hum.

   She wasn't sure what the mysterious box was, or how on earth her grandma
had ended up with such a fascinating object tucked away in her attic, but
out of sheer curiosity she decided to hold on to the cube and have a proper
look at it when she was back home.

   *****

   It was early evening by the time Zoe and her parents had driven all the
carboard boxes over to their house and dumped them all in the garage, and
after all of that hard work she'd actually completely forgotten about the
strange cube which was tucked away in her back pocket.  That soon changed
when she returned to her room and flopped down onto the bed, then
immediately bounced up again as she felt a pointy metal edge dig painfully
into her butt.

   "Ow!" Zoe rolled over, pulled out the box, and then sat leaning against
the wall as she used the tips of her fingers to slowly turn it around,
enjoying the feeling of the warm metal as it gently vibrated against her
skin.  Once again her attention was drawn to the gorgeous Emerald, and she
found herself wondering how much such a perfect rare stone would cost.

   As she gently ran her thumb over the Jewel's crystal-clear surface she
felt it budge slightly, almost as if it was slightly loose.  Intrigued Zoe
pressed down harder, and to her great surprise the Emerald slid
effortlessly into the cube with a satisfying metallic click.  Instantly a
brilliant burst of white light shot out from the box, temporarily blinding
the astonished student, and a wave of hot, turbulent air sent Zoe's hair
flying wildly across her face.

   "Shit!" For a moment Zoe genuinely thought she'd set off some kind of
small bomb, so she instinctively chucked the box away from her across the
room.

   It ricocheted off the door with a bang, leaving a not-unnoticeable dent,
and then came to rest in the middle of the carpet.  Still perched up on her
bed Zoe rubbed her eyes, got her vision back as the imprint of the dazzling
whiteness began to fade, and then let her jaw fell open in complete
disbelief.

   "What the hell..?" she gasped.

   Hovering there in front of her, floating a metre or so above the box,
was a projection of what appeared to be a beautiful woman.  They were
suspended in mid-air, sitting there with their legs folded and their head
bowed low as if they were asleep.  The incomprehensible figure was
constructed out of rays of golden light, meaning that their body was very
slightly see-through, and their otherworldly form shone so warmly that it
cast a rich orange glow onto the bedroom walls.

   It was all so unbelievable that Zoe had to briefly consider the
possibility that yes, she had actually detonated some kind of bomb and
died, which would mean that this was heaven and the stunning woman hovering
in front of her was actually an angel.  The golden figure opened their eyes
for the first time and calmly looked around, and after they'd taken in
their surroundings their gaze finally settled on Zoe.

   "Hello," they said in a surprisingly normal voice.

   Zoe realised that her mouth had totally dried up, so she gulped a couple
of times and then managed to force some words out.  "Who...  who are you?"

   The figure smiled softly, but their eyes remained cold and unblinking.
"I am Jinn," they replied, "an ancient Spirit who has been entrusted with
protecting the Forgotten Cage.  And you are Zoe Coulson, correct?"

   Zoe tried to pinch herself awake but no, somehow she wasn't dreaming. 
There really was some kind of ghost or phantom floating there in her
bedroom, and rather alarmingly it already knew her name.

   "Err, yeah?" she stammered, unsure of what to say.  "But sorry, Jinn? 
Forgotten Cage?  What are you talking about?"

   The Spirit sighed quietly, rubbed their brow with a definite sense of
world-weariness, and then adopted a drier, almost patronising tone.

   "The ancient name 'Jinn' has had many human interpretations over the
centuries, but I think these days 'Genie' is probably the closest
translation," they explained.  "Although I'm not entirely sure, it's been a
while since I last visited this dimension you see, and your people seem to
change your mind about these things quite a lot."

   Zoe was still confused.  "So you're like a genie?  And you're in charge
of this box?" she asked, pointing at the metal cube on the floor.

   Jinn seemed to bristle at Zoe's crass remark, and this time their reply
came through slightly gritted teeth.  "I am the Guardian of the Forgotten
Cage, yes.  Thousands of years ago mankind found a way to bind Spirits to
physical objects, in order to harness our powers for their own use.  I was
one such Spirit and they used me to create this...  this 'box', as you put
it."

   Zoe nodded slowly, even though that still didn't really help to her to
understand anything at all.  "Why though, what does it do?" she asked.

   Jinn cleared their throat and sat up a little straighter.  "Well,
whomever wields the Forgotten Cage, in this case you Zoe, has the power to
permanently wipe the short-term memory of anybody they meet.  Simply
depress the Emerald and everyone you've met that day will suddenly have
absolutely no recollection of the last time they saw you."

   Before Zoe hadn't been able to believe her eyes, but now it was her ears
that she couldn't trust.  "Seriously?  This box can really erase anyone's
memory?" she asked.

   Again Jinn's eyes flashed in irritation, but then they seemed to give up
on trying to correct Zoe's terminology and instead sighed again.  "Yes, the
Forgotten - fine, yes the box really can do that."

   Zoe frowned thoughtfully.  "So I can just press the button, and then
people will forget about the most recent time they saw me?"

   "They will indeed," Jinn confirmed.

   'Jesus Christ', thought Zoe, 'if that's true then this is a pretty
overpowered box'.  "And it's all mine now, because I found it?" she
pressed. "I'm the only one who can use it?"

   Jinn stretched out their fingers as they absentmindedly checked their
nails, then patiently nodded again.  "Quite so, the box is now yours and I
am merely here to act as your guide."

   "Wow..." Zoe took a moment to digest all of this new information, then
she quickly came up with another question to ask.  "And...  err, Jinn?"

   The Spirit looked up.  "Yes?"

   "Why...  are you naked?"

   "Oh..." Jinn looked down at their golden body, which indeed wasn't
covered up by even so much as a scrap of clothing, and shrugged
indifferently.  "Well this is only a rough interpretation of my ethereal
form as it might appear in your world...  I can look like anything to be
honest, it doesn't really matter to me..."

   Jinn's image flickered in and out of focus for a moment before their
body suddenly reappeared dressed in a beautiful satin kimono, with their
hair tied up in a messy bun.  The Spirit looked down at their new outfit
and smiled to themselves, then glanced up at Zoe with a grin.

   "Is this better?" they asked.

   Before Zoe had even opened her mouth to reply Jinn had transformed
again, this time returning clad in a gleaming suit of armour complete with
silver chainmail and a worryingly large sword.  "Or is this more to your
taste?" the Genie joked.

   Zoe shrugged apologetically.  "No, I didn't mean that you had to -" she
began, before being cut off again.

   "Oh, so you did prefer my natural form after all?" Jinn sheathed their
new weapon and interrupted Zoe with another transformation, this time
reverting back to their completely naked state.  The Spirit still wasn't
done playing around though, and just to amuse themselves they leant back to
sit with their legs unashamedly angled out to the sides and casually
resting their forearms their knees as they shamelessly flaunted their body.

   It was clear now that Jinn was just messing with Zoe, so the rather
taken aback student just shook her head in bemusement and courteously
averted her gaze.  "No really, I just...  ok, never mind.  Dress as you
like," she surrendered.

   The Spirit smiled.  "Alright, I shall."

   As Jinn lazily stretched her arms high up above her head Zoe risked a
quick peak at the golden Genie's flawless body.  It really was the most
enviably flawless figure she'd ever seen in her life, and Zoe found herself
thinking that if she looked like that naked then she probably wouldn't wear
clothes that often either.

   Forcing herself to refocus Zoe looked back up at the Spirit's eyes,
noting how they were the only part of Jinn's body that didn't seem to
shimmer with that golden glow, and then asked them a question.  "So Jinn,"
she said, "can I try out this box now?"

   The Genie rolled their head around as they loosened their neck, before
nodding as if the answer were blindingly obvious.  "Of course, it's yours
to use as you see fit."

   Zoe grinned.  "Ok great...  wait here, I'll be right back."

   *****

   Zoe stepped out into the hallway, making sure to shut her door behind
her in case her parents walked past and wanted to know why there was a
naked woman floating by her bed, then walked across to her brother
Chester's room and poked her head inside.

   "Hey Chester?"

   "Yeah?" Her older brother, who had just got home and was sitting on his
bed untying his shoelaces, frowned suspiciously as he glanced up to see Zoe
lurking in his doorway.  "What do you want?"

   Zoe smiled apologetically and held up her phone.  "Sorry but I've lost
my charger somewhere," she lied, "so can I borrow yours for half an hour?"

   Chester sighed but then nodded and reached over to unplug his cable from
the wall.  "Fine, but make sure you give it back afterwards, ok?" he
warned.

   Zoe took the outstretched charger and grinned.  "You're the best,
thanks."

   She went back to her room and found an increasingly bored Jinn waiting
for her, lying on their front with their legs nonchalantly kicking back and
forth behind them as they watched Zoe conduct her little experiment.

   "So?" the Genie asked.  "Do you believe that the Forgotten Cage works
yet?"

   "Hold on Jinn..." Zoe took the box in her hand and cautiously pressed
down the sparkling Emerald, nervously holding it away from her at arm's
length as she braced herself for another explosion.  This time though there
was no loud bang but just another reassuring click, and the Jewel activated
and sent a warm pulse of energy up through her finger.  "So was that it? 
Did it work?"

   Zoe stared anxiously over at Jinn who listlessly rolled over onto their
back and twirled a lock of hair around their little finger.  "Yes, it
worked," they replied nonchalantly.

   "Ok, let me go and see." Zoe headed back down the corridor to her
brother's room, her heartrate beginning to rise as she thought about the
mind bending power she now held, provided that the box really had done its
job.  "Hey Chester?"

   "Yeah?" Her brother was still sitting on the bed with his shoes now
lying discarded on the floor.  "What do you want?"

   'Holy shit, it might actually be working', thought Zoe, as once again
she smiled apologetically and held up her phone.

   "Err...  sorry but I've lost my charger somewhere, can I borrow yours
for half an hour?" She made sure to deliberately repeat herself word for
word to see if Chester would notice, but to her complete shock and utter
delight her brother didn't seem to notice that they were echoing a
conversation they'd just shared less than thirty seconds ago.

   Instead he simply sighed again, nodded, and then reached over to unplug
his cable from the wall.  "Fine, but make sure you give it back - wait,
where's mine?  Did you steal it or something?" he frowned as he noticed the
empty plug socket.

   Zoe had to pinch the palm of her hand to stop herself from gasping out
in disbelief - everything Jinn had said actually appeared to be true! 
Chester had absolutely no memory of already lending her his charger, which
he now assumed she'd stolen, and as he glared accusingly at Zoe she managed
to gather herself and convincingly play dumb.

   "No?  Why, is your charger missing too?" she replied innocently.

   Her brother scowled but then resumed his search.  "Umm, yeah...  I
thought it was right here...  maybe I left it downstairs or something? 
Weird..." he muttered.

   As she felt herself starting to grin uncontrollably Zoe decided that
she'd better leave, before the rush of power went straight to her head. 
"Ok, don't worry about it then," she said, "I'll go and borrow Dad's one
instead."

   "Err yeah...  no worries." Chester wasn't listening properly anymore as
he rummaged along the side of his bed, wondering how on earth his charger
could have disappeared all on its own, and behind him a thrilled Zoe rushed
back to her room to tell the Spirit what had just happened.

   "Oh my God Jinn, it actually works!  I really wiped my brother's memory,
and he had absolutely no idea what was going on!" she exclaimed as she
burst through the door.

   Jinn, who by now was so bored that they were floating completely upside
down, slowly rotated themselves back around and eyed up the overexcited
student.  "Really?" they replied, with a wry roll of the eyes.  "My, who
could have guessed that the floating Genie would tell the truth about magic
being real?"

   Zoe was too thrilled to be annoyed by Jinn's tired sarcasm, and she
jumped onto the bed to cradle the Forgotten Cage with a newfound affection
and respect.  "I just couldn't believe it, that the box would really do
that to Chester!  But he had no recollection that we'd just spoken at all,
I could see that he'd completely forgotten about seeing me..." she
explained, speaking at one hundred miles an hour.

   Wearing a quietly amused expression Jinn listened to Zoe babble on for a
while, but their faint smile soon dissolved into a wide yawn as the Spirit
grew increasingly weary.  "Yes, well, I'm glad that you found it all so
exhilarating," they interrupted.  "You seem to be a natural at using the
box, so that's good.  And if there's nothing else you need for tonight
then...  I'll be off."

   Zoe looked up and frowned.  "Wait, you're going?  Already?"

   Jinn gestured towards the box.  "Only to rest, I can't exist outside of
the Forgotten Cage for too long or I begin to dissipate.  Us Spirits
weren't really designed for this world, not that your ancestors took any
notice of that.  Don't worry though, you can still use your box without me,
I'll just be inside restoring myself."

   "Right...  but what if I need you your help," Zoe fretted, "what if the
box breaks or something?"

   Jinn casually waived her concerns away and stifled another yawn.  "You
can always summon me at any time, just chant 'Jinn, Jinn, Jinn' three times
and I will return.  Don't wake me up too often though, as I said I do need
some sleep," they replied sleepily.

   "Seriously?  Just 'Jinn, Jinn, Jinn'?  That's it?" Zoe sceptically
repeated back.

   Her new Spirit friend made another vaguely dismissive hand gesture but
conceded the point.  "Yeah I know, it's not exactly imaginative but I
didn't come up with the system.  Ok then, see you."

   And with that Jinn abruptly flickered back out of view, leaving Zoe to
sit there alone in her room gazing thoughtfully down at the magical little
box.  After spending a moment or two with her thoughts she decided that she
wanted to experiment with her new toy a little more, so she got up and took
the Forgotten Cage downstairs to see who was about.

   Her mum was nowhere to be seen but from the living room she could hear a
pair of voices, so Zoe tiptoed up to the door and peered inside.  Her dad
had invited one of his friends, a middle aged man who Zoe knew as Mr
Holgate, over for the evening, and the two men were sitting on a sofa
chatting away with a couple of tumblers in their hands.

   "Can I get you another one?" Zoe's dad inquired, and Mr Holgate nodded
gratefully.

   "That would be lovely, thanks."

   Zoe watched on with interest as her dad disappeared through the door
which led to the kitchen to refill the men's glasses.  This left Mr Holgate
sitting on his own, tapping away at his phone, and as she watched him from
the doorway Zoe suddenly had a very bad idea.  For some reason her mind
cast back to the previous day, where she'd wished more than anything that
she could make her dad forget about walking in on her naked, and weirdly
that memory gave her the inspiration for a more exciting way to test out
the Forgotten Cage's capabilities.

   And so, before she could ask herself what the hell she thought she was
doing, Zoe quietly slipped into the living room, discretely placed the box
on mantlepiece, and then made her presence known with a gentle cough. 
"Ahem, Mr Holgate?"

   Her dad's friend looked up from his phone and smiled pleasantly when he
saw her.  "Oh hello Zoe, how are you doing?  I haven't seen you for a
while, you must be back from university for the weekend?"

   Instead of answering Zoe just grinned down at the older man, gripped the
base of her hoodie, pulled her top and bra up and over her boobs, and gave
the gobsmacked Mr Holgate a direct view of her bare breasts.  She managed
to hold that position for a couple of seconds before her nerve broke, and
as her cheeks immediately began to turn bright crimson she let her hoodie
fall back down and cover her up again.

   She'd never flashed anyone before, well never on purpose anyway, but the
hit of adrenaline that immediately began to coarse through her body gave
her an insight as to why certain people might enjoy doing it - it was
undeniably fun, albeit in a naughty kind of way.

   "I...  uh..." Poor old Mr Holgate understandably had no idea about how
to react to his friend's usually innocent daughter walking into the room
and exposing herself to him, so he just sat there with his jaw hanging open
as he watched Zoe skip back over to the mantelpiece, retrieve the Forgotten
Cage, and push the Emerald down.

   The effect was immediate, and Zoe studied Mr Holgate's face with a keen
interest as she watched his memory getting wiped right in front of her. 
First his eyes appeared to glaze over, his whole body seemed to relax, and
then his head suddenly jerked back as his brain kickstarted itself back
into action.  His vision seemed to take a moment to fully return but when
it did he looked up kindly at Zoe with a friendly, trusting smile.  The box
had worked again.

   "Oh hello Zoe," he repeated, "I didn't see you there.  How are you
doing? I haven't seen you for a while, you must be back from university for
the weekend?  And what's that you've got there?" he asked, gesturing
towards the Forgotten Cage.

   Zoe couldn't stop grinning - she'd just flashed her dad's best friend
and he was completely oblivious to the fact.  "I'm doing great Mr Holgate,
how are you?" she replied cheerfully.  "Oh, and this is nothing," she
added, discretely slipping the box back into her hoodie.

   Although Zoe appeared quite calm as she struck up a conversation with
her dad's friend, inside she was absolutely squealing with delight - in her
pocket she now held the secret to getting away with absolutely anything she
wanted, and my oh my did that feel good.

   *****

   Zoe's trip home was only a fleeting one, and on Sunday night she got a
train back up to campus to enjoy the last few days at university before she
graduated.  She impatiently toyed with the Forgotten Cage for the whole
journey, resisting the temptation to summon Jinn right there just to mess
with her fellow passengers, and once she'd arrived back on campus she
headed straight for her accommodation block.  After rushing down the
corridor she eagerly unlocked her door and headed inside to find Alesha,
her roommate and best friend, sitting on the bed.

   The two girls had met nearly three years ago on their first day at
university, where they'd immediately clicked and quickly become incredibly
close.  Since then they'd always shared a dorm room and had rarely left
each other's sides, and so naturally there was no one else in the world
that Zoe would rather share her new secret with first than Alesha.  After a
hug and a brief catch up they settled down cross legged on the floor, and
Zoe proudly set her magic box down between them.

   "Ok, so this is what I found in my grandma's attic, and seriously
Alesha, you're not going to be able to believe your eyes," Zoe grinned,
anxious to introduce Jinn to her friend.  "Now watch this, and try your
best not to freak out."

   "Alright..." Alesha replied nervously, grabbing a pillow from the bed
and hugging it to her chest as she waited to see what was up.

   Zoe took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and then spoke in a clear,
confident voice.  "Jinn, Jinn, Jinn."

   Instantly the Spirit obeyed Zoe's call and appeared floating in the air
above the box, still completely naked as before, but this time graphically
decorated with a few BDSM-themed accessories.

   It really was quite an intimidating outfit - Jinn's body was trussed up
with thick black ropes which crisscrossed underneath their breasts and down
between their legs, there were two alarmingly large metal clamps fastened
over their nipples, a variety of piercings and tattoos adorned every inch
of their skin, their arms were securely bound behind their back in a
decidedly submissive pose, and finally there was a large red ball gag
wedged between their lips.

   Zoe's momentary delight that the summon had worked was instantly
replaced by a startled horror as she took in Jinn's outrageously depraved
appearance, and she quickly scolded the mischievous and unexpectedly kinky
Genie as beside her Alesha quietly began to wonder if she'd gone mad.

   "Oh my God Jinn, no!  We have company, please put something else on!"
Zoe demanded.

   "Huh?" With their head and hands immobilised by their shackles Jinn, who
was clearly very pleased that their scandalous outfit had provoked such an
extreme reaction, hadn't initially noticed Alesha's presence.  The Spirit
grunted in surprise as they turned to peer down at Alesha with interest,
before turning back to Zoe and mumbling some muffled words which were
almost impossible to hear through their gag.  "Oh whoops, sorry, that's my
bad..."

   The tied-up sex slave iteration of Jinn quickly flickered back out of
existence and then reappeared in a new form, this time going from one
extreme to the other as they elected for an infinitely more respectable
nun's outfit which covered them from head to toe.  They'd even conjured up
a set of rosary beads, and they slowly passed them between their fingers as
they looked down at Zoe for her approval.

   "Is this ok?" the Spirit winked, and below them Zoe shook her head in
disbelief.

   "Yeah, I guess..." she sighed, knowing that she had no control over the
mischievous Genie whatsoever.  "Ok, Alesha this is Jinn, who's like a
magical Spirit, and Jinn this is Alesha, who's my roommate and best
friend," Zoe said, trying to get the introductions back on track.

   Alesha was still too stunned to speak, but Sister Jinn didn't let their
awkward first impression slow them down as they smiled and bowed their head
reverentially towards Zoe's friend.  "It's a pleasure to meet you my child,
truly a blessing indeed.  May the Lord be with you, forever and always."

   As the Spirit, who was clearly enjoying the chance to roleplay with
their new costume way too much, made the sign of the cross Zoe shifted
forward in her seat and tried to get Jinn to focus.  "Hey Jinn?  I know you
said that I'm the owner of the box, but would Alesha be able to use it too?
Or will she get her memory wiped like everyone else?"

   Although Jinn smiled pleasantly at the girls their eyes remained cold
and detached.  "As the owner of the Forgotten Cage Zoe do indeed have the
power to share its secret with whomever you choose," the Spirit confirmed.
"So yes, Alesha can use the box while staying immune from its effects, her
memories will remain untouched just like yours."

   Zoe grinned as that's just what she'd wanted to hear.  "Ok perfect,
thanks.  Come on then Alesha, this will blow your mind..."

   The girls left Jinn fiddling with their prayer beads and walked down the
corridor, as Zoe searched for someone to act as her unwitting guinea pig.

   "So, that thing really is a Genie?" Alesha asked, gesturing back towards
the room.  She'd decided that if she had gone mad then there wasn't really
much she could do about it, so she might as well just kick back and enjoy
the ride.

   "Yes," Zoe replied, "and it's called Jinn."

   "Right," Alesha said.  "And why was it dressed like that?"

   "I don't know," Zoe shrugged, "it just seems to like hanging around
naked for some reason.  I don't think Genies are very self-conscious."

   "Ok," Alesha nodded slowly, unsure as to what to make of that.  "And
then this box thing," she continued, pointing down at Zoe's Forgotten Cage,
"it can change people's memories?"

   "Well it can delete them," Zoe clarified, "so if you press this jewel
thing here then everyone will immediately forget about the most recent time
they've seen you.  Get it?"

   Alesha didn't get it.  "I'm...  still confused," she confessed, and her
friend nodded reassuringly.

   "Ok, but don't worry, that's why we're looking for someone to use it
on," Zoe explained, "so you can see a demonstration."

   They walked into the communal kitchen and found their flatmate Jermain
leaning against one of the counters, eating a bowl of pasta as he watched a
football match on his phone which was propped up on the side.

   "Oh, hey guys," he grunted through mouthfuls of spaghetti, briefly
glancing over at the girls before returning his attention to the game.

   "Hey Jermain," Zoe replied brightly as she walked over to him, "that
smells good, what did you cook?"

   "Hmm?  Oh, just some spaghetti with a bit of - " Jermain began to reply,
using his fork to stir his pasta around as he was momentarily distracted by
Zoe's question.  However, before he got a chance to finish his description
he was unexpectedly cut short as his flatmate knelt down before him and
violently tugged his shorts and boxers down to his knees.

   "What the fuck?" he yelled as Zoe unceremoniously stripped him naked
from the waist down.

   Jermain was frozen in place for a brief moment, standing there with his
hands full and his soft cock and balls now out on display to the two girls.
As Zoe and Alesha giggled at his unimpressive size Jermain's brain finally
managed to process what had just happened, immediately ordering one hand to
fling itself down to cover his dick as the other began to tug his shorts
back up.  This motion inadvertently launched his dinner into the air, and
with a crash his bowl of spaghetti shattered as it hit the kitchen floor.

   "Sorry Jermain!" Zoe, who wasn't that sorry at all, quickly tugged
Alesha back out of the kitchen and into the corridor, then pulled the
Forgotten Cage out of her pocket.

   "What the hell did you do that for?" her friend demanded.  Although it
had been funny to see Jermain exposed like that it was still a pretty nasty
thing to do, and Alesha wanted to know why Zoe had just humiliated one of
their flatmates in such a cruel manner.

   "To show you what the box can do!" Zoe grinned, unperturbed as she
pressed down firmly on the Jewel.  "Now come on, you're not going to
believe this..."

   Zoe strode confidently back into the kitchen with Alesha cautiously
following behind, and inside they found Jermain, all covered up again now,
crawling around on his hands and knees as he tried to collect all the
little shards of ceramic and strands of spaghetti that were littered across
the floor.

   "Oh no Jermain," Zoe gasped theatrically, "what happened here?"

   Her flatmate looked up and titled his head to the side slightly.  "Oh,
hey guys," Jermain repeated.  "Err yeah, I think I dropped my pasta, and
broke the bowl," he replied, visibly confused as to exactly how he had
manged to make such a mess.

   "Aww no, do you want any help?" Zoe asked as she nodded over at Alesha
and winked.

   "No I'm ok thanks, don't worry," Jermain replied as he carried on
cleaning up.  The girls decided to leave him to it and began to walk back
to their room, but as soon as they were out of earshot Alesha turned to
grab Zoe by the arm and squeal excitedly.

   "Oh my God Zoe!  That was insane!  He really had no idea that you'd
pulled that prank on him, did he?" Alesha marvelled, as she took the
Forgotten Cage from Zoe and studied its Emerald intently.

   "Nope," Zoe laughed, pleased that she finally had someone else to share
her secret with.  "See, I told you, the box really does work."

   "Yeah, it's insane...  poor Jermain though, you could still have chosen
a less embarrassing demonstration," Alesha giggled, "I'll never be able to
look at him the same way now, I'll just be picturing his dick every time!"

   "To be fair though," Zoe argued as she defended herself, "one of the
first things I did to test if the box really worked was to flash my boobs
at my dad's friend!"

   "No you didn't!  You idiot, what if it hadn't deleted his memory
properly?" Alesha laughed.

   Zoe giggled and tried to imagine what she would have done in that
scenario.  "Well then I'd have been fucked, I guess," she concluded, "but
luckily it did work.  Now come on, let's see if Jinn has decided to keep
their clothes on."

   Jinn, who had grown tired of their life of worship and changed into a
loosely tied loincloth, turned to greet the two girls as they opened their
door and bounced down to sit on Zoe's bed.

   "So, Alesha," the topless Spirit smiled, "has Zoe taught you how to use
the Forgotten Cage?  Are you convinced that magic is real yet?"

   Alesha, who was still quite wary of the Genie and their carefree
attitude to nudity, looked down at the box thoughtfully.  "Yes she did,"
she replied politely, "and yes, I saw it work.  It really can alter
people's memories."

   "And so," Zoe joined in, "there's only really one question left to ask -
who should we use the box on next?"

   Jinn and the two students all began to grin at each other, albeit for
very different reasons.

   *****

   After dismissing Jinn for the night the first thing the girls did was go
down to the shop on the corner, grab two bottles of wine each, and then
sprint out of the front entrance without paying for them.  An outraged
security guard immediately gave chase and followed them out of the store
and into the street, but as soon as Zoe and Alesha had rounded the corner
they pulled out the box and pressed the Jewel.

   Now with their stolen bottles of wine boldly swinging by their sides the
girls turned around and confidently strolled back the way they'd come, and
as they passed by the suddenly very confused looking security guard, who
was trying his best to work out why he'd run out of his shop for no reason,
they turned bright red as they desperately tried to contain their laughter.

   "God, we're like super heroes," Alesha giggled as she and Zoe walked
back to their accommodation block, taking sips of their stolen wine as they
chatted.  "We literally have magic powers now."

   "Well, probably more like super villains to be honest," Zoe replied,
nodding back towards the scene of their first crime, "because I don't think
we'll be using this box to do much good, do you?"

   Zoe's suspicions were confirmed almost immediately when the girls got
back to their dorm.  After turning into their corridor the now slightly
tipsy friends almost walked straight into another one of their flatmates, a
beautiful but unpleasant girl called Becky, as she came out of her room.

   "Look where you're going!" Becky snapped at the pair, before turning to
stomp off towards the communal showers with a rolled-up towel and a bag of
toiletries stowed under her arm.

   "Bitch..." Alesha muttered under her breath, watching Becky go with a
contemptuous sneer.

   Becky and Alesha had actually been really close in their first year,
right up until the moment Becky ruined everything by sleeping with a guy
that Alesha had been dating.  When Alesha found out about the betrayal
she'd been heartbroken, and the former friends had quickly become
archenemies as Becky inexplicably refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing. 
Even though two years had passed since then the two still hadn't made up,
and every time they bumped into each other in the corridors they were
barely able to contain their contempt for each other.

   "Hey, come on, leave it," Zoe urged as she pulled her seething friend
back towards their room.  She knew all about Alesha's feud with Becky of
course, and she knew that there was no point in letting the two squabble.

   Alesha allowed herself to be led away, taking another sizeable swig from
her bottle to soothe herself as she stomped down the hall, before a wide
grin suddenly appeared on her face.  "Hey, you know what Zoe?" she smiled
as the fresh influx of wine provided her with a startling moment of
clarity. "I just had a very good idea..."

   Two minutes later Alesha confidently strode back up the corridor and
barged into the girl's bathroom, and then, after checking that it was just
her and Becky in there, loudly made her presence known.  "Hey Becks!"

   "What?" From behind the shower curtain Becky's confused face appeared,
and she rubbed her eyes and blinked away the streaks of shampoo that were
dripping down from her hair.  When Becky saw that it was Alesha standing in
front of her she immediately broke out into another ugly sneer.  "What do
you want?" she demanded.

   "Well your clothes, mostly," Alesha grinned as she pulled Becky's towel
from where it hung over the shower curtain rail, then began to scoop up her
neatly folded outfit from the changing room bench.

   "Hey, what the fuck are you doing?  I'm going to call security on you!"
Becky yelled.  She briefly considered bursting out from the cubicle to grab
her stuff back, but ultimately her modesty prevailed and she instead
settled on shouting at Alesha from behind the privacy of the shower
curtain. "Give me my clothes back, right now, or you'll be in so much
trouble!"

   "Oh Becky, I doubt that very much," Alesha chuckled as she quickly
walked around the bathroom to check that there weren't any spare towels or
other forms of cover lying around for her flatmate to use.  Satisfied that
there weren't she walked back over to her cowering victim and smirked at
her.  "Now this is for cheating on my boyfriend, you back-stabbing snake!"

   Becky was left speechless as Alesha flipped her off, spun around on her
heels, and then walked straight out of the bathroom, taking her flatmate's
towel and outfit with her.  As Alesha stepped out into the corridor she
bumped into Luke, another one of their flatmates, and he looked down at her
armful of clothes suspiciously.

   "Are those yours?" he asked as they walked back down the corridor
together.

   "Nope, they're Becky's," Alesha replied cheerfully, "I just stole them
from the bathroom while she was in the shower."

   "Umm ok...  should I ask why?" Luke frowned, unsure as to whether or not
his flatmate was pulling his leg.

   "Don't worry, you'll see in a second," Alesha laughed as she carried on
down the hall towards her room, eager to enact stage two of her plan.

   On the wall by the side of her door there was a fire alarm, and without
a moment's hesitation Alesha reached out and slammed her fist into the
glass to set it off.  A piercing siren immediately filled the corridor, and
as Luke called out to ask what the hell she thought she was doing Alesha
quickly barged into her room to use the Forgotten Cage.

   "I need the box, quick!" she called out to Zoe.

   "What?" Her roommate was standing by the window with her hands clamped
over her ears, grimacing at the fire alarm's high-pitched blare.

   "The box!" Alesha shouted as she chucked Becky's clothes down onto the
floor.

   Zoe got the message and reached over to retrieve the Forgotten Cage from
its place on her shelf, then she tossed it over to Alesha who immediately
pressed down on the Jewel.

   "Ok great," Alesha said, excited to see if her plan would work.  "Now I
guess we should evacuate!  Come on, let's go."

   "I assume you set this alarm off?" Zoe shouted as the two girls hurried
back out of their room and headed for the emergency exit which lay at the
far end of the corridor.

   "Yep," Alesha nodded, watching on as the rest of their flatmates filed
out into the hall.  They were all groaning and complaining about the racket
the alarming was making, which they incorrectly assumed was just part of
one of the regularly scheduled fire drills.

   "But why?" Zoe demanded.

   Halfway along the hall Alesha noticed the door to the shower room slowly
creeping open.  "That's why!" she replied triumphantly, pointing along the
corridor.

   Up ahead Becky's face had reappeared, poking out of the doorway this
time, as she did her best to keep her body hidden whilst hopelessly looking
up and down the corridor, searching for someone to help her.  Her hair was
still dripping wet and covered in soap suds, and she looked a sorry sight
as she forlornly turned to Alesha and Zoe for help.

   "Umm, guys?" Becky clearly didn't want to appeal to Alesha of all people
for assistance, but even she realised that in her current predicament she
really couldn't afford to be picky.

   "Becky?" Alesha stopped at the door and smugly folded her arms.  She
could see that the box had worked as Jinn had promised, and Becky clearly
had no idea that it had been Alesha who had left her stranded without
anything to wear.  "What are you doing in there?  We need to evacuate!" she
teased.

   "I...  I don't have clothes on, or even a towel to cover up with!" Becky
fired back, flinching as the siren above her continued to wail.

   "What?  You mean that you're completely naked?" Alesha asked,
intentionally raising her voice above the wail of the alarm in order to
attract the attention of the rest of their flatmates who were walking up
behind them.

   "Please, keep your voice down!" Becky hissed, self-consciously pulling
the door back to better shield her body.  "Someone must have come in and
stolen all my stuff while I was in the shower!"

   Alesha was about to reply with something suitably sarcastic but at that
moment the trio were interrupted.

   "Hey, what's going on?" Luke, Jermain, and five other members of the
flat had caught up to Zoe and Alesha, and they quickly formed a small
semi-circle around Becky as they studied her wet hair and flushed cheeks
with interest.

   "Becky's trapped naked in the bathroom," Alesha replied wryly,
immediately drawing a few wolf-whistles and chuckles from the boys. 
"Someone stole her clothes and so now she can't come out..."

   "Please, can someone just get me something to wear, and quickly?" Becky
looked desperately around at the rest of her flatmates but unfortunately
for her she wasn't a very popular figure in the apartment, even if no one
hated her quite as much as Alesha.  She was also very attractive, and so
the boys at least weren't exactly falling over each other to find her some
clothes to put on.

   "Just get something from your room Becky," they all teased, daring her
to walk out into the corridor in her birthday suit.

   "Seriously guys, this isn't funny!" Becky begged, but her increasingly
frantic pleas fell on deaf ears.

   At that moment a campus security officer appeared at the fire exit, and
when he Alesha, Zoe, and their group of flatmates milling around in the
middle of the corridor he almost exploded with rage.

   "Hey!  What the hell do you all think you're doing?" he yelled,
aggressively beckoning them towards him.  "The fire alarm has sounded, so
get out of there now!  Move!"

   "Sorry Becky but the building's on fire, we're going to have to leave
you here," Alesha smirked, winking at Becky as she led the rest of the flat
along the corridor towards the fuming security officer.

   Becky tentatively leant out further from the safety of the doorway as
she watched everyone walking away from her, and the security officer
noticed her for the first time.  "Oi, you in the bathroom, what are you
playing at?" He made eye contact with Becky and glared at her in pure
disgust.  "This is not a drill!  Get your arse down here, this instant!"

   For all poor old Becky knew the fire alarm was legit, and so finally
even she had to concede that burning to death would be worse than leaving
her hiding spot behind the bathroom door.  So she reluctantly covered her
boobs with one arm, thrust the other between her legs, then burst out from
the doorway and sprinted out into the corridor.

   Alesha and Zoe turned to watch their naked flatmate streak her way down
the corridor, stepping back out of the splash zone as Becky's wild,
panicked movements sent droplets of water flying off her skin.  The soap
suds also slid down over her butt and legs as she ran, leaving a trail of
bubbles on the carpeted floor in her wake.

   Becky squealed as she passed by them.  "Stop looking at me!" She cried,
cringing as she imagined the unrestricted view of her bare, glistening butt
that she was presenting to her flatmates as she tore along the hallway.  As
Becky reached the security officer she came to a stop and just stood there,
awkwardly hugging herself tight as she looked up into the large man's eyes.

   "Please, I can't go out there like this!  Can I borrow your coat?" she
said, hunching over as she tried to make her naked body as small as
possible.

   The security officer had clearly been expecting Becky to emerge from the
bathroom wrapped up in a towel or bathrobe, and he certainly hadn't
anticipated her running out completely naked.  He seemed totally taken
aback by the young student's nudity for a second, then he regained his
composure and nodded sheepishly.  "Err yeah.  Here, cover yourself up." He
shrugged off his coat and passed it over, and Becky tried her best not to
flash her boobs as she fed her arms into the sleeves, then gratefully
pulled the jacket closed around her.

   "Ok, now everyone down the stairs, and quickly!" The security officer
began to shout again as he led Becky, followed by Alesha, Zoe, and the rest
of the flat, out into the car park where the students from the other
accommodation blocks were waiting.  "And if I ever see you lot failing to
evacuate immediately again then you'll all be fined," he grumbled before
disappearing off into the crowd.

   As everyone waited for the fire brigade to turn up and inspect the
building Zoe pulled Alesha to one side and nodded over at Becky, who was
standing away from the rest of the group and looking very, very sorry for
herself as her wet body continued to drip down onto the pavement.

   "That was quite the trick you managed to pull there, so tell me - how
does revenge taste?" Zoe asked, grinning at the devilish ingenuity of
Alesha's clever plan.

   Her roommate chuckled, stretched her arms out above her head, and then
sighed contentedly.  "I can't lie Zoe, it tastes pretty sweet!  I've waited
two whole years to get my own back on Becky, but it was definitely worth
the wait."

   Eventually the all-clear was given, everyone was allowed back inside,
and the girls returned to their room to polish off the rest of their wine
and laugh themselves silly as they relived Becky's humiliating ordeal.  As
she drank straight from her bottle Alesha held the Forgotten Cage up to the
light and admired the Jewel's shine.

   "I'm so glad you found this box Zoe," she murmured.  "We're going to
have so, so much fun with it..."

   "Me too my friend," Zoe replied, reaching across the bed to clink her
bottle of wine against Alesha's in a toast to their new toy.  "To the box!"

   "To the box!" Alesha cheered.  "And to tricking idiots out of their
clothes!"

   *****

   The next day the girls spent the morning getting coffee with a few
friends, then afterwards they went to the supermarket, used the box to
shoplift a few bags full of food and alcohol, and headed to the sports
fields for an afternoon picnic.  They found an elevated sunny patch of
grass, which overlooked a game between the university's cricket team and
one of their local rivals, sat down, and laid out their stolen goods.

   "Man, everything tastes so much better when its free," Zoe commented as
she hungrily tore open a bag of crisps.

   "You can say that again," Alesha agreed, reaching for an olive.  "Just
think, now that we've got the box we'll never have to pay for groceries
ever again.  Or clothes...  or jewellery...  or anything really."

   "True," Zoe smiled, turning to watch the match that was being played out
below.

   Cricket is a slow and boring sport at the best of times, but some of the
guys playing were cute enough to provide the girls with a bit of eye-candy,
and Zoe and Alesha enjoyed watching them run around in their tight white
trousers as they ate their lunch and basked in the beautiful weather.

   "It is mad, isn't it, how we can just do anything we want now...  and
get away with it, no matter what," Alesha mused as she eyed up the latest
batsman to step out on to the field.

   "It's insane," Zoe agreed, popping a cherry tomato into her mouth as an
idea occurred to her.  "Hey, you know what we should do?  Start giving each
other crazy dares!"

   "Oh yeah?" Alesha said, pulling out the box from Zoe's bag and placing
it on the picnic blanket they'd spread across the grass.  "What kind of
dares do you have in mind?"

   Before she could even elaborate on her first idea Zoe was struck by a
second one.  "How about though," she added, quickly building on the
concept, "before we start we both agree that, no matter what the other
person dares you to do, you have to say yes."

   "That's a very dangerous deal to make!" Alesha laughed nervously,
knowing full well just how competitive the two girls could become when they
were trying to outdo each other.

   "But we have the box," Zoe countered, confidently sticking out her hand,
"so what's the worst that can happen?  If anything goes wrong then we'll
just wipe everyone's memories, no harm no foul.  Deal?"

   Alesha had to admit that the idea did sound fun, and so, safe in the
knowledge that the Forgotten Cage gave the girls a permanent get out of
jail free card, she agreed to play along.  "Ok...  alright, fine.  Deal!"
Alesha shook Zoe's outstretched hand and just like that the roommates'
fates were sealed.

   "Great," Zoe grinned as she immediately gestured down the hill towards
the group of boys on the cricket field.  "Then for your first dare I want
you to go and hug the bowler - topless."

   Alesha had gone in for another olive, and upon hearing the details of
Zoe's outrageous challenge she did well to avoid choking on it.  "Oh my
God! You're starting straight off with that?" she spluttered indignantly,
but Zoe just laughed.

   "Yeah, why not?  The first thing I did when I used the box was to flash
my tits, and now its your turn!" she giggled.

   "But Zoe, I'm wearing a sundress!" Alesha complained, even though she
knew her friend wouldn't think twice about making her run around in only
her panties.

   "Well then you better start taking it off..." Zoe replied flippantly. 
"Now come on, we haven't got all day.  Chop-chop."

   Although Alesha had witnessed the magical effects of the Forgotten Cage
on their flatmates she'd never had to rely on its powers herself, so for
her this challenge was quite the leap of faith.  She nervously glanced down
at the cricketers as she tried to decide how brave she was feeling, then
turned back to stare earnestly at Zoe.

   "Do you promise that the box will work?" she asked.

   "I promise," Zoe nodded reassuringly, "now get that dress off!"

   "OK, fine..." Alesha muttered, reluctantly getting up to her feet. 
Although the idea of undressing in public was mildly terrifying Alesha had
to confess that the idea was also exciting her far more than she'd have
anticipated.  "Shall I leave it here?" she asked as she hesitantly began to
strip.

   "Yep," Zoe instructed, "I want you to be topless for the whole run,
there and back."

   "I am so getting you back for this," Alesha said, nervously unzipping
the back of her sundress until it was hanging loosely off her shoulders. 
"Ok, here I go!"

   Zoe collapsed into a ball of laughter as she watched her friend wriggle
out of her dress and let it fall down to the floor.  Due to the heat Alesha
had decided to forgo a bra so in an instant she was left standing there
wearing just her trainers and panties, and without wasting a second more
she gathered her boobs up in her arms, stepped out of her discarded outfit,
and sprinted off down the hill.

   Almost immediately one of the cricketers on the far side of the field
noticed Alesha's pale body darting across the grass, and when he called out
to his teammates all of the boys stopped playing and turned around to watch
the semi-naked student streaking towards them.

   "Oh God, sorry guys!" Alesha winced as she jumped over the boundary and
ran past the first couple of fielders, before heading straight towards the
bemused bowler who was standing by the stumps.  As she reached his side she
let go of her boobs and flung her arms around him, and after a moment she
felt his hands cupping around her butt as he cheekily squeezed her back.

   "You alright love?" he chuckled, grinning around at the rest of his
teammates as they watched him and Alesha share an unusual hug.

   "Yeah sorry, this was for a dare," Alesha explained as she broke away,
smiling apologetically as she clamped her hands back over her tits.  "Ok,
bye!"

   With her challenge completed Alesha turned tail and fled back the way
she'd come, and the bowler admired her panty-covered butt as it swayed back
and forth as she ran.  With both teams watching her from below Alesha
stumbled her way back up the hill and returned to Zoe's side, and her
friend helpfully chucked her dress towards her as she got within throwing
distance.

   "There you go," Zoe laughed as she watched her friend gratefully reach
for her clothing, "you can get dressed again now."

   "Fucking hell, that was insane!  And that hill is so steep!" Alesha
panted breathlessly, keeping her back to the cricketers as she gratefully
tugged her sundress back on.  As soon as her boobs were covered up again
she turned to Zoe and gestured for the Forgotten Cage.  "Hey, give me the
box!"

   Zoe passed it across and Alesha slammed her hand down on the Jewel, then
turned to peer down at the cricketers as she searched for any signs that
the box hadn't worked.  Fortunately for her it had, and after a pause the
boys on the field all turned to frown at each other as they tried to
remember why they were all staring up at the two girls on the hill.  The
umpire was just as lost as the rest of them, so after a moment he called
for play to resume and the peculiar moment was quickly forgotten.

   "Wow, what a rush," Alesha gasped as she slumped down to sit beside Zoe,
her chest still heaving from both the running and the excitement.  "I
thought my heart was going to explode, that was so intense!"

   "Scary but exhilarating too, right?" Zoe replied, pleased that her
friend seemed to have enjoyed flashing the boys just as much as she'd
enjoyed exposing herself to Mr Holgate.

   "Yeah I guess," Alesha smiled, lying back on the picnic blanket as she
stared up at the sky.  "It was definitely fun...  and a bit of a turn-on
too, now that you mention it!  Did you get a buzz when you showed your
dad's friend your boobs?"

   "Oh yeah," Zoe chuckled, "I was thinking about it for the rest of the
night, couldn't stop smiling to myself."

   Alesha puffed out her cheeks and nodded.  "I can imagine...  but anyway,
enough about that - now it's your turn to do a dare!"

   Zoe giggled nervously as she wondered what Alesha would come up with. 
"True, it is," she replied, "so what do you want me to do?"

   *****

   Alesha's first demand was that the girls head back to their dorm room to
drop off their stuff, and once that was done she immediately led Zoe back
outside and steered her towards the university's leisure centre.

   It was a boiling hot day and after all of the running around Alesha had
done she'd worked up quite a sweat, so in order to cool down she suggested
a dip in the swimming pool.  Zoe, who was now indebted to her friend, had
no choice but to agree, and so after leaving the Forgotten Cage in Zoe's
locker the friends changed into a couple of two-piece swimming suits,
headed out to the main pool, and then spent half an hour or so messing
around in the refreshingly cool water.

   The leisure centre was quite busy that afternoon as a lot of students
headed indoors to try and escape the heat, and so Zoe was getting
increasingly nervous as she floated around and waited for Alesha to reveal
what her dare would be.  Eventually she was put out of her misery when
Alesha pulled her over to the deep end, where the two rested up against the
side of the pool and looked up at the diving boards.

   "So your first dare," Alesha grinned, "is to fake a wardrobe
malfunction."

   "What does that mean?" Zoe asked, unsure as to whether or not she wanted
to find out.

   "Well," her friend continued, "in a minute I dare you to go up to the
highest board and dive off it.  Then, before you resurface, I want you to
take off your bottoms and get out of the pool, acting as if you didn't
notice that they slid down when you hit the water.  Oh, and then you can
only cover up if someone comes over to tell you that you're half-naked, but
until then you have to pretend that nothing's wrong."

   Zoe stared at her friend in total disbelief.  "What?  You want me to
flash my pussy and butt to everyone in here?" she gasped.

   "Hey, you started this," Alesha smirked, "I had to flash my boobs to all
those cricketers, so now it's your turn to show some skin."

   "But you got to cover yourself up with your hands," Zoe objected, as she
only half-jokingly splashed some water in her friend's face, "so they
barely saw anything!"

   "Yeah, but mine was clearly an embarrassing and humiliating dare,"
Alesha argued, splashing Zoe back, "while yours will just be a harmless
accident!  You'll have nothing to be ashamed of."

   "Nothing to be ashamed of?" Zoe hissed, even though she knew that her
protests were in vain.  The game was the game, and as Alesha correctly
pointed out Zoe had started this whole dare thing off in the first place.
"I still think this is massively unfair, but fine," Zoe grumbled, shaking
her head disapprovingly at Alesha before pushing off from the side and
swimming down towards the end of the pool.

   Alesha watched on with glee as her friend pulled herself out of the
water and began the long, long climb up the stairs to the highest diving
board.  Zoe had to wait there for a moment as a couple of other swimmers
jumped off first, but then all too soon the board was clear and it was her
turn to take the plunge.

   "Woo, go Zoe!" Alesha whooped as she unhelpfully cheered her friend on
from bellow, and in return Zoe gave her the finger, took a deep breath, and
then jumped off the board, performing a half-turn in the air before landing
in the water with a considerable splash.  After taking a moment to reappear
Zoe's head broke back up above the surface, and with a resigned look on her
face she began to slowly swim back over to Alesha.

   "Did you do it?" Alesha asked as Zoe drew near, but then before her
friend could answer she ducked under the water to take a quick peek for
herself.  "Ah you did!" she squealed as she resurfaced, and Zoe, who had
indeed secretly stripped as she'd been instructed, grimaced a little as she
self-consciously palmed her swimming bottoms over to Alesha.

   "Can you keep hold of these please, I don't want to lose them," she
muttered as she doggy-paddled her way past Alesha, heading straight towards
one of the ladders in the corner which led up out of the pool.

   If any of the other swimmers had paid close attention to Zoe as she swam
past then they may have realised that there was a noticeable lack of
material covering her butt, but luckily for her the distortion through the
water was just enough to keep her naked lower half unnoticed.  Unnoticed
that was until she reached the side of pool and began to climb out.

   Alesha couldn't stop herself from grinning as she watched her friend's
bare butt emerge from the pool, her eyes widening as streams and rivulets
of water ran down off Zoe's legs as she reached the top of the ladder,
turned to her left, and then began what felt like a very long walk back
towards the changing rooms.

   To be fair to Zoe she managed to hold her nerve remarkably well and
convincingly act as if she had no idea that she'd left her bottoms in the
pool, walking slowly and calmly with her hands swinging freely by her
sides. A few shocked whispers and giggles emerged from the swimmers around
Alesha as they noticed Zoe's shocking 'wardrobe malfunction', but no one
called out to her until a life guard jumped down from his elevated chair
and ran over to intercept her.

   "Err miss?" he stammered, nervously glancing between Zoe's eyes and her
bare pussy.

   "Yes?" Zoe replied, cringing internally as she forced herself not to
cover up despite the acute embarrassment of standing there bottomless in
front of this good looking lifeguard.  In an attempt at nonchalance she
shifted her weight onto one hip and tried not to clench her butt, as she
forced what she hoped looked like a laidback kind of smile.

   "You, umm..." The lifeguard seemed genuinely lost for words as he
awkwardly gestured down at Zoe's crotch.  "I think you've forgotten
your..."

   Zoe looked down and pretended to notice her nudity for the first time.
With a genuine scream she clamped both hands down over her pussy, then
changed her mind and used one to futilely try and cover up her butt too as
she adopted a comically embarrassed pose.

   "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" she squealed, barging past the lifeguard and
running along the edge of the pool as everyone around her burst out into
laughter.

   Alesha pulled herself out of the water and hurried after her friend, and
when she reached the changing rooms she found Zoe sitting in front of her
locker with a towel wrapped around her waist and the Forgotten Cage sitting
on her lap.  The other women around the bench were watching Zoe warily,
which was unsurprising as she'd just burst through the door half naked.

   When she saw Alesha appear Zoe smiled ruefully and pressed the Jewel,
then with her dignity restored she shook her head, slumped back on the
bench, and laughed.  "Fuck you, that was so much worse than my dare!" she
joked as Alesha took a seat next to her.  The other women had now gone back
to changing in or out of their swimwear, and so the girls were free to
chuckle to themselves as they reflected on Zoe's embarrassing challenge.

   "You handled it like a pro though," Alesha laughed, giving her friend a
hug.  "Everyone definitely thought that it was a genuine accident."

   "Yeah well, you just be careful my friend," Zoe said as she got to her
feet, making sure to keep her towel held in place.  "It's your turn next,
and I'm coming for revenge!"

   *****

   After getting changed the two girls strolled back out into the sun and
began the walk back to their dorm.  Although it was now late afternoon it
was still warm out, and as the girls strolled down the road, idly chatting
away, an ice cream van parked on the other side of the street caught Zoe's
attention.

   "Hey," she said, nudging Alesha as she had an idea, "can I give you two
dares in a row?"

   "What?  No!" Alesha instinctively replied.  One dare on its own was
already bad enough, and she definitely didn't fancy dealing with a pair of
them at once.

   "Oh come on, please," Zoe pleaded.  "If you do it then I'll let you give
me two in a row afterwards as well, how about that?"

   Alesha thought for a moment and then groaned.  "Urgh...  fine.  Deal,"
she relented, wondering why she put herself in these kind of situations,
and the girls shook hands again.

   "Ok great - so your first dare is to go over there and get us two ice
creams," Zoe instructed, pointing at the van.  "But...  you can't use any
money to buy them."

   Alesha frowned.  "So how am I meant to get them for free?"

   "By using your other attributes!" Zoe replied, glancing meaningfully
down at her friend's chest.

   After a second or two Alesha realised what she meant and began to laugh.
"Oh my God Zoe!" she blushed.  "You mean I have to flash the guy in return
for an ice cream?"

   "In return for two ice creams," Zoe specified, "and if you only get one
out of him then you fail the dare.  Now come on, get over there and put
your girls to work!"

   Alesha dramatically rolled her eyes but then dutifully set off across
the road and walked up to the van.  Inside it a young, skinny guy was
hunched over, tinkering with something at the back of the soft-serve
machine, and when he noticed Alesha approaching he stepped to the window
and leant down to take her order.

   "Hi there," Alesha said, "could I have two magnums please?"

   "Sure," the skinny guy replied, reaching into a freezer by his side and
pulling out the ice creams.  "That will be three-fifty please."

   "Erm...  two secs..." Alesha made an exaggerated show of searching
through her pockets as she pretended to look for any cash, patting at the
shorts she'd changed into after the swimming pool and shaking her head as
if she were confused.  "I'm so sorry but I seem to have forgotten my
money," she eventually explained apologetically, and the ice cream guy
shrugged.

   "No worries, I'll be here for a while if you want to come back later,"
he said noncommittally.

   "But my dorm is so far," Alesha moaned, turning to look forlornly down
the road.  "And it's so hot out today...  are you sure there isn't any
other way I could pay you?"

   "What do you mean?" the guy asked.

   "Well, I don't have any cash," Alesha said, pointedly readjusting her
top to better emphasise her cleavage, "but maybe I could trade you
something else instead?"

   "Such as?"

   "Such as," Alesha giggled excitedly, "a quick flash of my boobs?"

   The ice cream guy grinned and leant back slightly, crossing his arms
over his chest as he considered this unusual offer.  "Oh, ok...  well let's
see them first, and then I'll decide if that's a fair deal," he smirked.

   "Oh trust me," Alesha scoffed, "they're worth it."

   She hadn't bothered putting on a bra after the pool and so, after
quickly glancing left and right to check that no one would see, when Alesha
pulled her t-shirt up to her neck her tits were fully exposed, to the
obvious delight of the ice cream guy.

   "Very nice," he nodded appreciatively, and Alesha playfully shook her
chest at him before pulling her top back down.

   "So, is that a fair enough deal for you?" she asked, proud of the
reaction her boobs had elicited.

   The guy smiled cheekily.  "Sure.  Here you go, one magnum as we agreed."
He smugly placed one of the ice creams on the ledge of the van's window,
causing Alesha to scowl.

   "One?  I thought we said two?"

   "Nah," the guy replied, "don't get me wrong, you do have amazing tits,
but they're still only worth one ice cream I'm afraid.  For the second one
I'm going to need to see something else."

   Alesha shook her head.  "You're unbelievable!"

   Despite melodramatically pouting at the guy's mischievous demands, in
reality Alesha wasn't actually mad.  Flashing this grateful stranger was
actually proving to be quite a thrill, and seeing as he'd be forced to
forget about the entire thing in a minute did it really matter if she
showed him a little more skin than she'd originally intended?

   "Hey," the guy reasoned, "you were the one who suggested this trade in
the first place.  I'm still letting you off without paying, remember?"

   "Fine...  you win," Alesha tutted, turning her back on the van and
quickly unbuttoning her shorts.

   Although there were plenty of pedestrians walking past no one seemed to
be paying any particular attention to Alesha, so she quickly bent at the
waist, slipped her shorts and panties down, and flashed her butt at the ice
cream guy.  Alesha stayed frozen in that position for a few seconds, with
her legs locked straight and her bottoms hanging half way down her thighs,
and trying hard to ignore Zoe who was clutching her stomach as she laughed
at her friend from across the road.

   "Happy now?" Alesha asked, tugging her shorts back up and spinning round
to face the ice cream guy.

   "Very," he grinned, passing over the second magnum.  "Here, you've earnt
these.  And hey, if you ever pass by here again then come over and say hi,
I'm sure we can think of a few more ways to get you some free ice creams."

   Alesha chuckled to herself as she picked up the magnums and turned to
walk away.  "Thanks, I'll consider it..." With her dare successfully
completed she strode triumphantly back across the road, strutted up to her
friend, and passed Zoe her ice cream.  "There you go," Alesha smiled,
genuinely quite pleased with herself.  "One magnum, free of charge, as
promised."

   "Thank you my friend," Zoe grinned, "and may I say how impressive your
little display was?  I thought you'd have a hard time convincing that guy
but no, with boobs like yours it was like stealing candy from a baby."

   Alesha sniggered as the pair began to walk again.  "Well, more like
stealing ice cream from a horny nineteen-year-old, but sure.  Now pass over
the box, please," she politely requested, reaching her hand out for the
Forgotten Cage.

   "Hang on," Zoe replied, unwrapping her magnum and taking a lick, "I
haven't given you your second dare yet, have I?"

   "Err, no?" Alesha replied cautiously.

   "Well then your second dare," Zoe laughed as she suddenly took off and
began to run away down the street, "is to not use the box!"

   "Oh you bitch!" Alesha gasped as she looked back at the ice cream van in
despair.  The skinny guy was still watching her walk away, and when their
eyes met he gave her a cheery wave.  Now he'd be able to keep his memories
of Alesha's tits and ass, and every time she passed by she'd be reminded of
that fact.

   "Hey, a dare's a dare!" Zoe cackled over her shoulder as she fled back
towards their dorm.

   "I'm going to kill you!" Alesha screamed, chucking her ice cream into a
bin as she began to chase after her friend.  She didn't know what she'd
make Zoe do for her double dose of dares, but now she knew it would be
something pretty extreme.

   *****

   With no more lectures or exams to worry about the girls were free to
enjoy the rest of their final week at university as they pleased, and those
last few days just so happened to take place during the middle of one of
the hottest summers on record.  Keen to make the most of the heatwave Zoe
and Alesha packed some drinks, towels, and tanning lotion into a couple of
bags, then headed out to the small park across the street from their
accommodation block to soak up some rays.

   Soon the friends were stretched out on the grass, basking in the
scorching midday heat, and to entertain herself Alesha had begun to check
out some of their fellow sunbathers, starting with one woman who was lying
on her back a few feet in front of the two girls.

   "Damn...  check out that ass," she murmured, nudging Zoe in the ribs to
make her look too.

   "Mmm..." Zoe glanced up and nodded approvingly at the aforementioned
ass, as it really was quite impressive.  It was made even more eye-catching
by the fact that its owner was wearing a skimpy thong-style bikini bottom,
one which left very little to the imagination.

   "I wish mine looked that good...  and that tanned," Alesha sighed,
taking a rueful sip from her can of gin and tonic.

   Zoe reached over and slapped her friend's butt scoldingly.  "Oi, don't
say that.  You have an amazing ass too, and you know it.  And as for tanned
then well, how do you expect to put on any colour when you're still all
covered up?" she argued.

   The girls had worn relatively skimpy bikinis under their t-shirts and
denim shorts, and the moment they'd reached the park Zoe had stripped
straight down to her bathing suit, thinking nothing of it after all of the
time she'd spent sunbathing at home in her parents' backyard.  Alesha was a
little more self-conscious though, despite her antics with the cricketers
and the ice cream guy, and so far she'd only taken her shirt off.

   "I don't know Zoe, it just feels weird...  there's so many strangers
around, I don't know how I feel about lying here with my ass out," Alesha
protested, looking around at the park which was indeed completely rammed
full of sunbathers.

   Her roommate tutted at her disapprovingly.  "Then just lie on your back!
Come on, get them off..."

   Zoe pestered Alesha until her friend finally caved, flipped over, lifted
up her hips, and slipped off her shorts.  "Ok you're right...  this does
feel nice," Alesha admitted, smiling as the sun quickly began to warm up
her thighs.

   She began to relax as she adjusted her bikini bottoms, bundled her shirt
up over her face, and then started to nap, and by her side Zoe peacefully
read her book as she lay stretched out on her stomach.  Someone somewhere
was playing low-fi hip-hop on a speaker, and it provided a pleasantly vibey
soundtrack to what was a gloriously lazy afternoon.

   After five minutes or so Zoe felt confident enough to reach behind her
and untie her bikini top, in order to avoid getting any tan lines across
her back, and then a moment or two later she stealthily pulled out the top
half of her swimming suit out from under her boobs and stuffed it onto her
bag.  As well as being more comfortable it also felt a little bit naughty
to be sunbathing there properly topless, even if she was still lying on her
front, and Zoe smiled to herself as she noticed a couple of people nosily
glancing over at her.

   "Ooh, someone's feeling daring," Alesha giggled, rolling over onto her
front and noticing Zoe's completely bare back for the first time.

   Her friend turned and grinned back at her.  "Honestly Alesha it feels so
much better, you should lose your top too," Zoe urged.

   "I'm sure you're right...  so do you take your top off when you're
sunbathing in your back garden too?" Alesha deflected, even though she'd
already heard quite a bit about Zoe's tanning regime over the last few
months.

   "Yeah, all the time now," Zoe confirmed, folding her arms and resting
her head down onto them.

   "Even when your dad and brother are around?" Alesha teased, admiring the
impressive amount of side-boob that was bulging out from underneath Zoe's
chest.

   "Well obviously when they're in the house I just stay lying on my front.
But when it's only me, or just me and Mum, then yeah, I go fully topless,"
Zoe laughed, angling her sunglasses down to look directly at Alesha.  "And
this is probably too much information, but when the sun is beaming directly
onto your nipples it feels so, so good!"

   "Really?" Alesha sniggered, having never tried it before.

   Zoe sighed contentedly, arching her back as she stretched out on her
towel.  "Oh my God yeah," she purred, "and again, this might sound weird,
but it makes you feel kind of horny too!"

   Alesha and Zoe giggled as they continued to discuss the more sensual
effects that tanning could have on one's body, and after a while their
conversation turned to how unfair it was that women weren't allowed to
sunbathe topless in public.

   "It's so ridiculous!  I mean look at that guy over there," Zoe
complained, gesturing over at a very overweight man who was quickly turning
dark red as he reclined on the grass, dressed only in a pair of shorts.  "I
mean his man-boobs are bigger than mine!  But he can chill there, nipples
out, without a care in the world, but if I, with my perfectly nice,
inoffensive tits, were to sit up then oh no!  Someone will complain, the
police will probably be called, and somehow it's my fault.  It's such a
double standard..."