This is my story and is also published elsewhere.
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Alice had me trapped. I was tied up in a doll box, dolled up like a pervert's idealization of a slutty schoolgirl, and put on display right next to the entrance of the store. To make matters worse, Alice had also attached a 'discount' sign to my box to draw more attention, specifically to me. It was still early in the day, and I had to hold out until closing time before she would let me go...
"I'm heading to the back for a minute. I've got to prepare some online orders for shipping. Be good now, dolly!" Alice said as she walked off. Her heels clicked softer and softer before she disappeared with the sound of a door opening and closing. In a way, I was happy that most people shopped online now. It saved me from a lot of encounters with potential customers. Remembering how empty the store was the day before, and how nobody had knocked or called when the store was closed during Alice's dollification process, made me feel relieved. The day might end up being rather uneventful!
Some time passed. A door opened and closed again. The clicking of heels became audible again as Alice returned to her desk. "Hey, dolly?" Alice said, teasingly. "You left your phone in the employees' room. You really ought to set a password on that thing!"
Oh, no. What did she do? Thoughts came rushing to my mind. Did she check my browser history? Open my gallery? Read my chats? Although Alice did not reveal exactly what she had and hadn't done, it soon became very clear as less than an hour later, some very familiar faces walked up to the store.
Jeremy, Tyler, and Marcus approached the store in unison. They were my best friends. We haven't been as socially connected as we used to, but even nowadays we always found time to play video games together at least once a week. They never struck me as the type that would enter a store like this... especially together! The group stopped at the front door and inspected the display carefully before their eyes stopped at my sign. Jeremy pointed at the sign and spoke to the group. Their words remained inaudible to me. After a minute or so of talking, the group entered the store.
As the door swung open, Jeremy's voice became audible, "Where is he anyway? Didn't he say to meet him here?"
"According to the location he sent in the chat, he should be here, yeah," Marcus replied.
The group stared into the store for a short time before Alice approached them. "Hello! Welcome to Wonderland! Can I help you?" she asked.
"Yeah..." Tyler started. "We're looking for our friend, Sam. He told us to meet him here. Said something about seeing something unbelievable before disappearing on us."
"Sam? I don't recall him ever mentioning his name, but there was a young man here earlier. He was about your age, so it could have been him," Alice replied, matter-of-factly. "I think he left his phone here. I found it over in the ladies section. Could you call your friend to see if this phone starts ringing?"
Jeremy was the first to grab his phone and call my number. The phone rang. "Well, I guess we can take his phone then," Jeremy said. "We'll make sure he gets it back! It's a good thing he at least texted us before he got forgetful!"
"That fool was probably taking pictures of slutty lingerie or sex toys and left it after getting distracted!" Tyler exclaimed. The group laughed.
Great. Now they think I'm a pervert. I thought. Although, if they knew where I really was, things would be much, much worse.
"I wonder what he wanted us to see though, I mean, we're here now anyway..." Marcus said. "Hey, Jeremy, check his gallery! Maybe that will give us a hint."
"I can't. His phone... it's locked?" Jeremy replied in confusion. "Since when does he use a password on his lock screen?"
So that's what Alice did... She texted my friends to come over and possibly poke fun at me, and then locked my phone so that I can't even access it anymore! I just hope she gives me the unlock code when she unties me later today...
"Well, I can't tell for sure what he would have wanted you to see, but he did ask about our discounted doll over here," Alice said, giving a few light taps on my box.
"Yeah, that one drew our attention too," Jeremy admitted. "What's with the discount? And why is it only on that doll? Is there something wrong with it? It looked just fine to us."
Alice started turning the box to make it face into the store. Slowly but surely my vision rotated, and I was looking directly at my friends. I was happy that I never ended up getting any tattoos. Could you imagine a doll with tattoos? It'd be a dead giveaway!
