Stomp Step. The End.

The silhouette of his scruffy chin shone in the golden alley light streaming in the window.

The cobbler put down the mule skin boot he was mending and pushed the wireframe glasses further up his pointed nose as he peered out at the cobblestone alley. These festival days always kept Graeme Horne nervous.

And when Graeme Horne was nervous, everyone was. It was at least good for the cobbling business as the nervous festival-goers would come in anxious about toe-stomping and have their shoes fitted with fancy steel toes to protect them from the pain accidental stamps.

Of course, there were the not-so-accidental stomps to consider, too. Graeme Horne had inadvertently inspired a fad among dancers, who made stomping a competitive sport. There was the shin-kicking for even more adventurous souls. It was infuriating, yet revenge was hard to resist.

Skyler Mateo Elena Humbolt was the rising star of Stomp Step, the new dance form that sent half its performers to the ER. Skyler had toes like talons and shins of steel, and could out stomp almost every other dancer alive.

the end