Humiliated enough already, James wanted nothing more than to leave this stupid carnival immediately. Unfortunately though he had little choice but to search for Kayla and, even if nobody here had any idea who she was, there was nowhere else for him to look. He figured that as long as he didn't attempt to speak to anyone he could still blend in well enough with the crowds which were dwindling by this point anyway.
He wandered around for a while looking for anything that might be of use to him - if not Kayla herself then maybe a poster or flyer that could give him a clue as to her whereabouts - when he suddenly felt a strange kind of pressure in his legs and on his shoulders that seemed to be forcing him down. Despite his resistance James' soon found himself in a squatting position with his legs spread apart and his hands flat on the ground in front of him. Try as he might he quickly realised that standing up again and escaping this undignified posture was an impossibility. All hopes of blending in with the rest of society had now disappeared. Already the people around him were giving him strange looks, including one or two he recognised from the line up at the coconut shy earlier.
Unable to walk, James jumped forwards. He was surprised and a little dismayed how natural it felt, but at least he could manoeuvre himself quickly away from the crowds. Most people were polite enough to at least pretend not to notice, but he had attracted the attention of a group of kids who quickly took to following after him while pointing and laughing.
"Look, he thinks he's a frog!" one shouted.
"It's Toad Man!" another chimed in. One of the older boys began filming the strange grown up on his camera phone.
Mercifully, a woman of around James' own age who he assumed to be a parent rushed over and pulled the children away, scolding them for their behaviour. She looked briefly at James with a strange mixture of sympathy and disgust before walking away quickly. Trying not to dwell on the incident, James leapt quickly towards some woodlands leading to a lake a few hundred metres away. Before long, he had separated himself from the rest of humanity, which was in some senses a relief but also made him feel more like an animal and even further away from resolving his problems.
Alone at last, James ripped off his gloves, shoes and socks so he could move about more easily. His hands and feet were almost fully those of an amphibian now. His attempt to decide on his next move was cut short by the sudden distraction of a woman's laughter. James looked up in shock, unsure how anyone had managed to sneak up on him like this only to be confronted by the beautiful sight of the very source of his problems. It was Kayla.