nine

Alice was woken by her phone. She picked it up and groaned as her head throbbed in time with the jaunty tune she was now regretting choosing as a ring tone. Another Sunday morning hangover made its presence felt. Another thumping head made worse by Charlotte’s phone call.

“What?” she said sharply

“How’s it gone?” asked Charlotte anxiously.

“Can’t you just leave me to die in peace Charlie?” pleaded Alice. After a brief pause she added “How’s what gone?”

“You must know, there’s no way you could forget” said Charlotte earnestly

“What is so important?” asked Alice with less certainty. She was beginning to feel that there was something important about today.

“The nudie stuff” said Charlotte

Alice shot up in bed, her bedroom swayed and then steadied like a ship running into the shelter of a harbour.

“Oh” she said in sudden recollection. This was followed by another louder “oh” when she realised she was naked. She jumped back into bed and covered her body.

Alice groaned into the phone “What have we done Charlie; I told you this wasn’t a good idea”

“So you haven’t gone nude in front of them yet” said Charlotte getting straight to the point that Alice was desperately steering her mind away from

“No, have you?”

“Well I tried” said Charlotte.

“You haven’t bottled out have you Charlie? Because if you have then perhaps…………..”

“No I haven’t” interrupted Charlotte primly. “I screwed up all my courage and came down the stairs…”

“And?” said Alice “what did they say?”

“They’re not here. They’ve gone to church” said Charlotte. There was disappointment mixed with relief in her voice.

“Well I don’t think I’m going to be so lucky, I can hear them speaking downstairs” said Alice grimly. “So where are you now Charlie?” she asked.

“I’m downstairs in the lounge. I trying to read the paper but it’s kind of hard to concentrate.”

“Are you, well like, er you know?”

“Nude?” interrupted Charlotte quickly “Well of course I am, that’s the idea isn’t it”

“What are you going to do?” enquired Alice

“I’m going to wait down here for them” said Charlotte determinedly.

Alice pulled down the duvet and looked down at her bare breasts “I’m going to have to get up aren’t I” she said

“Sooner or later” said Charlotte.

Alice took a deep breath “Ok, here goes” she said “wish me luck”

“Luck; and let me know how you get on” said Charlotte.

“I will but if your folks get back before I bare my all, you phone me to let me know how it went” Alice told Charlotte.

Alice got out off bed and tiptoed to her bedroom door. She opened it just enough to stick her head through. All clear. She scampered across the landing to the bathroom quickly locking the door behind her.

Her head felt much better after a shower. She stared at herself in the mirror as she combed her hair. A short naked girl with dyed red hair stared back at her. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do She pinched herself to check she wasn’t dreaming. She squeezed the fat under her skin. More than an inch here. Still it was too late to diet now. She started to wrap the towel around herself but stopped, what was the point, she was going to spend the whole day naked. She opened the bathroom door an inch and peeked out. Good nobody around. She was about to scamper back to her bedroom when the absurdity of her situation dawned on her. Her family was expecting to see her in the nude.

Alice opened the door wide, held her shoulders back and walked towards the stairs. She took a deep breath and started down. She managed to reach halfway before her knees turned to jelly. Alice wobbled the rest of the way. She stood shivering in the hall listening to her family’s voices in the kitchen.

“Here goes nothing” she said to herself, and walked in through the door.

“Good morning dear” said her mother brightly “I see you have decided to join us”

“Good morning Alice” said her father, looking up from his newspaper “did you sleep well?”

“Um yes fine thanks” replied a rather startled Alice. She had expected some comment at least on her nudity. Indeed she had prepared herself for some snide remarks. But this was eerie; here she was, as naked as the day she was born and her parents were acting as if nothing was amiss. Just then her brother walked in. “Hi sis” he said He was about to add a further comment when their mother fixed him with a stern glance. Clearly they had planned to try and make today as normal as possible. Perversely Alice found it to be unnerving and she decided to put a stop to it.

She turned to face her brother. She stood legs slightly apart, hands on hips and said “good morning Gregory, that’s a nice shirt you’re wearing”

“Er thanks” he said as his eyes moved up and down his sister’s body.

“What do you think of my outfit?” she asked provocatively.

“Oh stop that Alice” said her mother “we can all see you’re naked. We’re just trying to make it easier for you that is all”

Alice backtracked “Sorry mum, I’m a bit nervous”

“I’m not surprised” said her father “it’s been many years since we saw you in the buff”

“Good, now’s that’s all over, sit down and eat your breakfast,” said her mother.

Alice was sitting reading the newspaper in the lounge when her brother stuck his head around the door.

“Oi nudie, your phone’s ringing” and he tossed it to her. Alice fumbled as she caught it.

“Mind my phone” she shouted “you could have broken it”

“They’re unbreakable” replied Greg as he walked away .Her brother had spent a good ten minutes eying her body when she first appeared, but he had soon got bored of it. She was just his naked sister now.

“Hi Charlie” said Alice “your parents back yet.

“No “said Charlie

“You must be a nervous wreck standing around waiting for them” said Alice

“It’s torture” said Charlotte in a strained voice, “Are you up yet?”

“Yes”

“And!” said Charlotte

“Well I’m Ok now but my knees were like jelly when I walked into the kitchen”

“What did they say?” asked Charlotte

“Oh, it was eerie, I can tell you, they tried to act like everything was normal, so there I was in the kitchen without a stitch on and they were doing trying to the usual Sunday breakfast chit chat.”

“Oh my God” said Charlotte interrupting Alice’s flow “the car’s back”

“Keep talking to me Charlie.” encouraged Alice. “Is it them?”

“Yes,” there was a sudden pause “Oh my God they’ve brought someone with them”

“What, who is it?”

“It’s ok it’s Tom and Stella from next door, they usually give them a lift home, they wont come in” said a clearly relieved Charlotte

“That’s ok then, are you still there Charlie.”

“Still here Alice. There’s the key in the lock, wish me luck Alice”

“Luck Charlie” said Alice.