sliding shut after us and sealing us in darkness. I prayed and prayed that this would be a good one, waiting breathlessly. The walls of the Stack began to brighten and I counted down in my head. Three, two, oneâ¦
The scene was a simple room. A square box big enough to fit the ten of us with a little roaming room for everyone, and dimly lit by soft orange lights in the corners. The floors and walls were black, and smooth. It wasnât bad, but something about this room made my neck muscles tense up.
It was dark enough that I couldnât see if there was something hiding in the corners, so I moved to check them.
âWhoa! Wait a â¦what?â Weeks exclaimed. I felt an odd shifting of my clothing, like someone was hugging me and running their hands over me. And then my shirt and pants disintegrated.
Justâ¦gone.
I threw my arm across my breasts and tried to cover myself the best I could as a chorus of startled cries erupted from the group.
Glancing around for the briefest of seconds I could see that everyone else was in the same predicament. I had to turn away though, my eyes were being assaulted by too much information even in the dark.
I slid against the wall since I was out of hands to cover my backside.
âWhereâre you goinâ?â Weeks barked in my direction.
âYou wouldnât know Iâm moving unless youâre looking!â I shouted.
âUm, of course Iâm looking. And Iâd be happy to show if thereâs anything youâd like to see,â he said in a smooth, low voice.
There was a long moment of silence.
Then I burst out laughing. A few people chuckled.
Was this it?
This wasnât that bad. We were already used to the group showers back on our ships, though those were separated by gender.
But these
were
people I had to look in the eyes every day. âYou think theyâre having naked Fridayâs now?â I said.
âI suggested it,â Weeks said, âDeath and mayhem Monday through Thursday, then, a little uh-huh,â he said bouncing his hips from side to side with his hand over his âareaâ, âfor the weekend!â
I shook my head in the darkness. We had all backed up against the wall, averting our eyes and covering whatever we could. But even I couldnât resist the occasional giggle. This was too ridiculous.
The worst part was
tearing
my eyes away from where I knew Chance was. It wasnât like his body was a big mystery to me but it had been a while. My brain recalled the rippling in his upper arms, and the roundness of his shoulders when I grabbed them andâ¦
very much time for a new topic, brain
.
Marseille was next to me and she had her head down. I thought her cheeks must be scarlet right now. Suddenly Cairo moved from his spot against the wall and went over to her. He kept his eyes averted and then he stood in front of her, blocking most of her from our view.
I involuntarily glanced over at Chance and he held my eyes for a second, but I could see his struggle to keep a straight face.
I let out a relived breath. This session was okay, sure wasnât what I wouldâve asked for had I been consulted, but it
really
wasnât bad. From now on, if anyone ever asked I could say with certainty that Iâd take naked over almost drowning. For sure.
We stood like that for a little while. People cracking jokes as they thought of them.
We were all kind of having a good time when our clothes suddenly materialized on our bodies.
I rubbed my hands over the fabric, loving my uniform more than I ever had before.
Then the lights went out completely.
Oh good, thereâs more.
Weâd been in total darkness before, but I knew it was worse than naked depending on how long they left us like this. I felt around, grabbing the wrong parts of people, thankful we werenât still naked, and finally found Grimâs small head. I ran my hand down his arm and took his hand.
âLetâs sit, in a
The scene was a simple room. A square box big enough to fit the ten of us with a little roaming room for everyone, and dimly lit by soft orange lights in the corners. The floors and walls were black, and smooth. It wasnât bad, but something about this room made my neck muscles tense up.
It was dark enough that I couldnât see if there was something hiding in the corners, so I moved to check them.
âWhoa! Wait a â¦what?â Weeks exclaimed. I felt an odd shifting of my clothing, like someone was hugging me and running their hands over me. And then my shirt and pants disintegrated.
Justâ¦gone.
I threw my arm across my breasts and tried to cover myself the best I could as a chorus of startled cries erupted from the group.
Glancing around for the briefest of seconds I could see that everyone else was in the same predicament. I had to turn away though, my eyes were being assaulted by too much information even in the dark.
I slid against the wall since I was out of hands to cover my backside.
âWhereâre you goinâ?â Weeks barked in my direction.
âYou wouldnât know Iâm moving unless youâre looking!â I shouted.
âUm, of course Iâm looking. And Iâd be happy to show if thereâs anything youâd like to see,â he said in a smooth, low voice.
There was a long moment of silence.
Then I burst out laughing. A few people chuckled.
Was this it?
This wasnât that bad. We were already used to the group showers back on our ships, though those were separated by gender.
But these
were
people I had to look in the eyes every day. âYou think theyâre having naked Fridayâs now?â I said.
âI suggested it,â Weeks said, âDeath and mayhem Monday through Thursday, then, a little uh-huh,â he said bouncing his hips from side to side with his hand over his âareaâ, âfor the weekend!â
I shook my head in the darkness. We had all backed up against the wall, averting our eyes and covering whatever we could. But even I couldnât resist the occasional giggle. This was too ridiculous.
The worst part was
tearing
my eyes away from where I knew Chance was. It wasnât like his body was a big mystery to me but it had been a while. My brain recalled the rippling in his upper arms, and the roundness of his shoulders when I grabbed them andâ¦
very much time for a new topic, brain
.
Marseille was next to me and she had her head down. I thought her cheeks must be scarlet right now. Suddenly Cairo moved from his spot against the wall and went over to her. He kept his eyes averted and then he stood in front of her, blocking most of her from our view.
I involuntarily glanced over at Chance and he held my eyes for a second, but I could see his struggle to keep a straight face.
I let out a relived breath. This session was okay, sure wasnât what I wouldâve asked for had I been consulted, but it
really
wasnât bad. From now on, if anyone ever asked I could say with certainty that Iâd take naked over almost drowning. For sure.
We stood like that for a little while. People cracking jokes as they thought of them.
We were all kind of having a good time when our clothes suddenly materialized on our bodies.
I rubbed my hands over the fabric, loving my uniform more than I ever had before.
Then the lights went out completely.
Oh good, thereâs more.
Weâd been in total darkness before, but I knew it was worse than naked depending on how long they left us like this. I felt around, grabbing the wrong parts of people, thankful we werenât still naked, and finally found Grimâs small head. I ran my hand down his arm and took his hand.
âLetâs sit, in a
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