Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Waif by barelin

   Chapter 1

   WAIF and the Effects of National Nude Day

   The drive down from the city had been long and tiring.  Her sisters were
whining and cranky, and the `Are we there yet?' chorus had begun the second
they cleared the tunnel and were pointed south toward the beach resorts. 
They arrived at the bungalow and found the key just where her grandmother
said it would be.

   It was just before two in the afternoon when the car was unloaded, and
the family was settled into their rooms.  She changed out of the shorts and
tee-shirt she wore from the city into her tankini from last year.  It still
fit, but that was not unusual.  She did note that the fabric was worn in
the seat of the briefs and the straps on the top were less elastic than she
remembered from last year.  She was still a girl size fourteen, though;
some thing's never changed in her life.  The rest of her summer clothing,
five pairs of cotton panties, two pairs of cheer shorts, and t-shirts she
used both for sleepwear and tops, were dumped into the drawers of the
dresser in the bedroom.  Her ugly nylon pool suit went in with the
underwear.

   "Mom," she called into the back bedroom of the bungalow where her mother
was tending to the seven-year-old twins, "I'm going to head up to the beach
and check out the waves.  Oh, and we need to go shopping for a new swimsuit
at G & G, maybe tomorrow."

   "The twins are going down for a nap, Waif, so I won't be along for an
hour or more.  Be sure you have your beach badge and sunscreen.  Have a
good time," her mother called from the room in the rear.  "We'll see about
a new suit, Waif, if they are on sale, maybe, but money is tight with all
the bills coming in, and if you can make do with what you have this year,
it would help."

   "Got it all in my beach bag," the girl called back to her mother,
referring to sunscreen and badge as she slipped out the front door,
thinking, 'I don't know about the rest, though.'

   Having recently celebrated her eighteenth birthday in the hospital,
Wendy Ann Ingrid Farrell was a happy teenager today.  She was happy the
doctors had again declared her blood and bone marrow disease in remission
for the third straight year.  She was happy that when the only choice for
her to be alive was for her parents to try for another child with
compatible stem cells and marrow for a transfusion, both of the twins, Amy
and Tammie, were matches.  She was happy that the stem-cell transfusion,
from the cord blood and placentas, just after the twins were born had held
her for three years and was happy that the bone marrow from each twin,
three years later had proven successful and aside from yearly visits to the
transplant team hospital for follow up studies, she was healthy.

   One thing was missing in the soon-to-be junior in high school life; that
one thing was puberty.  She was eleven when her marrow and blood were
cleansed to allow the twins' stem cell transfer.  From that age to her now
18th year, Waif had neither grown an inch nor put on a pound as she had
been known all her life due to her initials.  She was an eighteen-year-old
woman living in an eleven-year-old girl's body.  It was a girl's size
fourteen body, a body that was all elbows and knees and flat butt and chest
lacking even the hint of puffy nipple or breast development.

   Her illness and hospitalizations had cost her a year and a half of
school, and although she excelled in the classroom, the best she had been
able to do was catch up half a school year.  The kids she had been with in
grade school to fifth grade graduated this June and were off to college or
the workplace.  Waif smiled and wished them well in their lives.  She knew
that she did not fit in with that crowd, nor did she really fit in with the
teens with who she now was in school.  She was never bullied.  Everyone
from the district superintendent to the classroom teachers had made an
effort to explain to the students that Waif was the size and shape she was
but in every other aspect was a girl of the same maturity and ability due
to a very severe medical condition as they.  Sixteen-year-old cheerleaders
with curvy bodies adopted Waif as one of their own.  She had cheered at
football and basketball games this past year as a junior varsity
cheerleader.  Next September, she would get a costume in the reverse colors
of the varsity (JV wore white with red piping and letters; varsity solid
red outfits with white piping and lettering) and could only hope she would
have a body to fill it out.  Cheerleaders got dates and went places with
boys (in some cases with girls) and were popular.  Waif was never asked out
on a date.  Her best friend, a boy named Walter, a neighbor since the pair
shared a playpen as infants, explained to her that several boys liked her
for the smart and funny girl she was; however, none wished to date her as
they feared being labeled 'cradle robbers' or child molesters.

   Waif mostly interacted with her peers in group activities due to that
and usually all-girl groups.  No one thought it odd when a group of girls
had an eleven-year-old tag along `little sister' with them, even if that
sister was two years older and knew a lot more about life and its fragility
than they did.

   Waif spread the beach sheet out just to the left of the lifeguard stand
and plopped her beach bag down on the edge to hold it in place while she
looked for shells to weigh down the lower corners.  All she wanted to do
was stretch out and get some sun and then maybe do some body surfing until
it was time to go back to the bungalow for dinner.

   Walking back to her beach things, Waif spotted a khaki shorts and pith
helmet-clad beach inspector standing near her things.

   "Little girl, where are your parents?" The woman stood with a notebook
in one hand and a radio in the other.

   "My mother just put the twins down for a nap at our bungalow on
Springpoint Road," Waif answered, "Why, ma'am, is something wrong?"

   "Minor children without a parent cannot be on this beach, and you have
to be in the roped-off area two blocks down, child," the woman replied.

   "But, I'm not a minor, I just turned eighteen, and I have my beach badge
in my bag here," Waif spoke in the pitch of a tween trying to be older.

   "All that proves is you have your mom's beach bag, young lady, you will
have to move to the children's beach, or you will have to go home and come
back with your parents to supervise you." The woman was now joined by a
female lifeguard who was probably a year younger than Waif but certainly
filled out her tight red one-piece swimsuit better than Waif filled out the
two pieces from the tween department of the store where she bought it. 
Clothing cut for Juniors and young juniors simply did not fit the body she
lived in, so she regularly shopped the children's racks, and into her brain
came the dawn, she looked like a kid and was dressed in kid clothes, those
who did not know her would presume she was eleven.

   "But, honestly, I'm eighteen, and I can prove it.  I have my driver's
license," as she rummaged through her bag, she realized her wallet and all
her identification were not in this bag at all.  They sat by the wall
telephone in the kitchen of her parent's house, dropped there and forgotten
when she went to the hospital.  "Really," she sputtered as the lifeguard
and beach officer closed rank on her, and she rolled her eyes in
exasperation.

   As she meekly walked to the kiddie area demarked by heavy rope and
buoy-type floats that even at high tide allowed children to go no deeper in
the water than four or five feet, Waif sighed heavily.  Then she saw what
might be the only redeeming thing about this section of the beach.

   The sign read: CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF TWELVE PERMITTED IN THIS AREA
WITHOUT PARENTAL ACCOMPANIMENT.  POTTY-TRAINED CHILDREN ONLY.  SWIMSUITS
OPTIONAL.



   Part 2

   The Township of Shoreside Park had gone all out to assure the safety of
the youngsters vacationing within it.  Three city blocks of the mile-long
beach were set aside for small children.  On each block, a Gazebo was
provided for shelter out of the sun, and inside was posted a list of the
activities that day for specific age groups.  A lifeguard and two junior
lifeguards acted as counselors for the Shoreside Park children's beach
activity.  At the same time, three guards patrolled each of the beaches,
one with a rescue can walking the shore, another perched atop a guard stand
chair, and the last aboard a jet ski watercraft just outside the roped-off
swimming area.

   "Little girl, can you swim?" The voice belonged to a junior lifeguard,
about fifteen years old, blond, green-eyed, and curvy enough that her
one-piece swimsuit was nearly overflowing.  "If you pass the swim test, you
may want to try the skimboarding class that starts in half an hour."

   The test was relatively simple.  Run into the surf, duck under the
waves, and then swim out to the rope barrier and back again, nonstop.  Waif
was an excellent swimmer.  The hospital where she spent many weeks had a
physical therapy pool half Olympic size in which she was encouraged to do
laps to keep her muscles loose.

   With the lifeguard standing on shore observing, Wait plunged into the
surf.  She almost timed her dive to get completely under the wave.  Almost,
as last year's JC Penny swimsuit, an ugly blue tankini style covered in
yellow ducks, was more than a bit worn from sun, chlorine, and wear.  The
elastic at the leg openings and waist of the bottom had lost its stretch.
As she dolphin kicked her way under the wave, she felt the tug of the tide
against the waistband of her swim bottoms.  Popping up from the water
between waves in a set of five rolling in, she made a grab for the bottoms
and was hit blindsided by the next incoming wave.  She rolled back beneath
the water and felt the increased tug of the undertow on her bottom. 
Popping up for breath, Waif realized the battle of the bottom was a lost
cause.  The swim briefs were bunched around her ankle, and the first kick
of her foot would knock them off into the water, probably lost forever.

   "Oh, hell, I am not going to sit on the shore and make sandcastles all
summer because of this stupid swimsuit and this stupid test," she thought
to herself and began her strong over stroke and flutter kick toward the
rope.  Midway to the rope, she knew the bottoms were lost.

   She touched the rope and turned, swimming toward shore.  As she reached
the break line where the waves crested over a sand bar, she looked over her
shoulder and timed herself perfectly to catch the next breaking swell into
shore.  Letting the water do its work, she ramrod straightened herself in
the wave extending her hands in front of her to act as a nose cone and
steered herself toward the beach.

   The worn tankini top ballooned in the water from the force of the wave,
and it soon popped over her head and was gone before she could think to
catch it as the sand of the beach came up at the same precise moment as the
loss of the suit top.

   She emerged from the foam with a triumphant smile and smiled at the
guard who graded her effort.

   "I thought you were in trouble when you breached the wave on your way
out," the teenage lifeguard grinned, "Glad to see the only casualty was
your swimsuit.  Well, don't worry, plenty of kids your age run around all
over town wearing the same outfit you are.  Just always have a towel handy
if you want to go someplace public and sit.  In Shoreside Park, our motto
is `No shirt, no shoes, no pants, no problem!" The guard giggled again,
"The town council is trying to extend the policy to kids under 18 for next
summer.  I sure hope they do; this suit is awful when you get sand stuck in
the crack of your butt.  I sure wish I could guard in the nude."

   She turned to walk away and then turned back, "Oh, by the way, I'm
Loretta; I supervise the ten, eleven, and twelve activities Monday to
Friday, along with Hank, the other junior guard, and Molly, our lifeguard
supervisor.  So, should you need any help just call my name.  I see that
look on your face; yes, you passed the swim test with flying colors.  Hank
has the skimboards to pass out; I'll be down to help in a moment; right
now, I kind of need the loo."

   "Well, what do I have to lose," she asked herself, "No one in this town
is going to take a second look at a pre-teen walking around nude, so if I
can girl up and face this guy, Hank, maybe I'll have some fun today," Waif
wandered over to where the male junior guard was demonstrating the
skimboard to two boys and a girl about eleven or twelve years old.  The
boys wore board shorts drooping low over non-existing hips.  The girl wore
a multi-color swim brief without a top.

   "Hi, everyone, I'm Waif, and Loretta sent me over to learn how to
skimboard," Waif said by way of introduction.  Hank nodded and passed her a
board, the boys Tad and Brad, were brothers one year apart in age but
looked like twins.  The girl, Ronnie, looked at Waif in envy.

   "I wanted to get naked, but my mom said I had to leave my bottoms on,"
she pouted while biting her lower lip.

   Waif smiled and told Ronnie she was not naked by choice, explaining the
rough waves and her old worn-out swimsuit.  Her four listeners howled with
laughter at the story.

   Brad said, "That happened to me last week.  I fell off my bodyboard, and
with the leash holding me, the board went sideways in a wave, and my suit
got ripped off; hey, it's no biggie."

   Tad nodded, "If you wait until high tide, even the adults on the beach
two blocks down have a tough time staying in their suits.  Sometimes the
rip current will take them right off while people are standing in the surf
line.  Other times the wave break does the job.  But a lot of people run
out of the water trying to cover their bits and pieces and looking for
their textiles in the sand."

   "Okay, then, let's get started," Hank called the four to order and began
the talk about how to wait for the wave to break and toss the skimboard
into the receding surf run after it, and catch a ride on it.  He followed
up with falling waterside was always better than falling on sand and shells
and added safety tips for duck diving waves if the kids went into the water
in the middle of a set of big breakers.

   Waif had to admit she had a very good time and got the hang of skimming
very quickly.  By the end of the two-hour season, Tad had lost his board
shorts, and Ronnie had only recovered her bottoms when a breaker burped the
briefs up onto the sand.  Everyone was laughing and tired as it neared five
in the afternoon.

   "Where are you staying," Ronnie asked Waif as they gathered their beach
stuff and headed off the beach.

   "My Gramma, Ruth Andrews, has a place on Springpoint.  She's letting us
use it for the summer," Waif replied.

   "Kewl, we live here all year round, but except for Brad and Tad and
three other kids our age, I don't have many friends because there are not a
lot of kids living here.  Mostly kids come for a week, or two and then
leave, so it's hard to make friends.  But, if you want to hang with us...,"
Ronnie almost pleaded with her voice.

   Waif smiled, "You won't think I'm a `Bennie?'"

   "Nah, bennies are the week or day-trippers.  We call you guys 'summer
here'.  Some are here summer, and some are here period," Ronnie giggled at
the play on words.

   Waif walked with Ronnie to her house.  "Hey, this is me; want to come in
for a while?" Ronnie asked as they approached a weathered cedar shake
two-story set up on pilings.

   From inside the front door, a voice called, "Ronnie, you and your friend
shower off before you come in here.  I just swept the floors."

   Ronnie rolled her eyes, "That's my mom.  For a beach bum living
shoreside, she hates sand and, of course, sand is everywhere all of the
time."

   The two girls showered quickly in the outdoor stall beneath the house
and wrapped towels around themselves to enter the house.

   "Mom, this is Waif, her Gramma is Ruth Andrews, and she and her mom and
sisters are staying at the bungalow all summer." Then Ronnie paused to
breathe.  "She lost her swimsuit to the ocean today, and boy can she
skimboard."

   "Well, Waif, if you are the modest type, Ronnie should be about your
size; if not, nude is fine with us," the thirty-something woman with the
soft curves and bobbed haircut was wearing a short shift that told
everything there was to know.  Simply put was that it was the only garment
on her body.

   The words were not out of her mouth before Ronnie shed her towel and
plopped onto a resin lawn chair naked.  "Ronnie, towel," her mother
instructed, then to Waif, "I am Brett Peters, Ronnie's mother; you may call
me Ms.  Brett.  Sit, child and be comfortable.  So you are Ruth Andrews'
granddaughter.  Are you the one she always speaks about?"

   "Ma'am?" Waif responded, the question implied in her tone of voice.

   "Ruth talks about a sweet grandchild from up north who got very sick and
almost died.  One who was never healthy enough to visit her for the summer?
Last we spoke, she said that the girl might be well enough to make the trip
this year, is that you?" Brett asked.

   Waif blushed, "Yes, ma'am, that's me.  Finally, this year the doctors
cleared me to have a real summer vacation instead of months of poking,
prodding, and testing in the hospital.  So, my mom, my twin sisters, and I
came straight down from the city, and Gramma will be home early next week."
Waif said, adding, "This was her annual trip to wine country for the
tastings."

   Brett laughed, "I know; she is bringing me two bottles of Merlot I won
in a poker game over the winter."

   Waif felt comfortable enough to unwrap her towel from around her and sit
it on a chair with her on top of it.  Ronnie and Waif regaled Brett with
the tales of the day, including Ronnie having to run up and down the beach
searching for her swim briefs after being stripped by a wave.  All three
were laughing so hard that it wasn't until the clock struck the hour that
Waif realized she needed to get home to her mom and the twins.



   Part 3

   Waif walked in the unlocked door to the house with the burned letters on
the driftwood plaque bearing the name, "IT'LL DO, TOO!" The original `It'll
Do' was lost in a nor'easter several years before.  Granddad Andrews
refused to be beaten by the weather's wrath and rebuilt on stilted piling,
using screws and hurricane bolts to reinforce the new house against the
weather.  He also constructed a cement block bunker below the house that
contained a small generator and the water heater for the home and a washing
machine.  Outside the block shed on a cedar pallet with a draw curtain
around it was the shower for the house.  Strung between the pilings were
clotheslines with pins to dry the laundry, rinsed swimsuits, and bedding.

   Waif called for the twins and her mom but got no answer.  On the table
in the kitchen, she found a note, "Waif, I took the twins to the pier to
ride the kiddie rides and get a slice of pizza.  Johnson's is open down the
block; take the ten dollars on the table and get yourself a burger or
something.  Love, Mom."

   Waif ran up the stairs to the bedrooms.  Her grandmother had the first
on the left, as it was her all-year-round home.  Waif loved the view as the
room window looked out over the ocean.  Next to her grandmother's room was
the one her mother was using.  Across from her, on the right side of the
small hall, was the room the twins were using.  Waif had taken the room
just across from her grandmother.  At the very end of the hall was the
bathroom.  An old-fashioned claw foot tub and a pull chain toilet with the
reserve water tank high on the wall and a pedestal sink barely fit into the
confines.  A similar toilet and sink were directly below on the first
floor, but the tub space was a linen closet.  This was the reason most
guests used the outdoor shower during the summer.

   Waif entered her room and opened the dresser drawer where she had placed
her clothes when she unpacked.  She had a yellow short set; actually, a
one-piece zip-front romper that she thought would be perfect to wear to the
burger and malt place in town.  Only one problem, the drawer was empty.  So
also were the two drawers beneath it and the small closet where she knew
she had placed her light sweaters and suitcase.

   Even her spare one-piece pool-style swimsuit was gone.  She hated the
nylon racer suit, but it was required for the hospital pool and had become
a part of her routine.  While unhappy it was missing as she still wanted
something to cover her bare body, she was not too upset it was gone.

   She checked the twin's room; this was the type of prank they would pull,
but no suitcase and no clothes except their own in the room.  She checked
her mom and grandmother's room also and found none of her clothing.  So she
felt like Goldilocks; some clothes were `too large and clothes too small,'
but there were no clothes that were `just right.'

   Her search continued downstairs, checking every hidey-hole and closet on
that level, and she found nothing.  Her mom had the car, so she could not
check the trunk.  But, she had changed out of summer shorts, underwear, and
a t-shirt into her swimsuit when she got to the bungalow, so she was not
mad or suffering heatstroke, she HAD to have brought her suitcase inside.

   Finally, she remembered Loretta's words, "In Shoreside Park, our motto
is `no shirt no shoes, no pants, no problem!'" Waif grabbed a towel and the
ten and, as hunger overrode modesty, headed off to Johnson's Burgers and
Malts.

   The chill of the air conditioning in Johnson's caused her skin to
develop goosebumps and her bladder to remind her she needed to pee.  She
put her order in and went to the lady's room.  When she exited, Loretta and
Hank were sitting at a table not far from where she stood.  They saw her
and invited her to sit with them.

   "Still naked, kid," Loretta stated the obvious.  Hank just smiled as
Waif used the towel wrapped around her to sit upon.

   "Loretta, it was weird, I visited with Ronnie and her mom for a while,
went home to find my mom and the twins have gone to the amusement pier for
the evening, and every stitch of my clothing, along with my suitcase,
missing from my room.  I searched high and low and could not find them. 
Mom left me money to come here and eat, so I remembered you said it would
be okay, and here I am." Waif spilled out the events, all the while
blushing furiously and hunching over embarrassed at being both cold and
bare while in the company of kids she knew.

   "Well, you are okay, although it is odd for you to be out so close to
curfew, the nudity won't be noticed, but being out after nine at night
without a parent or guardian can get you picked up." Hank pointed to the
sign, "Curfew for minors less than twelve years old shall be nine p.m. 
from 15 June to 15 September unless accompanied by a parent or guardian."

   The clock on the wall indicated it was twenty minutes to nine.  "Can you
two walk me home later?" Waif asked the question just as her food arrived
at the table.

   "No problems, kid, Springpoint is on our way, and there is a party for
teenagers over on Kingston, in the park by the Back Bay.  We'll drop you
off and then keep on going." Hank told her.

   The trio ate and joked and, just after nine forty left Johnson's and
headed to Springpoint to drop Waif off at home.  Sure enough, they passed
two Shoreside Park police cruisers in the two blocks between Johnson's, and
It'll Do, Too!  One car was cruising along the main boulevard where
Johnson's was located; the second was cruising up and down the streets
leading to the beach, one of which was Springpoint.

   The trio made it to the bungalow without incident, and her escorts left
Waif just inside her front door.  Her mother and the twins were still not
home.  Falling naked on her bed, Waif lay awake and confused.  If she
continued to pass as an eleven-year-old, she could be naked in public
without a worry, as it was legal for twelve and under in Shoreside Park. 
However, the downside was she could not be out and about after nine at
night without her Gramma or her mother.  That part sucked and left her with
only Ronnie Tad and Brad to hang out with in daylight.  Any ideas of
romance had just narrowed from unlikely to impossible.



   Part 4

   Waif woke early in the morning, having to use the bathroom.  She flushed
and feared the clatter of the pipes would wake not only the house but the
neighborhood as well.  She smelled coffee brewing and headed downstairs,
finding her mother with an early edition newspaper and a cup of coffee
sitting in the kitchen.  "Morning, Mom, did the twins have a good time at
the pier?"

   "If a good time consists of eating cotton candy and ice cream, then
riding the Wild Mouse roller coaster and puking up your stomach contents,
then yes they did," her mother smiled, "oh, and where were you yesterday
afternoon and why are you naked?"

   Waif poured herself a cup of black coffee, put a bit of cold water into
it, and sat with the mug in front of her, "Mom, this town is weird.  I went
to the grown-up beach and was told by an enforcement lady and lifeguard I
had to use the kiddie beach because I could not prove I was eighteen.  By
the way, I left my wallet back home, we left straight from the hospital,
and I never take my wallet there, just my insurance card.  So I got forced
to go to the roped-off area for kids and also got forced to take a swimming
proficiency test, the surf tore off my two-piece, the bottoms as I swam out
to the far rope, and the top as I rode a wave back into shore.  By the way,
I told you I needed a new suit, didn't I?  Anyway, I'm naked now and find
out from one of the lifeguards that you are allowed to be naked on the
beach and around town if you are under twelve.

   "Hey, I went from being upset at having to use the kids' beach to being
kind of okay with it; the situation was I could still hang out and have a
good time but had to pass for an eleven-year-old.  I took skimboard
lessons, got pretty good at it, and had a blast with a little
eleven-year-old girl who lives here year-round and two boys who are
all-year residents one twelve and the other eleven.

   "I walked home from the beach with Ronnie, she is the girl, and spent a
couple of hours with her, and her mom, Brett Peters, her mom, and Gramma
are friends in the year-round community.  Ms.  Peters knows about me, Mom.
Gramma has told everyone in town about her sickly granddaughter, but I am
guessing no one really knows how old I am.

   "I got home and went into my room and found every stitch of my clothing
missing, Mom.  I swear if the twins are playing a rude, mean joke, they
have won the prize big time with this one.  None of my grandma's or your
clothing fit me, and I may be small, but the twins' stuff, well, no way I
can squeeze into that.  I was hungry and remembered kids under the age of
twelve are okay anywhere nude, so I walked to Johnson's and got dinner.

   "Oh, the downside to all of this is while I was out getting my burger
last night, the change is on the counter near the cookie jar; I found out
that if you are twelve or under, you cannot be out without a parent after
nine at night.  Loretta and Hank, my lifeguard friends from yesterday, had
to walk me home as `adult supervision.'

   "Do you have any idea where my clothes are?" Waif finished her days'
worth of debriefing with her mother and waited.

   "I only turned my back for a minute.  When I did, they were playing in
their room quietly.  When I caught on to what they were doing, I was
furious.  You know there is a strong breeze coming in off the ocean every
afternoon at about three o'clock, Waif?  Well, the twins were opening the
windows and letting things catch the breeze and fly away.  They were using
pages from their coloring books when I caught them.  Tammie told me they
would stop doing it because the book pages were not nearly as much fun as
watching Waif's clothes fly away." Her mother sighed, "As soon as grandma
gets home, we will go shopping, sweetheart; I am so sorry this happened. 
But, at least your vacation is not totally ruined; if you chose to play
eleven-year-old for a few more days, you could at least go to the beach
every day."

   Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Waif sat with her coffee and then
heard the twins bouncing down the stairs.  "Mom, may I deal with this, or
have you handled it already?"

   "No, I haven't, really.  I took them to the pier to get them out of
harm's way last night.  I was afraid you would lose your temper with them."

   "Never, they are seven and do dumb things seven-year-old girls do.  But,
I think I can make the punishment fit the crime if you let me." Waif winked
at her mother as Amy and Tammie skipped into the room and went bug-eyed and
slack-jawed at the sight of their naked older sister standing with her cup
of coffee.

   "Momma, Waif, gots no clothes on," Amy stated the obvious.  Tammie
merely nodded affirmation.

   "Ah, you noticed," Waif looked at her sisters.  "Just where are all my
clothes, little ones?"

   "Oh, oh, that's right, momma told us Waif would be angry," Amy said, "We
are sorry we put your clothes out the window and watched the wind blow them
away, Waif, really we are, you going to spank us?" Her eyes welled with
tears, and Tammie soon followed with open floodgates of eye water.

   "No, I am not.  I am proud of you for knowing what you did was wrong,
and now here is your punishment.  You will go upstairs; pack every bit of
clothing you brought on vacation into your suitcases and backpacks, bathing
suits and panties included.  Until I have clothes to wear, you no longer
have the privilege of wearing clothes." Waif looked at the two of them go
wide-eyed and looked for relief from their mother.

   "You heard your sister, now go do it, and you better be bare-assed naked
when you come downstairs again." Their mother strongly reinforced the
punishment order.

   Sobbing, the twins, at the awkward body-conscious stage of growth, were
dragged up the stairs as if sentenced to death.

   "Nice job, Waif, you found the single most embarrassing, humiliating
thing to use to punish them.  I think this is far more effective than a
spanking that is over and forgotten in an hour." Katherine Mary Farrell
told her daughter.  "It is perfectly legal in this town but utterly
embarrassing to them; their punishment will stick in their minds for a long
while after it is lifted.  Oh, we will go shopping right after your dad's
stipend is deposited in the bank.  Unless Grandma Andrews can loan me a few
dollars, we are tight until then.  I'm sorry none of my clothes fit you,
but if you get dressed, then so do they, maybe you being naked with them
for a few more days is for the best?"

   "I like the kids I've met and am hanging out with, Mom; it is just
awkward being so much older than they are and playing that much younger."
Waif sighed but was accepting of her condition.

   "You were a lab rat when you should have been a kid having fun, Waif,
sick and sheltered in the sterile wards as you were.  Maybe, this is your
chance to catch up on some happy childhood memories.  Now, eat something
and go up to the beach and have fun.  I'll bring the monsters along once
I've locked their clothes in the trunk of the car."



   Part 5

   Skype may be the next best thing to being there.  It is the new
long-distance, so speaking to her father, a reservist with the Air Force
stationed in the Middle East at a time of the morning when she should be
asleep, made all the sense in the world to Waif.  Major Farrell smiled at
his oldest daughter.  She explained why she was nude and the goings-on
around his mother's home for the past ten days since the four Farrell
females arrived.

   "So Dad, Mom is still waiting for your stipend to get direct deposited
into the bank account, Gramma has not arrived yet from her trip, and
without funds, Mom is not going to go shopping with me.  Until then, I am
`officially eleven' (she made air quotes) and running around starkers."

   "Waif, think about it; most of the time you spent in the hospitals going
from test to test, you were pretty much naked.  Hospital gowns are not
modesty garments by any stretch.  If you want, I'll bring you home a burkha
that would pretty much solve your exposure issue.  I imagine Gramma will
have a solution of sorts when she arrives home, honey, so just hang in
there.  Oh, by the way, you do know what is celebrated in five days,
correct?" The father teased his daughter.

   "Uh-huh, Bastille Day, right?" Waif replied.

   "Yes, that as well, but I was referring to National Nude Day.  Every 14
July, the event comes up on the calendar.  Some places take the day quite
seriously.  They won't allow anyone to be out in public wearing clothing
without a penalty being exacted.  So just be aware that you are already in
practice for the day, and your tan is absolutely perfect kiddo; hey, my
time is up, so love to your sisters and mom and be sure to hug my mom for
me and tell her I'll see her soon." With that, Major Farrell signed off
after hearing Waif tell him she loved him, and so did the twins and his
wife.

   Morning dawned several hours later; Katherine Mary arose to the smell of
coffee and eggs and found her oldest daughter busily making toast.

   "You were up talking to your dad, weren't you?" The mother smiled at the
daughter.

   "Yeah, he doesn't know why the Air Force has screwed up the deposit of
the stipend, he loves you and the twins to heaven and back, and I am
supposed to remind you and Gramma that the 14th is National Nude Day." Waif
gave the Reader's Digest version of her conversation.

   "Leave it to your father to think of that," Katherine giggled.  "WE
should observe the day correctly and be sure to send him photographs of his
family running around naked."

   "Some of us already are, Mom, and he offered to bring me home a burkha
if I was so uncomfortable being nude.  Truth is, Mom, I'm not uncomfortable
being nude.  I'm uncomfortable trying to pass myself off as a pre-teen. 
Heck, if it was legal, I might opt to stay nude all the time." Waif
grinned.

   "It is over a week now that the twins have been running around naked; I
think they will consider it more of a punishment to have to climb back into
clothing.  Tammie told me that they had a sand sculpture competition as an
activity on the beach yesterday.  The clothed kids were constantly
complaining about all the places the sand got caught in their swimsuits. 
The twins just ran into the surf line, rinsed off, and came back smiling.
It is going to be tough to get them dressed and get them home once summer
is over." Katherine told her daughter.

   "Brett, Ronnie's mother, told me about how great the school district is
down here.  Since the kids are allowed to be nude in town, the clothing
rules are way relaxed, and if the days are too hot, they hold classes on
the beach so the kids and teachers can cool off in the water.  Nine
teachers work as senior lifeguards during the summer, and water safety
classes start in kindergarten.  Molly, the lifeguard supervisor for Hank
and Loretta, teaches third grade at the school.  I think Brett was trying
to convince us to convince Gramma that we should move in with her down
here." Waif told her mother.

   "Would you like that?  To live here year-round and skip being a
cheerleader and all the other things that go with being a high school
junior?"

   "The high school is on the mainland, Mom, and has a sports program that
includes surfing, sailing, and a swim team.  I think I would rather do a
sport rather than just be a pom-pom waver on the sidelines, and I think
surfing and swimming are two in which I could be fairly competitive." Waif
responded.  "Or I could be homeschooled.  Both you and Gramma are college
graduates, and most of what I need for a diploma can be found on the
internet or in books we could borrow from the county library.  You said
yourself that the one reason you sent me back to mainstream school when I
recovered was socialization.  The kids I met this summer are going to be my
friends and social circle for a good long time, Mom, and so either option
is good for me." Waif turned and scooped eggs from the pan and set them out
with toast for her mother.  She then sat and ate at the table silently
while her mother considered the options.  Katherine was determined to
discuss this option with her mother when she returned home and with her
husband when it was her turn at the Skype conversation.



   Part 6

   Ruth Andrews arrived home at six in the evening on 11 July.  The town
car that dropped her off was loaded with luggage.  She paid the driver and
went into her home to search for her family.  Two very naked, very wiggly
girls leaped into her arms, smothered her with kisses, and began to demand
of her what had she brought for them.  A look of the kind only a
grandmother can give a grandchild settled the twins down.  Their mother
walked into the room a few seconds later.

   "How was the trip?" Katherine asked her mother.

   "Eventful, fill me in on Waif's situation, please.  When last we spoke
on the phone, it did not make sense," Ruth demanded of the younger woman.

   Katherine related Waif going to the beach, being unable to prove she was
of age, being forced to go to the children's beach and the subsequent
stripping by the waves and the activities of the weeks subsequent.  The
twins' state of undress as a punishment for losing Waif's clothing was also
explained.

   The smile on Fiona's face let Katherine know that there was mischief in
her mother's thoughts.  "A trip north for the child's wallet with her
driver's license will resolve the issue of her age, Katherine.  I wonder
how the rest of the town and the children she has been playing age games
with will react.  I think amends will need to be made in any event as far
as Waif is concerned.  I know the prig of a beach tag inspector who
monitors that beach.  When this hits the fan, and I'm sure it shall, her
testimony will partially absolve Waif of her guilt in the matter.  But, as
I have two bottles of wine to deliver to Brett, I can bring Waif with me
and settle matters there.  Once Brett is on board, the rest of the town
should be easily convinced that their erroneous thinking led to this
fiasco."

   At that moment, Waif, with Loretta and Hank in tow, blasted through the
rear door from the outside shower.  All were naked save for towels; the
girls wrapped about their hair and Hank holding his to his midriff.

   "Gramma," Waif shrieked in delight and ran to hug her grandmother.

   Loretta and Hank were slightly less enthusiastic and began to back out
of the kitchen.  Katherine signaled them to remain.

   "Oh, I invited the guys home for lunch, then we have to get back to the
beach in an hour.  Hank is teaching me how to shortboard today." Waif told
her mother.  As Katherine was used to extra children invading the house
during the day, she just nodded.  The trio began raiding the refrigerator
to make a mid-day meal.

   "Sorry we are naked, Mrs.  Andrews," Hank offered, "But, Mrs.  Farrell,
uh, Waif's mom, told us if we dragged sand into the house, she'd skin us
for sure.  So, it is common practice for us to use the outside shower,
leave our wet suits there and come in as we are."

   Ruth nodded.  "You may continue this ritual.  Remember to sit on a towel
and do not sit on the upholstered furniture.  Beyond that, our house has no
dress code."

   "Hey, is the coast clear?  I'm coming up anyway," A voice carried up the
steps outside that echoed into the kitchen.  Seconds later, a very nude,
very pretty Molly Malloy, third-grade teacher, and senior lifeguard, walked
into the kitchen rubbing a towel through her still-drying brownish-blond
hair.  She gasped, seeing Ruth and Katherine, and made as to cover her
pubic area with her hands.

   "None of that nonsense, Molly.  Come in, sit down, and take a bite to
eat." Ruth smiled and then said, "There is even wine for the adults if you
would like a glass."

   "Not for me, Ruth; I have kids to supervise in an hour or so," Molly
said, visibly relaxing.

   "Wise choice.  Oh, Katherine, Molly, and I have dealings all year long.
She is the teacher shop steward for the NEA local.  I am the president of
the school board.  Molly, I may just make this the dress code for all
future meetings." Ruth teased, and Molly Malloy blushed a brilliant pink
beneath her well-tanned skin at the thought in response.

   "Actually, I need the three of you to join a small group of conspirators
in carrying out a small deception." Ruth Andrews began, then launched into
the story, finishing with, "So you see, Waif is actually eighteen but looks
twelve due to her medical condition.  If the three of you can hold to the
secret and the cover story until just after the 14th, which is National
Nude Day, I promise to reveal the secret to the entire town at the awards
ceremony."

   "You know, from the very first, she tried to explain her age and such,
and none of us would believer her," Molly said.  "So it was actually us who
lied to the rest of the town and forced Waif to take on a role she never
asked to play.  Happily, we have all adapted, and it was her freedom to be
normal in all things while naked that inspired the three of us to begin
taking our lunch breaks here in the nude.  I think the only one who will be
heartbroken will be Ronnie.  She believes her friend is her own age.  But,
if you intend to speak with Brett, maybe she and you and Waif can get
Ronnie to accept the real Waif."



   Part 7

   As she put it, Ronnie Peters, far from being disappointed, was totally
"KEWL" with Waif being eighteen.  Brett Peters said she had actually
suspected something of the like as Ruth Andrews had talked about her ill
grandchild far longer than an eleven-year-old lifespan would account.  "I
thought perhaps, fifteen or sixteen.  But, your grandmother is correct; you
did miss out on being a little girl when you were one, so your secret is
safe with us, and I could not think of a better friend for Ronnie to have
than you have been and continue to be."

   The days counting down to National Nude Day were spent in total
relaxation.  The day was as festive as the 4 July celebrations earlier in
the month, with a parade down the boardwalk of nude adults and children
wearing nothing but sandals and fancy hats, followed by the Shoreside Park
School classes walking with their parents and teachers, decorated bicycles
and little red wagons being pulled either by dogs if they were large enough
or with dogs in them for small breeds.  The parade ended at the all-town
barbeque and picnic at the bayside park.

   Several speakers were announced and came to the stage to give short
speeches about National Nude Day and the importance of the Nude-In-School
program to the Shoreside Park School District.  Each teacher, with their
class of students, stood, and a progression ceremony was held. 
Kindergarteners were handed from their teacher to the 1st grade, and the
ceremony progressed through those in the 8th grade who would leave
Shoreside Park to attend the high school on the mainland.  Traditionally,
the soon-to-be 9th graders were given graduation caps and gowns to wear,
signifying their leaving the freedom of their hometown.

   The ceremony, this year, halted before that occurred.  Ruth Andrews was
called to the stage and took the microphone.  "People of Shoreside Park, I
had just returned to town a few days ago, and I have exciting news.  First,
the state school board and the Department of Education have met.  In
compliance with the state assembly law PL2015-0160 signed into law by the
governor on 9 July, the Nude-In-School model is now officially extended to
and includes any publically funded junior college.

   "This means that our children, leaving our elementary school, may now
attend high school and junior college nude, if they so choose.  It also
means that all those 18 and under may now be naked in public at any time
for any function.

   "The legislation also provides for any educator who wishes to teach
while nude, to be allowed to do so, freely and openly.  However, any
educator declaring this option will also agree to be nude in public for the
entire school year.

   "Our first teacher to commit to this option is Ms.  Molly Malloy, our
3rd-grade teacher.  Molly, please come to the stage."

   The lifeguard and educator mounted the stage and was surrounded by her
two classes of students, the ones now going to 4th grade and the ones to be
her charges in September.  All were jumping about her gleefully.

   "As the first official full-time Naked In Public, full-time students, I
welcome my grandchildren, Wendy Ann Ingrid Farrell, age 18, and her
seven-year-old twin sisters Amy and Tammie Farrell.  Girls, please come to
the stage."

   Waif took the hands of her two sisters, who tried to drag their heels at
being put on display but ultimately went along, and the trio joined their
grandmother on stage.  Several gasps came from people who knew Waif once
they heard her true age.

   "My son-in-law is serving our nation overseas.  Until he returns, my
daughter and granddaughters will live in Shoreside Park and attend our
schools.  As president of the school board, I present them as the first who
shall be permanently nude for all functions both public and private, and
ask the parents of the community to add their children to their numbers."

   Waif's 18th year would prove to be eventful.



   Chapter 2

   The Final Beach Day

   Molly Malloy walked up to the gaggle of giggling girls sitting on the
beach.  Beginning the morning of 15 July, Molly had been walking her beach
post nude.  Grease pencil markings, like the kind used for triathletes to
mark their numbers, read GUARD on the outside of her left arm and right
leg.

   "Hi, kids.  How is the last week of vacation going?  Remember, school
starts on Monday," Molly smiled at Tad, Brad, and Ronnie, who were lounging
on the beach and waiting for their friend, Waif, to come back to the shore
from the break line of waves she was riding along with Loretta and Hank,
the two junior lifeguards.  With them were five other girls, all from
sixth, seventh, and eighth grade.

   "Miss Molly, we are more than ready.  We have book reports for our
summer reading, and Waif has been showing us algebra and geometry, so I
think we are more than over the two-month brain drain of summer." Ronnie
told the teacher.  "I guess it is Miss Malloy again and not Molly, right?"

   "None of you are my students, so Molly is fine, Ronnie.  I was actually
looking for Amy and Tammie.  Have you seen them today?"

   "They are off someplace with their other grandmother, their father's
mother, Miss Fiona.  There is a big stink going on with the two grammas. 
Gramma Andrews has convinced her granddaughters to go to school in the NIS
program.  Gramma Farrell is against the idea and has taken action to remove
the twins from their mother's care, claiming she is unfit.  She dragged the
kids off to see a counselor today." Ronnie reported, and then she added,
"Waif is legally an adult so can determine her own fate, but the girls are
being used as pawns in a battle of wills between two distinct lifestyles."

   "Not your words, are they, Ronnie?"

   "Nope, Molly, they are Waif's, and I just remember what she says.  She
told me that when she was sick and always in the hospital, the family
played this same game over her treatment.  Her father's mother was against
her mom and dad having another kid to try and cure Waif.  Gramma Farrell
believed God's will was for Waif to be strong, suffer unto death, and reap
her reward in Heaven.  Gramma Andrews convinced her daughter and son-in-law
to go ahead and have a second child.  Turns out they were the twins.  The
stem cell therapy worked, then the bone marrow therapy worked, and now
there are three grandchildren.  Fiona Farrell still resents the science and
medicine that intervened in what she sees as the true plan.  Now that she
is well, Waif says she is in remission, but we all pray she is well.  The
families are warring over how the twins shall be raised." Ronnie reported,
"Me, I'm happy it's just my mom and me.  She makes good money writing her
articles for the newspaper and magazine, and I've never met my father or
either set of grandparents, so no one fights over how I'm being raised."

   "Yes, we know wolves are raising you, wild thing," Brad teased.  "Look
at you no modesty whatsoever, sitting there sprawled open for everyone to
look at."

   Ronnie blushed and changed her position, then came back at her
tormentor, "Hate what you see, Bradley?  You sure are taking good long
looks; maybe you need a camera to take pictures that will last longer? 
Hmmm, Mr.  Happy doesn't look like he hates what he sees, either!"

   Molly Malloy ended this with, "What were you taught about respect, the
two of you?  Boundaries must be maintained.  If this happens in school,
public paddling is the consequence; you both know that."

   A joint, "Yes, ma'am," came from Ronnie and Brad.  Molly Malloy
continued her walk down the beach, smiling and wondering to herself how
long it would take the two twelve-year-olds that they actually loved each
other.

   Molly spotted Waif, riding in a small swell on her hot pink short board,
thirty yards further along the beach, and waited while the girl bounced out
of the surf with the board tucked under her arm.

   The teacher-lifeguard and the eighteen-year-old underdeveloped young
woman had formed a bond in the last 2+ months they had known each other. 
The two spoke freely on every topic and Waif considered Molly both a mentor
and a friend.  She was the go-to adult in Waif's life when none of the
other adults made any sense.

   "Hey, Moll got a minute, or do you have to watch your water?" Waif
called to the guard on shore as she bounced out of the literal backwash.

   "I can talk, walk, and watch at the same time, Waif, it is mostly your
surf crowd in the water with school starting Monday." Surfers know the
water, watch for each other, and can use their boards as floatation devices
if necessary, they were much less a rescue risk than the average
middle-aged male down for the weekend going in the surf line too deeply
while showing off for his small children playing on the beach.

   "Okay, then, I spotted you and the grade sixers talking before, while I
waited for that wave.  I suppose she who knows all and must speak the same,
told you about the twins?" Waif shook her wet hair and spiked her board
into the sand, kicking up enough sand around the tail to keep the board
upright.

   "Briefly, yes," Molly laughed, "The child has a future as a CIA
listening post.  She quoted you word for word."

   "She remembers everything important to her, apparently math is not one
of those things.  Of the eight girls and boys I have been tutoring, she is
the poorest of the students.  However; no one will ever be able to fault
her empathy.  From the day we met, she has been totally involved with me,
my illness, and my life.  I love her like the middle sister I never had and
the twins adore her as well." Waif ran her fingers through the tangled
curls of her hair.  She looked at her adult friend and asked, "Does it
itch?"

   Molly had, unconsciously, been scratching at her left armpit.  "Not so
badly now, the pubic hair when it started growing back out; now, that
itched like crazy, but this isn't too bad." The NEA had passed an N.I.S. 
ruling for teachers who would be instructing their classes nude, that all
teachers should, when possible, allow their body hair to grow back fully to
demonstrate the `natural look' of the body."

   "How many women who have lasered off their body hair will not be able to
comply with that ruling?" Waif laughed.  "Hey, if I decide to be a teacher,
what do I do, wear a wig?" This set both of the women off in a fit of
laughter.

   "Waif, sometimes you make me laugh so hard that tears run down my leg,"
Molly blurted between chuckles.  This, of course, set the two off again.  A
few minutes of quiet ended with, "You know the possibility exists, sweetie,
that when the twins go through puberty, your body, with their stem cells
floating in it might also transform fully into womanhood.  I saw the
research online and it suggests that one in three kids who received stem
cells and marrow from pre-pubescent siblings will undergo at least partial
pubescence when the siblings do so."

   "So, at age twenty-three or so you are telling me I could actually,
possibly, become a woman?  By then every guy my age who may have been
interested in me will be taken.  What do I tell a potential husband?  Marry
me now and maybe in five years we can have sex.  See Paul out there carving
waves?  Molly, I really like him and I know he likes me but I'm not
girlfriend material, just a surrogate little sister.  I am not the kind of
girl a guy wants.  At least not in the way I want to be wanted."

   "Waif, you have two more years of high school and then college for all
of this to work out for you.  It is frustrating for you, but do not let
Fiona Farrell get in your head.  Her opinion is that you should be dead. 
The `it was God's will,' crap can poison you on many levels.  She doesn't
even believe the twins should have been born.

   "God wanted you alive to be the gift to all of us who have met and come
to love you.  You have a purpose here and now.  You are a survivor.  Look
at the wounded warriors we had at the beach last week.  None of them are
whole, either.  Burned, scarred, and missing limbs, but playing the cards
they were dealt with dignity.

   "Do you know who they most admired?  You!  One sergeant mentioned to me
that you were the bravest woman he had ever met.  Living your difference to
make a difference and doing it with dignity." Molly smiled at the look she
saw on Waif's face.  "He said, I volunteered to serve and knew this,
meaning his injury, could be a result.  That kid had her disease thrust
upon her unwillingly and yet has turned it around to make it a force for
good."

   Several miles away, Amy and Tammie Farrell were having a horrible day.
For the first time in six weeks, they were clothed.  Worse, they were
wearing identical sundresses in pink.  Neither liked pink and when they had
worn clothing regularly they had always made sure that they were dressed
differently.  If Amy wore a skirt, Tammie wore pants.  When Tammie wore
green Amy wore blue.  Fiona Farrell had her grandchildren identically
matched right down to the underwear, ankle socks, and Mary-Jane shoes.

   Even worse, their hair was tightly gathered into a side ponytail over
each girl's right ear.  They sat in the waiting room of a social worker for
child protective services and waited for their grandmother to finish
speaking with her.

   Their interview lasted no more than ten minutes.  The woman asked each
girl about their grandmother, Ruth Andrews, about their mother and sister
and their father, and their friends.  She asked each girl to draw a picture
of a house, a tree, a person, and their family.  She then showed the
children into the waiting room; toys, books, and a television were there to
amuse the children, but they chose to sit quietly and wait for their
paternal grandmother to come and get them.

   Fiona Farrell was having an even worse day than her two young
grandchildren.  Giovanna Buonacour, MSW, EdD a licensed social worker and
counselor to the state board of children's protective services was
explaining the facts of life to Mrs.  Farrell.

   "You are quite correct, Mrs.  Farrell, where you come from such behavior
is not allowed, at least not yet.  The moral climate toward nudity in
public is shifting rapidly and some jurisdictions have embraced this change
more swiftly and completely than others.

   "These girls are perhaps the most well-adjusted of any child I have seen
in many months.  The drawings they made are well beyond the detail one
expects in their age group.  The family picture is the most telling.  While
their grandmother Andrews, their mother, and their sister as well as the
twins are depicted as nude, you and your son are both wearing clothing. 
Your son as an officer in the service is in appropriate uniform and you are
in a dress.  They accept your difference.  I am asking you to try to accept
theirs.

   "The person they drew is a nude pre-pubescent female.  Both pictures
have similar features, a girl with short brown hair, big blue eyes, and a
scar that runs from the navel to the right hip.  You may not realize it,
but these girls knew their sister was in severe pain and when hooked up to
the pumps and dialysis machines just before the bone marrow transplant was
near death for the second time in her short life.

   "They were five going on six when they were asked to share their bone
marrow with their sister.  Both knew it would hurt and only one may have
sufficed; however, both love their sister so much that they willingly
agreed to share the pain if Waif, you call her, could get better.  Now they
are seven, soon to be eight, and you wish to rip them from the girl who has
been their role model, mentor, and playmate all of their lives.  On another
level, they do not wish to be separated from their mother and both adore
their maternal Grandmother.

   "I have spoken with your son, the twins' father, via satellite computer
link.  He is also not in favor of removing the girls from their family just
to appease your sense of modesty and morality.  Mrs.  Farrell, I can only
suggest that you get with the times and accept that public nudity is here
to stay.  Times change and if you do not change with them then you shall be
left behind the curve of society.

   "Racial segregation ended.  Gays and lesbians now have equal rights to
live openly and publically as couples.  Nudists now have the right and
privilege to walk openly among the textile community.  Clothing is a
choice, an option and some say a status symbol.  For years schools enforced
a uniform dress code on students so that rich or poor all children had a
level field of sameness in clothing.  Now that level field has advanced to
no clothing.  What can be more socially leveling than all people being
nude?

   "So, Mrs.  Farrell, your application for custody of the twins based on
your perceived moral failure of their parent and grandparent, is being
denied." Doctor Buonacour rose and showed Fiona Farrell the door to the
waiting room where the twins sat.

   "I would like to thank you two lovely young ladies for coming to see me
today and share part of your life history and your wonderful pictures with
me," Doctor Buonacour told the girls.  "Good luck in your new school this
year, I am sure you will do well.  Say hello to your sister, mother, and
grandmother for me.  Your Grandmother Farrell loves you very much and wants
what is best for you.  As with most families sometimes adults try too hard
to do what is best for the children and wind up doing the wrong things for
the right reasons.  This may have been one of those times.  Get home
safely, all of you."

   Fiona Farrell was an unhappy woman.  With the state child protective
service agency ruling against her, she had two choices.  The first was to
return the twins to the Andrews home and continue to allow the naked wanton
women in that household to corrupt her innocent grandchildren.  The second
choice was to simply retain custody of the children and move them to a
state where the evils of the NIP/NIS laws had not been enacted into law.

   The plot developed in her mind, but, for now, she would return the
children to their mother, sister, and the other grandparent.  She had the
money, power, and influence to make her plan work.  But, she needed time to
establish residence in a suitable place and arrange for the twins'
education.

   The hour-and-a-half drive from the social worker's office to the ocean
community of Shoreside Park gave Fiona plenty of time to plot and plan.  So
involved was she that the twins begging for a potty break and something to
drink was ignored until it was almost too late.

   When the twins got back into the car they had already tossed the
underwear they had been forced to wear into the trash in the lady's room.
Respect for Fiona Farrell kept them in the sundresses, only as long as it
took to run up the stairs of the beach house and into the arms of their
mother.



   Chapter 3

   Molly Malloy looked out at her class of third-grade children and smiled.
She knew most of them from school last year and the beach activities during
the summer months when she held the post of senior lifeguard for the town
of Shoreside Park.  Among the new group composing her class were Amy and
Tammie Farrell.  The younger sisters of Wendy "Waif" Farrell were busily
detailing the horrid day last week when their grandmother, Fiona Farrell,
had dragged them to a meeting with a social worker.

   "The worst thing was we had to wear those icky clothes she picked out
for us," Amy told Amanda Sun one of the girls who had bonded with the twins
over the summer.

   "Yeah, can you believe pink hair ribbons, pink sun dresses, pink
panties, pink socks, and Mary-Jane shoes," Tammie, her face displaying the
displeasure of her grandmother's taste, added in, "We are twins but, for
golly sakes, we don't want to be matching book ends.  Amy likes art I like
soccer.  Neither of us likes pink.  I like purple and Amy likes green.  Our
grandmother has this weird concept of how life should be for us.  We don't
want it and our mom sure doesn't want it for us."

   Amy continued, "But, our dad is overseas for at least another year, and
some judge grandma Fiona knows gave an order in court that she has rights
to extended visitation with us.  Our mom couldn't fight it.  Her lawyer is
a friend but mom says that we don't have enough money to pay him the kind
of billable hours needed to mount a full-court battle.

   "I sure don't know what all that means, but I know with Dad serving in
the military we are not getting paid anything like what he made on his
civilian job before he was called up.  We moved in with Grandma Andrews to
save money.  The lease on the townhouse we had in the city was too much for
our new income level.  Mom stored our furniture and stuff and now we live
with Grandma Ruth.  That's my mom's mom." Amy paused for breath and Tammie
took over.

   "We love it here, Miss Molly.  Loretta and Hank and all of you have made
us feel like we belong and have lived here forever and that's just what we
want to do, live here forever," Tammie ended just as Molly's "Ahem" caught
the children's attention, "Melody, Amanda, Amy, and Tammie please take your
seats so we may begin."

   All four of the girls took the special seat towel designed for the
school from their backpacks and spread the towel on the seat attached to
the desk assigned to them.  Their nude tanned bodies slipped into the seats
and the lessons for the day began.

   Loretta Lake, who had a younger sister, Melody, in school with the
twins, and Hank Sun, Amanda's older brother rode in a three-wide seat on
the bus with Wendy Ann Ingrid Farrell.  The eighteen-year-old girl with the
body of an eleven-year-old was on her way to her first day of classes as a
junior (eleventh-grade) student in the newly clothing-optional Bayside High
School.

   The school was a thirty-minute ride from Shoreside Park, requiring the
bus to travel over the causeway from the barrier island community across
the bay to the mainland where the regional school district maintained its
high school for grades nine to twelve.

   Paul Wilcox, fellow surfer, Shoreside Park resident, senior class
varsity surfer, and the current object of Waif's romantic fantasies sat
directly behind the trio.  "Waif, don't get too upset with the kids at
school when you meet them.  You are going to hear from some that you are a
'daughter of Eve.' The religious conservative kids from the mainland
orthodox community will probably be the worst of the vocal abusers.  Their
community is against women and men bathing together on the same beach in
swimsuits, so this whole Naked in Public/Naked in School program is going
to throw their leaders into a frenzy of picketing, demonstrations, and
riling up their kids to activism in school.

   "We are supposed to have an assembly when school begins and rules will
be explained by Doctor Suarez our principal.  I hope after that the year
gets off to a smooth start.  I don't have the option of doing the
consenting nudist thing full-time.  As a football player, I am required by
state law to wear the full uniform and to be clothed in school for the
football season at least.  Same with baseball in the spring, so I'm with
you in spirit, but my college scholarships depend upon my sports seasons.

   "I, and the entire sports program, intend to support all of you as you
go the clothing-optional route.  I have had emails from my teammates, my
coaches, and the school athletic boosters.  Everyone is behind this shift,
at least those who have come forward."

   "Well, we are here, so there is no turning back at this point even if we
wanted to," Loretta Lake grinned, rose from her seat exposing her lithe
totally tanned body, and grabbed her backpack to get off the bus.  Waif and
Hank followed, Hank, telling Paul, "My coaches tell me that the swimming,
diving, and surf teams will have the option of competing nude."

   "Yes, and so will the beach volleyball players, track and field teams,
cheerleaders, and gymnasts," Paul agreed.  "The full clothing rule is being
applied to all contact sports.  I mean come on common sense dictates that
football and hockey require a lot more than just skin." Paul replied with a
grin.

   Loretta added," So that means girl's field hockey, boys and girls
lacrosse, as well, I guess."

   "I think the principal shall be giving us the definitive answers at the
assembly, Loretta, but you are probably correct." Paul finished the
conversation as the four friends pushed through the front door of the
school into the chaos that is the usual form for the first day of school.

   Loretta and Hank were also entering grade eleven, and the trio of summer
friends found themselves assigned to room 207 as their homeroom.  Waif
entered the room with the usual gasps coming from the taller and more
developed girls and boys with whom she would share this school year.  Hank
settled them down with, "Hey, everybody, I would like you to welcome Wendy
Ann Ingrid Farrell to our class and our school.  She and her family moved
to Shoreside Park this summer.  Waif, as she likes to be called, just
turned eighteen.  Hey, yes I know she looks like she is eleven, but trust
me the wicked smart brain packed into the small body can take on any one of
you and she swims like a fish and surfs like she was born on a board.

   "Let's get it out of the way.  She had a rare blood disease that
required her to undergo complete marrow replacement when she was eleven. 
Because of the radiation and other stuff, she has never developed
physically.  With her illness, she lost a couple of years in school, so she
is here with us.  Loretta and I found a friend and a fun companion in Waif
this summer and I hope the entire junior class will find the same qualities
in her as the year goes on."

   The rest of the homeroom students, seven girls, and nine boys came over
one by one and were introduced.  Several of the boys wore clothes and Waif
quickly and politely remarked they must be part of the football team.  Only
one shook his head negatively.  John Jakes rolled up a pant leg to reveal
full leg braces.  "I was riding on the back of my brother's motorcycle two
years ago when we went into a skid.  I jumped the wrong way; the bike
rolled on top of me and crushed both of my legs.  I can't walk without
these braces and the special canes.  Hey, I guess that makes us both
medical miracles in a way, no one thought I'd live either.  Here I am
though and I'm very glad to meet you."

   Nine girls were in the homeroom and Waif and Loretta had entered nude.
This declared their status as `confirmed nudist' while the other seven
girls were sporting tank tops and cheer shorts.  A girl who introduced
herself as Karin, explained, "We know that Principal Suarez will be calling
out names today for the mandatory one-month NIS all of us must complete to
graduate.  All of us are willing to do our month, but not all of us are
ready to commit to complete full-time nudism as you two have done.  So we
all decided to wear the bare minimum in case we were chosen at assembly to
strip and begin our month."

   Of the ten boys seven, including John Jakes, were clothed.  Hank was
nude as was a boy named Bill Reilly and another named Justin Thyme.  Hank
with the swimmer/surfer lifeguard body was buff.  Bill was lanky and gangly
tall his muscles not having caught up with his bone structure.  Justin was
fit but soft and stood five inches taller than Waif who is four feet eleven
inches.  Either Justin was destined to be a small man or he had not had
that final growth spurt that determines adult height.  His pubic hair was
slight and light and where Hank and Bill displayed manhood, Justin was
still a boy.

   The bell rang and the teacher formed the class up for the march down the
stairs to the school gymnasium, set up with folding chairs and with the
bleachers pulled out for seating as well.  The class found their seats and
waited while the other groups of students from various grades and home
rooms filed into the large room.

   Principal Dorothy Suarez climbed the stairs to the riser stage at the
front of the gymnasium and the student body fell into a hush.  "Welcome
back to our returning students.  Welcome to our new students in grade nine
and all of you who have transferred from elsewhere.  Welcome to our new
faculty and our returning staff.  Welcome to a brand new year with a brand
new reality.

   "The seven-feeder school district, the regional board of education of
Bayside, and the state board of education have enacted two new programs for
this school year.  First, as you see scattered among the student body, is
the `confirmed nudist program.' Any student, faculty, or staff, who
appeared at the beginning of school today, nude, will be expected to
participate in all school, community, and social functions as a confirmed
nudist for the entire school year.  Those of you that have made this choice
please join me on the stage."

   Of the eight hundred students and one hundred faculty and staff about
fifty students, mostly in the eleventh and twelfth grades, strode to the
stage amid catcalls and some rude remarks.  Waif stood with Loretta on one
side and Hank, Bill, and John on the other in their cluster of junior class
students.  Representatives from the other junior home rooms were
African-American, Southwest Asian, and Oriental as well as mixed race and
white both boys and girls.  A few sophomores mostly girls and all the
younger sisters or brothers of senior or junior class students who opted
for nudity clustered with the juniors.

   Of the seniors, it appeared that the entire varsity swim and diving team
as well as the beach volleyball and gymnastics teams opted for full-time
nudity.  Two girls that Loretta pointed out as cheerleaders were also in
the cluster of nude students.

   Fifteen faculty and staff joined the students on stage.  Most complied
with the NEA request that faculty regrow their body hair.  One particularly
attractive female in her late twenties distinguished herself with the
dragon tattoo that covered her right leg from knee to hip.

   Principal Suarez began again once the group of nude students and staff
were settled behind her.  "I shall introduce you now to the woman appointed
by the school district to be the Dean of Discipline for the Nude In School/
Nude in Public program at Bayside High School, Dr.  Sean Gottet."

   The woman with the dragon tattoo stood forward and thanked the principal
for her introduction and the floor.  "Students, faculty, and staff may I
take a moment to speak to you all about who I am and what I am assigned
here to do?  Mores are changing in this society.  The moral center has
shifted and things that were hidden in a closet or swept under a rug a
generation or two ago are now front and center in the public eye.

   "We have suffered through scandals with teachers and students having
illicit sex, and we have suffered through the epidemic of teenage
pregnancies.  We have suffered through homophobia and racial prejudice.  We
have suffered through changes in what is considered a proper core education
for our society.  Now, we are midstream in the next period of turmoil; the
shedding of our last societal inhibition, our clothing, and the discovery
of the freedom that is the human body openly and honestly displayed.

   "My task is to promote modesty and virtue through nudity in school.  A
naked boy or girl is not a sex toy for others.  They are simply stating to
the world, their friends, and their school that they are comfortable enough
with their bodies to allow those around them to see them as they really
are. It is a position that is both vulnerable and powerful.

   "My duty to those who have made this commitment is to enforce sanctions
against any and all who might exploit the vulnerability of the confirmed
nudists standing here.

   "It is also my task to assure that each student participates in the
mandatory one-month Naked-in-School program.  With limited exceptions, each
of the students sitting on the bleachers or in the chairs in this gymnasium
shall be naked in school for one month during the four years they attend
Bayside.

   "Seniors and juniors will, by the end of the next period select a
scrabble tile from a velvet bag.  Those selecting a VOWEL will strip off
and begin their month of Naked in School at that time.  NIS shall mean any
and all classroom, field trip, sports activity, or community projects
required of the student in that time period.  Freshmen and sophomores shall
have a full month of health education and physical education orientation
before their grade levels begin participation.  Health education shall
discuss male and female anatomy and physiology including menstruation and
male and female arousal.  Physical education shall allow those willing to
participate in gym classes nude to acclimate themselves.  Beginning October
first, sophomore and freshman students will participate in the same
selection process as the junior and senior level students.

   "Each faculty member will also take a one-month turn at the NEA-mandated
au naturel teaching program.  Any student, who during his or her mandatory
turn at nudity, who wishes to declare themselves a `confirmed nudist' may
do so and complete the school year nude for all in and out of school
activity.  Faculty members are encouraged to commit to the Nude Educator
program full-time.

   "My office is next to that of Principal Suarez.  My door is always open.
Any student needing counseling, support, or wishing to file a grievance for
harassment or mistreatment may come to me directly.  Thank you for your
time, and now I turn the program back to Principal Suarez."

   Dorothy Suarez had disappeared behind the massed nudist students and
staff on the stage.  When she emerged the fifty-something mother of three
and grandmother of one was head to foot naked.  A collective gasp rose from
the student body.  "Boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, I have always led
by example.  No one is free from the mandatory one month of Naked in
School. If this body can be on display for all to see for the next month
then none of you have anything to hide from me, your peers, or yourself.

   "I echo Doctor Gottet in her words concerning interfering with or
harassing those students and faculty you see alongside me and whom you
shall see once the selection process gets underway for the student body. 
Mind the boundaries, look but don't touch unless invited to touch by the
nude student.

   "Those requiring or requesting relief shall be given the usual fifteen
minutes alone time to accomplish their need.  All of this will be covered
for the freshman and sophomore classes in their health education classes.
Thank you for your time and again welcome to what should prove to be a very
fulfilling and exciting school year.  You are dismissed to your classes."



   Chapter 4

   August drifted into September and the football team the Bayside
Screaming Gulls was three victories into their season.  Paul Wilcox, senior
player, team co-captain, and recruiting prospect of several universities
strutted in the halls of the school gleaning adoring looks and hopeful ones
from most of the senior and junior girls.  Those same girls were hissy
fitting over the fact the one girl Paul seemed to concentrate on was the
new junior with the eleven-year-old body, the confirmed nudist, the girl
who called herself Waif.

   The girls with one thing on their minds didn't know that Wendy Ann
Ingrid Farrell was helping Paul maintain his eligibility to play football
by tutoring him in physics and calculus.  Paul was a great athlete, but not
a rocket scientist when it came to math and sciences.  Waif having an
affinity for surfing and swimming, passions Paul shared, was able to work
tutoring into those activities showing Paul practical applications for math
and science.  Paul rose from a probationary D grade of barely passing
earned just before the first game to a solid C+ in both the physics and
calculus classes.  His other grades were solid B+ to A- in English, German,
World History, and Contemporary American Issues.

   "I am putting you in for an honorary varsity letter in football," Paul
told the girl at his side.

   "Sure, I am the size of the pole you use to mark the line of scrimmage.
What did I do to deserve a varsity letter?  Also, wise guy, where would I
wear it?" Waif chuckled at the irony of her wearing a varsity sweater over,
uh, well nothing else.

   "I would not be player eligible if not for you.  Moose, Bear, and Whale
all say the same thing.  You are like another coach for the team, an
academic coach," Paul grumbled.  Moose, Bear, and Whale were the linemen
who blocked and opened running room for Paul on offense.  All had been in
academic trouble before Waif volunteered to help Paul and that extended to
tutoring whoever on the team needed help.

   Waif would sit in the locker room, bare legs straddling the bench, and
show the players how to work the formulas in math and science or edit the
papers due in English comp or history, correcting spelling and punctuation
in the boys' drafts so that the papers turned in for grading showed the
knowledge each had.  "You know how much the playbook means to Coach?" She
would ask the player and always get a yes for the answer.  "Well, consider
that the other teachers have their playbooks, also.  They want to know if
you can run the plays assigned to you in their subjects.  If you cannot
express to them that you understand their subject they cannot pass you with
good grades.  Without good grades, you cannot play football.  So, let me
help you get the grades you truly deserve."

   She was so much a fixture in the locker room and around the training
rooms that the slender nude girl was barely noticed as being bare.  The day
she had followed Whale into the shower room demanding to know where his
book Report on Moby Dick was so that she could review it for content was
the day she realized none of these boys recognized her as a girl.

   Eighteen teenage boys were in an open shower room and there among them
was one four-foot-eleven undeveloped girl who was acting more like a
nagging nanny than a high school girl in an awkward situation.  The other
eight players were in the training room being iced down or having sprains
taped.

   "Hey, Waif, you need shampoo?" Bear called from a shower head two down
from her confrontation spot with Whale.  The irony was that Richard
Richards, called Dick by his family got his team nickname from his size and
name Whale being a derived portion from Moby Dick.  Yet, he had problems
dealing with the book from which he was given his moniker.

   "That and a towel, Bear, but first I need your Left Guard to tell me
where he put the flash drive with his book report," Waif called over the
water and noise of showering teammates.

   At that, seventeen players turned on their teammate.  Peer pressure
shortened shower time and the large teenage boy and the slight teenage girl
found themselves looking at the screen of a laptop computer fact-checking
the report Whale had prepared.

   "The guy who tells the story about the boat and the whale," Waif sighed
reading what Whale had committed to bits and bytes.  "Whale, what is the
opening line of the book?"

   The blank look on his face told the entire story.  "Call me Ishmael,"
"Whale did you read any of the book?  What was the Captain's name?  The
name of the whaling ship they were on?  Where are the facts to prove you
have actually read the novel?"

   She sighed, "I know a book that long is a challenge and many things will
be unfamiliar to you.  But, if you do not succeed in this, you leave a hole
in the line of your team.  That puts the whole team at risk.  Worse yet,
you put your future at risk.  You know, I've been sick most of my life and
my only escape from my illness was the written word and math.  While my
body withered I tried to keep my mind active.  You need to do the same
thing, Whale, you lift weights and push tackling sleds and run plays and
have a fit body to show for it.  But, someday, that body will fail you. 
Without exercising the other muscle that needs it, your brain, where does
that leave your future?"

   The other twenty-five boys in the training facility were silent.  Waif
may have hit a soft point in all of their psyches or perhaps it was just
respect for a girl who wore a naked body bearing the reality of life's
fragile nature.

   Paul coughed and then said, "So say we all, Whale.  You know what Coach
says, only seventy percent of us will go on to play in college and less
than seven percent of college players go on to be pro ball players.  If
this is it for your sports career, what are you going to do for the rest of
your life?"

   Waif set down an outline of what she needed Whale to do by their next
session.  "That report is due before Homecoming in October, Whale, I
guarantee you a B on it, minimum if you follow this game plan.  I have a
feeling your team is going to be on your backside to make sure you do, but
anyway, I will see you again Thursday."

   "She looked around and in her best imitation of the tough one-room
school teacher, called out, "Paul, physics tomorrow, John, Geology, and
Mike I want to see your Geometry quiz so we can go over the ones you
missed."

   The girl who had aspired to become a varsity cheerleader had become the
team mother instead.

   Sean Gottet sat in the small conference room in the school with Tom
Smith, president of the regional school board, and Dorothy Suarez the high
school principal.  Tom Smith was speaking, "So, you see Doctor Gottet, we
have observed the first two weeks of this new program and we approve of the
change in the level of respect and courtesy student to student and student
to faculty.  Our feeder school boards take exception to only one aspect of
what you call the program.  That is the `relief' issue.

   "We, as a unified district, believe that the goal of this experiment is
to create a school uniform and a uniform student body.  Eventually, having
all students attend classes in their natural state is the goal of the
sending districts.  However, the implicit humiliation in the public
stripping of those chosen by lottery to participate in the Program and the
concept of sexual release are not aspects of the program we wish to instill
or install into our program here at Bayside.  The sending districts which
adopted the NIS use a behavior modification for teasing and harassment of
the offender publically paddled, either in the classroom or at a weekly
disciplinary assembly.  No school official does the paddling.  The offender
is paddled either by a parent, a guardian, or the parent of the victim
child.

   "This is the program we wish to carry forth here at Bayside High, Doctor
Gottet, not one of humiliation by public masturbation such as the NIS
program has as an option under the law."

   He paused to let the board's position sink in, then continued,
"Furthermore, the health education aspect is not a teaching situation for
street slang.  The board wishes the freshmen and sophomores required to
take the Introduction to Human Sexuality course to leave that course
knowing the proper terminologies, medically and scientifically, for male
and female body parts and their functioning.  Erections are not `hard-ons',
orgasms are not `cums' a penis is a penis and a vagina with its labia and
clitoris shall be referred to as such not a `kitty' or other slang terms,
like `pussy' or `cunt.'

   "We believe that nudity should not be a gateway to promiscuity.  Yes,
arousal will occur, it is a natural part of attracting one person to
another.  It is also natural in hormonal teenage boys and girls who are
growing into their adult bodies.  However, this should not result in a
student being forced to perform an act upon him- or herself nor should it
draw the undo attention of others around the aroused child.

   "For this district `reasonable request' shall mean `look but don't
touch' Your position here is, we feel, as an enforcer of these rules and
restrictions.  Violators may be stripped on the spot if they are clothed
and paddled on their bottoms if already nude, the punishment of humiliation
befitting the crime committed.  The state law allows for these adjustments
and I hope you will go along with them.  If not we will find an
administrator who shall."

   Sean Gottet allowed her brain to process what the board president had
told her and responded, "This is not the liberation of sexuality I believe
the Program is designed to promote.  However, you are correct, Mr.  Smith;
this is one of three alternative paths of the NIS/NIP program allowed under
state laws.

   "I believe I can work with you to make this alternative plan operational
and fully functional within this district."

   After a few more details the meeting came to an end.  As is the rule,
compromise often leaves both parties dissatisfied but with a workable
middle ground.  Dorothy turned to Sean after Tom Smith left and spoke to
her quietly, "There are two conservative sending districts that put the
most pressure on the board, Doctor Gottet.  Ocean Pines, which has roots as
a religious denomination's summer retreat camp is one.  The other is
Shoreside Park, which oddly sent us the most confirmed nudist students, but
which holds a libertarian, yet, conservative community mindset as to sexual
behavior.  Both sending districts feel that nudity does not equate with
promiscuity.  In fact, by taking the mystery of the body away by removing
clothing, Ruth Anderson, the driving force behind the Shoreside Park
district voting for Bayside High to participate in the NIS/NIP program,
believes you reduce promiscuity."

   "Well, I cannot say I fully agree with that, as my doctoral studies were
based on the normal and deviant sexual behaviors of adolescents.  I tend to
see everything needed for a school to be a successful NIS program in terms
of the release of tension through sexual relief within the student body and
faculty." Sean paused and then said, "Yet, this district may prove an
interesting field study for post-doctoral papers on the separation of
nudity and sexuality."

   Katherine Farrell waited for her twin daughters outside the school
building in Shoreside Park clad in sandals and cheer shorts.

   Amy and Tammie ran shrieking out of the school building moments after
the final bell rang.  Amanda Sun and Melody Lake trailed behind the twins,
each holding a large rolled piece of poster board.  "Mom, hi, we got
homework.  We gotta find shells and stuff on the beach and draw them on the
posters and identify them." Tammie informed her parent.

   "Oh oh, Mom's wearing pants," Amy stopped short.

   "Well, girls, we've explained that to you in detail, you know when a
woman gets ready to have a baby her womb sheds its lining to grow a new
healthy one in case her egg is fertilized?" Katherine explained.

   "Oh, that happens even when Dad isn't here to make babies with you?" Amy
responded as only a child could.

   Her mother smiled, "Oh, yes, my loves and it will happen many times
before you have boyfriends or husbands and even when you have cute curious
little ones of your own.  Once they start your periods come every month
unless you are pregnant."

   A collective "EW" from the lips of four little girls with an additional,
"That's icky" from Amy ended the conversation.  The topic changed to the
homework, when it was due and when would be the best time to collect the
samples they needed from the beach.

   "Amanda and Melody, use my cell phone to call your moms, we'll stop at
our house, drop off the poster boards and grab a snack and then we'll all
go up to the beach and look for samples, okay?" Katherine handed her phone
to Melody first and once she got the okay from her mother, she handed the
phone back to Katherine, "Yes, Toni, they got the assignment today and I
know the weather report is for thunderstorms the rest of the week.  Okay,
no later than six o'clock I think we can get everything done by then." She
handed the phone to Amanda, "Yes, Mommy, okay," the child said after
explaining the project to her mother.  She handed the phone to Katherine
Mary Farrell, "Hello, Dawn, is there a problem?" Katherine listened for a
while and then muttered an affirmative, "Sure, she can stay over at our
place if you like and I'll take her to school tomorrow morning.  It isn't
like she'll need a change of clothing or anything," the laugh on the other
end of the phone ended the conversation.

   "Amanda will be staying over with us tonight, girls.  Her mom was called
to work an extra shift at the hospital tonight," their mother told the
twins.

   "Yippee, sleepover," Tammie screeched.  Amy jumped up and down
excitedly.

   Katherine cut that short with, "It's a school night.  Come now let's
gather your materials on the beach and then Melody will be picked up by her
mom at six."

   Four naked little girls running up and down the beach collecting
specimens piling them up sorting through them picking the best to use in
the project left four sandy sweaty tired children by the time Katherine
headed them home to the house on Springpoint.  Showered and toweled they
sat on the steps of the house and waited for Toni Lake to pick up her
daughter.  Once Melody said goodbye to the girls and thanked Katherine
again for watching her Lake's left and the three third graders and
Katherine Farrell retreated into Ruth Anderson's home to prepare dinner.



   Chapter 5

   Home room was unusual the first week of October.  The selectees of the
first round of one month nude in school had finished their mandatory time
without clothing.  The second drawing had gone without a hitch, using the
same Scrabble tile selection process.  Now, following the sophomore and
freshmen completing their introductory courses in anatomy and physiology,
there were kids from all class levels going about school and
extracurricular activities nude.

   Three of the girls in Waif's homeroom decided to sign the paperwork for
confirmed nudist status after the first month of school.  Two boys were
also now full-time nude while several others had drawn vowels and were now
doing their one-month stint.  Then there was the elephant in the room. 
Homecoming, the big game, the big parade with floats and marchers, and the
big semi-formal dance with alumni from many years of graduation classes
attending.

   Karin Romanov was one of the girls opting out of clothing for the rest
of the year.  "I thought I would be disgusted with the whole nude
experience, Waif, but I, much as you said, actually found it liberating. 
My mom says my posture has never been better and my dad, well my dad told
my two sisters and my brother that the new standard for around the house,
yard, and pool was Karin's outfit.  He hasn't worn a stitch at home since
the second day I was in the program.  Mom cannot use tampons so the only
time she wears anything at home is during her cycle.  Rowdy, my brother, is
more embarrassed than my sisters or me.  The poor kid can't seem to, well,
let's say he has real problems, urination wise most of the time."

   Waif smiled, "Rowdy doesn't have that problem with me in the locker
room, Karin, and by the way, he is a very good linebacker for a sophomore.
How old are your sisters?"

   "Twelve and eight," Karin replied.

   "Mine are twins and they will turn eight soon.  They can be a handful
when they get to pranks and teasing.  Think that might be part of the
problem?" Waif asked.

   "Might be part of it, Waif, but I think it is more testosterone rampage.
Dad had hoped football would channel it, but I think it made it worse.  Oh,
by the way, Homecoming is just around the corner.  Are you walking with a
float for the parade?  Did Paul ask you to the dance?" Karin asked hoping
she might still have a shot at getting a date with the football player.

   "Paul and I are surfing buddies, bus buddies, and I tutor him as well as
most of the other players on the football team.  Frankly, he hasn't asked
me.  But I do have a date for the dance.  He is a football player, and he
won the date on a bet," Waif said smiling.

   "Oh, spill," Loretta had just walked over and it was her demanding the
`deets.'

   Waif smiled, "You know I'm tutoring the team?  Well, the lineman they
call Whale, was on the verge of losing eligibility for the team and failing
English this semester.  Paul got him motivated to follow my study plan for
the major book report on Moby Dick by telling him Paul would get him a date
with any girl in school for the Homecoming dance if he got an A on the
report.  Richard Richards, aka Whale, turned in an A paper three days ago.
He asked ME to go to the dance with him.  I told him I had nothing to wear.
He laughed and told me to come as I am he liked the outfit."

   The three girls were still laughing when Justin Thyme and John Jakes
walked in.  John drew an "E" in the second round and was nude save for the
ankle to hip leg braces.  Andrea Merkle, a wheelchair-bound paraplegic had
drawn an "I" in the first round and had fulfilled her month.  This changed
the exemption for physically challenged students.

   "What's so funny?" John asked the girls with Justin looking on.

   "Not you guys for sure," Karin noted eyes fixed on the spot below the
navel that seemed to fascinate every woman in the building now that John
was nude.  The word large was inadequate.  Flaccid every girl thought, `I
could never manage that'.  Karin had seen John erect only once and that one
glance had left images in her dreams that left her weak-kneed.  "Waif was
telling us how she got her date to Homecoming by being payment for a debt."

   "Oh, yeah, you and Whale, I thought he was tossing a pile of manure when
he told us he was going to the dance with you," Justin replied.

   "Nope, and he is a sweet gentle guy once you get past the huge muscled
football lineman he wears outside," Waif smiled.

   Fiona Farrell met her two granddaughters at the gate outside their
school.  The two ran up to their grandmother and hugged her, both children
feeling her body go tense at the touch of two naked sweaty girls wrapping
arms around the grandmother's skirt.  "Please stop, until you are washed
and clothed, girls, you will soil my linen skirt with your sunscreen and
sweat."

   Belted into their towel-covered seats in the third row of the Lincoln
Navigator driven by Fiona Farrell, the girls asked why their mother had not
picked them up as usual.

   "She had errands to run, babies, and I have a wee surprise for you both
today, so I came to get you instead," Fiona responded.

   Kathy Farrell arrived at the school pick-up area fifteen minutes later.

   "Hey, Molly, where are the girls?  I am sorry I am late, but I had a
flat tire when I got to the car and had to use two cans of auto inflate and
sealer before I could get here.  I called the office but no one picked up
the phone," Katherine called to her friend and the teacher of her youngest
girls.

   "Oh, Kathy, their grandmother picked them up about thirty minutes ago.
Sorry about the office, the principal was dealing with a disciplinary
problem and the office manager was in the copy room away from the phone,"
Molly replied.

   "My mom picked the girls up?  I thought she was tied up with school
board business all afternoon at the high school." Katherine replied.

   "Not Ruth, Kathy, it was your husband's mother, Fiona.  She said she had
a surprise for the girls and off they went.  Since she is known to us as
family and has picked up the girls before, we didn't ask her for a
permission slip from you, I mean she is on the list as a primary contact in
case of emergency." Molly replied, sensing something was amiss now due to
the look on Katherine's face and the body language she expressed.

   "I don't know, it just feels off, Molly.  Fiona has been making this big
deal over the girls being invited to be in the Homecoming junior princess
court and riding the float for the Homecoming Queen in the parade next
week. She was going on about matching frilly dresses and tiaras and proper
shoes.  Perhaps she figured she'd get her way if she took the kids shopping
without me knowing.  Mom and I thought sea shell necklaces and flower
crowns would be proper, the girls have beautiful tans that really do not
need to be hidden under frilly dresses.  But, Fiona sees every event as a
good excuse to try and force the girls back into clothing." Katherine had a
tone in her voice suggesting she was trying to ease the anxiety not only of
the teacher who had allowed the girls to go with their grandmother but
herself as well.  Katherine picked up her cell phone and speed-dialed her
mother-in-law's phone number.

   A recorded message played after several rings.  "I shall not be
answering this phone again.  Until and unless you and your mother come to
your senses, Katherine Farrell, I have taken custody of your minor children
to assure they are raised properly and decently clothed."

   "Oh my lord, she has snatched the kids, Molly.  Here let me replay the
message for you." Katherine did so and Molly Malloy went wide-eyed.

   "Should we call Dave Wilcox?  I don't know what the time limit is before
you can put an AMBER alert into play but Dave surely would." Molly said,
referring to the Shoreside Park Police Chief who was Paul Wilcox's father.

   Katherine called Waif to alert her, just in case Fiona came for her as
well.  She then called Ruth Anderson and told her.  While she was doing
that Molly Malloy was on the phone with Shoreside Park Police who
dispatched the juvenile division officer and Chief Wilcox to the scene.

   Officer June Pierce was the first to arrive at the schoolyard.  She had
Molly and Katherine repeat their backstories for her report and then began
asking questions.  "Your Equinox had a flat tire?  Do you have the OnStar
vehicle assessment application on your smartphone?  Okay, let's get that
record scooped up and printed out, I want to see exactly when your tire
began to lose pressure."

   The record showed that the tire was suddenly deflated at 2:20 p.m. 
about ten minutes before Katherine would get into the car to go to the
school to pick up the girls.  "Well, we cannot prove anything from
circumstantial evidence," Detective Pierce told the mother and teacher. 
"However, it certainly looks suspiciously like a stall tactic to slow down
Katherine from arriving at the school to pick the girls up.  If you did not
have the cans of flat fix, Mrs.  Farrell, you might have been even longer
having to change the tire or call road service to do it for you.  Coupled
with the message on your mother-in-law's phone, the intent is clearly
there.

   "I believe we have sufficient cause to issue the AMBER alert, but I
don't have the authorization.  Chief Wilcox will have to review this and
issue the alert."

   Dave Wilcox rolled up several minutes later, huffing out of the marked
vehicle, he apologized and said, "Stupid fisherman with a heavy truck and
no four-wheel drive stranded himself on the beach with the tide running in.
It took two tow trucks to get him out, what's up here, June?"

   Summer season over, the Shoreside Park Police reduced itself from a
summer force of twenty-four part-time officers and traffic enforcement
personnel to the nine police officer regular year-round force.  One chief,
one lieutenant, two sergeants, and six patrol officers, each having a
specialization in addition to their regular patrol duties, covered the
small town more than adequately in the off-peak months.  Fewer officers
meant multitasking for all, though, which is why a chief could be tied up
with a mired vehicle instead of sitting behind a desk acting as the
administrator of the department.  Court appearances, the prisoner
transport, and processing that occasionally occurred, days off, and
vacation time that could only be used after the summer rush, left this
department with a usual shift of not more than four, but usually three,
police on duty at any time during the day.  Usually, the headquarters was
manned by a dispatcher and a reports clerk, both civilian employees.

   Chief Wilcox listened to his officer and then asked additional questions
of the mother and teacher.  "If this is a kidnapping under custodial
dispute, your mother-in-law has almost an hour's head start on us, Mrs. 
Farrell.  Do you know where she might be headed?"

   "Not a clue, Chief, sorry, but she has money and influence and if she is
going to hide the girls somewhere, she will have planned this carefully, in
advance," Katherine replied.

   "I'll need the identikit pictures of the girls taken at the beginning of
the school year, for the alert.  I'll need a description of the vehicle, I
hope she did not switch them out, maybe we'll get lucky and a description
and picture of Fiona Farrell for the alert," Dave Wilcox was making demands
on the fly, and once all was in place he used the school's facsimile
equipment to send out the AMBER alert to the county and state police
departments.

   Soon, every electronic message board on every highway was flashing
"Amber Alert ...  twins Amy and Tammy Farrell, taken by paternal
Grandmother.  Vehicle: Lincoln Navigator, license: HR 2725." Digitized
photos of the girls and grandmother followed the written alert.

   Fiona Farrell had plotted her timeline well.  She had underestimated her
daughter-in-law with the cans of tire inflator, thinking she would need
road service to come and change her flat tire.  That cut twenty minutes of
escape time from her plan.  Further, little girls after school usually
needed to urinate and hydrate.  She had not built in time for a potty stop
and snacks cutting her lead time even further.  She was heading for the
automobile ferry at the end of the state which would take her into a
friendlier state which had not yet passed the NIS/NIP laws.  The Lincoln
would be left at the dock site there; she had a new Ford Escape with plates
and registration in the new state waiting for her under the new name she
had selected.  She cursed under her breath, they had missed the early ferry
by twelve minutes and another would not arrive for half an hour.

   Lewis and Brigit Murphy saw the Amber Alert flash for the first time
near mile marker 5 on the state highway leading to the auto ferry.  "Oh,
those poor girls must be scared stiff," Brigit remarked to her husband
behind the wheel.

   "How could any person steal a child?" Lewis replied and looked ahead in
the queue of cars waiting to load for the next ferry.  "Wait, what was that
car they were in?

   "A white Lincoln Navigator, why," His wife replied.

   "I cannot see the license plate yet, but there is a white Navigator five
cars ahead of us in line.  Call the emergency number, use your cell phone,
at the worst we inconvenience those people, but if that is the correct car,
maybe we help get those kids home tonight."

   Under the guise of preventing air pollution from idling vehicles, police
from several agencies began going from car to car in front and behind the
Navigator asking drivers to turn off their engines.

   A state police sergeant walked up to Lewis and Brigit Murphy's car and
once Lewis rolled his window down, offered in a low voice, "Thank you for
the tip, it is the correct car and occupants.  We will need you to file a
report and you might have to testify in court at the trial.  But the two of
you can consider yourselves among the good Samaritans of the world for your
help."

   The ferry pulled in and began to unload a sign reading `Wait Time until
Boarding is now Twenty minutes" went up.

   Ten minutes later a state police helicopter flew over the ferry terminal
and landed in a nearby clearing.

   Three minutes after the helicopter was on the ground, Fiona Farrell
ranting madly against the perversity of the nudity laws and her desire to
protect her grandchildren was in custody.  The twins ran into their
mother's arms, "She was gonna steal us, Momma, she really was," Tammy
yelped sobbing into her mother's bare left thigh.  Amy was similarly
sobbing and slobbering over Katherine's right leg.  Both were hugging
tightly enough to impair circulation.