"This smells fishy to me," Jamie said. "Twenty percent of the town is supposed to be naked, and there's no actual evidence?"
"There is some," Summer corrected him. "You've seen the videos."
"Yeah. Flashes. Those could be dares. Or drunk college students. Or, sure, maybe actual nudists. Like, one or two. I say that source of yours is a prank. And what do they mean it's spreading? Like they're saying nudity's contagious?"
"I don't know," Summer admitted. "But it's worth checking out. Besides, gang vacation?"
"You got me there."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Chris exclaimed. "Let's go! Do we want to solve this or what?"
"I want to solve it," Summer said. Then, winking at Chris, she added, "I think you maybe just want to look at naked people."
"I can do both," she teased back. "Hey, didn't Amy Asther move there after college? Any chance we can visit her?"
Summer and Jamie grasped at the same time. Amy was their old high school classmate, who Chris had the biggest crush on all through their last year. In turn, Amy was into Jamie, and, while he never really confirmed it, Summer strongly suspected that Jamie was into Chris, thus completing a triangle. Either way, she never spoke to any of them - at least not to Summer's knowledge - since their graduation party, which left some events unresolved. This could turn awkward very quickly, she thought, but didn't say anything. Awkward or not, anyone they knew over there would serve as a good start.
After some more bickering and planning, everyone was on board, and after a long roadtrip full of more arguments, snacks, "I spy" games and bad singing, they were nearing their destination in Stopped Lows. Chris pulled over for a final tank fill - it was her turn driving -, right at the outskirts of the town.
"Okay, so," she said, when she got back, "it is true. I could swear the cashier is buck naked in there. But. As soon as she saw me, she ducked under the register, and only took my money. I don't think she really likes being naked."
"So you say she's being forced?" Summer asked.
"Maybe. Or the adrenalin ran out. All I know is, when I asked if she wanted some clothes, she said she couldn't take them."
"Okay, that is weird," Jamie admitted.
"Yeah. Also, not really good for us. And no, I'm not just saying that because I didn't get to see her naked. I'm saying that because we won't have a chance to solve this if people won't talk to us."
"So? What can we do?"
"I was thinking," Chris continued, "that maybe on of us should, uhm, go incognito?"
"Incognito? Incognito how?" Jamie asked.
"You know... incognito as a... naked person?"
"You want us to strip?"
"Well, one of us, yeah. Maybe it would help with earning the locals' trust. Also, there are probably nude-only areas."
"Count me out," Jamie said. "No way I'm doing that!"
"Me too!" Summer added. "People know me. There might be reporters! I'm not showing my butt on TV!"
"Hey, it's not like I want to," Chris exclaimed. "But I think someone naked could have a much easier time talking to people."
"We're not stopping you," Summer said.
"Yeah, well, I'm not stripping naked just like that. If we do this, we do this fair and square: either all of us strips, or we pick at random."
That sparked more debate. While all three of them understood the upsides, neither of them were too eager to bare it all in front of their friends, the whole town, and possibly the whole world, if they happened to meet anyone with a camera. Finally, they decided to...
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