Disingenuous

12. Nude

There was another 4 year period where Jackson remembered things getting better really quickly while simultaneously getting worse at the same time. He didnt know how it happened. He just fell into a rhythm and gradually began climbing up the invisible hill out of his fog. He found some level of stability and at the very least he made friends that weren't exclusively linked to him by what they could offer.

2010

Jackson had been getting paid to get naked for a while, but he was especially confused when he was asked to take his clothes off at the university. There had been a miscommunication obviously. He responded to the weird email, made plans and agreed to show up to the school. He had to get a work visa. He'd never bothered to do that before since he didn't technically work in the legal sense. The university was going to pay him though so he had to apply and wait for it to be approved, which happened right in time for the return of their winter term after the holidays.

He showed up and met Mousey, a petite teaching assistant who was working on a graduate degree of some sort. She had organized most of the project and was using it to fulfill some sort of requirement for something. She explained it in the same conversation where she'd introduced herself with a very official sounding name. Jackson decided on Mousy because of the delicate features in her face. He'd meant to only say it in his head, but then he forgot her name and it just came out. She'd smiled like it was amusing, and Jackson got the impression she thought he was flirting, but he still didn't remember her name so he kept using it. It was probably on some of the paperwork he'd signed, or maybe the email.

She met him outside and then took him into the school with a proud little tour. Jackson had only been on university campuses to go to parties so being inside the actual school was actually quite interesting. He was also a little stoned when he arrived so he found the tour to be especially peaceful to settle whatever nerves he might have developed before modeling for the art class.

He got all the way to the actual art studio and was admiring the piano looking out of place tucked in the corner when she pointed to the little screen off to the side and told him he could undress there.

"There's a robe hanging back there that you can wear until the students are ready," she'd said.

Jackson was great at deciphering accents, so that wasn't the problem. He'd learned all kinds of little snippets of languages in Europe, but he was certain he'd known people in London to speak English. That's why he was confused about his entire lack of understanding.

"Undress?" He asked.

She'd looked and him and he'd looked at her and that's when she realized Jackson didn't realize he'd agreed to be a nude model. He'd totally missed that. He definitely hadn't read the waiver he signed.

So she explained it very nervously. She apologized profusely for not being explicit and Jackson could tell she was scared he was about to walk out, so he laughed and shrugged off his jacket.

"It's not the first time I've taken off my clothes for money, Mousey," he said, giving her a devious look. She'd thought he was joking again and Jackson had laughed to himself while stepping behind the screen to dress down to nothing. It wasn't what he'd thought he'd be doing that morning, but that wasn't exactly unusual for him.

Students arrived and he stepped out from behind the screen. He posed how he was asked and he sat in near silence for an hour while other young adults close to his age analyzed his naked body. He'd been naked infront of others before. He'd been naked infront of several people at the same time actually. But they'd never stared at him so analytically and the feeling was definitely bizarre.