Vestiphobia

Chapter Two: Unwell

An olive green streak burst through the dormitory entrance and shot towards the staircase. It was Lisa, back from lectures, the soles of her bare feet propelling her towards her room. Her face was flushed red from discomfort and her breath was hard and ragged. Her dress flowed out behind her as she ascended two steps at a time, dodging confused bystanders and ignoring their indignant cries. She needed to be in her room now. Or else she might... she tried not to think about it.

Finally, she reached her room. With shaking hands, she fumbled her key into the lock and turned it. The door opened, and she slipped inside, slamming it behind her. As the lock clicked, her fingers dug into the fabric of her dress and she hoisted it violently over her head and threw it across the room, as though it were a poisonous snake. The olive fabric hit a wall and fell into a crumpled pile among a host of blouses, jackets, sweaters and pants.

Lisa leaned against a wall, chest rising and falling with her breathing, redness slowly draining from her face.

"Uuh... hi?"

Redness instantly returned to Lisa's face as she finally noticed her roommate Shelly, who had been quietly lying on her bed reading a book, but was now gaping at her totally naked body. Lisa squealed and covered herself with her arms.

Looking even more embarrassed than Lisa felt, Shelly tried to return her gaze to her book. But clearly the writing of Jane Austen could not out-compete the novelty of her naked roommate, as much as she obviously didn't want to violate Lisa's privacy.

There was a sharp knock on the door. Lisa shrieked and dove for her bed, hiding herself underneath the covers. From her huddled position, she heard Shelly get up and open the door.

"Hi," said a girl's voice. "Do you know a blonde girl who doesn't wear shoes? She left this behind in one of her lectures, and I saw her walking this way. I stay on the floor below."

"Y-yes," Shelly replied. "She's my roommate. Thanks, I'll give this to her."

The girl said goodbye, and Lisa heard the door close and the lock click. She tentatively poked her head above the covers to see Shelly holding her book-bag, a quizzical look on her face.

Shelly cleared her throat and said, "Uh, guess you forgot about this in your hurry to get home and, uh... strip." She placed the book-bag on Lisa's desk.

Lisa hid her face beneath the bedcover again, and the room was silent for a long moment.

"You can go get your dress, I won't look."

Lisa peeked above the bedcover again. Shelly was standing in the middle of the room with a hand over her eyes.

But the sight of the crumpled olive fabric in the corner of the room made the bile rise in Lisa's throat. The other clothes that lay strewn around it had the same effect. Being naked in front of Shelly was mortifying, but she couldn't face the idea of putting clothes back on right now. Not after a full day of suffocating lectures. Even the bedclothes felt like they were strangling her.

She needed to recover. So she screwed up her courage and tossed the bedclothes aside, feeling instantly better as the cool air touched her skin. Instead of fetching her dress, she walked to her desk and plonked her butt down on the swivel chair in front of it, making its hinges squeak.

"Are you decent yet?" Shelly asked, dutifully keeping her hand in front of her face.

Lisa sighed inwardly. Ever since the morning she'd woken up without her nightgown, it had become increasingly difficult to hide her condition from Shelly, especially as it seemed to be worsening. That day, she'd made it through a whole morning of lectures in jeans and a sweater, despite mild discomfort. But every day since then, she'd needed to wear progressively looser and lighter clothing. Jeans had been swapped for baggy shorts, then skirts, and cute blouses replaced with baggy t-shirts. Three days ago, she'd found herself unable to put on any kind of footwear, and had strolled across campus barefoot. Finally, for the last two days, she had attended lectures in this ugly olive dress from the back of her closet, and even then she'd had to dip into a bathroom stall multiple times during the morning to take it off. If this kept up, soon she wouldn't be capable of wearing any clothing at all.