No Pants Required

f i v e

It was freezing cold. She could feel brightness piercing her closed lids. It was an unpleasant feeling, yet Louise didn't want to open her eyes just yet.

What had she ever done to deserve this treatment? More importantly, why wasn't she in her room, toasty in comfortable under millions of sheets atop her memory foam? Why weren't her plush, colorful stuffed animals surrounding her? That was what provided her with a sense of security.

Louise didn't like change. In fact, she despised it. So what was happening?

Her eyes snapped open and immediately focused on her barren legs. Barren? She always wore her fuzzy footie pajamas.

Louise took notice of her surroundings. She was never an observant person to begin with, especially while reading. Why were there bars surrounding her? Why did everything seem to be made out of metal?

And then it hit her, and hard. She was in jail. She was a criminal.

As to how Louise got there, she had absolutely no clue. The last thing she remembered was waking up to find her entire house rid of books. Even cookbooks; aka her last resort.

But after that, Louise couldn't recall, no matter how hard she tried. It was like a black hole had sucked up all her memories.

"Psst," A voice to her right snapped Louise out of her daze. "Louise!"

That definitely caught her attention. How did this unfamiliar voice know her name? She peered through the bars.

A guy who looked to be her age was gazing intently back at her. Freckles lightly sprinkled across his nose. His jet black hair contrasted against his pale skin. But what stood out most were his brilliantly green eyes.

"Uh," Louise cleared her throat. "Hi?"

"Floyd. Don't you remember me?" The guy-who's name was apparently Floyd-inquired.

Louise never met new people. "Should I?"

"Well, you are the one who almost got me punched in the face, and my nostrils licked."

"What?" Surely she had heard him wrong. Louise would never do anything like that. Heck, she couldn't have done anything like that. She never left the house. With the exception of school. And it was the weekend.

"Remember?" Floyd asked with a boyish grin. "Last night-"

"Whoa," Louise interrupted. "I'm going to stop you right there. I would never do anything you're about to list. I don't know how I got here of all places, but I'm sure this is some kind of sick joke. Now, where are my pants?"

"About that..." Floyd trailed off unsurely.

"Go on." Louise cut in impatiently.

"You lost them in a dare last night. That dare is also the reason why both of us are here." Floyd said vaguely as Louise looked at him in scrutiny.

"Details, please."

"Last night, my best friends-Ella, Tarzan, and Marina-roped you into playing Dare with us. You dared Tarzan to lick my nostrils so he dared you to take your pants off and jump off the roof. Surprisingly, you did it. And we continued to play until the cops came. Everyone fled because nobody had actually gotten that drunk yet. Except you, of course. Me, being the nice, charming, and handsome guy that I am, went back to try and get you. I was picking you up off the ground when the caught us. And here we are now."

Louise struggled to comprehend the matter. "So... we were the only ones caught?"

"It sucks, but yeah." Floyd confirmed.