A Walk In The Park

"I...am Doctor Courtney Orlov."

No.

"I am Doctor Courtney...Orlov."

What in the world was that?

"I AM DOCTOR COURTNEY ORLOV!"

Okay, that was just terrible.

I fell to the ground, grumbling. I had attempted so many times to become a confident, working, worthwhile teacher...but felt the constant pressure of the world. I was supposed to teach psychology, and varying different classes related to the subject. I had lesson plans, schedules, and all sorts of books to lean on for support...but none of it really gave me the confidence to face over 30 kids per class...and I had five to go through.

When I was still in classes of my own, I came to the park regularly, knowing that the cool breezes that flew down to grace Rocky Mountain College always felt the best here. Unfortunately, my dress code nowadays ruined some of that good feeling. As a student, I dressed as proactively as I wanted, and standing here felt fantastic. Now, as a teacher, with all the clothes I have to wear to look professional, only my hands and face got the feeling of the breeze.

Well, that and my hair.

I always felt the happiest with my hair whipping in the breeze. Long hair was a pain, but somehow it was worth it for these moments. I closed my eyes and just let the winds blow across me. They were a bit stronger today than usual, but the forecast promised they'd behave themselves...for the most part. I had to smile, a memory resurging of the day I wore a flimsy but fancy dress.

"The embarrassment was worth it."

I was about to let out a pleasant sigh, when our noises cut me off. "You consider this embarrassing?"

I jumped up, terrified, and turned to see the source of the noise. I recognized the speaker immediately. "Tracy! Wow, am I really seeing young little Tracy?!"

Tracy was a short girl with long black hair. She was dressed in casual jeans, a shirt with some sort of stylized guitar on it, and a black jacket. She had a fairly curvy figure, especially when it came to the sizable chest area, but I'd always recognize her for the snarky blue eyes and the "too-cool-for-the-world" posture she always stood in. I went for a hug, and she returned it, though she seemed a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just been years since we met. You were still in high school when I jumped into college."

Tracy nodded. "Which is why it embarrasses me when you call me young...or little." Tracy was truthfully a lot older than the elementary days I met her in. And of course, I had been babysitting her all throughout high school. I remember she was always resentful toward her parents for the act, but she never held it against me.

That said though...

"I'm sorry, but you were such a prankster as kid, and a teen, so you always seemed young to me." Her being only 4'11" didn't help either, but I didn't want to risk offending Tracy any more than I potentially did. "In any case, I'm glad to see you've become a responsible college student now."

Tracy smirked. "Well...mostly responsible. I admit I do still like to cause a bit of trouble, even now in my junior year."

Warning bells rang in my head, and I instinctively took a defensive posture. "Is that why you're here? You're not planning to prank me again, are you?"

I remembered the days we got into prank battles, and I shuddered. I always took it easy on her since she always started the babysitting sessions frustrated, but I felt like she had no means of holding back. "No no no...not unless you want to be." I shook my head aggressively. "I actually came here because...well..."

I flourished my hand to encourage her to continue. "I like to enjoy the winds here, is all."

I wore a big smile at that. "I do too! I'm surprised we never ran into each other, I used to come here all the time! It was a lot more comfortable back then."

"Why is that?"

I hesitated for a second on revealing my issues, but in the end I did. Tracy motioned to some nearby benches, and we sat while I talked. She nodded in agreement at all I said.

"You know, there is a solution for this." I raised an eyebrow, and Tracy tried to hide away a huge smile. "You could get naked."

My jaw dropped. "Tracy! You know I can't do that! It's not appropriate! And probably not legal..."

Tracy stopped trying to hide her grin. "Actually it apparently is. This college lets anything go as long as its art. I've been hearing some pretty crazy stories lately..."

I could see all sorts of antics taking place in mind. Streaking, naked classes, art experiments, petgirls, naked teachers...maybe even myself teaching naked...I shook my head, not wanting to imagine any of these taking a reality.

"Well, even if it was true, I don't want to contribute to that depravity."

Tracy frowned. "Really? I didn't you of all people to have that kind of attitude." I asked her why, and she explained. "Well, you're into psychology and stuff, and more importantly you've always been open-minded and supportive of other lifestyles." Tracy seemed to struggle to admit the next bit, but she did. "Admitting to you that I liked guys AND girls...that wasn't easy for me, but you were really nice about."

"Well of course, that's just the way you are."

"But what if I was a nudist? Or an exhibitionist? If I'm being responsible and it doesn't hurt anyone, should I be denied the option to express my culture?"

"Well, uh," I stammered, "I admit there's a lot of complications there." I straightened up and put my hands around hers. "But even so, I'm not of that lifestyle, and I don't know I'd be comfortable walking around naked in public."

"You don't know if you don't try," Tracy said with a wink. I just rolled my eyes at her. "Look, let's look at the facts." Tracy got up and paced back and forth.

"You hate wearing clothes." I tried to correct her to just "these clothes", but she ignored me. "You need to cool off properly. You are in the most secluded area of the park. You have one of your oldest friends to protect you. ANNNND...if you were to do this, you'd be able to experience a new culture, a culture that, might I add, it sorely underrepresented and misrepresented in modern society."

That was the big key, she knew I loved helping others, and now she was playing on that desire.

"This seems like another prank, Tracy. And your most **** offering at that."

Tracy seemed shocked, though whether that was just fake surprise or something legitimate, I couldn't be sure. "Courtney, come on, there's pranks, and then there's this! This...is way too important to _just _be a prank."

"So it is a prank," I said with a sigh.

Tracy actually got frustrated before responding. "I'm not saying this is a prank. I CAN prank you...and I can make it a naked prank too if I want...but I do legitimately care about this kind of stuff, and I think you should too."

I had to consider it...and unfortunately that meant imagining it. Could I really just take everything off, stand up, feel the wonderful breeze against my skin, my feet walking across the surely heated sidewalk, my skin craving that feel of cement on my feet and breeze on my body...well, now I couldn't stop imagining it. But it was one thing to just imagine it...would I really do it?

P.S. This is the original picture of Courtney Orlov, in case someone wanted it for writing purposes.