Awkward! (aware and bare branch)

"Dear god, what the heck is this..."

Lauren yawned heavily. Kate had warned her that the video was long, but she didn't imagine it was going to be THAT long, THAT boring. And not only that, the room was quite hot. She gulped the entire water bottle in less than 5 minutes, and was starting to get all sweaty. Her gray blazer was already wrapped in her chair, but it was still hot.

"What happened to the AC here?" - Lauren thought, as the video started to go through the company creation and history. Every now and then, a strange glitch, barely noticeable, flicked on the screen. "You would imagine a company of this caliber wouldn't accept anything short of perfection, and yet..." - Lauren wondered, as she slipped her bra straps from her arms.

The video went on and on, and started naming many national and international crisis that were averted by the company. Lauren stood up, readjusted her skirt, went to the side of the room and threw the empty bottle in the trash can -- were those panties in the trash?! EWW... -- and a few minutes later, after a knock on the door, a young latina entered with a tray in her hand.

"Lauren? Kate asked me to bring you some coffee. Those videos are as exciting as Sunday mass."

"Thanks, I really ne..." Lauren started to say as she stood up to take the cup, feeling the soft carpet under her feet.

Lauren glanced at the young woman, her eyebrows furrowing. The young woman was holding a tray out, upon which was a fairly standard travel mug with the Alternative Solutions logo. Behind the tray, however, the young latina was wearing an oversized Alternative Solutions T-shirt, one that was so long on her body that it looked like a one piece dress.

"Um. Thanks." Lauren finished with, taking the mug.

"No problem. I'll leave the tray here, just leave everything on it and I'll come back in a few minutes to take it away. Oh, and I'm taking the trash too, sorry about that."

"Thanks, I will." The trash was full? She hadn't noticed...

She drank the coffee eagerly and turned back to the movie. The background had changed, and the woman had changed from the boring professional clothes she had been in to an Alternative Solutions T-Shirt, much like what the latina had worn.

"If you've reached this stage of the orientation video, thank you so much for seriously considering letting Alternative Solutions into your life. We're thinking you're going to be a good fit." The young woman said, smiling. "Please finish the rest of your coffee before we continue."

Lauren blinked, staring at the screen. How did... With a blink, the screen turned to the Alternative Solutions Logo and tinny muzak, like something you'd hear on hold, started playing.

Lauren absentmindedly gulped at her coffee. As she did, the logo started changing colors. They started to melt together and...

The door opened, shaking Lauren out of her daze. "Just here for the tray, don't mind me." The latina said, smiling.

Lauren blushed. "S... sure." Could she tell that she had nodded off?! "Sure thing," she said, trying to act natural. The video was still showing the Alternative Solutions logo, but it had returned to white on black. I must have missed the white and blue towels on the tray earlier, she thought absentmindedly...

"Congratulations," the young woman said, smiling broadly. "If you've made it this far, we're really thinking you'll be a great asset to the company and would like to continue the interview process. However, there is one last thing we must cover. Or rather, uncover."

The young woman reached down and lifted her shirt, tossing it aside. The camera zoomed back slightly, revealing she was not only topless, but naked. She blushed, but made no attempt to cover herself.

"What in the hell?!" Lauren shouted, her mouth falling open.

"We here at Alternative Solutions Systems embrace the alternative. This may be Alternative lifestyles, such as, say, nudism. Or Alternative ideas, like our research and development teams. We insist that our employees keep an open and accepting mind as part of our corporate culture. However, we also know, if you've reached the end of this video, that you have taken our corporate culture to heart and will have no problems doing so."

Her mouth hung open. Buck ass naked. What in the world?! The lights came on, even as the logo returned. The movie was over.

The door opened, and Kate entered again. Lauren turned and shot bolt upright, gasping.

She was completely naked.

"Y... y... you're naked!"

"Well, yes." Kate said, bemused. "So are you."

Lauren blinked, looked down, and yelped.

"W... where are my clothes?!"

"You took them off during orientation. It's part of the way we test if the conditioning works." Kate chuckled, closing the door behind her. "It's how we can tell you'll be a good fit for the company -- the conditioning works on you."

"Conditi... what?"

"Conditioning. None of us know any specifics, but during orientation, and at random intervals during your employment with the company, the company will use some form of technology to implant thoughts and triggers into your mind. Might have been the coffee, might have been the audio track playing in the lounge in this room, might have been something in the water bottle, or the air conditioning. I personally think it's in the video, did you notice the little glitches?"

"Ye... yeah I ..."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you to be sadistic. It's just... there's absolutely nothing you can do about it now. Better to come to terms with that early. Also, I wouldn't try to figure out how they do it, either, the higher ups don't like that."

Lauren shook her head. "This is insane. You're talking about mind control. Where are my clothes, I'm out of here."

"Your clothes are gone and will not be returned." Kate crossed her arms. "You don't need them."

"I certainly ain't walking out of here naked, if that's what you're saying!"

"Oh?" Kate pointed to the table in the room; Lauren tried to ignore her swaying breasts. "Well then. There's a t-shirt right over there."

Lauren spun. Where the tray had been, a carefully folded black t-shirt was there, with the Alternative Solutions logo. She stomped over to the table and... and...

"You're not going to put it on, are you?" Kate said, leaning against the wall. "It's like that for all of us. For some reason, you just know you absolutely must not wear clothes anymore. Ever. It's one of those "alternative ideas" the higher ups came up with -- no one can sneak secrets in or out of the building because you'll be naked. It also does a wonder for retention and loyalty, because unless your direct supervisor tells you to dress, or the company sends out a temporary dress code email for an event, you'll remain stark naked for the rest of your life."

Lauren stared at the shirt. She was right. She wanted to, but at the same time... she was supposed to be naked. She didn't wear clothes.

"I won't say you'll get used to it. I'm saying you had better try, because like I said, there's nothing you can do about it." Kate sighed. "Now, as for you being 'out of here.' Well."

Kate walked, confidently but still with a hint of a blush. "There are three paths open to you. You can leave. We're not forcing you to stay here. You won't be able to divulge any corporate secrets, including what happened here. But the conditioning you've gone through will stay. You won't wear clothes again, you won't be able to tell anyone why, and you'll have some other amusing -- and embarrassing -- reactions to things, like words, phrases, and sounds, that I'm not allowed to tell you about."

"Or you can continue to apply for work here. None of us are lying about it -- We love our jobs, even with how crazy the place is. Hell, I met my husband here. He's in accounting, I'll introduce you at lunch. He's still blushing like a tomato and he's been here longer than me, but we wouldn't give it up for the world." She smiled, tilting her head slightly. "He does miss pocket protectors, though."

Lauren giggled, slightly, the absurdity and the mental image breaking through her shock and horror.

She grinned. "Listen. If you do continue on with us, you'll be paid exceptionally well. You'll want for nothing professionally or personally. And you'll actually be doing things that help make positive change in the world. But you need to know going in. The price will be your dignity, because as far as I can tell our bosses are either well meaning perverts, completely clueless, or space aliens. Being turned into a nudist is the least embarrassing thing that will happen to you."

"... You mentioned three. What's the third path," Lauren said, after a pause.

"The third path is you either bomb the interview, or you get fired later on." Kate shrugged. "In either case, the interview is really a formality. You wouldn't have gotten this far without having been selected. So... we put you on a temporary 'Performance Improvement Plan.' Which means... we transfer you down to Research and Development to be a test subject. Your pay won't be affected, but... well. If you think being convinced to walk around naked is impressive, you should see what those lonely eggheads can do to a pretty girl if they get direct access to your brain and body."

With a professional look, Kate said:

"Shall we continue?"