Lucy wakes up alone in bed

Lucy groaned and shifted in her bed to turn away from the window, refusing to open her eyes for the sunlight casting itself on her face. She didn't think she had that much wine the night before, but the mild headache she had woken up with said otherwise. Realizing there was no way she would be able to go back to sleep without an aspirin however, she admitted defeat and slowly sat up in bed. It was about this time that her brain finally registered the weight around her neck, and the chill of a draft on her bare skin. Her eyes popped open, then winced shut again as the sudden bright sunlight assaulted her pupils.

Once her eyes adjusted to the morning light, she looked down at her naked body. Well, mostly naked. The closest thing to clothes she was wearing was that ridiculous collar Max put on her the night before, fastened snugly around her neck.

"Max..." she muttered, looking around the room in a haze for her boyfriend. But he wasn't there, and neither was Kim for that matter. Lucy was all alone. Which was good, because right now she was embarrassed about the state she was in.

Getting to her feet, she stumbled over to the mirror and had another look at the collar. Without any other clothes on, the bright pink band around her neck looked even more garish than it did the night before; hell, it practically screamed to be looked at. Max may have been into it, and she loved him dearly in spite of it, but Lucy didn't want anyone else to see here wearing this... this thing. She inspected the collar for some way to get it off, but all she could see was the thick chain wrapping around it without any break, other than where the ring for the girly name tag was attached.

Thinking that maybe the latch was in the back, Lucy brushed her hair over her shoulder so it draped over her chest, then started feeling around for some kind of button or buckle. But instead, she felt a small metal box that the two ends of the collar connected into. Fumbling around, her stomach sank as she failed to find any sort of release mechanism, only a tiny hole in the center of the box for what she assumed was a key. A key she didn't have.

Lucy rushed over to where she usually put her phone, only to realize that it wasn't there. She cursed to herself as she realized that with the wild sex she had with Max last night, she must have forgotten to plug it in. She looked around the floor for her jeans, but they were nowhere in sight. Neither were the rest of the clothes she had been wearing for that matter. And she didn't see them in her laundry hamper either.

In a panic, she dropped down on her hands and knees to search for her phone, hoping it had fallen out of her pants pocket. After a bit of searching, she managed to find the device under her bed, most likely having been kicked there during the steamy lovemaking session. She reached out and grabbed it, then rose onto her knees and turned it on. Thankfully it looked undamaged, but the battery was nearly dead, and...

Lucy's eyes widened it shock when she saw the time. It was two minutes past ten! She was late for her class! Why didn't her alarm go off? Or did it and she just slept through it? Why didn't Max or Kim wake her?

Too much in a rush to think any further, she hopped back up onto her feet and texted Max angrily.

- MAX!!! You left the stupid collar on me and its locked shut! Wheres the key???

Not having time to wait for a response, Lucy set the phone down and started scrambling around the room for an outfit, the tag around her neck jingling in a manner that felt like it was mocking her as she moved. Pants and underwear were easy enough to find, but the real challenge was finding a top that could cover up the bulky collar locked around her neck. Eventually she managed to find a turtleneck sweater, and while it was a little too warm out for one at the moment, it wouldn't look horribly out of place, and right now Lucy was more concerned with hiding the ghastly accessory from sight than personal comfort. Deciding to compensate by not wearing anything other than a bra underneath, she pulled the sweater over her head and managed to get it on with little hassle. Looking in the mirror, she saw that there was a noticeable bulge in the neck from the collar, a thin pink band of which peeked out over the top of the sweater, and if one looked closely they could make out the chains indenting themselves into the turtleneck. But it was the closest Lucy was going to get to concealing it without wasting even more time digging out a winter scarf, and her neck was already starting to feel hot without one.

She went back to her phone, hoping that Max had responded by now. Unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky. Seeing that her phone was at less than 5% battery, Lucy decided to leave it behind to charge a bit while she was at class. She plugged it in, then sent Max another text message.

- If this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny!!!

- I have to get to class. But you better get me that key ASAP!

She set the phone down on her bedside table and went to leave. Not knowing where her boots from yesterday went and not having any more time to look for them or socks, she slipped on a pair of sandals, then grabbed her bag and rushed out the door, tugging at the stuffy collar of the sweater self-consciously.

She was in such a hurry and so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she didn't even notice her clothes from the night before, boots and all, sitting in the hall garbage when she passed by it. The janitor that came by shortly after Lucy left did, but he wasn't being paid enough to really care, so he just bagged the trash up and took it to the dumpster outside without another thought.