Her friend Marianne

"Is that you?" the black haired girl asked.

Mackenzie spun around, delighted to see her friend in such a **** time. "Oh my god!" she said as she pulled her friend into a big hug. "I'm SO happy to see you!"

"I've been trying to text you all day! What the hell's been going on with you?" Marianne replied. As they pulled apart, Mackenzie stood there covering her bare chest with her hands. "Do you, uh, want to get dressed first?"

"I..." Mackenzie was hesitant to fill Marianne in on her humiliating position. But if she couldn't count on her, then who could she count on? "I can't. My clothes were stolen."

"Oh god!" Marianne said empathetically, "That's horrible! Did they break into your locker or-"

"No, no." Mackenzie interrupted. With a deep breath she continued, "I mean, ALL my clothes were stolen."

Marianne hesitated for a moment as she tried to understand what her friend was telling her. "...all of them?"

"Yes! Someone took everything out of my room. And I mean everything."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Marianne said as she began unzipping her jacket. "Here, jeez, take this at least."

"N-no!" Mackenzie said nervously. "I mean, I can't."

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean, I'm not allowed to. It's a long story."

Mackenzie then began filling Marianne in on her horrible day. How the fire alarm had interrupted her morning shower. How she'd fallen out of her towel with everyone around. How she found her room completely bare of cover. How she'd been receiving mysterious demands from a stranger who was effectively holding her wardrobe hostage. How she'd been making her way across campus in varying states of dress. How she'd been seen running naked through the library. And how the whole gym had just seen her bra explode off her chest.

"I was just about to send this text to get the location of my next item." Mackenzie finished, showing Marianne the phone she'd been using to text the stranger.

"Mackenzie... I can't even imagine how embarrassing all that must have been." her friend consoled. "But you don't have to keep doing this! You can just walk away!"

"But if I do that, then everything I own gets destroyed!" Mackenzie said.

"Wouldn't you rather just buy new clothes instead of running around school naked?" Marianne said.

"I... I mean when you put it that way it seems stupid to keep playing. But if I just stop messing up and losing things, then I can start making some actual progress!" Marianne gave her friend a dubious look. "I can win this game! I can get my clothes back!"

Marianne hesitated, before finally giving in. "Fine, fine. Let me at least help you."

"Thanks." Mackenzie said, truly grateful for her friend's support. Then she sent the picture and received the response.

"Nicely done! Hope you had a good workout.

Next up, your red hoodie is hidden somewhere in the Lecture Hall.

Good luck!"

Mackenzie had removed her sweatpants and was awkwardly holding them over her chest as she prepared to exit the gym.

"Are you sure you don't want to just borrow my jacket?" Marianne offered.

"I can't risk it." Mackenzie said, "I'm pretty sure they're watching me, at least some of the time."

Marianne shook her head, still not fully on board about continuing to play along with the thief's rules, but said nothing. The two girls left the gym together and walked the short distance over to the academic building. Once inside, they both began searching for any sign of the hidden sweatshirt.

Luckily, it was during the middle of class, so the halls were nearly deserted. And with a stroke of good luck, the girls were able to find the sweatshirt behind a vending machine in a little under ten minutes. Mackenzie happily donned the large shirt and put her sweatpants back on her legs again. She was once again fully clothed and decent, prompting a big sense of relief for the redhead. But that relief was shattered after she saw the reply to the photo she sent:

"You have broken rule 3: You can only wear clothing you've found. NO GETTING HELP FROM ANYONE ELSE.

You cannot proceed to the next item until you face the penalty."

"What?!" Mackenzie nearly shrieked, but by now she knew better than to angrily reply to the thief. "I can't even have someone help me LOOK for stuff to wear?! You've gotta be fucking kidding me!"