Searching

*Third Floor, Room 309*

“What took you so long? Fire’s almost out. Should be able to bring everybody back in pretty soon.” A young man in a large, black coat yelled out towards the approaching woman in similar garb. The fire had initially been very large (due to latching onto a bag of luggage with several articles of clothing and a can of hairspray inside), and had encompassed the majority of the room. Luckily for the response team, the layout of the room let the sprinklers largely extinguish the bulk of the flames (but not before letting tons of smoke into the hallway after a door had been left open).

The woman shrugged, before observing the dwindling cinders that were being put to rest. “Some lady got locked out of her room naked. Wanted to get back inside, but I had to tell her no, since the whole lobby is covered in smoke.”

The man blinked a few times before cocking his head. “She locked herself out naked? How the hell did she manage that? I could see forgetting a pair of pants, but she didn’t even remember a robe? I find that hard to believe...”

“I think she just forgot. Looked too embarrassed to have done it of her own accord. Either way, I need one of you guys to radio to the downstairs team to play dumb if she asks for something to wear. I was nice, and offered her help, but she just didn’t stop asking me to get her something to wear.” The woman coldly commanded, as she began looking into the debris. The man couldn’t help but question the command.

“...Wait a minute. You left her down there? That’s not right. She could get arrested!”

The woman whipped her head around, a fury in her eyes. “I’ll make a call if there’s a problem. The girl broke whatever shits-to-give I have left tonight, after I had to wake up at 3 am, on my god damned...”

As the man turned back to his work (ignoring his boss’s tirade) he couldn’t help but wonder what fate would befall the naked woman.

Joanne tried her best to block out the sounds around her, keeping her head pointed towards the ground and her arms firmly planted over her assets. With both hands covering her front, it left her rear fully exposed to whomever bothered to look. Everywhere she walked Joanne caught people stealing glances, laughing at her, or taking pictures with their phone. She tried her best to ignore the sly remarks, and catcalls, but the repetitive sounds of others relishing in her own misfortune kept her reminded that she had not single bit of decency left.

Joanne groaned to herself, as she tried to find a hotel staff member, or someone in her family. “I’ll take anything at this point, even if it’s not clothes! Anything is better than this!” Joanne thought to herself, looking to the sky. She pleaded for an end to the embarrassing affair. Unfortunately, Joanne’s pleas weren't answered. She continued to mill about the parking lot, shivering from both embarrassment and the cool summer air. The further she looked, the more Joanne lost hope that she would find a way to cover up. Finally, after almost about ten minutes, Joanne stopped dead in her tracks after realizing she had searched the whole parking lot. She looked wildly around, and confirmed she was still being laughed at. "...Can someone let me borrow a towel?" Joanne sheepishly spoke, her voice getting drowned out by the whispers and voices around her. Joanne sighed to herself, half-accepting she was doomed to remain a naked laughing stock when she felt a tap from behind.

"Joanne? You seem a little lost." The voice spoke from behind. Joanne turned around, and felt relief wash over her once she recognized the face of Tiffany, her sister in-law. "Oh thank god." Joanne spoke to herself, briefly taking a moment to wipe beads of sweat off her forehead. She then noticed Tiffany repressing a laugh, and immediately remembered why she wanted something to wear so bad in the first place. "Come on over here. We've been waiting in the lobby of the building next door." Tiffany explained, shaking her head as she walked off towards another hotel next door. Joanne blushed, and followed suit silently.

As Tiffany and Joanne moved away from the bulk of the crowd, Tiffany couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as a question came to her mind. "...So I hate to ask, but why are you naked? I doubt this happened on purpose." Joanne blushed, and recalled the incidents that had led up to her being stranded outside in the nude, and Tiffany laughed throughout most of the retelling. She seemed especially surprised to hear about the interactions with the fireman at the door.

"Wait, she didn't even offer to grab you one inside? That's a little rude. Don't worry about it though. The hotel next door should have plenty of towels." Tiffany comforted, as the pair approached the front door.