Skip to after Kim begins her new job

“Nice butt!”

“What a loser.”

“You should get a tan.”

“Haha! You are naked!”

Kim closed her eyes and tried to block out the students behind her. She concentrated on moving her trembling hand and writing on the board. She almost finished a whole column! Only the rest of the chalkboard remained. She rubbed her bare feet together and chewed on her hair. So much more was left. How long was she going to stay there? Despite her efforts, she wasn’t able to ignore the constant mocking behind her. The gust of air hugging her naked skin didn’t help either. Couldn’t they turn the AC off? Her body was cold, but her face felt on fire. The only thing she was wearing was a ridiculous conical hat. It was the only thing she was allowed to in her current assignment. Not that she wore much more in the other ones, because apparently you can’t afford work uniforms when you owe all of the money to your boss.

She had to admit that those dream ladies were getting better at making their tests all the more embarrassing. Like, did they have to pick her college? What if someone recognized her? It hadn’t happened yet, but she was going to be there for a long time. The odds weren’t in her favor. Kim wanted to grab her hat and use it to drill to the bowels of the Earth, where she would disappear from civilization, both human and magical.

At least she wasn’t alone. Harako was next to her, filling her own chalkboard. She was equally naked and equally uncomfortable. They even braided her hair into twin pigtails so that it wouldn’t obstruct sight of her tooshie. Not that it was anything worth seeing anyway, at least compared to Kim’s.

Kim went to write another line. She dropped her chalk by accident. It was the only one she had, and she didn’t feel like bending over in front of all those people, so she only had one option left.

“…Hey, Harie. Mind sharing chalk with your bestie?”

“…We are not friends.”

“Come on, think about yesterday. You know? When we had to feed Morpheus gigantic pet’s spider and he strung us up like marionettes with his web? He made us play house. I was the wife, you were also the wife, and we hugged, kissed …rubbed against each other and all that? Remember?”

“…I try not to.”

“Wouldn’t it be less awkward if we were friends the next time that happened?”

“…It would be more awkward.”

“No, it would be less! We should have each other’s back while we are stuck doing this. You know, like tomorrow, when our muddy friend comes back for another bath. Or in the next dream test, the naked P.E class? I hear they’re going to make us run a three-legged marathon. Like it or not, we are going to have to work together on that one. And let’s not forget that we have to make deliveries, still butt-naked I might add, to a magical strip-wrestling arena in New York, an interdimensional casino and the Kraken King. Would you rather go through all that alone …or with a friend?”

“…” Harako threw a piece of chalk at Kim, who caught it in midair.

“Awww. You do care!”

“…I’m going to haunt you in my spare time.”

“You don’t mean th-Ouch!” An uptight teacher appeared behind Kim and slapped her bottom with a long ruler.

“No talking! And what is this? You were supposed to write, “I will not forget to wear clothes for the exam” not “Please go away” or “Don’t stare!” And what does this say? I can’t understand! You have to write, not doodle!” The woman went and erased the last ten minutes of Kim’s work. The naked girl was crestfallen.

“This is unfair! I can’t concentrate with all these people staring at me. Ouch!”

“That’s the same excuse you used when you failed your finals! It didn’t work then, and it will not work now. If you didn’t want people to stare, you should wear clothes, silly girl.”

“Can’t we do this in a more private place, like a closed classroom, instead of, you know, the entrance hall!?! Everyone has to pass through here to get to their class!”

“Nonsense, how else would we let everyone on the faculty know what a silly girl you are? You silly naked girl.”

“I’m not silly-Ouch!”

“If you are not silly, then I must assume that you are a pervert of some kind. Are you a pervert?”

“N-no. Ow!”

“Then keep writing, silly girl.” Kim winced and nodded. Harako chuckled.

“…Ow! …Why?”

“No laughing!”

“…Why can they laugh?” Harako motioned towards the crowd of students hanging out behind them. A boy pointed at the naked duo and chuckled.

“Ha! Look, their asses are blushing too!”

“They are not being punished.”

“…But-Ow!”

“No more backtalk. Keep writing. You will stay here until the whole chalkboard is filled. Understand?”

“…Yes, Ma’am.” They both went back to it. Kim wrote the next line. The line she had written at least a hundred times by now. Her chalk fell again. She sighed; this had to be the worst job she ever had.