Some friends and an update

"Okay dear, you wait here." Monica's mom said. "I'll go and tell security."

Monica felt a surge of panic as her mother walked away. Her senses were reminding her of how naked she actually was, and now she was alone to boot. Sure she'd been alone for a few minutes while her mom got the coffees but her clothes had been reassuringly close by. She suddenly felt very exposed.

Eager to take her mind off the situation, Monica picked up the booklet and read the section on battery life. She learned that the bands were all solar powered and on a full charge could run for 72 hours. The book contained a blinking timer that looked to be written in paper and ink, yet was somehow counting down the charge remaining in Monica's bands. Thankfully she had just over eight hours of charge remaining. She rubbed at the timer and was surprised that it felt like paper and ink too. She shook her head in disbelief. The technology here was just so casually amazing.

Two things then happened in quick succession.

First of all, the wrist band on her right arm bleeped twice.

The second thing was a familiar voice that said "Monica, is that you?"

Monica looked up from her reading to find two of her Namish schoolmates standing nearby, looking at her wide eyed. The blonde with the white skirt and pink t-shirt was Jennifer, one of the most popular girls in school, while the short, dark haired girl in the faded grey jeans and black Metallica t-shirt was Abby, a sort of punk rock chick who kept to herself and had acquired a reputation for being a badass despite never actually getting into a fight. The exact nature of the two girl's friendship was a mystery at the school - the two of them seemed so different, and they travelled in different social circles. There was some speculation that theirs was more than a friendship, and Monica could swear they had been holding hands when she looked up. No wonder they looked so surprised to see her.

Monica stood up.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" she asked, trying to be casual.

"Uh... pretty good." Jennifer replied, her eyes glued to the holo-clothing. "I can see that you're, ah, getting used to this place pretty well."

Monica gave a nervous smile. "Yeah, well, you know... we got to get used to it at some point, haven't we?"

Abby nudged her friend. "Stop staring." she growled.

"You're looking forward to the new school, then?" Jennifer asked, regaining eye contact.

"Sort of. I'm a bit nervous about wearing this during PE, and I've kind of had a run-in with one of our new classmates. She was a lesbian t-"

Monica swallowed back the word 'too'. Abby looked pissed off.

"-teacher's pet." Monica finished lamely. "Are you guys here to get your uniforms?"

"We are." Jennifer replied. "Do you know where we need to go?"

"Oh, the Guider should be able to-"

Monica didn't cover her eyes in time. The Guider appeared behind the other two girls, temporarily blinding Monica in the process. She swore. She wasn't the only one.

Abby growled "What the fuck is that?"

"Hi there." replied the synthetic female voice. "I am the Guider. How can I assist you today?"

Blinking furiously, Monica said "Can you show my friends where the clothing store is?"

"Of course. Ladies, if you will kindly follow me."

It was difficult to see, but Monica was fairly certain both girls were using her blindness to check her out. They seemed very curious about the holo-uniform.

"Don't worry guys," she said. "This will all make sense when you get there. Just be careful that nobody steals your clothes though! It happened to me."

"We can see that. You're handling it remarkably well." Jennifer replied.

"Ah, well... we have to get used to it, don't we?"

"I guess. We'll see you around."

The two girls followed the Guider away from the coffee shop, leaving Monica partially blinded and alone. She sat down, feeling the smooth, polished wood of the seat against her bare backside. Her peripheral vision was mostly red mist at this point, so she sat patiently and waited.

A few moments later her mother returned, followed by a male security guard. Remarkably he was actually fully dressed.

"Oh, Monica!" her mother said. "Are you... are you okay?"

"Sort of. One of those Guider's blinded me."

"Sorry about that." The security guard said. "It's malfunctioning at the moment."

Her mother said "No, I mean are you okay with your... outfit."

"Eh. I'm getting used to it." Monica lied.

"Ladies," said the guard "You might want to cover your eyes. Guider!"

Thankfully this time they both covered their eyes before the flash of bright light appeared before them. They watched with interest as the security guard instructed the Guider to reconstruct the scene to timestamp 1:31pm. Both women gave a jump of surprise as a figure of a naked woman materialised next to the table. Through the red haze Monica recognised her.

"That's the thief!" she exclaimed. "She's the one who stole my clothes!"

The security guard nodded. "Okay Guider, reproduce her movement and let's see where she went. Ladies, once we capture her we'll return your stolen goods."

Monica watched as the hologrammatic thief picked up a hologrammatic bag from beneath the table and walked away. Both the security guard and Guider followed in pursuit.

"This technology is amazing." Monica commented.

"It really is." her mother agreed. She hesitated. "So, Monica... you're, ah, comfortable like that?"

Monica shrugged. She didn't really have much of a choice. "Hey mom, can you check the booklet for me? The bands bleeped twice while you were away and I'm not sure what it meant. I'd check myself but I'm going to be blind for the next few minutes."

Her mother flicked through the booklet while Monica sipped at her coffee, which was now at the perfect sipping temperature. The warm feeling down her chest was at odds with the cold air conditioning that brushed against her bare skin. It felt kind of nice. Her vision cleared slowly as she blinked away the red mist.

"Here we go." Her mother said. "Oh, that's so cool... the writing is actually moving!"

"Yeah, I noticed that with the battery life section. Does it say what the bleeps were?"

"Yes, apparently there was a software update which improves battery life by 10%. It says the holo-clothing will re-initialise in ten more minutes. It also says that updates aren't loaded during school hours to prevent disruption to PE lessons, which seems-"

"-sorry mom, but what you mean re-initialise? Like, in ten minutes is this going to turn itself off to perform the update and leave me naked?"

There was a pregnant pause. Her mom looked up from the book with worry in her eyes. "You... you don't know, do you?" She said.

"Know what?" Monica asked.

"Honey... you've been naked since I got back."

Monica looked down at herself. She was, indeed, completely naked. Her hands moved quickly; one dropped to her crotch to cover her mound of pubic hair, while her other arm clasped to her chest. Panic surged within her. How long had she...

...since the two beeps?

Waves of red hot embarrassment washed over her as she remembered how keenly Jennifer and Abby had been staring at her. She ran the conversation back through her head.

'I can see that you're getting used to this place pretty well.'

'Stop staring.'

'Just be careful that nobody steals your clothes though! It happened to me.'
'We can see that.'

'No, I mean are you okay with your... outfit.'
'Eh. I'm getting used to it.'

"Monica, stop swearing!" Her mother chastised her. Monica had not even been aware she'd been talking.

"What do I do now?" She wailed.

"We'll wait for the security guard to return with your clothes." Her mother said calmly before sipping at her own coffee.

"Just sit here... exposed?"

"Put this on your lap." Her mother said, passing over the booklet.

"That's hardly coverage!" Monica complained. Still, she took the advice and rested the book over her crotch. This freed up both hands to cup her breasts. "What if he doesn't find them?"

"Then in ten minutes your uniform will re-appear. Really Monica, don't fret so much! It's not like you're the only one naked."

"Give me your clothes, then."

Her mother snorted. "Not a chance."

So reluctantly Monica waited.