Take the student's hand.

(Chapter originally by Phantom Pen on writing.com)

Despite the terror, Chihiro was able to find a strange kind of silver lining. The student had said they were going to the train station. If she could slip away and onto a train, she could ride it most of the way home! If she could get home, she could get dressed and put this whole mess behind her! Sure, her mother would be confused to see her daughter coming home wrapped in a sheet, but Chihiro would cross that bridge when she came to it.

Tentatively, Chihiro took the boy's offered hand, letting him guide her out of the drama room and through the halls. She was actually doing it. She was actually going to step out of the school building dressed like this! Even more, she was letting a boy touch her in this state! Granted, he was simply holding her hand, and didn't know how close to naked she truly was, but the important part was that Chihiro knew. Besides, for Chihiro even a gesture as simple as holding a boy's hand was a daunting thought.

It was a bit difficult to keep her footing as the boy led her out of the school, and Chihiro had to take great care not to trip on the trailing edges of her sheet. If there was anything she didn't want, it was to have her only cover get yanked off by her own clumsiness.

Once outside, Chihiro and her guide hurried onto the waiting bus along with the rest of the drama club members. Chihiro would have preferred to sit in the back of the bus alone, but everyone seemed interested in their apparently unannounced volunteer.

"Wow, Fushimi, you're not as timid as I thought!" one girl said, meaning the statement as a compliment.

"Yeah. It's really nice to see you breaking out of your shell." another said.

"Uhm... th-thank you." Chihiro muttered, casting her eyes down as her cheeks reddened.

"So, do you have contact lenses?"

"Er... what?" Chihiro asked, caught off guard by that particular question. "Why would I?"

"Well, they didn't exactly have prescription eyeglasses way back when." One student explained. "Yeah, it's a fairly minor thing, but we're really trying to go for an authentic look. So, I figured you'd have contact lenses or something for when you had to take your glasses off. I mean, your role won't have you running around, so it's not like you'll need them."

This wasn't something Chihiro had been expecting. They expected her to take her glasses off? She'd be blind! But they certainly seemed set on maintaining "authenticity" with their performance.