Tell the truth.

Facing the teens’ incessant questioning and teasing Christina decided it was best to tell the truth; getting caught in a lie couldn’t possibly help her and they might change their tune if they understood her predicament.

“L-look,” she stammered, “I took a shower after gym and when I got out someone had taken my clothes and all the towels!”

The girls kept giggling, and one managed to speak between chuckles, “then why didn’t you just put your gym uniform back on?”

“They took that too!”

“Who took all of this?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t see anyone take them!”

The teens kept giggling and laughing, one turned away and dabbed at her eyes with her fingers.

“What are you doing in here then? Why wouldn’t you hide in there?”

Christina was getting questions she wasn’t prepared for. She didn’t want to reveal that she was waiting for her friend to bring her some clothes, given how amused they were with her dilemma they might try to stop Sara from getting to her.

“I… I didn’t want to get caught by the sports teams when they came in. I snuck out and thought I could hide in here.”

“How long were you going to hide? Sooner or later the janitor was going to come in here to clean!”

“I didn’t think that far yet! I just got out of the locker room and kept running until I felt like I needed to hide.”

Finally the girl’s laughter started to die down. The amusement didn’t fade from their faces but they’d become acclimated enough to the situation that it wasn’t as hilarious as they thought.

“Well look,” the teen who’d first tried to open the door said, “we have to get back to the key club meeting.”

“Yeah, good luck getting home like this!”

The girls laughed again then turned and filed out of the bathroom. Once they were gone Christina slammed the stall door shut again and re-locked it.

God I hope they don’t tell anyone around the school about this… Not that I gave them a really good reason to stay quiet…

She wiped a tear from her eye and went back to waiting for Sara to show up.

***

Christina’s butt started to feel numb after having sat on the toilet for so long. Time had slowed down even further after getting caught by the teens, her mind racing from wishing Sara would show up and worrying about the school hearing about what happened. Her, Sara and Cassie had made it this far without anyone knowing but them, but Christina’s refusal to listen to Sara’s advice had resulted in her being discovered.

Look, she told herself. We’ll deal with that when the time comes. Maybe I can bluff my way out of it, say it wasn’t me, I have no idea what they’re talking about… Might work…

The restroom door squeaked open and Christina jerked her legs up and out of sight, before she heard Sara call her name.

“Christina, you in here?”

“Yes! Thank god you made it back.”

A plastic grocery bag slid under the stall door and bumped into Christina’s feet. Her hands dived in and pulled out a shirt. Immediately she swung it open and pulled it over her head.

“I’m surprised no one came in here,” Sara said.

“Well… Not exactly.”

While getting dressed Christina gave her friend a quick recount of her unfortunate run in with three girls, their laughter but eventually leaving her alone. Christina slipped her feet into the sandals that Sara had brought her, then she opened the door and stepped out of the stall.

“Key club?” Sara asked, “was one of them a redhead? Like, not dark red but carrot orange?”

“Yeah.”

“I think that’s Bethany. She owes me a favor, I might be able to talk them out of telling anyone, if they haven’t already. No guarantees, she’s still pretty immature.”

“Thanks,” Christina said, “And thanks for bringing me something to wear.”

“Or course! I couldn’t just leave you like this.”

Christina threw her arms around her friend and hugged her tight. Sara hugged back, squeezing hard. “To hell and back together, huh?”

“You said it. So, if you wouldn’t mind I think I’d like to skip hanging out tonight. I’m beat, I just want to get home and get whatever homework done that I can before I pass out.”

“No, I was thinking the same thing. Would tomorrow work for you?”

“Yeah, absolutely. We’ll do something to get my mind off this mess.”

They stepped out of the restroom together and into the abandoned hallway. Sara gave her friend another quick hug, then said “well I’ll go stop by the key club room, see if I can do anything for you.”

“I really appreciate it. Best of luck.”

Christina watched her friend turn and head down the hallway towards one of the classrooms with lights on inside. Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her borrowed jeans, she turned and started walking the opposite direction, ready to get home.