The girls come looking for their towels

This time, the door to the pool opened. Three girls came out, fully dressed but with wet hair. They walked straight on to the service desk, rather than leaving. The room was getting awfully crowded and Sophia was right in the middle of it. She overheard one of the girls asking if the clerk had seen anyone leave with a red towel. Sophia knew immediately what was up. She could practically feel the lady behind the desk smiling as she said that yes, she had spotted the towel. Sophia was powerless as the clerk began to explain what had happened. She was making sure that she spoke loud enough for Sophia to hear what she said. She told about how she had caught a girl wearing such a towel in the office behind her, and how she had been snooping around. Sophia was not the only one would could hear the story, as the people around her could hear it all, too. She was afraid to find out how much the clerk would tell them, and whether or not she would be outed in the middle of all these people. She had absolutely nowhere to go.

The lady continued, and although she did not call her out directly, she just as well might have. She told the girls how it turned out that the girl she had encountered had indeed worn their towel, but nothing else. She said she had confiscated the towel, but thought that it would be a fitting punishment to send her home totally naked. She added a detail that seemed directed specifically to Sophia:

"Now that I know she even stole the towel, I think I made the right decision to send her home naked!"

Right as the last member of the group, who had left to fetch their phone, returned, the clerk handed over the towel and said:

"Alright, my shift is up. Go on inside, my replacement will be here in 15 minutes or so."

She put up a little "be right back"-sign and straight up walked out the building, leaving Sophia stranded without the promised help. She could not go after her with everyone still standing around her, so she was helpless as she watched her leave. While the group of girls were laughing about the outrageous story, the other group kept lingering rather than proceeding to the pool. Instead, they were recounting the story they had just heard to the latecomer. Soon the girls joined in on the conversation as Sophia grew more and more ****. Soon they might figure out she fit the story pretty well, and then... Sophia did not even want to think about what would happen then.