The power of the Spex

It was some time later.

Susie, standing in front of the whole class, took a deep breath. It was really important she got this right. Everyone she knew was watching her, and sitting in the back row was her very favourite dark fantasy author, who'd made a special trip all the way out to Pinkwhistle just to see if she was as intelligent and beautiful as she made herself out to be in her fan letters. She couldn't afford to make a fool of herself.

"Welcome to my book report," she announced. "Today I'll be discussing the scene in The Master And Margarita where the Devil sells a lot of women disappearing clothing and makes them run around Moscow in their underwear. Some people think that Bulgakov was a pervert, but I believe it might be a metaphor for something..."

She stopped. Ben was sitting in the back row, looking at her, with that special gleam in his eye. Ever since that fateful night in the carnival, when the harlequins had taught him the secret of controlling his natural radiation, so he didn't even have to use the X-Ray Spex to strip girls naked just by looking at them, the attractive young women of Pinkwhistle had been leading very interesting lives.

"Wait! Not today! I haven't even got to the ballroom scene! I mean..."

"Susie Snook," said Megan Honey, about as severely as she could manage, which wasn't very. "I'm surprised at you. Where on Earth are all your clothes?"