They order the students to leave and come back later

"We need everyone to disperse for the time being," the fireman ordered. "The fire seems small and manageable, but we can't work with a crowd this size so close to the building. It's not safe."

The crowd began murmuring in confusion and apprehension.

"If you left any belongings in the building when exiting, you did the right thing," he continued. "And we'll let you back in to retrieve them once we've made sure the building is safe. And folks, that isn't happening for at least an hour. So do both us and yourselves a favor: go wait somewhere else for a while. Check back in this afternoon and we'll let you in to retrieve your belongings. I promise everyone will get their stuff back. That's all, thank you."

Candace's heart fell at this announcement. A full hour? If not longer?! She was hoping to get back in to retrieve her clothes much, much earlier than that! Now what was she supposed to do? Make the walk back to her off-campus apartment completely naked? Her normal walking commute took her directly along several busy streets. That certainly wasn't happening! Yet her other option was staying somewhere on campus, which was equally unappealing given her lack of clothes.

As the crowd began to slowly disperse and retreat from the art building, Candace had no idea what to do and no idea where to go.

"So... early lunch then?" Melanie asked.

"I could eat," Cameron agreed. "Tony's Pizza?"

"Ugh, no," Katie chimed in, "I just ate there yesterday. Why don't we just go to the dining hall so everyone can get whatever they want?"

As her four new friends began heading down the walkway, Candace found herself following them. It was utterly bizarre being part of the group and hearing them debate where to eat for lunch, all while fully nude. The juxtaposition of the normal, everyday conversation with the fact that she was the only one naked was making Candace feel a little crazy. It felt almost like she was stuck in an embarrassing dream.

"Don't worry, Candace," Abby said, snapping her attention back to the present moment.

"Huh?" the naked girl said, hands instinctively moving slightly higher, as if to cover her breasts. But they stopped partway. They were now getting closer to the dining hall, and there were more and more students surrounding her. Candace's embarrassment intensified and her blush deepened.

"You clearly don't have a way of paying for lunch on you," Abby giggled, "so today it's my treat!"

"Oh..." Candace said, a bit disappointed that was the only form of help Abby had offered.

All of a sudden, the preposterousness of the situation hit Candace almost like a physical blow. What was she doing?! She was walking through the middle of campus completely and utterly nude! And she was pretending like she didn't even mind?!

"Actually Abby," she said, finding her voice again, "instead of buying me lunch, do you think you could help me find something to wear instead?"

But her last few words were cut off by the shout of an angry campus employee. They'd already made it to the dining hall entrance, Candace realized.

"WHAT ON EARTH?!" she roared. "Why is she NAKED? She can't be in here looking like THAT!"

"Please, miss," Abby said, trying to fight for Candace's right to enter the dining hall naked, "there was a fire over at the art building and she doesn't have any clothes to wear at the moment.

"I don't give a damn if all her clothes got burnt up!" the employee yelled, both misunderstanding Abby's comment and drawing the attention of every nearby dining student. "She can't come in here NAKED!"

Candace looked down at her bare feet, feeling utterly humiliated as everyone stared at her.