Walk of Shame

Valerie heard what Gloria said, but the meaning of her words didn't fully register. For a seemingly interminable moment, she simply stood where she was, her body trembling and her thoughts overcome with emotions.

"You are instructed to vacate the premises," Gloria reiterated, her mouth twisted in a cruel smile. "Be warned - I will not repeat myself a third time. Would you like me to call security?"

The prospect of being manhandled by a bunch of men in her current state finally shook Valerie from her state of shock. I will not cry, she thought, steeling herself and holding back her tears. There was no way she would give Gloria the satisfaction.

After a forlorn gaze at her friends - who were all as shocked as she was - Valerie turned around and began to walk away.

"One more thing," Gloria piped up after Valerie had taken a few steps away. "That blazer is company property. Now that you're fired, you're not allowed to take it with you."

For a moment, Valerie pictured herself turning around and hitting the administrator right in her smug face. It was only her years of training to keep her composure that stopped her from following on her instincts. She steeled herself and pushed down the torrent of emotions - rage, loss, sadness, despair and more - that threatened to drown her where she stood.

In that moment, she swore revenge. She would burn everything to the ground - Gloria, Chief, the Organization - it didn't matter. Everyone who had a hand in bringing her to this moment would pay.

Outwardly, she didn't react. She calmly stopped walking for a moment and shrugged off Priya's blazer from her shoulders. It slid down to the ground, leaving her body completely exposed. Nude once again, she began her walk of shame out of the proving grounds and into the Organization's main campus. She was naked, but she didn't try to cover up or hide her body. She had lost her clothes, her career, her dignity and more - there was nothing left to lose.

She passed by several shocked faces, some of whom she knew and had worked with. Some tried to say something, some tried to stop her, but she didn't react. In normal circumstances, she would have been mortified to have been seen naked by this many people, but she found herself feeling strangely indifferent. She felt distant, almost as if she was watching herself from outside her body.

The Org's campus was slightly out of town, hidden in the countryside. The exit opened into a small road not too far away from a highway. Valerie arrived at the door, and the guards made no comment - clearly having been informed by Gloria about what was happening.

They opened the gates for Valerie, who walked out of the Organization and into her new uncertain future.

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