go grab the paper?"

"Th-the newspaper?" Valerie asked.

"Uh huh." her father replied as he buttered his toast. "Paperboy should have thrown it in our hedgerow by now."

"Oh, Gerald." Valerie's mother chided him.

"Well, it's true, isn't it? That boy has no aim; he has no right to be a paperboy."

"Uh... I'm not sure if I can get it." Valerie replied. "I mean, not like this anyway."

Her father tutted. "You don't have to put your shoes on just to walk on the lawn. I keep it nice and tidy, you know."

"Sure, honey," her mother said with a roll of her eyes. "YOU keep it nice and tidy."

Her father smiled. "Yes, well, either way... if you wouldn't mind, Val?"

"Al-alright dad." Valerie said, climbing to her feet. "I guess if it's okay."

Neither parent raised any objection; in fact, they both turned their attention to eating their breakfast and making coffee as if it was no big deal for their daughter to go flash the neighbours. Feeling very anxious, Valerie padded out into the hallway.

As she edged reluctantly towards the front door, something caught the corner of her eye. It was an old family photograph hanging in a frame; an image of the four of them, sitting on the edge of a wooden dock, taken during a family vacation out in the countryside. It was exactly as Valerie remembered it, except for one important piece: her clothes were missing in the picture, too. She was about thirteen in the picture, and her body was exactly as she remembered it being.

"This is so weird." Valerie muttered.

She scanned a few more pictures, and they were the same; identical to the originals, but she was naked in all of them. With a sigh of ****, she turned away from the photographs. She just couldn't work it out right now, and as much as she wanted to delay her trip to the front lawn she knew she had to do it soon.

Her hands shook a little as she reached out and grabbed the door handle. She turned it, and opened it up slightly. The sound of birds singing and lawnmowers humming reached her ears; the sounds of outdoors. She peered through the gap and saw a slice of the front yard; some grass, some sun, and some of the driveway. Beyond that, a slither of sidewalk. There was nobody in view.

"Let's just go for it." she muttered.

She opened the door fully, and stood in the doorway staring at the world outside. Naked. She felt a thrill of naughtiness, but also a mountain of shame. She was about to go outside without any clothes on, something that had been drilled into her as being wrong since she was a child. Pushing herself, she stepped outside onto the front step, feeling the rough concrete digging into her bare soles. Grimacing at the pain, she quickly tottered out onto the grass. It felt slightly moist beneath her feet, but soft and springy. Wanting to get this over with, Valerie rubbed her hands up and down the back of her legs nervously while she scanned the area for the newspaper. For some reason she couldn't see it.

"Morning Val." a man's voice called to her.

Feeling her face turn beet red, Valerie turned towards the source of the voice; Mr Anderson, their neighbour. He was a man in his late fifties with silvery hair, dressed in beige trousers and a sweater vest. Although his hands were busy watering his flowerbeds with a hose, his eyes were locked firmly on Valerie's body. He gave her a warm smile.

"You okay, neighbour?" he asked. "You look a little red."

Valerie wanted nothing more than to run back inside and bury her head under a pillow in shame. Instead, she **** herself to say "Just a little warm, sir."

He gave a wholesome laugh. "You? Warm? It must be all the layers you're wearing, eh?" He burst into laughter again.

Valerie gave a nervous smile. "It's... kind of weird, isn't it?" she asked.

"It was at first, but... I've been living next door to you for ten years now, Val. You kind of get used to it."

He chuckled again, shaking his head in disbelief. Beneath her shame, Valerie felt a warm surge of satisfaction; confirmation that it wasn't only her family that had lost their minds. Still, she wanted to escape the conversation as quickly as possible.

"Mr Anderson, has the paperboy been yet?" she asked.

"Why yes, about twenty minutes ago. Darn boy nearly took my head clean off."

"Umm... did you see where he threw ours?"

Grinning, Mr Anderson extended his arm and pointed. Valerie looked in that direction, and her heart sank. The stupid paperboy had thrown their paper in a very awkward place.