Stepping Out

Nicola woke the next day with a strange and unexpected sense of determination. She was going to go to work and nail that interview, even if she had to do it in the nude! Of course, the thought was still terrifying to her - all of her colleagues, people she worked with every day, would get to see her in the buff, not to mention every other person she happened to pass by on her way to and from the office.

The experience was going to be embarrassing for sure. Humiliating even. But she was strangely determined to do it anyway. Logically, there was no reason not to. Priscilla had fixed it so not only would her nudity not count against her, but neither would any of the other biases that would likely scupper her success under normal circumstances. In fact, as crazy as it sounded, there should be more incentive for her to show up for the interview now than there had been before, since she knew she was capable, with a fair and level playing field, of actually getting it.

Of course, walking around naked in public wasn't going to be easy on several levels. First, there was the obvious - she was going to feel hugely exposed and self conscious. The lack of judgement wouldn't mean people didn't notice her complete lack of clothing, that she wouldn't look entirely out of place, and that guys weren't going to leer at her. It was unlikely to be a particularly comfortable experience physically either. The weather was patchy - not cold but not particularly warm, and with a chance of rain. Getting caught in that could be a disaster for her. And she couldn't even wear shoes. Walking around the city in bare feet was not a tempting prospect at all.

Nicola had gone to bed the previous evening certain that, whether or not she would be judged, she wasn't going to do this. But she had woken up with a surprise change of heart, and now embarrassment and mild discomfort didn't feel like sufficient reasons to stop her from pursuing her dreams.

She wanted to test out the judgement aspect of her nudity first, and could do so on Liam and Diane, whom she could hear were having breakfast together downstairs. They had seen her naked already, so it was a relatively easy start to the day in comparison to what lay ahead. Once she had showered and checked she was happy with her hair, Nicola was ready to go. At least nudity was a handy time saver, she figured to herself with a wry smile.

"Oh hey Nicky, are you going out like that? Won't you get cold?" Diane asked as Nicola wandered into the kitchen in her birthday suit. It wasn't a judgemental comment though, more of a practical consideration.

Liam didn't say anything, he was too busy unsubtly ogling Nicola's body. Again, not judgement, just a natural reaction to seeing her naked. If that was how all guys were going to gawp at her today, it could start to get old fast, she thought to herself.

Nicola wanted to triple check the whole "no judgement" thing was watertight before she risked stepping outside her front door, so asked a very blunt question.

"You don't think it will count against me if I turn up to my interview naked?"

"No, why should it?" Diane shrugged "They are assessing your answers and abilities, not what you're wearing"

"Yeah, don't they always suggest you should picture your interviewer naked anyway? I guess this is just your own spin on it" Liam added.

"Good luck!" Diane smiled "If you like, we can get the train together"

"Um, sure"

Nicola decided it might be better to have a friendly female companion for this. She grabbed her bag and checked she had everything she needed for the day - wallet, house keys, work security card...it was all there. What she was about to do was utterly mortifying to her, but she felt a strange and overpowering determination to push through those unhelpful emotions.

Diane opened the front door and stepped out onto the street. Nicola soon followed.