When they got back, Jenny ran straight upstairs to her room and started to cry. She had no clothes, all of them were gone, the only things she owned that even resembled clothing were the towel she was currently wearing and her bathrobe.
She spent nearly an hour sobbing into her pillow, confused and scared as to what was happening to make the people around her wanted her nude before she drifted into a troubled sleep.
When Jenny awoke she rolled over in her bed, the clock read 7:00 and she could smell dinner cooking downstairs. The towel she had been wearing had obviously come loose and was now draped half off the bed next to her. The horror of the day she had just experienced came flooding back to her and she shivered in memory of the strange situation she now found herself in.
Jenny decided to put on her robe and confront her mother about the strange events of the day, as she walked across the hall she was reminded of the fact that she had been bare-foot all day as the dirt and dust still stuck to her feet made walking through the house feel strange.
Making sure her robe was as tightly closed as possible, Jenny entered the kitchen where her mother and father were chatting while Martha cooked.
“Evening sweetheart!” her father said enthusiastically.
“Ah, Jenny, I got you a bowl to wash your feet in… I realise walking around barefoot can make your feet quite dirty!” Her mother said cheerily, pointing to a deep tray of water near the door. Jenny knew that her feet were in desperate need of a clean and she decided it best to clean them. When she was finished the water in the tray was completely black, but her feet were finally clean.
With a deep breath Jenny decided to confront her mother.
“Mum? Why are you trying to get me to lose all my clothes?”
Her mother stopped and choked on her coffee, her father raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. “Well?” Jenny demanded.
There was a pause, before her mother started laughing, “Oh Jenny, you’re so funny! What a funny thing to say!” The laugh was forced but despite the obvious falsity of the laugh both Martha and her father joined in as well.
“I’m not joking!” Jenny yelled. “You’re all trying to get me naked! I went to school today wearing practically nothing and ended up wearing just a towel! You didn’t even let me put any shoes on!”
The laughing stopped. “Jenny, you’re being ridiculous” Her father said.
“No-one minded about how you were dressed Jenny, we didn’t get a phone call. Did any of you teachers have a problem with it?” Her mother added.
Jen screamed at her, “No but that’s not the-”
Her mother cut her off.
“Well then, I don’t see an issue here, there’s nothing wrong with the way you were dressed today and if you continue to question my parenting like that then you can expect dire consequences young lady!”
Jenny couldn’t believe what she was hearing; she was being disciplined for questioning the fact that she’d been forced to go almost naked all day.
“I NEED CLOTHES!” Jenny shouted, furious.
“Young lady, you’re in no position to make demands like that. Until you learn some respect for me and your father I don’t think you’ll be getting anything!” Her mother scolded her.
“WHAT ABOUT SCHOOL TOMORROW?! I DON’T HAVE ANY CLOTHES!!” Jenny screamed.
“Jennifer Smith you’ll go to school dressed in whatever manner is appropriate!” Her mother said, softer this time, as though she’d laid a verbal trap and Jenny was about to walk straight into it.
“WHAT?! NAKED?!” Jen yelled, she was a little taken aback by her own words.
“If you like” Her mother said succinctly, her father shrugged.
“No no no!” Jen said, backing away from them. “I’m not going to school naked! There’s something wrong with you, and everyone else, this isn’t normal!”
“Jenny, I think it’s best if you hand me the robe” Her father said, the hidden force behind everyone’s words all day seemed to spill forth in that sentence, and Jen realised she’d been cornered by a crazed mentality where everyone was desperate for her to be naked.
“I’ll be arrested!” She shouted, “This is illegal”
“Not in our own home it isn’t,” her mother said, “the robe Jenny”
“No!” she yelled, clutching the garment as both Martha and her Father rounded on her.
“Why do you want me naked?” she pleaded.
The three of them laughed, like it was some kind of game or joke that she’d missed. And with a final struggle her robe was ripped off of her by her zealous maid.