Chapter 1

Monday, September 13, 1954 Evanston, Illinois

Lee Miles

We had a morning swim practice, which meant I had to be at school an hour earlier than usual. I stripped off with the rest of the team in the locker room, and walked over to the pool, where we were greeted by our audience for the practice.

I looked around for Brenda Frank, the girl in my algebra class that I liked, and waved to her. She smiled and waved back, causing me to need to get in the pool fast before something else started waving. Once practice started, I forgot she was watching as I focused on my swimming.

Coach Walton blew the whistle and motioned us all over to the side of the pool.

"Miles and Abruzzo, you're wanted in the principal's office. Don't bother to get dressed."

I looked at Jerry Abruzzo, a junior who did the breaststroke; "Do you know what this is about?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. It's strange that they don't want us to get dressed. Must be an emergency."

"Or maybe with that naked program they're doing they don't care if we have clothes on or not." Everybody, even Coach Walton, laughed when I said that. The program to which I was referring was an educational experiment the school district had decided to embark on where they would pick students to run around naked for a week. It was either an attempt to teach hygiene by modeling health sexual behavior, or a Communist plot to weaken the moral fiber of Evanston's youth, depending on which member of the school board you listened to. My parents had actually signed me up for it, although I didn't really take it seriously until we got to the principal's office.

Several other students were already there. They were also naked, although I didn't recognize any of them from the swim team. I did recognize one of the girls. She was Susie Aquila, who sat behind me in English class and in front of me in history. Of course, Principal Nieves was there too, along with a woman I didn't recognize.

"Why are you all naked?" Jerry asked.

Mr. Nieves sighed wearily and answered, "You have all been selected to be the first participants in the Naked in School Program." Mrs. Carney will explain further.

I stifled a laugh as Mrs. Carney began speaking. "Congratulations everyone, you are the first participants in any program like this anywhere in the world. Now, before we begin we have a few rules to go over. If you'd like, you can read along in these pamphlets." She handed out booklets that had a picture of a naked boy and girl on the cover under the title 'Evanston Consolidated School District Naked in School Program.'

"Now," Mrs. Carney said, while Principal Nieves rubbed his forehead and gave every impression of wishing the floor would open up and swallow him whole, "we'll begin with the basics. We have selected one boy and one girl from each grade, partnered so that you share several classes and a lunch period with all the participants. We hope that you will all support your partners through this challenging yet rewarding experience. You will leave your clothes, except for your shoes and socks and any jewelry the girls might be wearing, in bins at the entrance of the school each day. You will then proceed throughout the school day as normal with a few exceptions. The first and most obvious exception is that you'll be naked. In addition, you will use the toilet and shower facilities of the opposite sex. You will also be subject to what we're terming 'Reasonable Requests.' Other students have the right to ask you to display certain parts of your body or to touch you, providing that said touching is not excessive or penetrative."

"Wait a second," Susie cried out, "we're supposed to let people TOUCH us?" I noticed that she looked about as happy to be here as Mr. Nieves did.

"Yes," Mrs. Carney explained, "you can, however, deny a request that you deem not to be reasonable. Any disputes about the reasonableness of requests will be decided by myself. You may also be requested to help out with school classes or activities," Suddenly, I was glad I wasn't taking art, they made students take turns being a nude life model, which I was told involved sitting absolutely still in uncomfortable positions for the whole hour. "In addition, you are encouraged but not required to perform Outreach by going nude in your home or in public during the week." This wouldn't be a problem for me; we were in the middle of a late summer heat wave that had me going naked every chance I got. I got the feeling it would be a problem for Susie, who was staring at the floor, tears falling from her face.

Mrs. Carney finally released us, and I walked with Susie over to algebra class. Remembering what Mrs. Carney had said about supporting each other, I tried to cheer her up.

Chapter 2 »