Chapter 11: Headed to Tallahassee - Rachel and her parents in Florida’s capitol

The blue SUV slowly wound its way through the parking lot and found a space next to the street. A man got out of the driver’s side and walked over to the self-pay kiosk. He was dressed casually yet nicely--a blue pinstripe shirt, a navy blazer and tan Dockers.

A woman stepped out of the passenger side, wearing a blue and white dress with an off-white sweater. She had started to put on a green skirt with a teal blouse earlier that morning, and had also considered a burgundy dress, but she settled on the more conservative look, given nature of the hearing she was headed into. Her heels made a clacking sound against the pavement as she stepped down out of the car.

From the back seat, the bare foot of a young girl emerged, silent against the pavement, then a bare leg, then the whole bare girl. From her feet to her head, she wore nary a stitch.

Unlike her mother, she’d had no quandaries about choosing her wardrobe that morning. Except for what bracelet, necklace and ear rings to wear.

“Mom, I’m nervous about this. I don’t know what to say.”

“Rachel, there’s no need to be nervous.” Her mother placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Just answer whatever questions they ask you. That’s all there is to it.”

“That’s right, just answer whatever they ask you, honestly” added her dad as the “Wait” icon turned to “Walk.”

The three started across the crosswalk of the busy Tallahassee boulevard.

“Mom, I feel like I’m in trouble. I feel like I’ve done something wrong.”

“Well, you aren’t. And you haven’t,” she assured her daughter.

“But Charlie Abercrombie might make you try to feel that way,” said her father. “Just answer whatever he asks, then try to tune him out.”

Rachel’s mother’s dress was rustling in the breeze like the flag over the Capitol. The wind felt cool against Rachel’s skin. If anyone had inspected her close-up, they would have seen minuscule blonde hairs standing up all over her, illuminated by the sunlight, and tiny goosebumps appearing all over her body (though nowhere near the degree as during the cold snap last week).

“I just hope you don’t say what horrendous ogres your parents are for stripping you!” her mother joked. Or at least she hoped she was joking.

“You know I’d never say that, Mom” said Rachel as they crossed in front of the cars stopped at the red light. “I mean, for the right price. Like, you know ... those awesome shoes we saw at Rue 21!”

Walking down the street in Tallahassee in front of the capital was not like walking down the street in, say, Miami, with naked kids running round everywhere. Nor was it like the upper provinces where a sighting of a naked kid in public was somewhat akin to a sighting of bigfoot or Elvis. Of Leon county’s 60,000 residents under 21, about 3%, or about 1800, are permanently naked. So in stores and restaurants or just walking down the street in areas where there are lots of young people, you’d regularly see kids with nothing on. But walking down the street in front of the state capitol on a Tuesday morning, you were unlikely to see a lot of youthful nakedness (unless maybe a school group was taking a tour).

As the family walked up the steps of the capitol building, Rachel was looking around for reporters. That’s what she expected, that this would be a big media event. She was relieved to see only state capitol employees and other people there on business, nicely dressed, walking up and down the steps with various satchels and briefcases.

Rachel and her parents stepped into the main atrium, not sure where to go.

During the year she had been living in the nude, Rachel had grown accustomed to walking around with nothing on. She was fine going to the mall that way, or to school, or strolling down the street in her own hometown totally bare. It was just how she lived. But standing in the bulky atrium of the capitol building, she felt uncharacteristically self-conscious about not having anything on.

“Excuse me,” a lady said, her voice echoing in the marbled atrium. “You’re here for the hearing I presume?”

The family was easy to spot, given that one of them didn’t have any clothes on.

“Hi, I’m Janet,” she continued, extending her hand. “I’m a field coordinator with Stripped for Florida.”

They all introduced themselves.

Janet led them down several halls, up an elevator and into a conference room. Other parents were there, and several Stripped for Florida staffers, plus several students, some clothed, some nude. One of the nude boys was Jayden. He was standing across the room, wearing his red Converses.

Although they had never seen each other before--at least as far as Rachel knew--he glanced at her with a look of faint recognition. That’s because, actually, they HAD seen each other, on two separate occasions. They had never actually met, though. But they were about to.