Chapter 8: Sky-Clad School Transfer

At the end of Friday, Melanie Watson heard the official word: Monday, she'd be at Sir Alexander Graham Bell Elementary. Her principal and teacher wished her good luck, and all her friends hugged her goodbye. "You're going to Bare Bottom Bell?" they wailed. A few begged her to take them with her.

Dale picked first Emma and then Melanie up at the end of school and took them to visit Felicity. Melanie was excited to have her Mom see her report card, and worried about her mom's reaction to the news she was changing schools.

They arrived at Felicity's room to find her awake and reasonably alert, although still in pain, and had just had a word with her doctor, who was just leaving. The doctor gave Dale a hug as they passed each other. Felicity's brother had been waiting in the hall while the doctor did her examination, and entered the room with them.

"And who thought it would be funny, to mark on my charge forms that I was a nudist?" Felicity demanded. "Who?"

Dale was amazed, Melanie and Emma giggled and Felicity's brother looked innocently at the ceiling.

"Frederick Johnson, you son of a ... er..." Before she could tell her brother just who he was a son of, she realized her daughter and niece were there, both nude.

"Well, I thought seeing as you can't wear clothes anyway, what's the harm?"

"The 'harm' is that they're now going to be ENCOURAGING visitors to enter this room nude!"

"They're what?" Fred blinked. "Hey, that's cool!"

"They've got some crackpot study from Sweden that says that there are fewer germs on nude people than on those who are wearing fabrics. They're talking about making some wards clothing-optional." Felicity snorted in derision. "As if you'd ever catch ME nude."

Fred glanced significantly at the barely-there hospital gown that left nothing to the imagination. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, he kept his own counsel as to 'proper attire'.

"Now, Felicity, your daughter has something to show you," Dale chided.

"Mom, my report card," Melanie proffered.

"Oh, yes, how does that look?" She took a look at the marks, and teacher comments. "That's really good, Mel. Those are top marks." She went to sign the card, but realized with her hands taped up with intravenous lines, that was not on.

"Don't worry," Dale assured her. "I'll sign it for you."

They had a marvellous couple of hours visiting, until finally supper arrived.

"Look at this," Felicity challenged them, gesturing at the nutrients on her tray masquerading as comestibles. Because of her injuries, she was not yet on solid food. "This is horrible." She picked up the protein shake and made a face. "You know why hospital food tastes so bad? To make the medicine taste so good, you'll think that it's the food."

She looked at her daughter. "Why don't you go with Aunt Dale, and grab some dinner? I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

"OK, Mom." Melanie gave her mother a big hug and reluctantly left the room.

Alone with her brother in the hospital room, Felicity's gaze lingered on her daughter until she was out of sight. She then turned to her brother. "Fred..."

"I know, you'll kill me later. But Mel's taking it good, I think, and she adores staying with Emma and her aunt and uncle. She'll be fine."

"I'm not really worried," she sighed. "But you'd better change the notation about me, though. Otherwise, YOU will be the one drinking this shake. Rectally."

Fred did not bother changing the notation on his sister's chart. He figured either she would herself, or she wouldn't notice, or she would notice and have a thoroughly amusing reaction. She hadn't given much more than a a dirty look to the adults when the two children, clad only in sneakers and socks, had walked into her room.

The next day, Saturday, Emma and Melanie started off with a swim, then dried themselves off. Together with Emma's parents, they went off to the hospital, where they met with both maternal and paternal grandparents.

It was now the first day of the new "naturist by-law", that permitted nudity by all ages in all public places. The hospital had already reacted by establishing rules where it would be allowed and where attire was required for good solid medical reasons. Unfortunately for Felicity, her ward was one where the hospital could not come up with a "good solid medical reason". Fortunately for Felicity, she had remained in blissful ignorance of this change ... until her family walked in.