"Karl, don't you think it would be a nice idea to invite Mary to go with you on your field trip?"

"I guess so Mom," Karl replied, "Do you think she would be interested?"

"I'm pretty sure of it. She's been feeling a little lonely since Nancy went on vacation."

Actually, Karl had already been thinking about inviting his younger sister to go with him and his three friends on a trip to a nearby state park. Having recently turned sixteen he had just received his driver's license. In order to celebrate, he and three boys he had been friends with since elementary school had decided to go to the park and explore.

Because Mary had also just turned fifteen, Karl knew that she would want to start dating soon. He felt protective toward his younger sister, and wanted her to date his friends, rather than boys he did not know and had no reason to trust. Karl also knew that his friends thought Mary was pretty and wanted to ask her out. The field trip would be a wonderful way to introduce everyone and break the ice.

Karl's mother knew that Mary was attracted to his friends. Indeed, it had been Mary who asked her mother to suggest to Karl that she be included in the field trip.

And so it was decided. As Karl expected, his friends were delighted to have Mary come with them to the state park. As Karl's mother knew, Mary was delighted to be invited.

What was more, Mary took it upon herself to prepare a picnic lunch for the boys. It would consist of ham sandwiches, homemade lemonade, salad and musk melons.

Mary had cooked dinner for the family before, and was rather good at it, but this was by far her most ambitious project to date. The hardest part was the baked ham. She started with a five pound fully-cooked ham. She preheated the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, added cloves into the ham, and baked the ham uncovered for one and a half hours. During the first hour the ham was cooking Mary mixed a quarter cup of brown sugar, a quarter cup of maple syrup, and a tablespoon of mustard. During the last half hour the ham was cooking, she spooned this mixture over the ham and let it stand for about fifteen minutes. Then she sliced it for sandwiches. These she made from whole wheat bread, mustard, and a slice of lettuce, before carefully placing each sandwich in a sandwich bag.

An easier task was to make lemonade from scratch. Marry began with eight lemons. These she squeezed with a squeezer she found in the attic that had been owned by her grandmother. In a plastic, two gallon container she mixed the lemon juice, a cup of sugar, and eight cups of cold water. After screwing the lid on the plastic containers, Mary put them into the refrigerator.

The salad consisted of lettuce, raw spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, and Italian dressing. The musk melons were not sliced to keep them fresh.

All of this was carefully packed in two picnic baskets with paper plates, plastic cups, bowls, and eating utensils, and paper napkins and place mats, along with a knife for the musk melons. Because Mary's mother thought it was important for the picnic to go well, she took a day off from work in case Mary needed any help, but Mary did everything well. From time to time Karl came by the kitchen to see how everything was going. He was proud of his beautiful, younger sister, and wanted her to marry one of his friends.

The next day Karl drove Mary and his friend Mark to the state park, where they were met by Randy and Larry. Randy was the unofficial leader of the group because he was a year older than the other boys, because he was one of the best fighters in the school - and thus an able ally against bullies - and because his plans for the group usually had agreeable results.

After parking their cars, the five teenagers carrying the two picnic baskets, walked through a trail to a clearing where there were several picnic tables and a rest room. When the baskets were placed on the tables, Mary opened one, and took out a police whistle. "I have an idea," she said. "Before we eat, let's play hide and seek. I will hide and you boys can look for me. When one finds me, we will come back here. I will blow the whistle, meaning that the game is over, and the rest can come back to eat the picnic I have prepared."

"I like that idea," Randy said. "Will the boy who finds you win something special?"

"Well..." Mary began playfully, "I've never been kissed before. He can give me my first kiss. But he can only kiss me once."

"We are your brother's friends," Randy began. "The four of us have been together since the third grade. You can trust us. Take your clothes off before you run and hide."

"Randy, that's an outrageous idea!" Karl complained.

"I'm not talking to you, Karl, I'm talking to Mary."

Mary thought about it for awhile, and was surprised that the idea did not seem outrageous to her, but kind of exciting. Except for her brother, the other boys obviously thought it was an excellent suggestion. "Karl, please don't get angry at me, but I kind of like the idea. However, if I'm going to do this, you boys will have to promise a few things. First, you must never tell anyone about this."

"I promise," Randy said.

"I promise," Mark said.

"I promise," Larry added

"I'm sure not going to tell anyone," Karl said. "Everyone at school will laugh at me for letting this happen."

"Second, you have to promise not to try to have sex with me." The boys quickly promised. "Now, I want you boys to form a circle, hold hands, close your eyes, and count out loud to one hundred. That will give me time to take my clothes off and hide."

When the boys began to count, Mary hesitated for a few seconds, and then untied and removed her running shoes and socks. She took off her loose dress, revealing her slender, teenage girl's body. She hesitated again, until the count reached twenty. Then she removed her bra and panties, and ran down the path, deeper into the woods.

She continued to run until she was out of breath. Then she looked back to see if anyone was following. By now several sharp stones had hurt her bare feet. She wished she had asked to be able to keep her running shoes on. Being completely naked, deep in the woods began to feel less exciting, more frightening, and simply foolish. Why had she agreed to this idea? Her brother was right. This was outrageous.

What if she met a strange man in the woods? What if she met two men? What if she was discovered by a Boy Scout troop on a hike? Mary had never been kissed before. She certainly did not want her first sexual experience to be forcible rape. And what was she to tell a judge and jury? That she had been innocently running through the woods completely naked, and that a group of men had not taken "No" for an answer?

Never before in Mary's life had what seemed to be a good idea suddenly become a very bad one so quickly. This stupid game had to come to an end as soon as possible. She simply had to get her clothes back on, and hope the boys kept their promise not to tell anyone about this.

Mary had to be found, but by who? Certainly not Randy. She was furious at him. Actually, the answer was obvious. She had to be found by her brother. If one of the boys was to discover her naked she wanted him to be her brother, rather than a boy she did not know very well.

Mary imagined Karl was disgusted with her for shaming him in front his friends. She would have to face that. Besides, she considered with a sly smile, she knew Karl liked to see her naked. This was because she enjoyed teasing him when they were alone in the house together by walking naked from her bed room to the shower and back. From these enjoyable experiences, she also knew that Karl would not push things to a dangerous level. She thought that would be true for his friends, but she did not really know for sure.

Now that Mary had planned the solution to her predicament, the problem still remained. How could she engineer her discovery by Karl? As she continued to walk down the forest path, she saw the answer to her question. There was a clearing up ahead with some very tall grass growing. By lying at the bottom of the grass she could see who was walking down the path without being seen easily.

Mary entered the grassy area from behind, so that someone on the path could not see that the grass had been parted. Then she lay on the ground and waited. The first boy to walk by was Randy. "Oh that horrible wretch!" She used to think he was cute, but she could not stand him now. Then Larry walked by. Finally, she saw Karl!

"Karl," Mary called quietly.

"Mary?"

"I'm in the grass. Let's go back so I can put my clothes on." Karl walked into the grass, and soon discovered his naked sister lying on the ground. He did not let her get up, however, but began to wrestle playfully with her. "Where is Mark?" Mary asked.