The alarm clock rang.
Lara opened her eyes and reached for the clock to turn off the alarm.
The clock read 12:15am. Her mother should have returned home by about now from her evening job.
She stepped out of her bedroom and headed towards the kitchen, where her mother usually rested with a drink.
"Oh hi Lara." Her mother greeted.
"Hi mom."
Lara took a seat at the kitchen table, put her elbows on the table, and propped her head.
"Can't sleep tonight?" Her mother asked.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"So how was your day?"
"I didn't do much. I tried calling some nudist resorts, but none of them were hiring."
"Nudist resorts, huh? Going to get a job at one?"
"Hopefully."
"Well you just have to keep trying. Might help to visit a few of them and stay there just to get to know the people."
"Yeah."
Her mother took a drink.
Lara sat up.
"Mom, I'm planning to leave home."
Her mother paused and then nodded her head slightly. "When?"
"Soon. I'm leaving with Julia whenever she figures out when."
"And where's Julia going?"
"Fort Wayne."
Her mother made a face. "Fort Wayne? You mean Indiana? What are you going to do there?"
"I'll find something."
Her mother blew out a breath of disbelief. "You'll find something?"
Lara sat quietly.
"So are there nudist resorts in Fort Wayne?"
"No. I'm thinking of finding one in California or maybe Arizona. Julia's just going to take me as far as Fort Wayne. But, I'll probably get a job there and then figure out how to get to California."
"Well, I'm sure California will welcome your naked little butt there." Her mother said grinning.
Lara made a little smile.
"Do you need some money?" Her mother asked.
"No. I want to do this completely on my own."
Her mother laughed.
"I'll be fine."
Her mother took a drink, swished it around in her mouth, and set the glass on the table.
"Now tell me you're not going to be a stripper."
Lara rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Mom!"
Her mother made a serious look, while Lara stared back with a serious look of her own.
"I'm sorry. That was a dumb question." Her mother said. "I guess you can't be a stripper if you're already naked."
Lara smiled.
Her mother took another drink.
"So let me guess, you're planning to go to Fort Wayne naked right?"
Lara nodded her head.
"Of course!" Her mother replied, shaking her head.
"No, Lara. I mean, OK, you can go to Fort Wayne, and yes you're eighteen now. But realize that you're head is not painting an accurate picture of reality. You can't just go all the way to Fort Wayne naked and no money!"
Lara didn't answer. She turned her eyes down and tilted her head to one side, expecting the same arguments from her mother and the same tired advice.
"You'll get in trouble!" Her mother continued. "Do you realize how many men out there will pursue you? They will never leave you alone! They will follow you! Keep a coat with you, or an over-sized t-shirt or something you can put on."
"Mom, I'm not taking any clothes with me! I'm serious about this!"
Her mother sighed and threw her hands up in the air.
"You can still have clothes and be a nudist!"
Lara rolled her eyes again.
"Really mom?" Lara asked sarcastically. "I mean listen to what you're saying!"
"Lara? Are you insane? All nudists still have clothing. Even if they're full time nudists, they still don't travel across the world without taking something with them. And certainly with some money too!"
"I don't care. I'm going to do it anyway."
Her mother laughed. "Well you certainly will take some clothes with you. And you will take some money too."
"I threw away all my clothes yesterday. I don't have any."
"What? You are kidding me!"
"I'm not kidding."
Her mother got up out of her chair and walked to Lara's bedroom. Minutes later she her mother yelled out, "Lara!!"
Lara walked to her bedroom to find her chest of drawers pulled out, and her mother standing in front of her closet.
"What the Hell did you do with your dresses?"
"I told you I threw them away!"
Her mother put her hands on her hips and turned to look at Lara in amazement, while Lara simply looked back at her emotionless.
"The dress your grandmother bought you? The wool overcoat I bought you? You did not throw those away!"
"I threw them away."
Her mother walked briskly towards Lara and held out her hand, cocking it back to slap her daughter's face, like she had done so many times before. But Lara had braced herself, ready to take a hit. She stared her mother down in defiance, waiting to be slapped. Her mother paused, still holding her hand out, ready to swing.
Reality finally sunk into her mother's conscience. Her daughter's obsession with nudity was not just a childhood thing, but something that Lara would pursue seriously as an adult.
Her mother put her hand down. Lara continued to stare straight into her mother's eyes.
"OK, let me get this straight." Her mother started. "You're leaving for Fort Wayne buck naked and no clothes, and you have no money and no job? Am I missing something here?
Lara shook her head. "No, mom."
Her mother raised her voice. "How are you going to feed yourself? Where are you going to stay? How are you going to stay warm? How are you going to shower, brush your teeth, take care of your period? How are you going to defend yourself? What if you get sick? You know that when word gets out there's a naked eighteen year old girl wandering around, people are going to hunt you down. Do you realize how stupid this is?"
Lara's eyes were starting to well up. She walked to her bed and laid down.
Her mother stood there staring at Lara for several seconds.
Festering in the recesses of her memory, she recalled her own youth when she left home with a rebellious, carefree lifestyle and feeling every much as frustrated as Lara. She tried to draw upon that time to find some piece of useful advice to offer.
She sat down on the bed, and put her hand on Lara's shoulder.
"Lara?" she spoke in a more calmed tone.
"Look, let Julia drive to Fort Wayne on her own. I'll help you find a nudist resort you can work at. You can stay here in the meantime, or I can help you find a place of your own, and you can be as nude as you want. OK?"
Lara sniffled, and paused for a moment.
"No, mom. I don't want to be in Charleston anymore. I want to go to California."
Lara's mother started to cry.
"But sweetie, I'm so worried about you. I don't want anything to happen you!"
Lara wanted to answer, but chose to hold back. Her mind was filled with thoughts of how her mother was rarely there for her throughout much of her childhood. Even in times when Lara needed her mother the most, she was rarely around. How hypocritical it was for her mother to say that she's so worried about her, she thought.
"I'll be fine Mom. If I can call you, I'll call you."
Her mother sunk her head down in her hands. Reality was setting in that her baby was leaving, and doing so in an extraordinary way.
Lara had already reached for her clitoris and began soothing herself, calling for the six-year old girl to help her escape from the overwhelming effort it took to confront her mother.
"Baby..." Her mother spoke. "Please call me. OK? Just call me?"
There was no answer from Lara. Her mother turned to look at her and noticed that she was already withdrawing into her little girl. She reached for her daughter's foot as she had done so many times, and rubbed it.
Lara shifted to her side, still with her hand inside, and began to cry uncontrollably. The trauma of confrontation was far more than the little girl could handle.
Before breaking down herself, Lara's mother stood up and walked out of the room.
