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Someone once said that clothing is the last barrier we have revealing our true selves, and if/when we remove that, we know the truth of each other and ourselves.
This is just a convoluted way of saying my classmate, Jerek, and I were roaming the forest wearing nothing but a crystal necklace (Jerek) and a pair of glasses (me). We were supposed to be studying the nature all around us as part of our senior year project and what better way to do that than in your most natural state? We attend an experimental Adamite Montessori School; supposedly, it was an experiment to see how nudity could affect our learning.
I’d be more willing to be a guinea pig in this social experiment if my current uniform didn’t suck; I was tall and gangly for my age, skinny limbs attached to a body that still needed to fill out. This was topped off horn-rimmed glasses, straight, long and boring brown hair and freckles dotting otherwise pale skin. Scarlett Johansson I was not.
This really stood in contrast with Jerek, walking side by side with me; he wasn’t overly muscular but still had lean musculature to him. Complimenting that was a boyish yet somehow mature looking face, warm, auburn hair in a trendy curtains style, and sparkling green eyes. All this in one package, au naturel, right beside me…on second thought, maybe this school wasn’t so bad after all.
While Jerek was taking notes on an oak tree, I decided to strike up a conversation with him…for schoolwork related purposes. Have to know your partner better to get a handle on the project and all that.
“So Jerek, you seem to be real into nature,” I blurted out, trying to be smooth as possible. Keyword trying.
“Oh yes! You have no idea how much I’m excited to do this project; there’s just so much this planet offers that people just take for granted! So much to study and yet so little time,” Jerek replied in a burst of excitement.
I wasn’t prepared for this much enthusiasm coming from him. He always seemed like the more coolheaded type. I guess this is what they meant by clothing being the barrier from our true selves.
“I see…not a lot of kids are this into the whole flora and fauna thing,” I awkwardly navigated through the conversation, “You seem to be different from other people.”
“I guess you can say that” chuckled Jerek, “Stuff like these beautiful plants usually don’t grow from where I’m from.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at what he said, given that he was talking about a tree. “Where do you come from that would make oak trees are special? Another planet?”
Jerek suddenly looked crestfallen at what I said and then I started mentally slapping myself for my comment. Good god that was insensitive.
I started trying to babble out an apology when Jerek stopped me, a strange look on his face. “Lauren…can I show you something? Will you promise not to tell?”
The sudden shift had me confused; we’re already naked, what could he possibly show me that I haven’t seen? It’s not like he could be hiding something either given that he had no bag or any pockets to speak of. I simply nodded yes, not really sure of the situation.
Standing to face me, Jerek touched the crystal hanging on his necklace and in a split second, he was completely covered in a flash of blinding white light. After the light faded, what was standing in front of me was…well I’m not sure what was standing in front of me.
What used to be Jerek was now a creature with a coppery sheen to its skin, a neat triangle of dark red fur jutting from its chest. It still had a human shape, with two arms and two legs, but each hand had only four fingers and both feet only had three toes. Its face had no nose and a small mouth, with two huge, green eyes taking up most of its facial area and pointed ears on the side of its head. The most striking part was the hair on its head, as red as the chest fur, which swooped upwards at the front like the letter V. The rest of its long hair descended down to its backside, splitting off into six tendril like braids.
“Ah, much better,” the creature sighed in that still familiar voice. “You have no idea how good it feels to finally drop that disguise. Well, you’re nude so you probably have an inkling of what it’s like.”
I simply stood there, shocked at what I was seeing right before my eyes. “J-Jerek? I-Is that you?”
“In the flesh! Get it?” the creature I now recognized as Jerek, joked. Sensing that joking was definitely not calming me down, Jerek got a bit more serious and said “It’s me Lauren. This is just what I really look like. I realize it’s a bit shocking but trust me, I’m not going to hurt you.”
As he spoke a million questions were running through my head. What the hell was going on? Was this a dream? Was he telling the truth when he said he wasn’t going to hurt me? What was he exactly!? On that last question, I thought back to my crack about being from another planet and that look he got on his face. Suddenly, I think I had a vague answer…
“Jerek? Are…Are you an alien?” I asked, my mind still reeling from this situation.
The creature I called my classmate looked embarrassed as he scratched the back his head. “Uh…yeah, I guess you can say that. I’m from beyond the stars and all that junk…”
I nearly went into another tizzy, new questions running through my mind. Was an invasion going to happen? Did they come to steal our cows or our water? Why does he still look kind of attractive even as an alien?!
Before I could go into conniptions, Jerek gingerly placed his hand on my shoulder and softly spoke to me, “You probably have a lot to ask. That’s understandable. You just need to calm down. Like I said, I have no intention of hurting you. We’re partners remember?”
“Partners…” I muttered, calming down a bit. With my nerves ever so slightly soothed, I looked at him and said, “L-Let’s take a walk shall we? You said you wanted to learn more about what this planet has to offer…and Lord knows there’s so much I want to ask about you.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jerek gently replied, getting started on walking down the trail, “The goal of the assignment was to learn from each other after all.”