A Lost Wanderer

Thunder boomed and the rain continued to pour as she came down the stairs in a thin strapped tank top and a pair of underwear, both grey, and sat on the couch beside her friends.  The guy to her left looked at her with eyes too large for his head and growled, none too softly, at her.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”  All eyes in the room were suddenly on her.

“What do you mean?  I’m waiting for my clothes to dry, just like the rest of you.”

“Yes but,” he gestured to her bare legs, “where are your clothes?”  She glanced around the room for the first time and noticed something strange.  All of the guys were in some stage of undress, their dripping clothes scattered about like leaves from a tree, the guy growling at her was in nothing but his boxers.  But the girls were all dressed.  Other than her the most any had taken off were their sweatshirts and socks.  One girl had taken her shirt off but she also had a tank top on under it.

“They’re hanging upstairs in the bathroom to dry.  I’m not going to sit around in wet clothes all afternoon while trying to get them to dry.  That’s ridiculous.”  The girls all shifted uncomfortably as the guys started to eye them.

“But,” he sputtered, “you’re nearly naked.”

“So are you.”

“But that’s different.”

“Oh, do tell me.  How is it so different.”

“Well, I’m a guy and you’re a girl so…” he dropped off as he stared at her bare legs, lost in thought.

“So just because you don’t have the willpower to keep your hands to yourself and control your emotions for a couple hours I’m not supposed to take any of my completely soaked clothing off?  Even if it prevents me from getting sick?  While you get to run around in even less clothes than I have on now?”

“What?  No.  You’re a girl.  Girls aren’t supposed to walk around in their underwear.”

“Why not?”

“Because they, uh, might get attacked or something?”  She looked around at the handful of guys in the room, meeting their eyes, seeing the discomfort.

“Is someone going to attack me?  Just because my pants are upstairs drying?”

“Well it could happen.”  He muttered and flopped into the couch.

“Yeah and someone could attack you, too.  Just because you’re a guy and I’m a girl doesn’t mean I have anything to fear from you.”