Amie followed Dan back down the corridor. She could hear music playing from the room ahead and recognised the track from her dad’s CD collection. Dan pointed out the machinery, deck ovens, revent ovens, roll plant and finally the bread plant which was being worked by a tall balding man Dan introduced as Steve, who turned and held out one of his large hands,
“Hi I’m Steve.”
“Amie.” and shook his hand, “It’s the Charlatans, patrol chemical brothers remix right?”
There was a look of pleasant surprise on Steve’s face.
“Yes it is. I thought you kids had no taste in music these days?” he smiled.
“My dad is a fan and played their stuff to me all the time.”
Steve turned to Dan, “I like her!”.
The door that leads to the shop floor swung open and Amie turned to see a girl walk through. She had dark curly hair that hung down to her neck, her face was slightly pale and she looked like she had come straight in from partying, her eyes were brown and she was about the same height as her but she had a confident strut that made her look taller to Amie somehow.
She walked straight up to Amie and put her arms round her waist pulling her closer and smacked a kiss on her lips. The kiss caught her off guard and it was a few seconds before she pulled away, surprised and embarrassed she was about to ask who the hell this girl thought she was, when everyone started laughing.
“This is Emily,” Dan said, “and the guy lurking round the ovens is Scott.”
Emily turned to where Scott was standing, “That’s twenty you owe me now boy.” pointing a finger accusingly at him while grinning. “MOUSE!” she shouted out loudly and a little skinny girl with glasses and straight brown hair stuck her head round the door. She smiled and did a little wave before scurrying back to the shop front.
Emily headed towards the door to the shop but stopped short of opening it and turned towards Amie. “Nice panties by the way.” she smiled. All Amie could do was blush trying not to draw attention to her brightly coloured underwear.
For the next few hours Amie stood watching Dan as he worked on the roll plant. Pieces of dough were rolling along a conveyer belt and dropping onto another one underneath that one and Dan was picking up six at a time and placing them onto some neatly stacked trays. There seemed to be a rhythm to the way he worked like he was working in time with the music. It looked easy and she was keen to try it herself.
“Can I try?”
“Sure if you think you’re ready.” Dan winked.
They swapped round and the machine started up again except this time the dough seemed to be going much faster than before and Amie struggled to keep up as the dough fell off the end of the conveyer belt into a catch tray, which was slowly building up with pieces of dough she had missed. She was becoming flustered and Dan pressed a button and the belt slowed down.
“Not so easy is it?”
“How do you do it?” she asked almost pleading.
“Practice. With time you’ll get better but try to get in a rhythm 1-2-3-4……..1-2-3-4.” Dan picked up the dough showing Amie and she copied him mouthing silently 1-2-3-4.
Slowly she began to find it easier and Dan felt confident enough to leave her alone for a bit.
Dan pushed the door open and stepped through to the shop front. There were three counters set out like a horse shoe. Emily and Louise, better known as Mouse, were busy filling shelves with bread and rolls.
“Is everything set?” Dan asked.
“Yeah, we should be ready to go. Are you sure she’s ready for this though? She looks like a runner to me.” Emily said leaning against the counter.
“If she’s as stubborn as her sister says she is, I think we will have a winner.”
Emily smiled, “You care to make a bet on that? I’ve already taken Scott’s money this morning.”
Dan smiled, “On one condition…”
7:40AM
Amie was busy helping Mouse filling the shelves who in turn was telling her about how last night Emily had practically stripped this guy naked on the dance floor who thought a quick feel of Emily’s bottom was just what she was after. Amie laughed at the way her arms flailed about describing every last detail of this jerk’s ordeal.
Her attention was so focused on the story she failed to notice the small army of bodies sneaking through the door behind her.
It was too late to do anything as she was hoisted up in the air and over counter and out to the middle of the shop.
“What’s going on?” she shrieked.
“You may or may not know that here at the Little Bakery we have a tine honoured tradition that dates back to the 40s. It all started just before June 6th 1944 when Alice Broadbottom, in an effort to raise the spirits of our sea bound troops ran the length of the high street clad only in her under garments. Over the years it has changed slightly but we have kept this tradition alive and in the spirit of that pioneer you will now run the length of the shop in YOUR underwear………. and only underwear!!” Dan said this while pacing back and forth in front of Amie like a General addressing his troops.
“WHATTTT???” screamed Amie, “M…M..My U..Underwear?”
Emily walked up behind Amie and her hands slipped round her waist, her body pressing up against Amie’s back, her warm breathe tickled on Amie’s slender neck, lips practically caressing the words into her ear, she whispered so quietly that only Amie heard them, “I do hope for your sake that you’re wearing proper underwear and not a bright pink string bikini under these baggy pants because……..” Emily paused for a fraction of a second drawing it out, “if you are, that would be unfortunate, as it’s underwear only.”
Those last two words were like a catalyst and Amie suddenly felt weak at the knees and would have crumbled to the floor had Emily not been holding her up.
Amie’s face dropped, her eyes darted left and right looking for an escape route or a sympathetic face, but all she found was stony glares and sly smiles.
“Prepare the initiate!” Smiles appeared on faces as they closed in on her, their arms raised poised to strike.
Like a wave crashing up the shore she was suddenly swept up and carried out of the shop, hushed giggles and muffled voices coursed the air around her, eyes tight shut, stomach racing she heard the lift doors close behind her and for the briefest of moments all was quiet. The lift door pinged and as if someone had hit the play button the giggling and whispering started again.
The moving had stopped and she felt her trainers slide off her feet. She could feel Emily’s and Mouse’s fingers as they slipped inside her socks and in unison they were gone. The hands worked their way up her calves, over her thighs and she felt the string on her trousers loosen between Emily’s fingers. Mouse’s hands undid the button on her trousers and both girls grabbed a side each and slowly pulled them down. Amie looked up and watched as those wonderful trousers, those beautiful blue and white gingham trousers slid down her legs inch by inch exposing more and more of her white firm thighs.
Steve held her right side and Dan the left, their hands under her bikini clad bottom. She was now sitting upright in their arms. Emily held one trouser leg, Mouse the other. Scott stood between them slightly behind. Amie looked around and noticed she was now on the second floor of the shopping centre. A few metres away was the edge of the second floor. Overlooking the floor below was a black railing stretched all the way along like the designers had tried to make the inside look like a Victorian high street.
Amie watched as her trousers sailed over the railing onto the floor below, her face burned red as she realised Scott had a clear view between her legs and the only thing protecting her modesty was a thin strip of pink material. She hoped everything was still in place, that the material was not betraying her. She tried to push the thoughts that every line, bump and curve of her mound was probably clearly visible under that slender pink material, but her mind began to tease and taunt her, the same phrase echoed in her head as if being sung by laughing dancing children,
“YOUR GOING TO END UP NAKED, YOU’RE GOING TO END UP NAKED, NAKED, NAKED, AMIE’S GOING TO END UP NAKED…”
Her shirt was being slowly pulled up over her stomach which tensed revealing her flat toned abs. One side of her bikini bottoms had slipped down over her hip bones.
Her arms were being pushed back inside the sleeves. The hands that were stripping her were careful and delicately soft making sure she was not hurt. The bottom of the shirt slid over her face and vanished and she felt herself being lowered, her feet touching the ground again. Her five co-workers spread out slowly forming a semi circle around their victim, pushing her back against the black railings of the mezzanine floor she was on.
Steve, Scott and Dan stepped back slowly turning towards the lift. They stepped inside, “She is all yours Em.” Dan shot her a look that said ‘you know what’s expected’ before disappearing from view leaving Amie all alone with Emily and Mouse.
“Ok. This is how it’s going to work. You are going to wait here until you hear my voice tell you to go. Then you’re going to make your way along this floor all the way along to the lift at the other entrance, where you will get in and take the lift down to the ground floor and back to the shop below.” Emily was staring straight at Amie.
“What!!! Dressed like this are you crazy! People will see me, I’ll be nearly naked…….”
Amie blinked and in an instant the two girls had closed the gap between them and were now inches away from her.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be nearly naked.” said Mouse from one side.
“You’ll be NAKED!” said Emily from the other. It seemed to Amie that she was being attacked by two octopuses by the amount of hands she was blocking. She felt the ties on her neck fall down forward and with one arm she quickly caught it, clutching it to her chest before it exposed her breasts.
“STOP IT NOW…….Don’t you dare. Dan said underwear only!” swatting Mouse’s hand away from the tie on the side as she said this.
“But you already have realised, haven’t you,” both girls said in unison, ” that what you’re wearing is NOT UNDERWEAR, IS IT?”
“But I am wearing them as underwear!!!!!”
“Sorry that’s a technicality. Rules are rules.” Emily had a sideways glance at Mouse.
And both girls grabbed one side of the bikini bottoms, each pulling at the same time and the bottoms fell away. Amie attempted to grab them back but Emily was too quick and pulled them away from her grasp. Realising she was bottomless Amie dropped into crouching position exposing her back to Mouse who undid the final string on Amie’s back. Amie did not fight anymore as her top was pulled away from her.
“Oh god…..oh god…….oh god…..”
The two girls pulled Amie up into a standing position, one arm across her chest the other between her legs. Her breathing was fast and she was beginning to hyperventilate.
“Just breathe in and out slowly.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not NAKED!” Amie screamed, the shock at her predicament had now turned to anger.
“You can’t force me to do this.” Amie said.
“No, your right we can’t.”
This caught Amie off guard and she looked at Emily inquisitively.
“Yes of course you don’t have to do it. You can go home right now if you want to.”
“I can?” Amie thought this was her way out, an escape route, but her face dropped when she heard Emily’s next few words.
“But of course we will keep anything still left in the bakery and send it to you in a few days.” Emily was almost laughing. She loved saying that giving Amie a glimmer of hope then taking it away.
“But my clothes and car keys are still in there.” Her face was bright red. There was no choice, she would either do this task and run through the shopping centre naked or walking the few miles back to her house naked which would almost definitely expose her to more than a few people.
“Oh, we’re not that cruel. You can have your car keys back but your clothes stay here.”
“Drive home naked? I..I..can’t do that, people will see, our neighbours get up early on Sundays.”
“It’s your choice. You can do this task and maybe find out about yourself or you can drive home and forget today ever happened.”
Amie looked down at her bare feet and sighed. When she looked back up Emily was pressing the button to call the lift.
“Hands on the railings sweetie.” Emily called out.
Amie did as commanded and reluctantly grabbed the railing with both hands all the time looking around to catch anyone watching her.
“Amie.” Emily called out and she looked back over her shoulder and saw the flash of a camera go off. The two girls laughed and the lift doors closed leaving her naked and alone.
Emily felt the lift doors close behind her, “I hope your right about her, Mouse. I don’t want to have made that bet only to find out she’s not the one we are looking for.”
Mouse could hear the nerves in Emily’s voice. “Don’t worry. She’s the one. Before you know it she’ll be one of us.” Mouse reached out and held Emily’s hand. Her confidence eased Emily’s fears and together they whispered the words
“One of us.”