Joe looked at the place where his clothes should be. He was alone in the boys' changing room, having deliberately waited until the communal shower was empty before going in. He could hear shouts of laughter coming from outside the changing room as his classmates made their way down the corridor.
He stood there, dripping in nothing but a towel, wondering what to do. His next lesson was in five minutes and it would take half an hour to walk back to his dorm, in the cold, barefoot and humiliated. He could chase after the other boys and demand that they give him his clothes back, but that was probably what they wanted.
He closed his eyes and tried to think.
...
The geography lesson was already underway when the door opened and Joe walked in. "Sorry I'm late," he announced. "I couldn't find my clothes."
There were gasps as Joe walked towards his usual desk, Mr Shillock looking desperately around for something to preserve Joe's modesty.
"Tate, outside, now!"
"I know I'm late but is that really..."
"Out!"
Smirking, Joe stepped outside the classroom and picked up his discarded towel.
...
"It's really not funny, Joe," said Graham later, in the groundskeeper's hut.
"It was a bit."
"You could have been arrested."
"It's not my fault my clothes were stolen." Joe sipped his tea.
"You should have gone and reported it, not walked into class naked."
"I expect it gave Mr Shillock a thrill." Joe shuddered. "The old perve."
"You can't keep pulling stunts like this."
"I'm not the one pulling them."
"Then, as your legal guardian, I should inform the headmaster that you're being harassed."
"Don't you dare." Joe suddenly looked older than 16.
Graham sighed. "Alright, but promise me next time something like this happens you'll come and tell me. No more public nudity, okay?"
"Okay, okay."
"I mean it, Joe. You could still be expelled, and your Aunt Zoe could revoke my guardianship. Do you want to go back to New Zealand?"
"No," Joe muttered sullenly.
"Then, behave yourself. Try to stay out of trouble for the next two years."
"I'll do my best."