The Freshman Ch. 12

Cecilia was intrigued by the changes in her boyfriend and her friend: that her boyfriend was about to become an open proponent of nude living and her friend seemed to have lost any inhibitions about her body. Her thoughts wandered to the Tri-Alpha picture signing event, which was scheduled to be held the following Wednesday, a week and a half after the race itself. Every year the fraternity sold over-priced autographed pictures of the race winners to raise money for charity. Typically there was a moderate amount of interest in the autograph event, and most of the interest was for pictures of the winner of the female division. However, the euphoria over having a non-Tri-Alpha member win the men's division meant turnout would be higher than normal and that there would be at least as much interest in pictures signed by Jason as pictures signed by Lisa.

Cecilia wondered if there was a way she could help make the picture-signing session even more successful, because she had a personal interest in raising money for that year's selected charity. The proceeds were slated to go to upgrading a pediatric hospital in an impoverished area of the Dominican Republic, located in a small town just a few miles from the Haitian border. The town was not too far from the village where her grandparents still lived. Cecilia saw the autograph fund-raising event as an opportunity for her to do something for her home country, and perhaps even something that would directly benefit her extended family.

Finally Cecilia came up with two ideas she hoped would raise additional money for the hospital project. The first idea was to have Jason and Lisa attend the event wearing what they wore during the race, their running shoes and nothing else. Having them sitting naked while they autographed their race photos certainly would make the public more interested in buying pictures, no matter how over-priced they were. Cecilia's other idea was to invite a professional photographer to set up a camera and backdrop, and give members of the public a chance to pose for a picture with one or both of the naked race winners, for a hefty price, of course.

Cecilia contacted the president of the local fraternity chapter and presented her suggestions. The fraternity leader liked both ideas and forwarded them to the national Tri-Alpha directorate, who, in turn, cleared them with the university Board of Regents. Within a few days the details were settled. The picture-signing event would be moved to the main conference area of the student center and be advertised campus-wide. At the beginning of the week Cecilia approached Jason and Lisa with the changed venue for the autographing session. Jason and Lisa looked at each other upon finding out they faced several more hours naked in public as a result of the Tri-Alpha race, but they both agreed. Certainly the charitable cause was worth while, and both race winners secretly enjoyed the daring feeling of having their bodies exposed in such a public setting. So it was agreed, starting at 6:30 and going until about 10:00, the two race winners would wear their running shoes and socks, but otherwise be fully undressed as they signed autographs and posed for pictures in a crowded room during a public event.

Wednesday night Jason, Mike, Lisa, and Cecilia walked to the university student center right after dinner, on a dreary rainy evening. Once inside the student center they went to the building's main reception room, where a rather long line of fans already was forming. Oh yes, it seemed that Jason and Lisa were quite the celebrities that night!

As soon as they entered the main reception area Jason and Lisa got undressed and put their shoes back on. Mike and Cecilia stuffed their clothes into student backpacks as the two race winners sat down on chairs covered with towels behind a large table. The president of the local Tri-Alpha chapter and a reporter from the campus newspaper approached them and explained what was going to happen. There were three sets of race photos being sold for signatures, one of Jason standing with his trophy, one of Lisa standing with her trophy, and a picture of the two winners standing side by side with their trophies. If a fan approached Jason with a picture of himself, he would ask the fan's name, making sure the spelling was correct. Then he would write a short personal message and sign his full name. Lisa would do the same for her race photos. The only pictures Jason and Lisa would both sign were copies of the shot of them standing together.

After the initial two hours, the two race winners would stand up and pose with guests at a backdrop set up by a photography student from the university art department. The fraternity abandoned the idea of hiring a professional photographer when they found an art student who was willing to take the pictures for free. The art student's time and talent would be her own donation to the children's hospital project.

Cecilia glanced over at the photographer, a young woman who seemed about her own age, roughly 19. She was not exactly pretty, but she had a very interesting appearance. She had a figure that would have been considered attractive in the late 1800's: wide hips, thick thighs, and a nice large bottom. She had pale skin and very sad, haunting eyes. The photographer's hair was interesting to Cecilia as well, done up in much the same way the singers of "Socrates' Mistresses" from Upper Danubia had their hair styled, braided and wrapped around her head. The photographer wore a long, loose-fitting skirt that accentuated her wide hips and voluptuous bottom.

The art student, in spite of her young age, was all business. She moved about the area where she had set up her backdrop, adjusting the lighting and testing the camera lenses she had brought. Cecilia later learned the photographer had borrowed most of her equipment from the art department and was trying to work with the unfamiliar items and settings as best she could.

Finally, at 6:30, with Jason and Lisa were sitting on their towels behind the table, the Tri-Alpha representatives opened the doors and allowed the public to come into the room. The first stop for the customers was to purchase pre-printed race pictures at a separate table staffed by fraternity members. The Tri-Alphas had the foresight to print not just the pictures of the winners standing with their trophies, but also several action-shots of Jason and Lisa as they approached the finish line. There were a total of 15 different photos customers could purchase, at fifteen dollars apiece, or one hundred fifty dollars for an entire set. Jason and Lisa noticed many of the customers buying complete sets, as well as separate photos they wanted autographed.

Over the next two hours Jason and Lisa wore out their hands signing pictures. On each picture the winner wrote a short message directly addressed to the customer by name. They worked quickly, but it seemed that no matter how many pictures they signed, the line of waiting customers never diminished. The Tri-Alpha fraternity members running the event had to guide the clients to move away from the table once their photos were signed, and also chased away anyone who tried to photograph Jason and Lisa sitting at the table. Anyone who wanted to take a picture with the race winners that night would have to wait until 8:30 and pay for the privilege.

As she watched the growing line of customers and her two dorm residents frantically try to keep up the pace signing photos, Cecilia decided to strike up a conversation with the photographer. The young woman's name was Suzanne Foster. Suzanne was double majoring in physical therapy and art, with a specialization in photography. Like Cecilia, she was a sophomore still living on campus, but unlike Cecilia, Suzanne was not receiving a full scholarship and thus was financially strapped.

Cecilia and Suzanne talked non-stop for nearly two hours, without realizing how quickly time was passing. They both were surprised to hear the Tri-Alpha representative announce a break. Following the break Jason and Cecilia would make themselves available to pose for pictures with guests, for a donation of $ 100 per picture. The two race winners went to the bathroom without bothering to get dressed, had a drink of water, and took their places in front of Suzanne's studio backdrop.

For the next two and a half hours Suzanne's camera flashed at the two naked race winners posing with fans. The event organizers looked at each other in amazement. This was by far the most successful post-race money-raising event in the history of the Tri-Alpha 10-K run. While Suzanne worked to rapidly take pictures, Cecilia helped out, opening rolls of film and helping the photographer load her two cameras. Cecilia's assistance allowed Suzanne to work much faster and ensured that everyone who wanted to have their picture taken with the race winners had the opportunity do so.

No one could have foreseen how many people wanted to take pictures with the race winners. When Suzanne came close to exhausting the supply of film she had brought with her, Cecilia volunteered to run to the art department photo lab and grab additional rolls. She and Mike took Suzanne's key and desperately rummaged through her photography supplies to gather up more film. They made it back just in time for Suzanne to re-load her camera and continue shooting.

The anxiety and excitement that Jason and Lisa felt at the beginning had long since given way to a feeling of routine exhaustion as the two naked race winners stood arm-in-arm with one guest after another and the flash went off in their faces over and over. In the end they posed with over 200 fans, going an hour past the planned schedule and adding more than $ 20,000 to the charity proceeds.

The supply of pre-printed race pictures completely sold out, in spite of the production of extra copies. It was past 11:00 p.m. when Jason and Lisa finally waved goodbye to the departing crowd and picked up the backpacks containing their clothing. They went to the bathroom, quickly got dressed, and re-entered conference room. They were completely tired out and ready to sleep. However, they were elated when the fraternity's president told them the evening had raised a total of over $ 70,000 for the hospital project.

Cecilia exchanged addresses and phone numbers with Suzanne and departed with her three dorm residents. She was very happy from having made a real contribution a worthy cause the same night she made a new friend.

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Three days later, Jason stood on stage at a microphone in Springfield, speaking about his experience winning the Tri-Alpha 10-K race. He began by describing his own experiences as a naturist and how he gradually became more and more comfortable with his body as he progressed through high school and the first semester of college. He jokingly talked about his comical streaking adventure with Ken, and then moved on to discussing the 10-K race itself and the strategy that he used to win.

Cecilia and Ken sat in the audience. Cecilia was one of the few dressed people in the room, which made her stand out and feel a bit uncomfortable. Ken had decided to attend the event in the nude, and sat next to his RA, feeling a bit daring doing so.

Like most of his listeners, Jason was completely undressed. In spite of his lack of attire, he spoke with poise and confidence, calmly making eye contact with various senior members of the organization in the audience. He had rehearsed his speech in front of Cecilia and Ken, researched the history of the race, and was prepared to talk about it at length.

As it turned out, the Springfield speech became an important turning point in Jason's life. Over the next several months he would travel around the Mid-West to speak at colleges promoting the benefits of nude living. Later in his life he become a public spokesman in opposition to legislative efforts to curtail public nudity at beaches and a nationally recognized face for numerous clothing-optional causes. Even that first night it was obvious that Jason already had his fans and admirers.

Cecilia was a bit surprised at the success of her boyfriend's public presentation. She was impressed by his confidence in himself as he stood on stage speaking to interested and sympathetic listeners. She felt deep satisfaction as she realized it was because of the relationship with her that he was here. Perhaps this was his destiny, something in life he now could fulfill. Perhaps part of Cecilia's destiny had been to help Jason find a purpose in life by giving him a cause to promote.