Chapter 20 - Jenny's Community Service
While Eveline was working on her first lecture about the West African Confederation and modeling for the Emerald Empire Auction House catalogue, Jenny had a very stressful situation of her own to deal with.
After a particularly grueling basketball practice, she returned home to find her little sister Lynne dressed in a Christmas outfit. Oh shit. She had forgotten that her family usually took their annual Christmas card pictures towards the end of October, to make sure they had plenty of time to get cards printed and sent to everyone in their extended family.
Lynne had a particularly malicious expression in her face. She held out a Santa hat.
"Hey, Jenny. Like my outfit? Remember how last year you said I looked stupid dressed like an elf? Here. This is your outfit."
Lynne had nothing her hand except the hat.
"Who's gonna look stupid this year? If I'm the elf, I guess you get to be the winter nymph."
"Lynne, you little bitch, quit fucking with me! Gimme the rest of my outfit!"
"You got your outfit. All of it. Remember, you did have Mom and Dad sign that nudist contract, didn't you? Can't be a hypocrite about it, now can we? That's what Dad said."
Jenny had thought that Lynne looked ridiculous in her elf outfit and had made fun of her the previous year, but seeing her father in a Christmas outfit was even worse. He was a totally no-nonsense person who was not the sort to wear anything other than his normal work clothing. However, once a year he reluctantly indulged his wife and put on the costume. It looked totally out-of-place on him, he knew that, and it put him in a bad mood.
Furthermore, Jenny also knew that her father remained extremely irritated over her decision to go to school naked. He would get back at her by forcing her to show herself as a nudist during the family Christmas photos. As he put it:
"If this is the way you want to run around in school, then this is how everyone's going to see you for Christmas. You know I hate hypocrites."
Jenny's mother yelled at everyone to get in the car and told her husband to drive them to the same family photographer they had gone to for years. The photographer was surprised to see Jenny wearing nothing but a Santa hat. Jenny's father forced her to explain her situation.
The girls had to pose first. Lynne cheerfully positioned herself with a centuries-old jewelry box that they always used in holiday photos. It was a family tradition, going back to the invention of portrait photography, that the youngest generation in Jenny's family always posed for a formal Christmas portrait. Every year's picture included the old gift box, which was an family heirloom that had been in every Christmas portrait in Jenny's family for over well-over a century.
Jenny's father snapped his fingers and directed the older daughter to take her position next to her little sister. Jenny and her little sister posed for a series of pictures, but the final pose, where Jenny stood behind Lynne and put her hands on the younger girl's shoulders was the one that everyone liked the best. This picture made the final cut and would be on the cover of hundreds of Christmas cards, including some extras Lynne wanted to give to her school friends. Obviously people would have questions about Jenny's lack of attire in their formal Christmas portrait. Over and over, she would have to explain to relatives and family friends that she had formally declared herself a nudist. That meant... when Christmas rolled around, she'd have to go to all the family reunions dressed as she was now. Not a pleasant thought at all.