Experiment 91 (part 3)

-- read part 1 here --
-- read part 2 here --

Sophie had no idea the clothes one wore could have such an influence on one's life. From then on she was not only uncomfortably hot the whole time, but also stared at by everyone. And avoiding people was simply impossible. Every day she had to leave her house for at least six hours. So she had no choice but to make long walks, go to shops, visit friends, and so on. Her clothes also hindered her: her walk was clearly strange with the diaper, thick down pants and Moonboots, her vision was severely limited with just the small zippered opening in front of her eyes, even her hearing and speaking were muffled by the thick hood. And handling everyday objects like money or keys was now five times harder because of the mittens, more so because she couldn't see much.

She had felt like an alien even when she was walking through the corridors of the research center, and when she went up to the desk at the entrance to get back her personal belongings. But that was nothing compared to how she felt when she was outside, taking the bus home. She could feel every eye on her. At least her hood blinkered her view so she couldn't see most of the people. But it was still a very unpleasant experience, and she hurried home and didn't leave again that day. Of course, the next day she wouldn't have that option. Nor any of the 150 days after that.

There were more inconveniences. Eating was difficult, as she had to open the zipper in front of her mouth. But because the zippers were connected, this meant closing the one in front of her eyes. So she had to eat blind. Another thing Sophie had to get used to was using her diaper. At first she tried to hold it back but she soon learned that she couldn't avoid it. Her first nights were hot and restless. For sleeping she closed the eyes zipper as she could breathe better when the mouth zipper was open.

On the first day of the experiment, Sophie stayed indoors in the morning. She only made a brief visit to the stores because humans need to eat after all. She was very embarassed to walk outside like this, and even more to go into a store. But she knew she had no choice, she would have to do this many times so she'd better get used to it. In the afternoon she decided to make a long walk through the forest. At least there she wouldn't meet many people. She left at 2 pm. But the heat trapped inside the down clothes made it all quite exhausting. It was simply not possible to walk around for six hours like that. At 5 pm she arrived back home, very tired after the long walk. But even after her morning visit to the stores and the afternoon walk she still had to be out of her home for 2,5 hours. What to do now?

Luckily at that moment her friend Nadja called and invited her to go see a movie tonight. Because Sophie had to get out anyway, and she didn't feel like making another long walk, she accepted. Although she was quite worried about what Nadja would think and about sitting in a heated room with many people.

At 8 pm Sophie arrived at the theater and soon she found Nadja who was waiting for her. Like everyone else, Nadja was staring at the purple figure wearing thick down clothes and Moonboots, and a hood that only left a small slit around her eyes open. Her eyes widened in amazement when the figure walked straight at her. "Hi Nadja," Sophie said. "Sophie? Is that you?" Nadja stammered, trying to get a good look at the little bit of her face that was visible. "Yes, it's me," Sophie confirmed. Nadja was shocked. "Wow, you are heavily wrapped up. Is there a blizzard raging that I'm unaware of?" "It's a long story," Sophie sighed. "Look, can you get the tickets first? I don't like to face people the way I'm dressed. Let's go inside and I'll explain it then."

Five minutes later the girls were seated. Nadja took off her jacket but Sophie of course didn't have that luxury. The seat was soft and deep, so she sank back in it and could only look straight ahead because of the hood. This made talking to Nadja a bit weird, as she couldn't look at her. Nadja noticed this and said: "Sophie, take at least your hood off! It's really warm in here, and I can't even properly see you." "I can't, Nadja, I'm not allowed to take it off." Sophie explained about experiment 91, and how she had to stay dressed like this for five months. "Five months? Oh Sophie, what have you gotten yourself into!" Nadja exclaimed.

Then the movie began so they couldn't talk anymore. Sophie was thankful that the lights were out so people couldn't see her anymore. After the movie Nadja offered to have a drink. Sophie was very thirsty, as she sweated a lot, so she said yes. They went into a nearby café. Nadja was amazed when Sophie showed her she had to close her eyes zipper every time she wanted to drink.

Most of Sophie's friends reacted in much the same way as Nadja. The only exception was Tanika. The first time Tanika saw Sophie's clothes, she said: "Waw! That's a nice outfit Sophie! Where did you buy it?" Sophie then of course had to explain all about the experiment again. Tanika seemed excited about the whole project. "And you can't even take the hood off for a moment? You must be so hot in those clothes. And what are these zippers for?" Tanika wanted to know everything about Sophie's situation.

Tanika seemed to enjoy being around Sophie in her down clothes. She spent a lot of time together with Sophie on her long walks. They also went shopping together, although Sophie had protested against this at first. "I don't like to go to busy places. All the people will look at me," she had said. But Tanika had convinced her. "Nobody knows who is under that hood anyway, Sophie. And why would you care what others think?" Despite this, Sophie didn't feel comfortable when she was in the shops or on the crowded street. Tanika didn't seem to mind. She proudly led Sophie from one shop to another. And when she met a friend she showed off Sophie's outfit and she demonstrated the use of the eyes/mouth zipper.

Tanika also came with Sophie to the research center after the first week. She appeared very interested in the experiment. After the tests Sophie got to change into her other outfit, so they could clean the first one. It was identical except for the colour: instead of purple, the Moonboots, down pants, mittens and jacket were all bright red.

Gradually Sophie got used to this big shift in her life. But after the first month, they had another surprise for her...

-- on to part 4 --







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