I woke up after dreaming of zombies attacking my animal crossing new friends. I admit, perhaps ZombiU is too mature for me. I only saw a few seconds of the game and I am already having nightmares about it?

I woke up first, and wasn't hungry yet, so I went to the living room, opened the tv and muted it.

Starting Animal Crossing, I went into the same and began buying the new stuff in the store. Edith says to buy everything every day, even if we didn't need it.

I had to fish and collect seashells to successfully buy everything, but I did it.

I also planted more flowers and some of the fruits I had not planted yet, since I needed a new ax, which I got this morning.

To get a tree, you chop a previous tree and replace it with a new one.

I also got on the bus, to get to the city where there is more to do, but not that much. There are certainly a lot of animals there.

I was starting to get a feel for the game. It's calm and simple, but you still have a lot you can do in the game, just not much you have to do.

After a good hour of play, I fixed myself a breakfast, trying not to wake up my parents. I was in the middle of it when my mother woke up, and came to sit in front of me.

"Wow, you wake up late, I am usually the last one up"

She grumbles something, and sort of lies on her arms.

"Wait, did you play ZombiU until late last night"

"No, we did not play ZombiU until late last night", says my mother.

"Only dad played?"

"Oh, I was there with him all along, helping him, guiding him, warning him. but we didn't play until late last night", she says

"Then why do you look so tired?", I ask

"Because we played until early this morning, kiddo."

I laugh

"Should I give you a bedtime?", I ask

"Oh, I am giving us one. This was completely irresponsible", she says.

"Mom? Did you have fun?", I ask

"I did. I even played a little, but I really enjoyed being the co-pilot. But that stupid game... it's not like there are chapters"

"That's how video games become addictive, mom. You taught me this"

"I know! And we fell for it"

"You can go back to sleep, I am big enough to handle myself"

"I couldn't sleep anymore. I have stuff to do before we go to the club"

"Can I help?"

"Want to do the laundry? Vacuum the house? Clean the sheets? Or do you want to play with the WiiU?"

I think.

"I can do a bit of both, you know?"

"Julie, you are 12. It's not your job to do all of this"

I surprised myself by saying.

"If I hope to become a responsible adult, shouldn't I learn to prioritize work before play? Especially on the day my parents didn't?",

She looks at me, and laughs. "We'll wait for the vacuum, your father is sleeping"

"I know how to do the laundry. I think"

"Oh, you do, young lady?", she says

"I've seen you do it often. I wonder, does Clara do less laundry?"

My mom snickers. "She says she does more. They still wear clothing for work and schools, and they keep washing the towels they need to sit"

"Shouldn't we buy more?"

"Are you kidding me? We are not buying any more towels. Like, ever"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you like our towels, kiddo?"

"Sure, they are soft, fluffy. They are much nicer than Mindy's."

"They are. I know! That's why we picked them. If you ask Mindy, which one will she prefer?"

"I don't know. Ours, I guess?"

"Most likely. What about Clara?"

"The same, maybe?"

"Good. We thought the same too."

"So?"

"Most people aren't willing to pay for quality towels"

"Wait, did we import these?", I asked

"We sure did, and only sold like 20% of our lot, and mainly as samples to stores, most of which sold them under cost, frustrated at us"

"They are too expensive?"

"Way too expensive. But it was years ago, and premium bath products were all the rage. We thought we would make a killing"

"And we still have them?"

"And we still have them"

"We should grab a few from the warehouse, now that are naturists at home"

"We have several in the basement I think."

"We could make towel forts, like when I was a kid!", I said, remembering fond memories

"Why do you think we could do that?"

"Right", I realize.

I emptied the dishwasher, and put my dishes in. I then divided the laundry into two loads, whites and colors, which my mother approved.

She guides me on the washer use, like putting the soap in first, selecting the right program, but honestly, it wasn't rocket science.

I did the colors first, since we had fewer whites.

I changed my bed sheets, and put my dirty ones with the whites.

"We imported the sheets too, but those were a success.", she told me.

When my father finally woke up, the whites were in the washer, and the colors in the dryer.

I vacuumed the house, including their bedroom, but my mother changed their sheets.

I noticed a few weird stains on the mattress, but when my mother saw me notice them, she told me. "It comes from being a woman, you know? We have a mattress protector, but they sometimes move around".

"Is it painful, I often see you in pain?"

"Having your periods?"

"Yes"

"It's not the fluid coming out that hurts in my case, but rather, it's when it is not coming out. But don't think you will get the same, you might get your periods from your father"

I laugh. "He doesn't have periods"

"No, but he gave you his X chromosome, and your aunt has almost no pain or cramps. Just some light depression when in her PMS"

"Light depression?", I said, worried

"She feels down."

"Oh"

"But even with me, it's not the end of the world, you know?"

"It's the price for being a woman", I said

My mother agrees.

We picked up Mindy from her house a little before 4h. She was already dressed, but she was waiting by the lobby, with her parents, Lucy and Clark, both of whom were nude.

I was saluted by both teenagers while our parents talked, but they quickly left to go by the pool.

Mindy hugged me, and then, her parents, and we left, with her bag between us on the back seat.

"I spoke with Edith this morning, we made plans. She made 3 more profiles, and I made two more. That way, we can store more items in the houses and dressers"

"Dressers?"

"Oh my God, you don't have one yet?"

"Nope."

"I'll tell Edith to give you one. It lets you store a ton of things, but all your dressers share the same space. It's like a pocket dimension or something"

My mother asks. "Do we need to play every day?"

"Well, it's best to talk to all of the animals, and buy every item or you might miss some", say Mindy

"I get that, but Julie will buy them, pick the fruits, plant more and so one, right?"

"Right"

"So if I create my profile, will I need to play each day?", asks my mom.

"No, but you would try it?", I say, excited

"Well, I am more inclined to try that than to play ZombiU again", she says, laughing

"Hey", says my dad. "You seemed to be having fun"

"As a co-pilot, but in the driver's seat? Remember when I got us killed"

"What is that game?", asks Mindy

"It's a zombie fighting game for the WiiU. It's more for adults"

"Oh. But you can die? Like more games, when you die, you respawn at the last save point", Mindy says

"No save points at all. If you die, that's it. Your character is dead, no way to get it back. You lose everything you had", says my dad

"For real? That's horrible", says Mindy

"Ah, but here is the twist, You resume play with a new character, and the guy who saves you and guides you in your radio briefs you, so you continue where you were, and if you manage to get back to where you were, you can get your gear back, only, there is one more zombie"

"Why?"

"You have to kill your previous character to get your stuff back"

"Wow" , I said, but we soon made it back to my house.

We all undressed and ended up eating some previously made shepherd's pie, which I always enjoy but which Mindy had never tasted other than at school and loved it . She initially thought it would suck, and honestly, I can understand. At school, It's barely edible, but my mother's recipe is one of her best.

Both Mindy and I asked questions about the non-landed club, but my parents admitted it was tough to answer, as the participants changed from event to event.

The basic structure was usually the same each evening. The gymnasium, when there was one, was open for about an hour for volleyball, which my parents took part in, followed by an hour of badminton, which they did not. Volleyball was open play, meaning no score was kept, players were free to change teams, to change position, and it was acceptable for teams to have an unequal number of players.

The pool was always open all evening long, with a net for water polo with similar rules or lack thereof, however, there was gentleman's agreement to have people with families that aren't playing near the wall so they can keep an eye on their loved ones.

45 minutes in and an hour and 45 minutes in, there is a water exercise activity done by the lifeguard, who is usually not a naturist. At a school, however, it was possible that Sandra, a naturist, would be the lifeguard, but often, she simply came as a client. After all, she wants to relax too. Sometimes, she isn't the lifeguard and still does one or both of the water exercises.

Most of the kids are younger than we are, there are usually no teenagers, but sometimes, there are kids around our age, but not every time.

Amenities vary from place to place. Sometimes, there is an exercise room with stationary bikes and weights, but it's either adults only or with adult supervision. One of the places has a hot tub, but it's 16 years or older. Both restrictions are there also for textile events, it's not the club enforcing it.

My parents had never gone to the specific school we are going to. It's a new location, chosen because one of the places frequently rented went bankrupt.

The club considered buying that place at the foreclosure to become landed, but the debts were too high and they couldn't get the financing.

Mindy asked questions about the price, and we learned that we would be a price for a family of 4, which was barely more expensive than three individual tickets just for my family.

My father explained that most of the events are open to everyone, but members get 25% to 40% off, while there are evenings just for members, but that Mindy could come as their child, but her parents couldn't without paying the affordable membership fee.

Honestly, I don't recall the price for a membership, but this year, after post-covid 19 inflation and price hikes due to a smaller membership base, the annual price is $85 per adult, couple or family, provided we all came on the same card. Young adults under 30 only pay $45. If we needed more, like if my mother went without my father, it's $10 per card, but not per year. Once, as long as the main card remains active.

Being a member also allows you to vote on the activities and get a few perks, like faster check in via a member's only line.

But mostly, you showed your commitment to the club. It is non-profit and being a member means they respect you more.

Back then, it might have been something like $55 for most people, and $25 for young adults, but like I said, I don't recall.

As for events themselves, it varies a lot. I think it was something like $40 for the four of us, but I didn't pay much attention to money back then.

It felt weird dressing back up just to undress there, but my mother gave me the trick. She only wore a sundress when the weather was acceptable so that she didn't need to worry about losing her underwear.

I look weird in one, but I lent the one I have to Mindy, and put shorts without underwear and a t-shirt. I don't even need a bra yet.

My father didn't change anything and even put boxers on. He did grab a padlock with a combination. He checked it, and soon enough, we were on our way.

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