Stuart sighed as he gazed out the window, watching the scenery pass by. He could see his reflection in the glass superimposed over the fields and trees. His short brown hair was neatly combed, although his bangs were starting to get long, and were almost touching the tops of his glasses. Looked like he was due for another haircut. He stared blankly out the window for a few minutes, then pulled a book out of one of his bags. He tried to read, hoping to pass the time more quickly, but kept finding himself distracted by thoughts of his family. Finally he gave up in frustration and put the book away, and returned to staring out the window. He thought about school, about his classes and his professors and his friends. He liked school, liked it a lot better than home, and the more time he could spend away from his family, the happier he was.

Not that there was anything wrong with his family - not really. They weren't cruel or abusive to him, or anything like that. They were actually very loving people. He had simply never fit in at home. Unlike the rest of his family, the 14-year-old boy had always been quiet and withdrawn and a little on the shy side. He kept to himself and spent most of his time with his nose in a book. His family, on the other hand, were all very open and outgoing and social people. But even worse than that, they all tended to be exhibitionists, something that had always shocked and embarrassed Stuart. It was very common around the Robinson household to see family members wandering the house half-naked (or even completely naked), like it was the most normal thing in the world. And for the rest of the family it was.

But Stuart had always been too self-conscious to be naked around other people (having to shower in front of his classmates was one of the reasons he hated gym class), and seeing other people naked had always made him uncomfortable. The rest of his family had never been able to understand his problem with nudity, and his sisters especially had always teased him about it, often going out of their way to flaunt their naked bodies around him just because they knew it made him uncomfortable. His parents had been sympathetic, but even they had done their best to convince him there was nothing wrong with being naked in front of other people. But the more they'd tried to convince him there was nothing to be embarrassed about, the more uncomfortable and embarrassed he'd felt about it.

Stuart had thought he would go insane living in a house surrounded by nudists, but then three and a half years ago his salvation had arrived. His father had put in an application to an exclusive and upscale private boys' school, and he'd been accepted! Not only had it allowed him to get away from his family, but it was a very prestigious school with excellent professors, which made it an excellent first step towards getting into a top university. Stuart had been elated when he'd heard the news, and had felt nothing but excitement when his parents had first dropped him off at the school. He'd quickly adjusted to his new surroundings, making friends and doing well at his studies. Naturally his parents had insisted that he come home as often as he could, and he found himself at home with his family on holidays and over summer break. He'd still been a little uncomfortable with his family's behavior, but since he only had to deal with them in small doses, they were much easier to be around than they'd been when he'd been living at home full time.

Things started to change somewhat during his second year at school, however. His parents didn't push him nearly as hard to come home for the holidays, and when the summer holiday came around, they actively encouraged him to spend as much time as he wanted staying with his friends from school. By his third year he had stopped coming home for holidays altogether, always finding someone from school who would invite him to join their family for the time off from school. During the summer break after his third year he had spent only a few scattered days with his family throughout the break, spending the rest of his time away visiting schoolmates. He'd found his parents' change in attitude somewhat curious, but since he was perfectly happy spending the time with his friends, he didn't dwell on it too much. He'd fully expected his fourth year at school to go the same, but then at the last minute he had suddenly found himself with no place to go for Christmas, and so now he was on a train headed for home. ......(cont)