Tabitha breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped under the steaming hot stream of water. Practice tonight had been hellish, and now, at 11pm, the redhead wanted nothing but to soak in a long shower and then collapse into bed.

Things had been awkward with the volleyball team for Tabitha and the other freshman girls ever since the ‘haunted house’ incident. Most of the older girls felt terrible about how the five freshmen had been humiliated at the hands of their rivals from Middle College, but they were also equally frustrated at how Tabitha and the others had completely choked in the rivalry game afterwards. Central University had suffered a devastating defeat in straight sets at the hands of the MC girls, mainly due to the poor performance of Tabitha and her friends.

Still, everyone was trying to move past it. Well, except Allie. She was still trying to figure out some form of revenge against Middle College; so far, it had not been going well. Actually, it had gone terribly, with the Latina beauty ending up in yet another humiliating situation. In fact, most of their friend group had been having bad luck with avoiding embarrassment, almost like they were jinxed.

Still, right now all that mattered to Tabitha was this shower. The redhead let out a little groan of pleasure as the hot water soothed her aching muscles. Idly, Tabitha began to gently wet her long mane of red waves, before reaching for her shampoo.

Normally, Tabitha would have showered in the locker room, but something had been wrong with the water heater. So she had been forced to make the long walk home first, to the suite where she lived with her fellow freshmen players Cindy and Clara, and their fourth roommate, a cheerleader named Lola. Cindy's room was the 'master', so it had its own bathroom and shower; Tabitha and the other two girls instead had to share a communal bathroom in the suite and then use a communal shower room for the whole floor. Normally, Cindy was happy to let the others use the private shower, but tonight she had called dips on it for her own sore muscles and there was no way Tabitha was waiting until afterwards.

The communal floor shower room is where Tabitha found herself currently, basking in the relaxing warmth of the steam and the falling droplets. She’s just finished rinsing the shampoo out of her silky red hair, falling into a bit of a reverie of simple relaxation.

A reverie that is suddenly and disappointingly interrupted by a shrill, ear-grating alarm. The fire alarm. Cursing, Tabitha knows she needs to abandon the soothing shower. Their RA seems obsessed with random fire drills, and had threatened to fine anyone who delayed in the routine evacuation plan. Taking a second to turn off the water, Tabitha opens the shower curtain to find a rather unpleasant surprise.

Her towel is still hanging there on the little hook outside the cubicle, but her shower caddy and more important her clothes have vanished. Tabitha scratches her head in confusion, as well as a subconscious response to a little itching on her scalp.

“Well fuck…” Tabitha mutters. She grabs her towel and quickly wraps it around her dripping torso. She’ll just quickly run to the room and grab new clothes…

“Double fuck!” Tabitha repeats, realizing her suite keys were in the caddy. Any of the girls in the suite will have already headed downstairs by the time she gets there, so Tabitha really has no other option unless she wants to eat a huge fine.

Reluctantly blushing, the towel-clad redhead slowly walks out of the shower room and down the staircase to the exterior doors. Her blush deepens to a shade closer to her hair as she passes a number of other students evacuating themselves, all of whom stare at the curvy redhead in a slightly too small towel.

Embarrassed, Tabitha barely notices her free hand reaching up to scratch at the roots of her hair as the other works to keep the towel closed and in place. It doesn’t take long to reach the ground floor and exit the stairwell into the large parking lot where everyone is gathering. Tabitha does not immediately spot any of her friends, but as she moves into the dimly lit area, she does hear a familiar voice.

“Hi Tabby Cat!” Lola laughs, walking up from behind the redhead. Already embarrassed, Tabitha bristles at the disliked nickname.

“Thank god, Lola. Someone jacked my clothes and key. You have yours, right?” Tabitha asks, wanting nothing more than for this to be offer. Her scalp is becoming more noticeably itchy, as the redhead finds herself needing to keep one hand raised to scratch and relieve the discomfort.

“Tots, Tabby Cat. But I’m not sure that’s going to be much use for you…” Lola teases, waiting for the perfect moment. Then, when Tabitha can’t help herself and begins to scratch her burning head with both hands, Lola darts forward.

Before the redhead can even realize what’s happening, Lola is dashing off into the darkness of the late night, with Tabitha’s towel in hand. There’s a momentary stillness, before the quiet night suddenly bursts into loud laughter, wolf-whistles, and cheers as the gathered students see the gorgeous volleyball player in all of her naked glory.

With a scream, Tabitha tries to bring her hands down to cover her exposed breasts and crotch, only to find she cannot. With a whimper of pain, Tabitha feels her hands adhered to her scarlet locks, as if the strands of hair have turned into tentacles and ensnared her fingers in a vice grip. In reality, the chemical agent that Lola added to Tabitha’s shampoo has simply dried enough to change in properties, from an itching irritant to a rather strong adhesive.

Completely naked and with her hands essentially glued to her hair, Tabitha lets out a shriek and flees into the shadowy night.