Stick with Bubblegum

You're sure that whoever's ringing that bell can wait. After all, they aren't even out here on the storefront like Bubblegum is; they can't be with customers or anything like that, right? If Bubblegum's offering to show you the ropes, it'd be a slap in her dolled-up face if you turned her down!

Besides, she's still holding your arm pretty aggressively and offering you a nice down-blouse view-- also fairly aggressively. Her vaguely threatening aura mixed with unguarded eroticism has captured your interest. The pink-haired clown beams in a way that nearly makes you forget she had you in her vice-grip moments earlier. "Hm hm! I like that, Bowie! I can tell you've got the makings of a first-rate clown assistant!" she praises you, stopping just short of patting your head. Still, it feels so good to be praised by this woman that you find yourself wanting to follow her every instruction.

Bubblegum leans her shoulders over the counter slightly, then presses both palms down flat atop it. She rubs her gloved fingers nostalgically across the smooth surface, then looks back over her shoulder at you. "This candy store is very important to me. It's where I learned all I know about being a Down to Clown employee and, perhaps more to the point, it's where I've shown so many fresh faces like you how we do things at the Down. There's so much history here! Of course, I've changed a few practices here myself. Innovated, you know?" she begins with a cute smile, as if asking you to praise her this time.

You want to, but you need a little more to go off of than that, first. You ask her: what exactly has she innovated since she was put in charge of Clown Candy?

The woman presses one finger to her cheek for a moment, recalling her own history. "Hmmm... Well, I realized that there was some wasted potential here at the store. This place didn't get a lot of traffic, despite being near the front of the park! It's hard to imagine now, after we spruced the place up," she giggles. "The problem was that it had nothing to offer adult tastes. It was just candy! Who comes to a place like this and beelines straight for candy, you know? Well, besides cute workers like you, he he..."

You posit that she herself seems like incentive enough to want to visit this place.

"Oh, you're sweet! But no, the missing element was that of entertainment. Candy and sweets are tasty, but you can get those anywhere. What you can't get at your average candy store is entertainment. That's really what sets Down to Clown apart," she explains, now rooting through a box underneath the counter. You watch her wordlessly for a moment, before she jumps back up to her full height and gently sets the box in front of you. "We have to draw people's eyes and excite their hearts!"

It's a little hard to follow what she's saying, but it sounds like this work will be a little more involved than working the register like you were picturing. What exactly does she need you to do...?

When you ask, she narrows her eyes a bit into happy crescents and smiles bigger. "You and I are going to whip up some more customers. This is also a good way for me to learn a little bit more about you," the clown answers, then crosses her gloved hands at the lap of her frilly pink skirt. "Here we have a sampler of items that... I wouldn't call them popular with the usual customers, but they're some of my favorites!"

You're perplexed. Wouldn't it make more sense to advertise candy that's popular with the customers?

"He he, oh dear. Most of our clients are adult men and they're often a little sheepish to be seen enjoying this candy the same way I do," she explains, giving a bashful smile and a blush of her cheeks that feels a bit like a practiced expression. "But seeing how much I enjoy these draws them in. You understand where I'm going with this, don't you?"

The image is beginning to get a bit clearer, but it might not really make sense until you reach in and pick one of the candies.

This feels like not just an opportunity, but also, a test? Is Bubblegum expecting you to pick her favorite candy? Or is there some other criteria? What exactly is she expecting from you? You feel your wits being put to the test...