Suggestion from your girlfriend: The party store

With the prospect of Ava and you doing some godly mischief around the corner, you are paralyzed from the vast array of choices around you. You aren't quite sure where your time would be best spent... But you do know someone who would.

"What do you think, Ava? See someplace that would be fun around here?"

Hmmm... You hear her ponder for a second. Three doors down to your right, there's someone in there we could have some fun messing with, and I know she'll end up loving it.

You start walking as she speak. "You seem to have a plan. A lucky soul gets to meet you?"

In a way. You'll do most of the acting solo at first. It should be fairly easy, just act as if we've never met and react to things as you believe they should if I wouldn't intervene or exist.

At that point, you've made it to the shop, which marketed itself as a party store. "Huh. This is the place?"

Yep! I'll speak directly into your ears, so only you will hear me. Just follow my cues. Chop, chop!

You feel yourself getting shoved forward as the door pulls itself outward to give you access. You hear a chime as your body crosses the entrance and you proceed to step forward towards the counter, still having no idea what the plan or the made-up story is. Just as you reach the counter, a female clerk steps out of the backroom. "Hello sir, how can I help you?" a somewhat cheerful voice greets you.

She wears a fairly casual uniform made of light color, the long black hair cascading behind her complimented her natural beauty. She didn't seem to wear any makeup, at least, you couldn't detect any. The name tag on her shirt tells you her name is Stacy, handwritten in curly pink letters.

You're ogling her quite a bit, you like her? Immediately, your face blushes at the implication. Was Ava implying-- I'm not jealous, don't worry. She is quite pretty, and I don't mind sharing. For now, make an order for a dozen balloons, 16 inches in size.

"Sir...? You alright?"

Stacy speaking breaks you out of your reverie and of your conversation with Ava. "Hi, y-yes, sorry, I was... trying to remember what I had to do. May I have an order prepared right away for a dozen balloons? I was told they needed to be 16 inches. Do you know what this means?"

"Sure do," she replies back with a smile. "It's the size the balloon will reach from tip to the mouthpiece if it was properly blown up." You nod in understanding. "Were you told which color?"

"Ah... No, I wasn't. Just to get a dozen."

"That's fine," she winks. "How about your favorite color? Or do you think they'd want a color in particular? Maybe their favorite?"

You subconsciously note how natural it already feels to be out there, socializing, completely nude. You guess it's just the effect of no one giving any fuck whatsoever about your lack of modesty. "Nah, it's fine, I'm sure picking randomly is fine. How about you surprise me?"

"On it!" She turns and pick a few balloons at random. You spot a red, dark blue, pink and black in the pile, with the red one being the first to go on the tank sitting next to the clerk. With a push and a hiss, the balloon perks up and expands rapidly, growing bigger by the second. In about half a minute, the girl takes the balloon off of the nozzle and grabs a nearby ribbon before tying the party toy shut which jumps up to the end of its tether. The balloon was definitely bigger than the party toys you've seen in the past, that's for sure.

"They're pretty big," you comment, "compared to what I saw at parties."

"A bit bigger, indeed!" Next follows a purple one. "I assume those party balloons you saw would either be nine, or twelve inches. It's a more normal size for regular people." And up goes the purple orb. "And these aren't all that much bigger, to be honest," she adds, grabbing a yellow one next. "In online stores, you could find balloons that can grow bigger than anybody."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Super serious. They're not cheap, though, so you won't really see your average Joe getting them. It's usually for performers or advertisement. Big balloons are pretty eye-catching, after all." The purple balloon joins its friends above. You slowly nodded.

Balloons follows suit, each one getting expertly blown and secured in the same way. After the sixth one, the clerk speaks up once more, extending the hand gripping half a dozen balloons towards you. "How about you hold down this first half while I work on the second batch?"

"Oh, sure. No problem." You extend your dominant hand forward to grab the offered half dozen balloons from Stacy. The moment your fist closes around the ribbons and the clerk releases her hold on the balloons, that arm shoots upwards from the absolutely insane upward pull the latex sphere generates. "Woah!" you shout loudly as your balance is thrown off slightly, still caught by surprise since Ava never told you what was about to happen. It does help staying in character, that's for sure.

"What are you doing?" asks Stacy, giving you a funny look.

"I don't know! It's like they're trying to take off with me, is that normal?"

"Don't be ridiculous, sir," she responds as she works on the seventh balloon. "I just gave you those balloons, so I know you're pranking me. I'm not sure what your end goal is."

"But... I'm not doing anything. This isn't a prank, I swear!" You try your hardest to pull the gravity defying toys back down, using both of your arms and your entire weight, which does work to an extent, but Stacy now gives you a look of annoyance at this point. She ties down the ninth balloon.

"Look, sir, I really don't know what you're doing. If it's a joke, it's not funny. I'll just swiftly finish your order, you'll pay, and we'll each go our own separate ways. Understood?"

"But–" Your sentence is cut due to the helium cylinder giving a louder hiss than usual, making you look at the clerk handling the merchandise behind the counter. You weren't sure if she was angry, exasperated or... what exactly, but you decide to shut up for now.

You simply stand awkwardly in front of the counter, your dominant hand still held high above your head as far as it can naturally stretch, the balloons never giving up their fight trying to reach for the ceiling. The employee continues her task of inflating your order until, at long last, she finishes tying the twelfth party toy up.

She looks at you and let out a sigh. "Come on, cut the act up. I'm done with your order."

"I really am not–"

"Fine!" she harshly cut you off as she makes her way around the counter to where you are standing, her half of the balloons in tow. "I'll humor you." She grabs your arm and effortlessly pull it back down followed by your wrist. She then snatches the balloons you were holding until that point and added them to her own half. Stacy gives them a few tugs up and down to confirm that the balloons 'acted' normally, before giving you a fresh new glare. "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but can we please finish this transaction normally? I really don't like what you're doing."

She extends the bouquet of balloons in your direction, handing them back to you. You hesitate for a second, wondering if Ava and you were going too far.

Grab them, you hear your girlfriend whisper in your ear. She'll come around very soon, trust me.