Tara returns

"Gee," said Tara, crossing her arms and looking Bonnie and Susie up and down. "How long have you two been standing here like this?"

"Um," said Bonnie, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Since you left."

"With your shorts down?" Tara raised an eyebrow.

"You... you told us not to let go of the implements," Susie added, still clutching the syrup hose and ice scoop tightly, her cheeks burning.

"Wow," Tara said, clearly amused.

"So..." Bonnie began hesitantly.

"So...?" Tara prompted, smirking at their discomfort.

"So, can we...?" Susie trailed off, not quite sure how to ask.

"Can you what?" Tara asked, feigning confusion.

"Let go of the implements?" Bonnie asked, her voice tight with frustration.

"I guess," said Tara, shrugging nonchalantly.

Both girls sighed in relief as they finally set the syrup hose and ice scoop down on the table. They hurriedly grabbed their shorts and yanked them back up over their hips, but almost immediately both of them let out simultaneous squeals of discomfort.

"Eek!" Susie yelped, her hands flying to her shorts.

"Ah!" Bonnie gasped, hopping from one foot to the other. "What is this?!"

"My shorts!" Susie exclaimed, her face red with embarrassment. "There’s ice in them!"

"Mine too!" Bonnie added, feeling the cold, melting ice pressing against her skin. The freezing sensation was unbearable.

"Wow. How did that happen?" Tara asked with a sly grin, clearly enjoying the girls’ plight.

"It’s freezing!" Bonnie cried, shifting her weight as the ice slid down inside her shorts. "I don’t even know how to get it out!"

Susie, also hopping from foot to foot, looked utterly miserable. "Can we please just be done? I need to change!"

Tara eyed them lazily. "You both look like you need new outfits."

"Yes!" Bonnie and Susie answered in unison, their desperation evident.

"So..." Tara said, dragging out the word with a smirk.

"So...?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have new outfits for us?" Susie asked, her voice full of hope.

"Do I have what?" Tara asked, her tone teasing.

"The new outfits!" Bonnie snapped, growing more frustrated as ice continued to melt and slide uncomfortably inside her shorts.

"Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I guess," Tara replied casually.

"Can we have them?" Susie asked, her patience wearing thin.

"Can you have what?"

"The outfits!" Bonnie almost shouted, clearly fed up with the back-and-forth.

"Oh. Yeah. I guess."

"So where are they?" Susie asked, shifting uncomfortably, the ice still making her squirm.

"Where is what?" Tara asked again, looking as though she had no idea what was happening.

Susie groaned, "Forget it. We'll just finish the shift like this."

Bonnie shook her head, biting her lip. "Is our shift even over yet?"

"Go and stand behind the snowman," Tara said, pointing lazily at the giant plastic snowman next to the stand. "I’ll bring you the new outfits. It’s a very safe place to get changed."

"Is it?" Bonnie asked suspiciously.

"Sure. I do it all the time," Tara said with a grin.