The Fun House

Emily couldn't help herself. She reached out and pinched Nathan's red nose.

"Honk, honk!" she said, laughing. "You look so silly in that!"

"That's the idea," snapped Nathan, blushing and waving her hand away. He was a short, bespectacled dorky-looking guy, and he'd been standing in the booth in front of the fun house all day, wearing the stupid clown nose, selling tickets and enduring everyone's jokes. Why did people have to be so mean? Why did it always seem like the world was out to get him? He'd always done his best to be a good person, but there was only so much a man could take.

"This is a simple job," he said, summoning up all his patience. Emily was only a new girl, after all. She didn't know what she was doing. And he wasn't some kind of sexist creep, not like that disgusting Mr. Jackson. "All I need you to do is run through the fun house and check everything is in proper working order. Think you can handle that?"

"I'll do my best," said Emily, cheerfully. "What can I expect to find in there?"

"Just the usual fun house stuff. Trapdoors. Magic mirrors. Jump scares. We even have a few of those air jets, you know, but I tried to turn most of them off. Mr. Jackson had them put in. Pretty gross, if you ask me."

"Okay," said Emily, looking blank. "Which way do I go in? This way?"

"No, that's..."

"You do look just like a clown, you know. It's so funny!"

Nathan opened his mouth, then shut it again, as Emily stepped up onto the porch before the brightly-coloured door. She turned to face him, smiling, and a jet of wind shot out of the floor below her, blowing her shirt up around her waist. A camera flashed.

"Eek!"

Nathan knew the chivalrous thing would be to turn away, but it all happened so fast he couldn't react. He just stood there, watching, his mouth open, as Emily struggled to keep her long, loose shirt down over her hips. Of course, he'd assumed that she was wearing shorts underneath. It hadn't occured to him that she might be walking around with no pants on.

"Um," he said. "Do you need..."

"Oh my god sorry got to go!"

Emily turned on her heel and darted inside the funhouse, pinning her shirt down and blushing bright red. Nathan watched her go, still stunned by what he'd just seen.

He looked down at the computer screen in front of him, on which was displayed a picture of Emily. A very embarrassing picture of Emily. Standing on the porch, completely astonished, her blonde hair flying, her shirt billowing up and nothing below the waist but cute red panties. As he watched, a light blinked on, indicating that the picture had automatically been uploaded to the festival's website.

He hesitated.

He wasn't suppposed to leave his post. But Emily was running through the funhouse without any pants on. Mr. Jackson's funhouse. With all of Mr. Jackson's special additions.

She might need his help.

And if helping her involved looking at her panties some more, that was a sacrifice he was willing to make.