The Silent Treatment

"Hi," said Emily. "I've been sent to help out with your act."

She watched and waited, patiently.

"Okay," she said. "Over here?"

She watched some more.

"Under this?" she said. "Okay." She took a position beneath the tent, shaded by the striped cloth, and looked left and right at the other attractions. Sideshow Alley was a popular part of the fairground, full of magicians and acrobats and fire-eaters and other entertainments. Plenty of people were wandering between the stalls, eating popcorn and checking out the shows. She wondered what part she was supposed to play in it.

She watched some more.

"So this is a priceless Ming vase?" she said. "Really? Okay. And you want me to hold it up to the roof of the tent with this pole?"

Some more watching.

"If I drop it and break it, we'll all get fired? Wow. That's a really big responsibility. I absolutely promise not to drop it, no matter what happens. You can depend on me."

More watching.

"Okay," said Emily, accepting the pole. It was pretty short, and she had to use both hands to keep it steady. With some help, she soon had the Ming vase held against the flat cloth stretched over the top of the tent, the end of the pole pressed against its base. She looked up, her arms above her head, gripping the pole, determined to keep it in the air. No moving, no matter what happened! She'd made a promise, and she was going to keep it!

She looked out at Sideshow Alley, noticing that she was clearly visible from every direction. Already, a few people were drifting over to watch. Of course, the entertainment hadn't started yet. She still wasn't sure what part she was supposed to play in the show.

A bead of sweat ran down her cheek. She wanted to brush it away, but at the merest shift of a finger, the pole shook alarmingly and the Ming vase trembled in a way that made her heart beat faster. What if it fell to the ground and shattered, and her new friends got in trouble, and it was all her fault? That was the worst thing she could imagine! She absolutely couldn't move even a single finger off the pole, ever! She had to prove she could keep her promise!

Maybe she could take it down, just for a second?

She tried shifting her hand just a little bit, and the vase gave another threatening wobble. Now that she thought about it, Emily wasn't sure how she could get the vase back down by herself without breaking it. There was no way for her to move from her spot, or lower her hands, or let go of the pole, without somebody helping her. A little nerve-wracking. Oh, well. She was sure her new friends would help her out, when the time was right.

She watched some more.

A wooden sign was being erected in front of her. It was facing away from her, towards the avenue, so she couldn't see what it said. Probably an advertisement for the show, she thought.

She watched even more.

A few more people were gathering around the tent, including an athletic brunette in yoga pants and a spotty nerd in an anime T-shirt. Emily blinked. All of a sudden, she was alone. Standing alone under the tent, watching the world go by, holding up the Ming vase and waiting for someone to explain to her what was going on. Where were her new friends?

She wondered when the show was going to start.

And, as she was wondering that, somebody walked up behind her and pulled her shorts down.

Emily's long, loose T-shirt was tied into a knot behind her back, so it didn't hang down far enough to cover her red panties. She stood there before the eyes of the world, her mouth a round O of surprise, her grey shorts down around her ankles, her long lovely legs and bright red panties on public display for anyone who cared to look.

Oh, no!

She'd been pantsed!

How... how juvenile? Who would play such a naughty prank on a sensible, responsible girl like her!

She had to pull her pants back up right away!

But... she couldn't let go of the vase!

Oh! Oh, no! No, no, no!

Emily, blushing bright red, did the only thing she could do. She stood there beneath the tent, holding onto the pole, out in public, with her shorts around her ankles.

And it was embarrassing. Really, toe-curlingly embarrassing. No, Emily thought, she did not like having to stand here with her shorts around her ankles and her panties on display. People were pointing and laughing, and taking pictures. She did not like it one bit!

But she'd made a promise.

And even if it meant standing there with her shorts down all day long, making a complete laughingstock of herself for the whole world to see, she couldn't go back on a promise!

Meanwhile, sitting behind a tree next to a enormous pile of counterfeit Ming vases, the two mimes shared a cigarette and watched Emily sweat beside a sign that said "Step Right Up To See The Most Gullible Girl In The World!". Eventually they'd step in to have a little more fun with her, but there was no hurry. Might as well let her squirm a little first.