Dwayne, the kind security guard

“Hey Kelly.” Dwayne motioned her over as she left for the day “I got a son who is turning 18 this Friday. I was wondering if you could come and do some tricks for him and his friends.”

“They’re called science demonstrations.” Kelly stuck out her tongue playfully.

“I know it’s last minute so it’s cool if not. But I’d pay you, of course.”

“Well...” Kelly pretended to think about it for a moment. “I’ve got plans on Saturday and plans on Sunday but...” yeah I’m free on Friday. She couldn’t resist helping to foster a love of science in young people.

A couple days later she showed up at Dwayne’s house in a pair of skinny jeans and a pink tee, carrying a bag of experiment stuff.

The party was huge. Bigger than she expected. There must have been more than 70 teenage boys there, hanging out, slurping down soda, throwing around a football, having fun in various ways. Even on busy days in the museum she rarely performed for this many. But she didn’t mind.

“This is my son Theo.” Dwayne said.

Kelly held out her hand, “Nice to meet you. And happy birthday!”

Theo looked her up and down and up again, clearly ogling her. “Yeah, you alright. Dress like a boy, though. And skinny.”

Kelly shrugged it off. She wasn’t going to let a teenager get to her. “Well I’ll eat all the cake and ice cream you want to share.”

Theo smiled. “I got something you can eat.” A few boys nearby laughed.

This one was harder to let roll off her shoulders, but Kelly tried to keep her positivity. “I know it’s your birthday but 18 is a bit young for me. How about I start my show.”

And she did just that. Boys who were doing other things slowly took their seats. They have her their attention. She felt their gaze. She felt it demanded something that she wasn’t exactly prepared to give. She began to worry that this wasn’t supposed to be a science show.

“Hi!” She said cheerfully. The boys applauded and hollered. “We’re gonna have some fun today!” More cheering from the crowd. “We’re gonna do some experiments!” Silence. Kelly began to feel herself flustered. “Some... um... science...” booing erupted.

“What the fuck is this?” One boy said.

“Why’s she wearing so much clothes?”Another asked

“This is my present?” Theo sounded appalled. Dwayne ran over to him and father and son had a quick, quiet conference.

Then Dwayne approached Kelly. He seemed genuinely apologetic. “Maybe I was unclear about the tricks I wanted you to do. So, uh, maybe you should just go.”

“Go?” Kelly felt bad. Like this whole thing had been one big disaster.

“Yeah. That other girl you work with, Mina, she said she might be available.”

Mousy Mina? Kelly wondered. That can’t be right. And maybe it was because she didn’t want to bring shy little Mina into this situation or maybe it was because she was so used to being universally liked, that Kelly decided not to give up just yet.

“Alright!” She said with determination, peeling her shirt off, showing off her bra-clad b-cups. “We’re gonna do some sexy science!” The boys got quiet. At least they weren’t booing anymore. This was going to be a strange show. And to be honest she had no idea where she was going with it. She unbuckled her pants and pulled them down, exposing her striped, cotton underwear. A few boys clapped. She was getting them back.

She’d never been this exposed before. Sure she’d had boyfriends and they’d had sex. She was a normal girl. But she was outside in front of like 70 guys. This was wild. It was scary. It was a little exciting. She took a deep breath. She’d make it through this. “Okay. What kind of experiment do you want me to do first?”