Female Inflation

“Honey.. are you absolutely sure about this?”

Standing in the surf with water splashing at her ankles, she stares directly at me, her eyes indicating that she’s deadly serious about this.

“Of course I’m sure. I wouldn’t suggest it otherwise.”

“It’s just… it sounds pretty dangerous. And a little dodgy.”

“It’s not. Loads of people on the internet swear by it.”

“On the internet?” I scoff. “Now I’m less convinced.”

Aim.

Fire.

A thin stream lanced out from the plastic gun and into plastic clown’s wide grin. Atop its hat protruded a pink balloon which swelled at rate faster than his rivals. Within seconds, it popped; a bell rang to signify his victory.

“Winner!” shouted the booth operator from around his cigar. The rivals scuffled off to seek their glory elsewhere in Funland while the operator waved the youth over to the side.

“You been out in the heat all day, kid,” he said between puffs of his cigar. “You ain’t fed up yet?”

They arrived and began unloading their blankets, umbrellas, and surfboards. They were making their way to the beach when they heard a lot of frantic whistle blowing and people rushing out of the water. Such was the panic that even people who were on the beach when the whistles blew ran past Gloria and Roger, racing towards their cars. There was one fat guy who stopped next to them, doubling over to catch his breath.

“Sharks?” Gloria asked.