Panther Girls

Chapter 1

Sarah was really looking forward to next month. The eighteen year old high school senior had only four more weeks to go before she graduated. And then she planned to enjoy her summer before heading off to the university. She really planned to enjoy herself there. She couldn't wait for the freedom that would go along with college life.

She would still have her job through the summer, if the store stayed in business that long. She wanted to save up some spending money for college. But she didn't plan on having a job while at the university. At least she wouldn't have a job during her freshman year. She would attend classes and study. And for the rest of the time, she planned to be a party girl.

She worked at Tipton's Toy Store in the center of Pleasance, her home town. Her usual shifts were Saturday, which sucked in her mind because that's when all of her friends got together and played or shopped, and evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

But the toy store was not doing as well these days as it had been two years earlier when she started working there. A big toy store chain had built a new store two towns away and it was draining the customers away. She wasn't sure how much longer Mr. and Mrs. Tipton would be able to keep the store open. They couldn't possibly be making much money at this point.

She looked at the clock and groaned. It was only eight o'clock. She had another hour until closing. And there had only been one customer in all night. That woman had been a real wackadoo.

She was bored out of her mind tonight. She was so bored that she even started building something with the Legos earlier. She used to use her down time at the store to do homework but, being so close to graduation, there was no sense in wasting time on school work. And there used to be two people working the evening shift. That at least gave her someone to talk to. But when the customers started drifting away, they reduced the staffing to one in the evening.

Sarah walked around the store again, trying to find something to amuse herself. The store had all kinds of toys and games and hobby materials. Maybe she could make a bead purse to take up her time. But she already had over a dozen of those from previous boring nights. She didn't need any more.

She really liked the customers. Mothers and fathers and grandparents and aunts and uncles would come in, looking for the perfect gift. Some of them were expectant and hopeful as they entered the store. Others were panicky, worried that they would let a child down. She prided herself in being able to help the customer find the perfect gift and they always left the store with the confidence that they would not disappoint the boy or girl for whom they were shopping.

She heard the bell ring, telling her that another customer had entered the store. She turned her head and groaned. The wackadoo was back.

The woman had called shortly after Sarah started working at six o'clock that evening. She said she was looking for a life-like doll for her daughter and Sarah assured her that they stocked many, many dolls, some of which were quite life-like. The woman arrived at the store twenty minutes later.

"Here's one that's quite popular," said Sarah as she held up one of the baby dolls.

"No," replied the woman. "My daughter's fourteen. I was thinking of more of a teenage or young adult doll."

"Oh, well here's the Christina doll," Sarah said, showing the woman one of the replicas of a young woman that had just arrived earlier in the week. "It's very realistic as you can see."

The woman looked at the Christina doll and then shook her head. "Everything's too exaggerated. Look at that waist. It's impossibly small."

Then she surprised Sarah by wrapping her hands around Sarah's waist. "See? This is a beautiful, sexy waist; not so tiny that it looks fake."

Sarah gasped. She did have a small twenty three inch waist but she was not used to people grabbing her by it. She felt the woman's hands squeezing her middle and then the hands were withdrawn. Should she say something to the woman? She decided not to. The woman probably just grew up in a culture with more touching than Sarah was used to.

"There's always the Barbie doll," offered Sarah. "It's been very popular for years and years."

"Hmmm, let me see one," the woman said. "It's been awhile since I've seen a Barbie. Maybe that would work."

Sarah reached up and pulled a box off of the shelf and set it on the counter. She opened the box and handed the doll to the customer. "I always thought that Barbie was very life-like."

The woman looked at the Barbie and turned it over. Then she reached out and, to Sarah's horror, gave Sarah's breast a squeeze. "These are realistic; full, firm, rounded. They might even have a little teardrop shape if I stripped you out of those clothes. They aren't hard and pointy like this doll's. No, Barbie will not do."

Sarah gasped again as the woman squeezed her breast. What should she say? Something like this had never happened to her before.

"I'm afraid those two are the most realistic we have," she informed the customer. Maybe that would get her to go away.

It worked. The woman said that she would check some other stores. Then she left Sarah who replaced the dolls on the shelf.

Now, at eight thirty, the woman was back. Sarah instinctively raised her arms across her chest to defend her breasts from further intimate and unwanted touching.

"I just hate those big box stores," the woman said. "And their selection is horrible. I decided to come back her to get my dolls."

"I'm glad that you did," Sarah lied. "We always enjoy pleasing customers. Which one would you like?"

"I'll take both of the ones we looked at. And find me a dozen or so outfits for each of them. I'm going to look around. Do you have travel games?"

"Yes, Ma'am," the beautiful sales clerk said. "They're in the second aisle about halfway down on the left." Wow, she thought. This was going to be a huge sale! Mr. and Mrs. Tipton would be very pleased.

Sarah laid all of the available outfits for the Christina and Barbie dolls out on the counter. Then she picked out the ones that she would recommend and pulled each of those forward. She took the two dolls to the checkout counter and then waited for her customer.

"These are the ones I recommend, Ma'am," said Sarah, pointing to the ones she selected once the woman dumped some boxes at the checkout and came back to the doll section of the store.

"Good choices. I'll take all of the ones you picked."

Sarah was very proud of herself for choosing so wisely. She picked up each of the ones the woman was going to buy and took them to the counter. Then she started ringing up the bill.

"Wow, that's a lot of travel games!" exclaimed Sarah once she got to the pile of boxes that the woman had deposited. "You must do a lot of traveling."

"We will be," the woman replied. "We are moving to the coast and will be spending a few days in the car. Tonight's our last night in town."

"Well, you should have enough to keep yourselves entertained. That's for sure."

When she was finished, the total came to over six hundred dollars. She never sold that much in a single shift before, let alone a single sale. Sarah then put the purchases in bags. It took four large shopping bags to fit all of the goods.

"Can you help me get these to my car?" the woman asked.

"Sure," replied Sarah. "I'd be happy to."

The woman led the way out the front door of the store and Sarah followed. They went through the alley to the parking lot behind the store. Sarah's car was there along with the woman's minivan. Sarah noticed that the light had burned out, leaving the lot in darkness. She made a mental note to tell Mr. Tipton about that.

The woman opened the rear hatch and Sarah leaned in to deposit the two bags that she was carrying. But two hands grabbed her arms and pulled her into the van. She opened her mouth to scream but someone pushed a cloth into her mouth, gagging her. She struggled against her attacker, trying to free herself until she felt a pinch on her neck. Her struggling quickly subsided and she fell unconscious.

The woman placed her bags in the car and then went back into the store to wipe down any place she might have touched. She retrieved the seven one hundred dollar bills that she had paid for the merchandise with and then returned to the car.

"What's she like?" her male assistant asked as they drove out of the lot.

"A living doll," the woman replied. "A perfect fuck toy."