Charlie makes his final customer a balloon after a very tired workday.

My part of a long-overdue trade with  thedelusionalartist
Charlie the balloon vendor belongs to  thedelusionalartist , Everett the polar bear belongs to myself.

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On one fine morning, Charlie arrived at the park. "Well, I hope I get many customers today." said the brown-furred cat vendor, looking at the park's visitors as he set up his balloon wagon. When the brown-furred cat had finished setting up, he shouted "Come buy some balloons!", hoping to get the visitors' attention. Immediately, he saw so many people rushing over to his direction.

"Charlie, could I please get a balloon?" said one park visitor. "I want one, Charlie." say another. The visitors shouted their requests to the vendor, now confused on whose order he should do first. Charlie then took a deep breath and thought of an idea. "Alright, if you want some balloons, you guys have to line up one by one." ordered the feline vendor.

Everyone then lined up, just like Charlie wanted and the first customers began saying his order. "Why does everyone want balloons all of a sudden?" Charlie asked his first client, while inflating their balloon. "I never had people crowd up by my wagon before," he added. "Have you forgotten?" replied the customer. "Today's the city's annual balloon parade. So every citizen would have at least a balloon to celebrate along." they added. "You're right! I think I'll go see when my work is over." told the balloon seller.

While more and more customers came forward to their orders from Charlie, Everett came rushing towards the park. "Oh, no. I hope Charlie still has balloons." said the polar bear, panting and running. As Everett arrived in the park, towards Charlie's direction, he saw a long line forming. "Wow, it seems like everyone wants balloons from him too." said Everett, inside his mind as he moved to the end of the queue. "I hope at least I can still get one." he added, waiting for the line to shrink. Meanwhile, Charlie's arm grew more tired, as he had to inflate and tie every balloon the many customers ordered. "I think I'll just skip the parade and go to sleep…" Charlie thought, although Charlie tried his best to focus, not wanting to mess up the customers’ orders.

It was finally Everett’s turn to get the balloon. “Hooray! I can finally order!” cheered Everett. “Can I please get a balloon?” asked Everett. Charlie took the helium tank’s hose and turned it on. Tired, the cat in white accidentally shoved it into the polar bear’s mouth. Charlie then proceeded to take a rest on his small stool, waiting for his balloon to make a creaking sound, which is a sign for him to stop inflating it.

As helium filled Everett’s body, his cheeks started puffing up. He started inflating and floating higher like a balloon. “Mmph... ! MMPH…!” Everett yelled to Charlie for help. However, Charlie couldn’t hear it because Everett’s yelling was muffled with the hose still in his mouth, not wanting to float away. The polar bear continued to grow bigger and, at the same time, his clothes became smaller. He continued his muffled yelling and even flailing his arms, as they separated during the inflation, to get Charlie or anyone else’s attention.

After a few minutes, a creaking sound could be heard. “Alright, Everett. Your balloon is ready.” said Charlie, looking obliviously to where he thought Everett was supposed to be. Charlie tried looking for his customer, but couldn’t see him anywhere at the park. “Oh, well. I guess he didn’t want it.” Charlie thought. The balloon seller turned off the helium tank’s pressure, which was a sigh of relief for Everett, as his body felt really taut. Charlie then looked up, surprised by what he saw. “Oh! There you are!” exclaimed Charlie. “I was looking for you. I must’ve accidentally inflated you instead of the balloon.” he added, embarrassed. “Umm… what if I inflated you a new actual balloon for free to compensate?” he offered.

Charlie looked inside his wagon, looking for a balloon to inflate but it seemed that he’d run out of balloons. “Oops… It seems that you were my last balloon, Everett.” told Charlie. “Hey, since my job is done for today, we can go to my place.” offered Charlie. “I can deflate you when we get home, since it’s too dangerous to deflate you out here.” he added. Everett nodded his head, sighing. The cat then tied one end of a string to the polar ursine’s mouth and tied the other end to his wagon, and the two of them went their way to Charlie’s.