How do I look?

It’s an interesting thing to be as young as I am, yet old enough to remember the past and how things have changed. For example, I can remember going clothes shopping with my mother. The Men’s Department used to be on the other side of the store from the Ladies’ Department. As such, dressing rooms were also quite a distance apart. In our more modern times, this is not the case. Instead, the fashions for the opposite sexes are separated, for the most part, by signs alone. This can sometimes be cause for interesting situations.
         While walking along the aisles of a major department store, I heard a voice.
         “Sir?”
         I continued with my shopping for a pair of jeans.
         “Sir? Sir? Excuse me, sir.”
         I turned toward the voice and there stood a young lady in the entryway to the dressing rooms wearing a two-piece swimsuit. I looked around and did not see another man in sight.
         “What can I do for you, miss?”
         “I was wondering if you could give me a man’s perspective on this suit.”
         “Whatever for?”
         “I want to know if you think I look sexy in this. Do I?”
         “That all depends on your answer to a couple of questions that I have.”
         “What are they?”
         “First, how old are you?”
         “Excuse me!?! What does my age have to do with your answer?”
         “Quite a lot actually. I cannot respond to your question until you answer me.”
         “If it is any of your business, and it really isn’t, I am almost 19.”
         “Okay. That brings me to my next question.”
         “All I am asking is if you think I look sexy in this suit. What else do you need to know?”
         “Have you graduated from high school yet?”
         “What!?!”
         “Have you graduated from high school yet or not? It really is a simple question and my response to yours will depend in part on your answer.”
         She was getting a bit flustered with me, not to mention probably a bit chilly from the air conditioning and her attire. Her face reddened and she began to look around. Only the dressing room clerk stood there rapt in confusion to our conversation. The young lady did not want the opinion of an older, female clerk. She finally gave in.
         “I graduated this past June and am entering college this fall. Now, could you please tell me if I look sexy in this suit? I really need a man’s opinion before I buy and wear it to the beach this summer.”
         “Very well, then.” I responded. “I think you look very attractive in that suit and am certain that many men will want to look at you while you are wearing it. In fact, you may have more than enough attention at the beach to make other ladies jealous of you. I say this as your figure really does that suit justice as it does your figure likewise.”
         “Why couldn’t you have told me this without the questions? Would you have told me something different if I said I was 16?”
         “As a matter of fact, yes I would have. If you were 16, I would have told you that I could not make a judgment call like that about a child under the age of 18. In addition, I would have told you that a young lady under the age of adult should wear something less revealing and more conservative so that others would not think her to be a morally loose person.”
         The young lady shook her head and went back into the dressing room. She appeared quite dumbfounded at my response to her. The clerk looked at me and smiled, gave me two thumbs up and went back to work.