Hi, I'm Penelope Jackson.
You can call me Penny for short. My story is how my childhood started as happy to devastate. But a clown changed my life forever.
When I saw a child, I had loving parents. They would take me to the circus to see the clowns. I loved clowns growing up. "Mommy, I want to be a clown when I grow up." "You can be anything you want to be." My life was perfect, until my parents had to put me in foster care. "Listen Penny, things haven't been going well with our finances. So you'll be here till we get back on our feet." "But that doesn't mean we won't forget you. We'll always love you and will be back for you." My parents gave me a necklace to remember them. "One day will come back for you Penny. We love you." That was the last time I saw my parents. My parents ended up in an accident and when from foster kid to an orphan.
My foster mom was not a very nice one. Kinda like Miss Hannigan from Annie. She never let me do anything fun, or give anything special to me, and she even refused to take me to the circus! My life was a nightmare!
One day as I was 8, I found a something on my bed. It was a Jack in the Box. I had no idea how it got into my room, but I decided to play with it. I turned the handle on the box and pop goes the weasel started to play. "All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chance the weasel. The monkey stop to pull up his sock, pop goes the weasel!" After the part of the song, box opened with colorful smoke! I had no idea what was going on. But when I opened my eyes and the smoke cleared up, the was a colorful clown right in front of me! "Who are you?!" "I'm your new friend, Laughing Jack!" Jack had colorful clothes, bright red hair, and a rainbow nose. "Wow, my very own clown!" "It's nice to meet you Penny." "Wait, you know my name?" "I know everything about you. Come on, let's go play!" Jack and I had fun playing all sorts of games. He always made me laugh. When ever I'm sad he would always make me feel better.
One day I was thinking about my parents and how much I missed them. Jack came to cheer me up. "What's wrong Penny? Your smile is upside down." "I was think about my mom and dad. I miss them." I told Jack about what happened to my parents and how my life in the orphanage had been a nightmare. I even showed him the necklace they gave me before they left. "Don't worry Penny, you have me! I'll always make your day better!" Jack gave me a hug and that made me smile.
One day I was playing with Jack when my foster mom came in my room. "Who are you talking to?!" "My friend, Laughing Jack." She didn't see Jack. "Sorry Penny, I'm invisible to grown ups." She then saw Jack's box and was furious. "Where did you find this?!" "It show up in here." " Liar! Tell me now!" "I'm telling you the truth!" "You don't deserve this!" She then throws the box out the window! "No! Why did you do that?!" "You don't deserve this rubbish!" As she left the room, I looked around to see that Jack was gone! "Jack?! Jack?!" I never saw Jack again after that day.
Years later, I turned 18 and was able to move out of that horrible place. I moved into a much better house and had a fresh start. I still had the necklace from my parents. I just wish I still the the Jack in the box with me. I managed to get a job at a carnival to greet the kids and give them their tickets. Even though I had tuff childhood, I made sure other kid have a happy one.
One day as I was walking around the neighborhood, I heard a familiar sound coming from the carnival. It was pop goes the weasel. I followed the sound to one of the carnival tents. It was dark and I couldn't see anything. Just then I heard a creepy yet familiar voice. "Hello Penelope." I turned to see Laughing Jack! But he wasn't the same colorful clown anymore! He was now black and white. And his laughter wasn't a happy laugh, it was a evil laugh! "Jack?! What happened to you?!" "I was abandoned, that's what happened!" It turned out that Jack was left trapped in his box so long that his colors faded away and his personality changed from a happy clown to a scary clown. "Jack, I'm sorry for what happened all those years ago." "What makes sure you were the one who made me this way?!" Jack was abandoned by a little boy named Issac and left him in his box for years. I couldn't think about the same feeling of when I was left alone and treated bad. I held on to my necklace and gave Jack a big hug. "Jack, I'm sorry for what happened to you! But I'm here with you now! I'm sorry for what my former foster mom did! But I thought about you every day!" "You, remember me after all these years?" "Yes! I couldn't never forget about you Jack!" Jack looked like he had tears in his eyes and hugged me back. "Oh Penny, it's great to have you back!" "I can say the same thing about you Jack."
For the first time, my life was filled with happiness again. Over the years, Jack never left my side. He would always give me some candy and I didn't mind. I still had my parents necklace knowing that even though they're gone, they knew that I was now in good hands. I may have not have because a clown like when I was a kid, but I ended up having a as my boyfriend.
