Laughter in the Darkness

The gift...

The day went really quick and it was already time to go home. All day Bradley was worrying about Pippa. He never saw her when he was walking home with the others. When they crossed the road, Kieran shouted, "See you tomorrow!" Bradley waved but didn't reply. He smiled but didn't say anything. As soon as he got home, he went straight upstairs. As soon as he got to the top of the staircase, his mother asked, "Bradley dear, are you alright?" Bradley replied, "Yeah yeah I'm fine. I'm just going on my Xbox." He wasn't really going on his Xbox, he just wanted his mother off his back. "Ok then. Are you hungry," she asked. Her son said, "Not yet, I'll have something later." Then his mother went back into the kitchen. Bradley's father was at work and he didn't finish 'till five. Bradley closed his door and sat on his bed. He couldn't stop feeling concerned about Pippa. He couldn't get the fact that his favourite teacher, along with his six year old daughter, had been murdered. Who would kill a six year old? The teacher said that they were killed in a gruesome way, she said it was too gruesome for the boys to handle. Maybe Pippa fainted when the teacher told the girls about the incident. If that was the case, what was she worried about this morning? It was already three o'clock and Bradley's mother shouted, "Bradley I'm just going to pick up your sister. I won't be long!" Bradley replied, "Alright!" Ofelia's school wasn't far from where they lived. It took them only ten minutes to get there. Suddenly, Bradley heard someone knock on the door, but he didn't answer it. Whoever was at the door knocked again, but Bradley still didn't answer it. The person didn't knock again. Bradley then decided to play some music on his phone to see if he could take his mind off everything. He started to play White Rabbit by Egypt Central. It was his favourite song. He sang along when it got to the chorus, since it was the only part of the song he knew. Bradley was a really good singer, well that's what his friends tell him, but he never really thought he was. The music really did make time go quick as Bradley's mother and sister both came in. "Bradley, could you come down here a minute," shouted his mother. Bradley opened his door and went downstairs. "There's a present addressed to you," continued his mother. "It's a box," said Ofelia. Bradley said to his younger sister, "Oh no crap Sherlock." His mother snapped at him, "Oi! Don't be using that language in front of your sister." Bradley sighed as he looked at the gift. The wrapping paper was dark and had clowns on it. He looked at the tag to see who it was from. Instead, the tag read 'Your entire life will change with your new friend, Laughing Jack.' Bradley went to sit on the sofa with Ofelia following him. He took the wrapping off to find the present was a jack in the box. It had creepy clowns on the side of it and it looked rusty. "Turn the handle, let's see if you jump," said Ofelia. Bradley then grabbed the handle and slowly turned it. A familiar song started to play, Pop goes the Weasel. However, it was out of tune. But Bradley didn't stop. On the last line of the tune, Ofelia sang, "Pop goes the weasel." Then the top flipped open. Bradley and his sister were hoping to see a creepy clown, but there was nothing. "It's broken," said Ofelia sadly. Bradley replied, "I thought it would be."

"Did you both jump," shouted his mother. "No, it's broken. I thought it would be when we heard the song, Pop goes the Weasel. It was out of tune and there's no clown inside," answered Bradley. His mother replied, "Oh well, I wonder who it's off. It didn't say anywhere on the wrapping." Ofelia then added, "It doesn't say anything on the box either. There's no label or anything." Bradley then sighed and gave the box to his sister, "Here you have it. Find a way to entertain yourself." Then he went back upstairs and into his room. As it was quiet in his room, he was startled when his phone began to ring. He looked to see who it was. It was Harvey. He answered the phone and said, "Yo what's up?" Harvey replied, "Nothing much. I'm really bored so I felt like phoning you. Has anything interesting happened to you yet?" Bradley then told him about the jack in the box. "Oh something creepy did happen. There's this jack in the box addressed to me. On the wrapping paper was loads of clowns and the tag read 'Your entire life will change with your new friend Laughing Jack.' I opened it and there's no clown inside. It's broken, just like I thought. I mean, Pop goes the Weasel didn't sound right." Harvey then stopped him. "Whoa whoa hold on a minute. Who the hell is Laughing Jack?" Bradley told him that he didn't know. "Maybe that's the name of the clown that was supposed to be inside." Harvey replied, "Maybe someone was playing a joke on you. Before you ask me, I didn't send it. I'm stuck here with my older brother. Maybe it was Kieran." "No it wouldn't of been him. The thing on the tag was handwritten and it didn't look like his handwriting. It couldn't of been him," Bradley pointed out. Harvey then realised that it could've been Pippa pulling a prank. "Harvey, it won't be Pippa. She doesn't even know where I live. I highly doubt that it's her doing all of this." Harvey ran out of ideas and so did Bradley. "I'm gonna have to go. My brother won't stop shouting me. I'll see you at school tomorrow Bradley," Harvey then said. Bradley replied, "See ya tomorrow." Then the phone hung up. Bradley was thinking about so many things. Who was this box from? It couldn't of been Kieran because it wasn't his handwriting on the tag and Harvey said himself that he didn't send it. Pippa doesn't even know where Bradley lives so she couldn't of sent it.

Bradley then went downstairs and said, "Mam, can I go out?" His mother replied, "Yes dear, but don't be back late." Bradley then said, "It's alright, I'm taking my phone. I'll text you when I'm on my way back." Then he walked out the door. As he was walking down the street, he heard a familiar voice. "Pippa?" He got to a corner where he saw Pippa with a boy. He seemed to be yelling at the girl, but Bradley couldn't make out what he was saying. The boy then pushed her against the wall. Bradley was hoping the boy wouldn't do what he thought he was going to do. He wanted to help, but what could he do? That's when Pippa shouted "Help me! Somebody help! Leave me alone Steven!" She was then cut off as the boy put his hand over her mouth. That's when Bradley slowly started to sneak up on him. Pippa knew he was there but she didn't make eye contact. Then suddenly, he kicked the boy's leg which made the boy fall. Bradley then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and said, "Listen, the girl said leave her alone. Now, you can either walk away or you can let this get ugly. Your choice." The boy then got back up and pointed his finger at Pippa. "I'm gonna get you. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but I'm gonna get you Pippa. You better sleep with one eye open." Then he walked away. Pippa looked at Bradley and smiled. "Thank you, Bradley," she said softly. Bradley nodded his head, also smiling, and Bradley then asked, "Do you wanna hang out maybe? I'm going to the park, you can come if you want." Pippa replied, "I'd love to, I never really knew where the park was around here since I just recently moved." Bradley noticed that Pippa's eyes were still red. He wanted to ask about them, maybe he could as once they got to the park. When they got there, they both sat down on the grass. Bradley then spoke, "Hey Pippa, can I ask you something?" The girl nodded. "Why are your eyes red?" Pippa replied looking at Bradley, "Bradley you know why. I told you, I just didn't get enough sleep. That's all." Bradley looked at her. "I know your lying. Pippa, you can tell me the truth. I won't tell anyone, I promise. What's going on?" Pippa sighed, "You won't believe me if I tell you." Bradley widened his eyes. He knew something was going on with Pippa. "Yes I will. Pippa you can tell me anything. I promise I won't laugh or anything." Pippa then took a deep breath and told him.

"The real reason why my eyes are red isn't because I didn't get enough sleep. It's because I'm not sleeping at all at night. I'm afraid." Bradley was confused, he then thought she meant she was afraid of the dark. "No, I'm not afraid of the dark. Well, I'm not scared but..." Pippa found it hard to explain to Bradley. The boy placed his hand on hers. "Tell me," he said softly. Pippa finally spoke, "A few days ago, I got this box. It was a jack in the box. But there was something wrong with it, I think it was broken." Bradley suddenly stopped her. "Wait, what did this box look like?" Pippa looked at him and said, "It had creepy clowns on the side of it and it played the song Pop goes the Weasel. But it sounded out of tune and there was no clown inside. Oh and it had a tag on the wrapping paper it came in, it said something like 'Your entire life will change." Bradley then finished her sentence, "With your new friend, Laughing Jack." Pippa looked at Bradley and gasped. "I know what box you got. Today I got the same box. Pippa, who is Laughing Jack?" Bradley wanted to know who he was. Pippa replied, "He's this clown. An evil clown, that lives in the box. I did research about the box shortly after I opened it. It's been in the papers and it said that families that had come across the box had died in the most horrific way. In every house where the family had been murdered, that box was found." Bradley processed Pippa's words as he watched other children playing on the swings and sliding down the slide with their hands in the air. Pippa suddenly was worried and asked, "Wait, you didn't open the box did you?" Bradley looked at Pippa. "What?" Pippa said, "You said today you got the box, did you open it?" Pippa seemed to be tightly holding Bradley's hand. He nodded his head and Pippa then stared at him. She looked like she was going to cry. The girl then let go of Bradley's hand and put her head in her hands. "Why? What's wrong Pippa? What happens when you open the box?" There was no reply from Pippa. Then he heard her voice speak, "Go home Bradley. Go home now." Bradley was confused. He asked why but Pippa just repeated the same thing. Bradley then stood up, "Do you know the way home?" Pippa nodded her head, then Bradley started to walk home. He text his mother to say he was coming home. Pippa watched as the boy walked away. Pippa spoke, worried about Bradley, "Stay with your sister. Make sure that clown doesn't get her. Don't make the same mistake I did." The worried girl then slowly turned her head and looked towards the trees, that were near the park, as she heard an ominous chuckle. The girl was scared of what she saw and breathed heavier. She was shaking all over. Suddenly, she got up and ran home.