There he is. The clown everybody has been whispering about. I wonder if it's a sick joke or strange threat that blew into town- but I don't care. I roll-up my sleeves and decide my fists are going to put an end to it.
#
"Come on, man. You know how kids are." My friend, George, says. "Remember when they were saying that the principal was poisoning the water fountains?"
"I remember." I reply.
It's true. It was a legit fear at the time; then again, if the water was as hard as it was back then, I still would think it was sabotage.
"It's one kid's imagination. The rest of his classmates are feeding off of it."
"Jordan's imagination doesn't get the best of him."
Jordan is my son, my world.
"Every kid has a moment like that."
"I'll talk to him about it."
My office is small, expected for a small town. It looks like a string of different college kids work here, because it's summer, and the dress code is pretty casual until the leaves start changing. Everybody is talking about it. Some say he's been carrying weapons. Other say he's been lingering around the elementary school. Nobody mentioned anything being done about it.
#
"I never want to see you around this school again."
The clown smiles. His lips move along with all white face paint, covering all the skin from his neck to his hairline, covered with a ridiculous orange wig. His eyes, darkened with a shade blue, and his nose, colored in a bright red, complete his clown costume. Black lines point down his face, which look like tears falling down his face. The wig makes him look tacky, but the rusty knife in his hand makes it real.
"I'm serious. I'm going to the police."
The clown steps forward, walking towards me. The knife dangles at his side. He starts to giggle. My hand aches from the clenching, and my arms shake.
The psycho closes in on me with a knife, but I'm more worried about what I'm going to do to him.
#
"Jordan, it's okay."
His face is red, the same color as his eyes. He's been crying for a while.
"Dad...I....I"
"Tell me what happened."
"The kids were picking on me."
They dared him to approach the clown, not even realizing the danger, but this means it's worse. The clown is actually there.
"You didn't go, did you?"
"I wanted to, Dad, I did! I don't get scared easy, you know that."
"I know, I know-"
"But I've heard so many stories. They say the clown eats you a while, but then spits you back out, but you come back different. They were saying that Percy hasn't even been spit back out yet! I don't want to be eaten."
Percy has the flu. George's son.
"Have you seen the Clown, Jordan?"
"In the distance, yeah. We're not allowed to go near him, but he keeps on appearing in different places. The teachers said they might cancel recess until he goes away."
"Don't worry— Daddy will take care of everything."
#
"You took him on by yourself?"
