It all started when Ben had a visit from a clown for his eighth birthday. Some of the kids at the party thought having a clown was lame, but Ben actually enjoyed the clowns silliness and tricks. So, throughout his younger years, Ben learned some clown tricks and showed them to his parents and family. His friends thought clowning was childish and stupid so he never showed them the tricks that he learned.
As Ben finished high school, he still like clowning around so to speak. Some of the girls thought that he was kind of funny but never wanted to date him. This became a lonely passion for Ben but he kept on trying. He knew that he needed to do something very different in order to succeed with this type of career choice. And painting his face like normal clowns wasn’t the answer. His parents didn’t care for the idea of him wanting to be a clown but tried to support his enthusiasm anyway.
One evening while Ben was at work, he was goofing around with a paper bag over his head. A young woman who worked for a circus came through the checkout line where he was bagging. She laughed at Ben and told him that he was funny. He felt a bit embarrassed and took the bag off of his head. Ben bagged her groceries and then offered to help her to her car. After he loaded the groceries into her van, the young woman handed him her business card. She told him that he has potential and should come and see her at the circus. Ben smiled at her and took her card. He looked at her name and it read, Miss Nancy Fancy. Cute name, he thought. For once he felt appreciated for his silliness.
A few weeks had passed and Ben was about to graduate from high school. He knew that he needed a plan because he didn’t want to work in the grocery business for the rest of his life. So, one Saturday morning on his day off, Ben took a taxi to the next county where the circus was being held. This could be an easy way to get started with clowning, he thought. The taxi driver stopped at a driveway entrance and Ben got out and looked around. He saw the entrance archway about a hundred feet away so he knew that he was close. Ben told the driver that he’ll call if he needs a ride and handed him a twenty.
The driver then sped out of the driveway without even saying a word.
“Thanks for the ride,” Ben yelled.
That was strange, he thought as he turned around and walked toward the arched entrance. On top of the arch was the name of the circus, Demon Dave’s Circus. That’s a bit creepy. I wonder how much business they get, Ben thought. He walked under the arch and heard the playing of some soft music. It seemed to be coming from one of the tents off to the right. Before Ben could walk over to it and find out what it was about, a little man kart-wheeled in front of him.
“Ta da,” the little man jumped up. “Can I help you bub?” he asked Ben.
“Hello, I’m Ben Starling and I’m here to see Miss Fancy. Can you tell me where to find her?”
“What do you want to see her for?”
“Well, she gave me her card a few weeks ago and told me to stop by,” Ben dug the card out of his pocket.
The little man looked at the business card, “okay, follow me.”
The two of them walked around the tent playing the soft music and made their way into the big top tent.
Ben stopped and glanced around with a smile, “wow, I haven’t been in a big top tent since I was a little kid.”
“Well, come on. I don’t have all day,” the little man said.
“Sorry, I’m coming,” Ben hurried to catch up.
Ben followed him out the other side of the tent and around the corner to a small trailer home. The little man knocked on the trailer door and waited for an answer.
“Come in,” the woman’s voice said.
The little man climbed up the steps and stepped inside, “excuse me Miss Nancy but this kid outside has one of your business cards.”
“Okay Luke, show him in. And thank you,” Miss Nancy said.
Luke slowly stepped back out of the trailer and down to the ground, “Miss Nancy will see you now.”
“Thank you,” Ben said and smiled.
Ben got the feeling from Luke that he was an intruder, but this might be the break that he needs. He walked up the steps and stepped into the trailer. There he saw the attractive young woman who he talked to a few weeks ago.
“Hello Miss Fancy, do you remember me?”
“Hi, yes, but I never did get your name, and please call me Miss Nancy.”
“Oh, it’s Ben Starling.”
Nancy stood up and held out her hand, “Well Ben, it’s nice to see you again. Would you like something to drink?”
“Oh, no thank you. Not right now anyway.”
“Okay then, please have a seat,” Miss Nancy smiled.
“I’m sorry that I took so long to come and see you. I just wasn’t sure what I was going to do,” Ben said.
“Oh, I understand. The circus life isn’t for everyone. So tell me, what has your interest now?” Miss Nancy said.
“I still want to do something like clowning but different. I don’t want to be one that has a painted face. I want to be a one of a kind,” Ben explained.
“Well, do you have any ideas?” She asked.
“Yes, I want to were a unique mask and a cloak.”
“Okay, that sounds interesting. First thing I need you to do though is audition for me and my partner. We need to see if you have that special entertaining quality within you. Do you think that you could put something together by this afternoon?” Miss Nancy asked.
Ben smiled and nodded, “you bet I can. Is it alright if I stay at the circus and practice?”
“Sure, just make sure that you stay out of the others way,” She said.
“No problem, and thank you,” Ben smiled.
“Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t been accepted yet,” Miss Nancy said.
Please join me next week for Chapter 2 of: Not Your Normal Clown.
This chapter is free but the rest of this story might be pay walled.
So far , you've got my interest.