Barnaby Hughes was just about sick of being a clown for hire. He had done everything over the past few years. Children's birthday parties. Carnivals. State fairs. He even visited some kids at the local hospital. And yeah, he got to give a few people some good laughs.
But he couldn't deal with all the weirdos.
It started out with Boppo. Boppo had gotten upset because Barnaby called himself Barpo the clown. He got the go-ahead from the higher-ups, but that didn't stop Boppo. If Barnaby booked a birthday party at the arcade, Boppo would show up too. If Barnaby got a deal with the local garlic festival, Boppo was there too. Apparently working for next to nothing, so he could make sure he got a spot near the main events.
But that would have been fine. Annoying, but fine. Of course, Boppo decided to get his buddies involved. Stretch, Slaps, Gogo, all kinds of characters. And they didn't just show up at jobs. He saw Stretch one time performing on a street corner outside Barnaby's mother's house. Slaps got a gig making balloon animals on the same day he took his niece to the amusement park.
And, he could swear that he had seen Gogo outside his house. Standing in the woods. Watching him.
It was with a good deal of relief when he put in his notice. He had two jobs to finish, and then he was out of the business for good. His brother-in-law had gotten him a job testing software for his tech company. He'd always had a head for numbers. The clown thing was… something else.
He arrived at little Jonah's bar mitzvah a good hour early. His mother has been so thrilled when she'd seen all the stuff he'd brought. The last gig was at the carnival, and they mostly provided their own stuff. Jonah's party was where he could get rid of all the stuff he'd been collecting over the years.
The kids loved it. Even Jonah, who'd originally been a little sour that his mother had hired a clown, got into the spirit when he got to pie the rabbi.
But, as Barnaby was finishing a little girl's balloon animal, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and gazed across the road. Standing in an otherwise empty parking lot was Stretch, Slaps, Gogo…
And Boppo.
Gogo caught him staring and waved excitedly. He held up a finger as if telling Barnaby to wait a minute, then pulled out a balloon. He turned his back to Barnaby, made some flourishes with his hands, and turned back around to display his creation.
It was a noose.
"Excuse me!"
Barnaby jumped. It was the little girl, May or Mary or something. She had her hand out and was tapping her foot. "Are you done with my giraffe?"
"Oh yeah. Sure kid." He handed her the balloon, then turned back to the parking lot. They were gone.
When he got home, he called the regional manager and told him what was going on. He promised to get back to him the next day.
"So," Barnaby said when he answered the call. "Did you tell them to knock it off?"
"That's just it, Barnaby," said the manager. "The four of them left town. I don't know where they all went but Gogo is in Chicago visiting his ex and his kids."
"I'm telling you. I saw them."
"Look man. I'm sure you're just stressed about all the nonsense those guys put you through. But they're just being punks. It's not like they're dangerous."
"Yeah. I guess you're right."
It was an uneventful two days leading up to the carnival. No sightings of Boppo or his friends. Maybe he had just imagined the whole thing. He was letting his nerves get the better of him.
He got to the carnival and set up a station near the funnel cakes and the ferris wheel. The carnival manager shook his hand and thanked him for sticking around to do the event.
"I'm glad you picked us for your finale." The man laughed.
"Oh yeah. I love doing the carnivals. I'll miss these shows the most."
"Good, good. Glad to hear it. Knock em dead."
And despite his fears, Barnaby had a great time. He got his photo taken a bunch, got some good tips, and overall had a great day. By the time sunset rolled around and the big overhead lamps lit up the park, he decided to call it a night. He left his gear with the rest of the stuff, the regional manager had agreed to take whatever he didn't want to keep, and headed to grab some grub before heading home.
When his deep fried chocolate cookies arrived, he found a spot to sit down and just watched the few remaining guests wander about the Midway.
And then he spotted a familiar painted face. Boppo was leaning against an empty ticket booth, eyes fixed on him. Barnaby got up and headed the other way. That's when he noticed Stretch standing near the outhouses.
He picked up the pace and headed further into the carnival. He was just going to have to duck through a barricade and make a dash to his car. Or one of the patrol cars that he'd seen outside. He turned a corner and saw Slapz. The man made a beeline towards him, and Barnaby saw Stretch headed in his direction.
He turned to the nearest attraction. A fun house. He flashed the attendant his performer badge, although the teenaged kid was so stoned he didn't even acknowledge him, and ducked into the building.
He'd been to this carnival before. The fun house had an emergency hatch, one for kids who got freaked out and needed to be escorted out. He ducked under the shaky rope bridge and headed towards the door.
Behind it was Gogo.
"Hey, Barpo. Wanna hear a joke?"
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