Jeff was filled with excitement. He’d been begging his parents to bring him to the opening night of the town carnival, and his persistence had paid off. He wanted to experience everything before his friends ruined it for him. The carnival lasted three days, culminating in a giant fireworks show over the bay Saturday night, starting just after dusk.
Jeff was worn out when they arrived. His dad hadn’t wanted to deal with traffic. Since they lived close enough, he had made them walk to the wharf. Jeff got his second wind as he saw the lady in the ticket booth hand a wad of tickets to his dad for the rides and attractions.
Once inside, the first thing Jeff wanted was a piece of fried dough, his fair favorite! He loved the crunch of the still-warm dough and the sweetness of the powdered sugar that adorned the top. Now that his sweet tooth was satisfied, Jeff wanted to get to the carnival’s amusements. The once-a-year exhilaration he looked forward to.
A barker convinced him to lose some tickets by trying to knock over some milk bottles. His dad told him it was a scam, but Jeff had been sure he could prove his dad wrong. He hadn’t. There had been a train Jeff was very convinced he was now too old for. But his mom had insisted, and he didn’t want to upset her.
Jeff wanted to do the House of Horrors dark ride to brag to his friends that he had done it. But he hadn’t built up the nerve to go on it yet, even with his parents. He desperately wanted to do something on his own. Something he could use to inflate himself in front of his friends at school on Friday. Then he saw the sign pointing to the mirror maze.
“I want to do the maze by myself,” Jeff said.
“Jeffy, are you sure?” his mother asked.
“Mom,” Jeff said, exasperated. “I’m a big boy now, and I go by Jeff.”
“Well, consider me corrected. We’ll wait for you over here.”
His mom handed him five tickets, which he held tightly as he approached the employee outside. Jeff smiled and handed them to the man with pride.
“Don’t get lost; we can’t afford to lose any more kids in there tonight,” the barker said jokingly. He winked and opened the door for him.
Jeff stepped inside and saw his reflection ahead of him and around him. The door closed behind him. He saw he was surrounded by himself, and his heart skipped a beat. What if he got lost in here? He felt the urge to open the door and shout to his parents he had been kidding and that they should go through with him.
He stopped. That’s not what a big boy would do. A big boy could do the mirror maze. It isn’t the House of Horrors; it’s just mirrors. Jeff stepped to his side and promptly walked right into himself. His nose stung when it hit the mirror. Jeff wiped his finger under his nose and saw a small trail of blood. He moved back and decided he should stick his hand out, so he didn’t plant his face into another mirror.
Jeff started moving around testing surfaces until he found where his hand didn’t collide with a mirror and proceeded further into the maze. He was proud of himself as he ventured deeper and deeper. His anti-faceplanting method was working well, and he was getting some real confidence. He knew when he told the tale, his friends would be envious that he had completed the maze on his own. The twists and turns made it so he had no idea where the front of the maze was. But the beginning didn’t matter to Jeff anymore. He was headed to the end of the maze.
As Jeff navigated one of the roomier areas, he saw the face of a clown poke out from the edge of a mirror behind him. Startled, Jeff swung around. Running into a clown in here was the last thing he’d expected. The clown looked creepily back at him. Its lip was curled, and it had a very unfriendly look. Jeff thought it was odd that a clown would be in the mirror maze—especially a mean-looking one.
“You caught me off guard,” Jeff said nervously.
The clown just stared back at him silently.
“Okay, that’s fun,” Jeff said. “Mess with the child.”
The clown didn’t move.
Jeff wished he had done this with his parents. He didn’t feel very much like a big boy at the moment. He groped around, trying to find the opening, afraid to take his eyes off the clown, but he just kept feeling the cool sensation of the glass everywhere his hands touched. His heart started beating faster and faster. He was positive he would start crying, but then he found the opening.
Slowly and carefully, Jeff made his way further into the maze. He tried to keep his eyes on the stationary clown, but found his line of sight was quickly blocked. Jeff continued, being sure to keep feeling ahead, so he didn’t go right into a mirror, but kept glancing back frequently to ensure the clown hadn’t snuck up behind him.
Each look back just brought back the image of himself. Eventually, his breathing slowed back to normal.
Just some evil-looking prop they probably use to mess with people.
He’d never done a mirror maze where they had props hidden in them. But he also had not done that many mazes at all, so he knew he was far from an expert. He felt better after convincing himself that no human could have stood still that long.
Jeff started making good progress again. Or at least, what he assumed was good progress, though he had no idea how large the maze was. He ended up in an octagonal-shaped room when the clown suddenly appeared in every direction. He didn’t even see where it had come from. The way the mirrors were placed, it looked like an army of evil clowns surrounded him.
The confidence he’d given himself when he convinced himself the clown couldn’t be human was gone. There was no way someone could have snuck a prop in that quietly. The clown had to be human and stalking him through the maze.
“Just leave me alone!” Jeff shouted.
The clown just cocked its head and continued to stare at him from all directions. Jeff felt a tear go down his cheek. The clown smiled, but the smile made Jeff wish the clown was still sneering at him. Somehow, the smile struck him as even more malevolent. The clown was just watching him cry in fear. This wasn’t a good clown.
Jeff glanced around quickly, trying to figure out where the clown was, and noticed an empty spot.
That must be the way out of the octagon.
Jeff quickly moved in that direction and ran with his hands out. He kept his hands in front of him, but they kept hitting into mirrors. Water welled in his eyes, making his vision blurry, and the flood of tears opened up.
He didn’t even notice when the mirror his hand hit moved, and he stumbled outside the maze. He suddenly became aware of his mother’s voice calling out.
“Jeffy! Jeffy! Is everything okay?”
He had never felt so comforted as when she threw her arms around him.
“Maze get to you, son?” his father asked.
“No, the clown. The freaky clown in there just wouldn’t leave me alone.”
At this point, the barker had noticed the commotion and rushed over.
“Is he okay?” the barker asked.
“No!” his mother retorted. “The clown inside the maze freaked him out.”
“What clown?” the barker asked, with a frown.
“The angry-looking clown in the maze,” Jeff said between sobs.
“There isn’t a clown in the mirror maze,” the barker said. “There aren’t any live actors in there.”
“Well, something in there scared him,” his father said. “Look at him.”
“I…I don’t know what it could have been,” the barker responded. He pulled a walkie-talkie from his vest. “I need assistance at the mirror maze,” he called into it.
***
Sitting in the trailer serving as the manager’s office with a hot chocolate, Jeff felt better.
“Can we go over this again?” the balding manager asked Jeff.
“There was a creepy clown inside the mirror maze that wouldn’t leave me alone,” Jeff said.
“There shouldn’t be any clowns in there,” the manager said. He frowned and deep wrinkles formed on his brow. “Can you describe the clown to me? There are access panels in the maze. No one should have taken a break in there, but maybe someone was, and you startled them.”
“The clown sneered at me and had a creepy-looking face painted on.”
“Can you describe what creepy means?”
“No, it just…it just freaked me out.”
“We don’t have creepy paint jobs on our clowns. This is supposed to be a fun carnival. I don’t know what happened, but it doesn’t sound like any of our employees.”
“Then who was it?” Jeff’s mother retorted.
“I don’t know, ma’am. But to compensate for the inconvenience, I’d like to offer you enough free tickets to enjoy the whole weekend here at no cost.”
“I think we’ll be going home now,” Jeff’s father said. “Jeff has had his fill for the night.”
“Please take the tickets and return if you wish at any time during the weekend.”
Jeff’s mother put her hand out, collected the giant roll of tickets the manager held out to her, and sank them deep into her over-sized purse. “Thank you,” she said.
***
On the walk home, Jeff wished his dad had driven to the carnival. The streets were dark, and he’d never noticed how many shadows the streetlamps created. His eyes kept darting around, trying to investigate every dark spot for danger.
He turned back to check for anything lurking behind and saw him. The clown! He was poking out of an alleyway, his face illuminated by the light. He yanked at his dad’s arm. “The clown, he’s there!” Jeff shouted, pointing.
His dad stopped and looked back. “There’s no one there.”
Jeff looked, and the clown was gone. “He was, I swear, Dad!”
“Jeff, I get that the clown scared you, but he isn’t following us. He was some employee at the carnival who thought it was fun to freak you out.”
“But the manager didn’t know who he was.”
“Of course he did. He would have called the authorities if they had a rogue clown. Instead, he offers us free tickets. He knew who he was, and he is probably talking to the clown right now, telling him never to do it again.”
“But Dad! The clown was right there.”
“Look, Jeff, if you want us to treat you like a big boy, you have to act like one. Big boys don’t get scared of every shadow. Now, let’s go home.”
His dad started moving forward, tugging Jeff along with him.
Jeff looked back and saw the clown standing right below the streetlamp, sneering at him. He wanted to scream at his dad that the clown was back, but didn’t. Since the clown could appear and disappear, Jeff was starting to think it was supernatural, and he knew his dad would tell him there weren’t any supernatural clowns, and he wasn’t grown up enough to be a big boy yet. Jeff let his dad pull him forward as he stared at the clown, still standing under the streetlamp, not moving a muscle.
***
After tucking him into bed, his father turned on his nightlight, shut off the room light, and closed the door, leaving a crack open—just as Jeff liked it. Once he was sure his dad was out of hearing range, he pulled back the covers and grabbed the flashlight he’d snuck into his bed. He shined the beam around the room, looking intently for the clown.
Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, Jeff bolstered his courage and spun around on the bed so he was on his stomach, hanging over the edge. He then lowered himself, shining the light under the bed. His heart skipped a beat as he looked, but again, no clown.
One more thing to check.
He slid out of bed and tiptoed across his room. Standing back, he slowly opened the door to his closet and looked inside. No clown. Jeff hurried across his room back to the bed, ensuring the protective blankets covered him entirely. He pulled the blanket over his head so if the supernatural clown showed up that night, it couldn’t get him. He tried to stay awake, listening for the clown, but his heavy eyelids eventually won.
***
Friday, Mrs. Robbins was going over addition at the front of the classroom. Usually, Jeff ate math up. He loved it. It made sense to him, and he liked things that made sense. Two plus two was always four, and he found comfort in that. However, he couldn’t focus today on what Mrs. Robbins was teaching. After last night’s events, his parents offered to let him stay home, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t let his parents know how much the clown had bothered him, and even more importantly, his friends couldn’t find out a clown freaked him out. That’s the kind of thing he would carry for life if they found out.
Jeff looked out the window, and there, standing in the trees, was the clown.
He gasped.
“Jeff?” Mrs. Robbins asked.
He pulled his eyes away from the window and saw the entire class was staring at him. This was the last thing he wanted. It was how lives were ruined, assuming the supernatural clown didn’t end his life first.
“Nothing, I just remembered a chore I forgot to do at home, and I hope my mom isn’t too mad,” Jeff replied.
“She will be even more angry if she finds out you aren’t paying attention to your arithmetic in school. Worry about what chores you may or may not have done on your own time.”
“Yes, Mrs. Robbins.”
Jeff could hear some of his classmates snickering in the back of the classroom. It’s better they laugh over that than he be branded the clown boy. Jeff looked out the window and saw the clown was still there, not moving, just staring straight at him.
***
As the crossing guard let them cross the street, the pack headed from school to the corner store. Jeff knew that Mrs. Robbins’ class had just been the dress rehearsal for this. The corner store was where their parents got their beer, smokes, and some magazines kept in the back that they weren’t allowed to look at. The neighborhood kids knew the store was a haven for penny gum and five-cent candy. It was also where all the gossip came from. And since he was the only one who had convinced his parents to take him last night, everyone wanted him to spill all the deets on the carnival.
Jeff knew he had to be careful about what he said and how he said it. One day last spring, Jeff’s classmate Michael decided he would find out what was in the magazines that made them so special. Mr. Izziari, the owner, had caught him and yelled at him. Michael stood there, looked at Mr. Izziari, then peed his pants and ran out the door. Later, when they all tried to find out what was in the magazine, Michael said there was a naked woman who was doing something to herself that he couldn’t explain very well. That day earned him the nickname Mikepee, which is why this worried Jeff so much. He didn’t want to be the next casualty of the corner store.
The kids jumbled in front of the candy counter, each making their confectionery order, then proceeding to the paved area outside the front of the store. Jeff should have been elated as he exited the store with his Bit-O-Honey, ready to share his carnival experiences. Strangely, he wasn’t afraid of the clown at the moment. Somehow, the pack of kids there made him feel protected, untouchable even.
As the kids pressed around him, it was time to hold court. Jeff went over the fair-only delights like the fried dough. He talked about his deft maneuvering of the mirror maze solo, sans mention of the supernatural clown, that is, which caused amazed looks on the faces of his compadres. He even alluded to having gone through the dark ride. The fear of the clown was dissipating as he held his friends’ rapt attention.
Then, the worst-case scenario happened. Jeff heard Michael’s voice.
“Jeff, wanna come with me and my parents tomorrow when we go?”
Michael had lost a lot of friends when he became Mikepee, but Jeff had stayed loyal to him. Jeff knew of no good way to get out of this. Everyone would know he had been fibbing about something if he said no. But if he said yes, it only opened more opportunities for the clown to get him.
Jeff figured he would bite the bullet. At least if the clown showed, Michael would see it. Even though he was Mikepee, he was still a better witness than none.
“Of course, if my mom says it’s okay.”
With that, the corner store session ended as the children started breaking up and heading to their respective homes. Jeff scurried home, keeping a vigilant eye out for the clown, who thankfully didn’t make an appearance.
Jeff brought up Michael’s request at home, and his mother thought it would be a fantastic idea.
“Maybe going with Michael will get all this clown nonsense out of your head. And all the free tickets we have won’t go to waste.”
“Mom, you can’t tell them why we got them!”
“I’ll just say I won them; that way, your precious little ego will be safe.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
***
“Jeff,” his mother’s voice called out. “Michael is here.”
He came down the stairs and found Michael and his parents in the living room.
“Are you all set, sweetie?” his mother asked.
“Yes, Mom.”
“Let’s get going then,” Michael said. “I can’t wait to get there.”
Jeff looked out at the street and didn’t see their car.
“Are we driving?” Jeff asked.
“No, your father suggested we walk,” Michael’s father said. “We’re close enough.”
Thwarted by my father, again.
On the way there, Michael was a ball of energy, his excitement brimming over.
Jeff remembered back to Thursday, when he had the same excitement. He was envious of Michael’s naivety, wishing he, too, could have that level of excitement again. Not the dread that was in the back of his mind.
“I want to do the mirror maze you did,” Michael said. “I want you to come with me, but don’t tell me how to get out. I want to figure it out like you did.”
Jeff felt a chill go through his body. He hadn’t even thought he’d have to go back into the mirror maze.
Of course, Michael would want to go through the maze. After I talked myself up so much for going through it.
Jeff thought he would prefer to do the dark ride at this point. At least that was supposed to be scary.
Michael kept bounding ahead of the other three, not even noticing that Jeff hadn’t answered him, and Jeff noticed he was pulling up the rear. Michael’s dad was winded trying to keep up with his son. Jeff suddenly realized he was vulnerable to the supernatural clown and slowed to check his surroundings. He watched Michael’s family getting further and further ahead, but he didn’t want to call out to them. He didn’t want to have to explain the clown. Jeff turned and studied the street behind him. Not a clown to be seen. He turned around, and there was the clown right in front of him, separating him from Michael and his family in the distance.
Jeff’s heart skipped several beats. There was an opening between two brick buildings next to him. Facing the clown, Jeff made the ninety-degree turn, backing into the opening and keeping the clown in front of him. He backed up in the alleyway until he felt a wooden fence behind him stopping further movement. He looked at the clown, who was blocking the only way out.
“My mom says you aren’t real,” Jeff said, trying to sound defiant.
“Oh, Jeffy, your mother isn’t here now, though, is she?”
“Don’t call me that!”
“Call you what, Jeffy?”
Jeff could see the white pancake makeup cracking as the clown responded. “Jeffy! My name is Jeff.”
“Jeffy, don’t you know? Being brave now isn’t going to save you.”
“Why me? What did I do to you?”
“What did any of them do to me?”
“Any of them?”
“You really think you are the first, Jeffy?”
“They’ll catch you!”
“No, they won’t. By the time your body is found, the carnival will be long gone. They never even think of us.”
“My mom will tell them about the clown.”
“The clown that doesn’t even work at the carnival?”
“People will come when I scream. Then they’ll catch you!”
“Jeffy, look around. Listen.”
Jeff looked out at the street behind the clown. He realized he hadn’t noticed a car or person pass the whole time he had been here. The setting sun was causing the light to dissipate slowly. He cocked his ear and didn’t hear a sound.
“That’s right, Jeffy. It’s the last night of the carnival. Everyone is down by the wharf, getting ready for the fireworks show.”
Jeff looked down at the pavement, the last of his defiance leaving him. The clown started moving slowly toward him.
“I like this part even more than the hunting, Jeffy!”
The clown started laughing as he closed the gap.
