19

TWO NEW CLOWNS

GETTING READY FOR SHOWTIME

No one knows his real name — they just call him Ringmaster. His dressing room is ready for him when he arrives. As he walks in, he picks up a fluffy white cat and starts stroking it. Socks and Jocks follow him in.

‘Have the coach and the boy talked yet?’ asks Ringmaster, sitting down on his luxury leather couch.

‘They are still in dreamland,’ says Jocks.

Ringmaster slides his fingers around his shiny black top hat. ‘Well, something tells me they won’t talk when they do wake up. I think they might have to join the circus!’ he laughs.

Socks and Jocks look at each other. They know exactly what Ringmaster means.

‘Take them to make-up!’ he barks. ‘We’ll use them as bait’. He points to the door and the clowns quickly leave to check on their two prisoners.

The effect from the purple spray is wearing off and Coach Bennett and Justice Jones are slowly waking up. They are tied up and hidden inside a fairy floss machine. When Socks and Jocks arrive, they wheel the machine out of the room and into another room that says ‘Make-up’ on the door. They pull Coach Bennett out of the machine and sit him in front of a mirror.

‘Hey Coach, you’re about to join the circus,’ giggles Jocks.

Coach Bennett is still too sleepy to talk, but his eyes widen when he sees Jocks with a tub of white powder and a brush in his hand.

‘I’ll do his make-up,’ Jocks says to Socks. ‘You choose the costume.’ He begins to smear Coach Bennett’s face in white make-up while Socks raids the costume closet. Justice is also waking up and when they take him out of the fairy floss machine, he sees Coach Bennett sitting in front of him with a white face, green stars around his eyes, a big red painted smile and long springy eyelashes. Justice thinks the baggy white suit with pompoms down the front looks downright silly, but that’s the whole point when you’re a clown. Coach Bennett does not look happy.

‘I don’t care what I wear,’ groans Justice. ‘But please, don’t make my face look as bad as his!’

Inside the tent, the World’s Strongest Man is warming up the audience as they arrive. He lifts weights and balances them on his head, and then he starts his human juggling act. People cheer as acrobats are thrown into the air like tennis balls, before being caught and tossed back up again. At the side of the ring, Ringmaster and his clowns are close to completing their evil plans.

‘Are the coach and the boy in position?’ asks Ringmaster.

‘Nearly,’ says Socks, pointing up at a tall pole with a small platform at the top. A rope ladder hangs off one side, and climbing the ladder are Justice and Coach Bennett dressed in their clown suits. Jocks is pressing something into Coach Bennett’s back to make sure he keeps climbing The audience are too busy finding their seats and don’t notice the clowns as they reach the platform. As Jocks climbs back down, he cuts the rungs of the rope ladder with a knife so Coach Bennett and Justice can’t escape.

‘Do they know not to bring attention to themselves?’ asks Ringmaster.

‘Jocks told them that one word out of their mouths would be the end of them and the Conlan boy,’ replies Socks.

‘Good,’ grins Ringmaster.

Just then, Socks’ phone beeps with a message alert. ‘Hey boss, Jocks has spotted the Conlan kid’s grandmother,’ says Socks.

‘What about the boy? Is he in his seat yet?’ asks Ringmaster, looking at his watch. ‘It’s nearly time to start the show.’

‘Umm, I’m not sure,’ replies Socks nervously.

Ringmaster is furious. ‘You stupid clown! Can’t even keep an eye on an eleven-year-old kid!’ he growls. ‘Lucky for you, I have a plan!’

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