Lizzie and I bid farewell to the teachers as we walk to our lockers on the ground floor of Columbus High. We sling our bags over our shoulders and walk towards Lizzie's car.
"Are you ready?" Lizzie asks starting up the car and blasting the heat. I nodded as I tugged the seat belt over my torso. Lizzie turned on the radio as we made our way to the long anticipated KlowneTowne.
KlowneTowne is a Halloween attraction that opens up every year from September 13th until October 31st. Unless Halloween falls on a weekday, then they're open into the first week of November. Anyways, it's a spot where people can get scared to death by clowns. Lizzie's been begging me for weeks to come check it out and apply.
"What do I do if someone tries to throw hands? I know we serve alcohol so, what if someone gets handsy?" I questioned.
"You can defend yourself against aggressive customers but if anyone's giving you trouble report to Doodles. She's the head manager of your area." Lizzie replied coolly.
Doodles. I'm reporting to someone who refers to themselves as Doodles. I feel safer already..
I decided to press further. "What do I say? What's my clown name? What do I do?"
"Depends where they put you. I'm thinking you'll be on doorway or in Ball Room. And before you ask, no it's not the same as The Ball pit . That's in my area across the haunt."
Lizzie glances at me and sighs. "You chase people around to scare them. They're going to be too busy running to hear what you have to say. As long as you don't say "boo" you'll do great."
The smooth road ran out as we drove further into the woods and away from town. The occasional sound of pebbles tapping against the car growing louder and more frequent as we pressed onward.
"Hey, you're not gonna murder me, right? 'Cause this would be the perfect time to do it. Nice dirt road, no one around to hear me scream...."
"Oh my God you're going to murder me." I mock gasp and back up against the passenger side door. Lizzie tosses her head back and laughs as I blubber out fake apologies for anything and everything negative I can think of that involves me and Lizzie.
"I'm sorry about the time I sneezed on your birthday cake and accidently blew out a candle. I'm sorry about nearly forgetting your peanut allergy and almost giving you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.."
Lizzie turns onto a dirt road and pulls into her driveway. "Relax, I'm not going to kill you.. This time..." She points at me, looking dead serious before she slowly removes her seatbelt and gets out of the car. She disappears from my view as I slowly unbuckle my seatbelt and reluctantly open the door. I tread around the car carefully before I hear the pebbles on the dirt shuffle followed by a quiet giggle.
"Boo, bitch!" Lizzie screams grabbing my shoulders from behind.
I let out an inhuman screech similar to that of a pterodactyl before erupting into a fit of giggles.
"C'mon it's time for you to meet the crew!" My arm nearly gets ripped from it's socket as Lizzie drags me to the building next to her house. I eventually catch up to the rest of my body as I marvel at KlowneTowne. The old owners were pig farmers and what is now KlowneTowne was used for housing, breeding, feeding, and butchering pigs back in the late 1980's.
Lizzie stopped at what appeared to be a ticket booth and knocked on the window.
"Yo, Cassie! This is Gigi our new clown for Doodles' area!" she announced. A red headed woman in a poofy clown dress slid the ticket window open and smiled.
"Welcome aboard! I'm Cassie, the owner's right hand woman. Here's the rundown of tonight Lizzie's gonna take you back to the crew area and set you up with a costume and then Sweeties' gonna help you with your makeup. Be in your spot by 6:45, if you don't know how to get there, another clown will show you. Once you get to your spot your castmates will let you know what you'll be doing and give you a quick tour. Most nights we'll get out by 12:00 am or closer to 1:00. I know that's a lot but have fun and good luck!" and with that Cassie disappeared into the back to prep for tonight.
We walked around the building to the back where a few mobile homes took residence and a group of clowns awaited our arrival. A tall clown with a mohawk was the first to greet Lizzie.
"Gigi, this is Sparkles he's the most liked clown in your area. He's gonna keep an eye on you for me. Won't you, Sparks?" Lizzie asked turning towards the burly 6ft man.
"Over there is Sweeties and Lulu. I'm sure you'll be able to tell which is which." They bowed and smiled. The one I assumed to be Sweeties had short pink hair in pigtails and rainbow stockings. Her dress was short and fluffy and she carried a baseball bat with her name on it. The other clown, Lulu wore a grey dress with blood on the front. Her makeup made her mouth look bigger and she wore prosthetic teeth that made her look like a shark, in the best way of course.
"C'mon kiddo, step right up! It's time for the KlowneTowne welcome." Sweeties beamed, dragging me down to the makeup room, Lizzie trailing after us.