Had a hard time getting started on my Story A Day story today, for some reason. But the result was a 100-ish-word story about an adult damaged in childhood, displaying the damage with no explanation of it.

Smile

Matthew crept toward the boy, exaggerating his long, slow steps, leading with one over-sized shoe and then the other, swiveling his head, rubbing his gloved hands in an overdone pantomime of evil anticipation, gathering as much attention as he could.

Not the boy’s. It was important for him to focus on the spangle-tighted equestrienne in the center ring.

When he loomed over the child, Matthew tapped him on the shoulder. The boy looked around, saw a clown grinning and waving inches from his face, and jerked spasmodically. Popcorn flew into the air, and the crowd roared with satisfied laughter.

Matthew wasn’t satisfied, though. If the boy had wet his pants, it wouldn’t have been enough.

~*~

I don’t like being startled, but I’ve never been afraid of clowns, as such. I was marked for life by Uncle Joey on Circus Boy. And, just in case you don’t know, that cute little blond kid is Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees.

MY PROMPTS TODAY: Smile, adult result of childhood damage