"Well, I think the clown positions sound fun," said Alice. She always liked clowns ever since she was a little girl.
"Sure," agreed Kassie. She didn't particularly like clowns but she didn't hate them either.
"Sounds like fun," added Sussie.
"I don't know." Beckie had a childhood fear of clowns; while she was mostly over it she still felt uneasy around them.
"Aw, c'mon Beckie," pleaded Alice. "It'll be just us, under those wigs, costumes and makeup. We don't scare you, do we?"
"Besides," Aussie said, "didn't your therapist say the best way to get over your phobia would be to confront it? What better way than this?"
"Well," Beckie finally said, "ok. It's only going to be for two weeks. I guess I can put up with it for that long."
"Great!" Alice quickly checked the spot marked CLOWN, signed her name, then passed the paper and pen on to her friends.
When the paper was handed back to the receptionist, she raised her left eyebrow. "So you girls want to be clowns for to weeks? Any experience or training?"
"Not exactly," Alice admitted. "But the four of us are all xheerleaders; if any routine requires agility and reflexes we'll learn it quickly. How hard could it be?"
"In that case," and the receptionist got up from her desk, "come with me."