Jay-Jay came into the family lounge, where he saw Pinky and her sister talking with some other clowns. He didn't know them; he presumed they were from Lou Jacobs High.
He waddled up to Pinky. "Um, ah Pinky," he said, "about what I said-"
"What, that I look ridiculous?" Pinky glared at him. "You think I'd go to all this trouble, iron out my favorite dress, spend three hours getting my hair done, and bought myself this expensive bottle of Eu de Bubblegum, just to hear you say that?"
"Well, I-"
"Do you think, just because I'm an auguste and not a high faluting whiteface that I'll just fall all over to whatever sweet words you say and be your puppet on a string?"
"But I, ah-"
HONK! Pinky poked JayJay in the nose. "Gotcha."
Jay-Jay felt the blood rush to his cheeks, making the red circles on them crimson, while all the clowns around them laughed. Pinky only giggled in that gentle way of hers. "Relax, Jay-Jay." The calliope music playing took a much slower pitch, and couples started to dance, in the lounge and on the patio. "Wanna dance?"
"Sure," Jay-Jay nodded, and the two joined the other couples.
Pinky was a very good dancer-much better than Jay-Jay, who had trouble keeping his big feet from tripping. It was no problem on the slow dances, but when the calliope music picked up, Jay-Jay very nearly back-ended into the fireplace. Pinky giggled to herself; he was so goofy.
And she liked goofy.
The music slowed down again. Not wanting to dance anymore, Pinky and Jay-Jay sat down next to each other on the sofa. Jay-Jay let out a soft breath; never had he danced like that! He suddenly became aware of Pinky's fingers, gently caressing his scalp.
Pinky hummed gently to herself. Her father, brothers, and most of the men in her family had full head of hair, but to her there was just something about bald clown guys that she found irresistible. She loved the feeling of Jay-Jay's bald head as she rubbed it, all shiny and slick. She knew he must have rubbed some kind of gel on it before the party, but she liked the way it felt.
Jay-Jay turned and smiled his big goofy clown mouth at her; her muzzle widened as she smiled back.
Some distance away, Ginger Malloy was scowling at them. 'Bad enough Jen let augustes join the cheerleading squad, now her brother's gotten ensared by one!' she thought with disgust. 'Wouldn't be surprised if she started making out with a hobo. What's going to become of Clownton?'
Ginger's thoughts were interupted by the beeping of her cell-phone."Yes?" she said irritably.
"Everything's in place," a mournful sounding voice that seemed to have a buzz in the undertone, answered over the phone. "It's all going according to plan."
"Good," said Ginger, and she closed the phone. Kyle Perkins was a hobo and a freshman at Clownton High, a lower form of life twice compounded as far as Ginger was concerned. Still, he knew his proper place-and he had his own reasons for revenge on Jen.
Ginger saw Jen come down the hallway, followed by her ex-boyfriend Jac-Jack. 'Soon, Jen Smith,' she thought to herself as they walked out onto the balcony of the house, 'your parents are going to be so angry with you they'll just have to make you quit the squad. And once you're gone, so will those augustes you let onto the squad with you.'