Free A Fear of Clowns (The Greasepaint Chronicals) by P. S. Power

shock, then laugh. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's
all welcome The Great Mantooth, magician extraordinaire!"
    Clapping he backed off the stage,
going to the other side, so that Carlos, who was dressed in a tux, along with a
top hat on his slightly oversized head, and a cape that was made of black
satin, could flow out to greet the audience. It was well done, and like always
the man captivated them all, nearly instantly. No one even heckled him. They
had Jay, but as they'd mentioned, he sucked. That could happen when you didn't
really have an act.
    Max, the slightly better rested
looking manager, seemed to have gotten some sleep and cleaned up. His face was
bare now, and while still too round, making him look a bit like a hound dog,
his eyes were a clear blue. Waving his hand, he motioned for Jay to come over,
actually smiling, as they got back into a dressing area, and closed the door
softly, so they could talk without disrupting the show.
    "That was freaking
brilliant, kid. Unique too. A bit like an old time vaudeville thing, yeah? I
hear you also worked the floor all day? The pit boss was keeping an eye on you.
Said that if I didn't keep you on he'd put a curse on me. He will too, so, what
do you say? We can set you up for a gig? You did a good job with the introduction
there, so how about you do that too? We have two more acts on for the night. A
song and dance group, doing covers from fifties mainly, and a ventriloquist. I
have paperwork for them, so you won't be doing it blind. Kind of a position
doing everything, but it pays medium." That got things shoved into his
hands, which left him smiling.
    It sounded like, of all things,
he'd just gotten a real job. It wasn't in his chosen field, but a clown could
do worse than something like that.
    "Sounds good. Let me study
this then? So I don't mess it up?" He kept to his stage voice, which
didn't even get a funny look from the man. He worked with show people, and
either got the idea, or was willing to accept that Jay had serious mental
problems that caused him to stay in character when he was dressed for the part.
    The man took his hand, in both of
his and shook it hard. Like a preacher trying to convince a person that he was
truly holy on Sunday morning, no matter what he'd been out doing the night
before.
    "Great! I'll get with you in
the morning about the acts then. We need to hire at least four more, so we can
spread things out. Losing everyone at once... You heard what happened?" He
looked at the ceiling, where there was a camera set up. In a dressing
room. Every place was watched there, to prevent theft. It probably had to be.
    "Card counting scam with at
least ten of the performers in on it. Hushed up because you... we , had
to let all of them go, just in case?" If he were getting a real position
there, it would be best to proclaim himself part of the team as early as
possible. Almost everything in life was really an "us and them" sort
of game, and knowing that let him proclaim a side early. In this case it was
the one that would pay him.
    "That's the situation. Who
told you? We're going with food poisoning, to protect the innocent, if anyone
asks. Also, if you can make sure people know they all ate somewhere else ?
We've had three days of people walking around wondering what the heck our cooks
are doing back in the kitchens, which is unfortunate. They're good folk, back
there. We're a family here. A giant, mostly dysfunctional and sometimes
thieving one, but still... We look out for each other."
    "Got it. Greg mentioned
something about sitting in on the video breakdown for the police tomorrow? I
don't want to shirk my floor duties..."
    Max gave him a confused look, and
then shook his head. "Give us four hours on the floor, and an hour on
stage, with MC duties, four days a week. The rest of your time is yours,
strictly speaking. We can, if you want, talk about management stuff too. I need
a real assistant. First I want to see if you prove out, but if you do a good
job...