Without any public relations responsibility to fulfill, Sandy could pretty much concentrate on 'being cheered'. So where was the cheer?
The balloons and the ribbons decorating the hall were not doing the trick. They were certainly colorful enough to brighten up the younger kids but Sandy was too old to be impressed. Most of the children there were preteens, so Sandy hardly had anyone to talk to. Maybe some food would cheer her up. It should be as good as the previous two parties'.
Sandy surveyed the buffet table on one side of the hall.
There were pieces of cake, fruits and chocolate. Sweet stuff, but Sandy thought she should start with something savory. So she got herself a slice of meat pie on a plate and a fork to eat it with.
"Hello," someone greeted her.
Sandy turned to see a couple of boys, who were about her age. One was dark-skinned with brown hair and had his red jacket zipped up. The other boy had blond hair and wore a blue turtleneck sweater.
"I haven't seen you here before," the dark-skinned boy continued.
(Yeah, it was a cheesy line and anyone would be able to point out how ridiculous it was. Well, anyone other than Sandy.)
"Well, I've never been here," Sandy replied absently.
(Not true, Sandy. You had been there for the party last year.)
"I'm José," the dark-skinned boy introduced himself. He jerked a thumb at the other boy. "That's Ian."
"I'm Sandy."
Sandy had pretty much been on her own during the previous parties. So the present situation was something different for her. She had people to talk to. Perhaps the party would not be so boring after all.
Time quickly passed as Sandy talked with the boys. The discussion was pretty lacking in substance, made up, for the most part, of the ridiculous stories José told to impress Sandy. Regardless, he did get Sandy's attention. The only way he could have done better was if he started waving money around.
(Scratch that. If he waved money around, Sandy's eyes would be glued to it the way a ravenous rattlesnake would watch a mouse. And yes, the snake would eventually strike.)
"Children, gather round," a lady on the stage called on the microphone, "It's time for the show!"
Would the show be what Sandy hoped it would be? A tease of bright colors at the slightly-opened door behind the stage raised her hopes. It was! It was a clown!
(The money mouse was safe from the greedy snake. Not that it existed in the first place.)
Sandy quickly excused herself from her new friends and went to sit with the children on the floor. Silly music started playing on the speakers beside the stage. The children cheered when a clown burst out of the door and danced onto the stage with her silly makeup, outrageous wig, funny red nose and crazy outfit.
When she had been a little girl, Sandy had always been thrilled to see clowns. That little girl still existed within Sandy. The carefree joviality of the clown brought that little girl out, banishing away the worries of high-school life.
Sandy and the children laughed at the clown as she blew on horns and played with mock toys - the drum broke rather comically as she was beating on it. The audience sang along to well-known happy children's songs. They marveled as the clown juggled brightly-colored balls, dancing and laughing all the while. But before long, it was over. And with a heavy heart, the children bid the clown goodbye.
The next act was a magic show. Out came an old man in the magician's traditional tuxedo and top hat. He started with the usual crowd-pleaser (kids' version) with lots of flowers and confetti bursting forth from nowhere. The children soon forgot about the clown.
(Such was the attention span of young kids those days.)
The magician made a light bulb glow without being attached to a lamp. He conjured a dove from his apparently empty hat. He put a pencil through an apparently solid coin, which still appeared solid after that.
(Should such performances be displayed before little children? Going against the rules of how things work might be okay for older children, who already had their feet grounded in reality. However, it might be confusing to those still learning about way the world worked, those such as the toddlers in the audience. And Sandy.)
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