The Untold Truth about Enid
Clowns?! Why did it have to be clowns?!
“Oh hey, Enid!”
“Hey, June.” I could feel my chest tightening. I fidgeted with the ribbon on the gift I brought for my niece. She turned six today, and I was promised her birthday party was going to be epic. But her mother failed to mention there were going to be clowns here.
I hate clowns. June knows I hate clowns. Why didn’t she tell me?
“I know what you’re thinking. And I didn’t tell you about the clowns because you would have made up some excuse to ditch out on Mya.” June crossed her arms and glared at me, her eyes challenging me to deny her claims. “She looks up to you, and you needed to be here. So, I omitted one little detail to make sure you showed. Sorry, not sorry.”
“Hrmph.” I rolled my eyes.
June snatched the gift from me and stomped over to place it on the gift table. I moved my hands into the inadequate front pockets of my too-tight jeans. What is wrong with women’s pants manufacturers anyway? These pockets are absolutely worthless. And the rear pockets are fake. What is the point of that?! Ugh!
This party was shaping up to be pretty horrendous. I wanted to scream. My palms are soaking my pockets with sweat, and I feel like I’m going to vomit. I should have stayed home.
“Auntie Enid! You made it!”
Mya ran over to me as fast as her little legs could carry her. Her smile was wider than the Cheshire Cat’s.
Damn, she was cute. How could I not show up for her?
I crouched down and held my arms out to her.
“Mya! I wouldn’t miss your birthday!” She jumped into my arms, nearly knocking me over. Then, she proceeded to give me the biggest bear hug a six-year-old could muster. She leaned back to look up into my face.
“I missed you.” Her voice cracked a little.
Why can’t adults be as genuine as kids? With kids, you never have to play mind games. Actual games, sure. But not mind games. No hidden agendas. Or wondering if they’re mad at you. They say what they mean. It makes things so much easier.
Mya reached her tiny hands up and squished my face between them, pressing my cheeks until my mouth was contorted into monstrous fish lips. I tried to open them and make fish bubble noises. I failed miserably, but at least it made Mya laugh.
“Are you excited to be 10 years old today?” I gave Mya a sideways glance, proud of my cunning choice of words. She hit me in the shoulder with her tiny palm.
“I’m not 10!”
“You’re not?! Gee, I swear you were 9 yesterday…” I put my fingers to my chin, pretending to think really hard.
“No!”
“Well, how old are you then?”
“I’m six!”
“Oh wow! Six?! That’s a good age!”
“It is? Why?”
Uh oh…What did I get myself into? Now I have to come up with a believable reason for her to be excited about this year.
“Well, because…” I can’t lie to her. There are too many liars in the world already. “Six-year-olds get the best gifts from their aunties!” Phew! Crisis averted. I did get her a pretty awesome gift.
“Really? What did you get me?!”
“You’ll have to wait and see when you open it.” I gave her a wink.
“Ok. I’m going to go play with my friends now.” Mya turned around and started walking away. After about five steps, she stopped dead in her tracks. In one motion, she turned around and leaped back into my arms.
“Whoa, what was that for?”
“I love you, Auntie Enid.”
“Aww, I love you too, kiddo.”
With that, she ran off to play with her friends, right next to the two clowns June hired. I watched as one of those jokers leaned down toward Mya while blowing up a long balloon. Mya jumped up and down, excited for whatever creepy thing he promised to do. The balloon kept growing. Wait, there’s too much air in that balloon, buddy. Stop. The balloon was too close to Mya’s face, and it was about to burst.
My entire body was telling me to stay away, but my feet were moving me toward the clowns. With each step, the balloon expanded. My blood boiled. My heartbeat pulsed. My body was like the bass boom in a nightclub.
I was so close.
“Enid, what are you doing?!” I could hear June’s voice, faint like a distant dream.
One more step.
POP!
I flung my body between the balloon and Mya. The snap of the exploding balloon hit my chest, and all the adrenaline bubbled to the surface. And released.
BOOM!
A wave of energy radiated from my body as the point of origin out toward the clowns. Their feet flew out from underneath them. It was like an invisible rope tripped them. Hard. Everything in slow motion. The clowns slowly fell. Their asses thudded on the ground.
Check your surroundings, Enid.
My inner voice to the rescue, I guess. I could see the horrified looks on the clown faces. It made them even more terrifying. My sister was shocked. Most of the party-goers were confused. Mya was perfect. Still smiling. Oblivious to what was happening.
What IS happening?
I looked down at my hands and body. I looked like I always look. Average.
Time sped back up. Everything was back to normal except for the two clowns knocked on their asses. I stood there like a statue. Unsure what to do. There was nothing I could possibly say to explain this. I didn’t understand it myself. So I just stood there.
Frozen.
June was the first to break the silence.
“Enid, what the hell?!”