fandomtownies | The Park, Sunday afternoon

Since it was the weekend and he didn't have to do anything for his circus class, Bozo set up his actual circus in the park. There were a bunch of NPCs standing off to the side as the audience. Some already had prizes (like Mouse Trap! Or Boggle! Or Matt's Chocolate Chip Cookies!) and some of them had remains of shaving cream pies that had been thrown in their faces.

But since this wasn't being televised and everyone loved the Grand Prize Game more than anything else, six buckets had been set up and Bozo had plenty of ping pong balls for anyone who wanted to play for a chance at Bucket Number Six, where they could win a new Schwinn bike and a fresh, crisp, $100 bill!

[OOC: Open to all! For anyone who was deprived and never saw The Bozo Show, the buckets (about the size of a small popcorn bucket) and in a line. You stand behind the first one with your toes behind a line on the ground and have to drop/throw a ping pong ball into each bucket in numerical order before trying to hit #6, alllllll the way down there.

Also, go back in time and watch WGN so that you understand how great clowns can be.]

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Hanson had come out to the park to play his guitar and stare off into the background the way disaffected youth do (or so he guessed. He was a cop), and was just a little confused to see the circus set up.

"Yo," he said laconically.

"Hello, young man!" Bozo greeted. "Do you want to play the Grand Prize Game?"

"Will I get hugged?" he asked warily.

"Only if you initiate it," Bozo said.

It was kind of a rule in children's television.

"That will not be happening," Hanson assured him. "What do I do?"

"Well, first you tell the audience your name," Bozo said. "And then you compete for wonderful prizes!"

"Call me Tommy," Hanson said, looking around at the studio audience and wondering what passed as 'wonderful prizes' around here.

"Hi, Tommy! The rules of this game are very simple. You just stand here, keeping both feet behind the white line on the ground," Bozo said, demonstrating after grabbing a ping pong ball. "Then you try to throw the ball into each of the buckets in order without missing any of them."

Bozo dropped the ball into the first bucket easily, then grabbed another ball and tossed it lightly into the second bucket. "And if you make it all the way to the sixth bucket and get the ball into it, you win a new Schwinn bike and a fresh, crisp, $100 bill!"

"Are you ready to play, Tommy?"

Hanson decided immediately that if he won the Schwinn he'd be mailing it back for Harry, who would hate him.

"Sounds simple enough," he decided. "Do a lot of people win?"

He was guessing no.

"You'd be the first one today," Bozo said.

Also the first person to play today. That's why it was funny for the audience.

Hanson shrugged. "I think I can do it," he said.

"Then here's your ping pong ball," Bozo said, handing one over. "And good luck, Tommy!"

"Thanks...clown," Hanson finally settled on before tossing the ping pong ball into the first bucket.

He grinned despite himself. "Hey, rad."

"You can call me Bozo," Bozo said. He was holding a bag of cookies and a ping pong ball. "And congratulations! You've won a package of Matt's Chocolate Chip Cookies, made with real chocolate chips!"

"Here's your second ball. Try for bucket number two!"

"Better than being made with real Matts," Hanson commented with a tiny smile before throwing the next ball. It bounced off of the lip of the bucket, then landed inside.

"Congratulations, Tommy! You've won Silly Putty! The amazing rubber that can be smashed, squished, pulled apart, and put back together. You can even copy comics on it!" Bozo said, holding the package up.

"Here's another ping pong ball. Try for bucket number three!"

"Can I trade it for more cookies?" Hanson tried.

"Hahaaa!" Bozo laughed. "No, Tommy, but there's a chance you could win something else in bucket three."

Maybe there were more cookies there?

Hanson tossed the ping pong ball into the bucket and grinned. "Halfway there."

"You've won a package of Wacky Wall Crawlers! Throw them against the wall and watch them crawl down. Wacky Wall Crawlers by Doctor Fad," Bozo said. "You're getting close, Tommy. Here's a ping pong ball. Now try for bucket number four."

Hanson couldn't believe he was actually getting nervous about this: he had his own car, for God's sake.

He blew out a breath then tossed the ball. "Go in, go in..." he muttered as it landed in the pail. "Whoo!"

And beating back those nerves was rewarded thusly: "You've just won a brand new Glow In the Dark Slinky! It's Slinky, it's fun for a girl or a boy! And now it glows in the dark!"

"Okay, Tommy, you're almost there," Bozo said. "Take this ping pong ball and try for bucket number five!"

Okay, this bucket looked a lot tougher. It could just be that it was number five and Hanson didn't really want to choke this far into the competition. He didn't want to overanalyze it. He threw the ping pong ball and shut his eyes.

"Did it go in?"

"It did! And you won a Lite-Brite by Hasbro," Bozo said. "Your Lite-Brite comes with several different patterns, including one of your favorite clown, Bozo. Hahaaa! Lite-Brite, turn on the magic of shining light."

"Here's your last ball, Tommy. Now try for bucket number six for the hundred dollars and new Schwinn bike. Everyone's rooting for you."

Hanson blew out a long breath and closed his eyes.

Then he opened them back up and threw the ball.

He couldn't believe how much he wanted to win this thing.

The ball just barely dinked off of the rim of the bucket and fell on the ground. An "awwwww" tore through the audience.

"I'm sorry, Tommy, but you did a great job today! You still won a lot of prizes!" Bozo said.

"Lite Brite is pretty rad," Hanson admitted with a little smile. "No problem, man."

"Glad to hear it, Tommy," Bozo said. "And thanks for playing!"

The Park, Sunday afternoon

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