<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’re in Professor Faggioli’s office.
Banani’s session continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAGGIOLI
Yes\u2026 where were we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI
I was talking about my clown phobia. But if you prefer, we can talk a bit about you\u2026 \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAGGIOLI
No, no! Go on\u2026 Did you experience anything in particular that fed this fear?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI
Yes. The first incident goes back to kindergarten, during my classmate Gigi\u2019s birthday party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAGGIOLI
Go ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FLASHBACK \u2013 OUTSIDE \u2013 GIGI\u2019S BACKYARD \u2013 AFTERNOON
Music, kids playing, balloons, entertainment. Banani (6 years old) is running around with his friend Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LEO
Come on, let\u2019s hide in the shed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI
Great idea!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They open the shed door. Inside, sitting on a crate, is a clown. He\u2019s talking to himself in a desperate tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CLOWN
(to himself)
\u2026I had my own act\u2026 my own show\u2026 and she, that witch, ran off with that two-bit juggler\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The clown pulls out a flask and takes long gulps. Banani and Leo cover their noses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LEO
(whispering)
That stinks\u2026 it\u2019s alcohol!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI
(whispering)
Let\u2019s sneak out quietly\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But they make noise. The clown notices them. The kids run off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OUTSIDE \u2013 CAKE TABLE \u2013 MOMENTS LATER
All the kids are gathered around the cake. The clown stumbles in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KIDS
(excitedly)
The clown! The clown!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI (voice-over)
He was laughing and walking like he was acting\u2026 but it wasn\u2019t an act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The clown slips and falls face-first into the cake. Sponge and cream fly everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GIGI\u2019S MOM
Oh my god! Is he okay?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GIGI\u2019S DAD
He looks drunk\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The clown gets up, covered in cake, stumbles again\u2026 and trips into the lit barbecue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A burst of flames. Screams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI (voice-over)
It was one of those old-fashioned cakes\u2026 sponge and rum.
A bomb. And he was already soaked. \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The clown catches fire. He screams, flails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI (voice-over)
Then\u2026 like in a horror movie\u2026 he started running toward the pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pool is on the other side of the yard. The kids freeze, watching him come toward them in flames, covered in scorched cream and frosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LEO
He\u2019s coming toward us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI (voice-over)
We were right in the middle. Between him and the water. And it looked like he was coming straight at us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The clown stumbles, gets back up, yells something incomprehensible, then collapses just a few feet from the kids. The parents rush over and cover him. The water finally puts the fire out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OUTSIDE \u2013 FRONT GATE \u2013 MOMENTS LATER
An ambulance arrives. The paramedics load the clown onto a stretcher. He\u2019s alive, but trembling, burned, covered in cream and smoke. As they lift him, he mutters disjointed words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CLOWN
\u2026I just wanted\u2026 to make balloon animals\u2026 \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BACK TO PRESENT \u2013 PROFESSOR FAGGIOLI\u2019S OFFICE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI
Since that day\u2026 every time I see a clown, I get the feeling he\u2019s about to run straight at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAGGIOLI
I see. A powerful scene\u2026 traumatically clownish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IGOR
If you ask me, someone missed a golden opportunity here! And that someone is Faggioli! He should\u2019ve accepted when Banani offered to talk about him for a bit. \ud83e\udd23
\u2026Anyway, the line \u201cwe were talking about clowns,\u201d right before \u201cshould we talk about you now?\u201d\u2014directed at Faggioli\u2014felt suspiciously ironic to me. \ud83e\udd23
\u2026Like, if you reword Banani\u2019s sentence, it\u2019d be: \u201cWe\u2019ve just talked about clowns. Since we\u2019re on the subject, why don\u2019t we talk about you, Faggioli?\u201d \ud83e\udd23
\u2026But on another note, that story reminded me of those old cakes, so soaked in alcohol that if you stuck a slice in a bottle, you could use it as a Molotov! \ud83e\udd23
\u2026Also, we totally underestimated that clown. Sure, he was down on his luck. But the guy definitely had a sense of humor! I mean, think about it: fired from the circus, dumped by his girl, nearly burned alive\u2026 and all he says is \u201cI just wanted to make balloon animals\u201d? \ud83e\udd23
\u2026Well, sorry clown! Mission failed! \ud83e\udd23
\u2026Still, one way or another, you sure gave us a show! \ud83e\udd23
\u2026Yeah, a show with you as the Human Torch! \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We’re in Professor Faggioli’s office.Banani’s session continues. FAGGIOLIYes\u2026 where were we? BANANII was talking about my clown phobia. But if you prefer, we can talk a bit about you\u2026 \ud83e\udd23 FAGGIOLINo, no! Go on\u2026 Did you experience anything in particular that fed this fear? BANANIYes. The first incident goes back to kindergarten, during my classmate … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-episode"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5329"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5330,"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5329\/revisions\/5330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}