<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’re back in Professor Faggioli\u2019s office.
Banani\u2019s session continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
INT. PROFESSOR FAGGIOLI\u2019S OFFICE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAGGIOLI
Earlier you said clowns haunted you throughout your childhood. I take it there were other incidents as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI
Yes, Professor. The worst of them all is the one I still dream about today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAGGIOLI
You’re referring to the clown in the closet. The one you mentioned before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI
Yes, that one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FLASHBACK \u2013 EXT. “MC TONNALDS” FAST FOOD \u2013 AFTERNOON
Flickering sign, scent of fried food in the air, kids smearing ketchup everywhere. A back door creaks open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
INT. MAINTENANCE ROOM \u2013 CONTINUOUS
Dripping pipes, flickering lights. Banani\u2019s father, PAPA BANANI, in his fifties, is kneeling near an outlet, screwdriver and flashlight in his mouth. He works skillfully, then sighs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SERGIO, the owner, walks in\u2014chubby, with a greasy striped shirt and a tiny mustache, chewing on a sandwich as he talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SERGIO
So, how\u2019s the sign look, Banani?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PAPA BANANI
Fixed. I replaced the burnt wires and reinforced the base. It shouldn\u2019t short out anymore, even when it rains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SERGIO
(laughs)
Perfect. And the fryer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PAPA BANANI
That\u2019s worse. I\u2019ll come back tomorrow with the right parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Papa Banani stands up, wipes his hands on a rag, and glances at the storage corner. There\u2019s a dusty statue of a clown\u2014Mc Tonnalds\u2019 official mascot\u2014with a painted smile and open arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PAPA BANANI
What about that? It\u2019s in rough shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SERGIO
Ah, the mascot. We haven\u2019t used it in months. Kids start crying the moment they see it. But if you can fix it, maybe we\u2019ll put it back in the play area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PAPA BANANI
Can I take it home? I\u2019ll work on it more calmly there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SERGIO
Go ahead. It\u2019s just collecting dust in here. But watch out, yeah? That thing always gave me the creeps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PAPA BANANI
Sure, it\u2019s creepy, but it\u2019s just plastic and paint. What\u2019s the worst it could do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He laughs. Sergio doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SERGIO
Yeah. What could it do\u2026 \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n\n\n\n
EXT. MC TONNALDS PARKING LOT \u2013 SUNSET
Papa Banani loads the statue into the trunk of his old compact car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PAPA BANANI
There we go. Bit bulky for the garage. You\u2019re going in the closet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
End of flashback<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAGGIOLI
Though I despise the food they serve, I know those peddlers of saturated fats well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI
It was super famous in town. There was always a line. And that statue\u2026 they used to keep it at the entrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAGGIOLI
I see where this is going. Their mascot is a clown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI
Exactly. My dad put it in the closet. He said he\u2019d fix it the next day. But that night\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flashback \u2013 BANANI\u2019S HOUSE \u2013 HALLWAY \u2013 NIGHT
Silence. A bedroom door creaks open. Eight-year-old Banani, sleepy-eyed, shuffles barefoot through the dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
YOUNG BANANI
(sleepy)
Need\u2026 water\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He heads toward the kitchen but opens the wrong door. It\u2019s the closet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hallway light partially illuminates the inside.
And there it is: the clown.
Tall, rigid, frozen smile, glassy stare.
Looking straight into his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
YOUNG BANANI
(blood-curdling scream)
AAAAHHHHH!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The light switches on. His parents rush into the hallway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI\u2019S MOM
What\u2019s happening?! What\u2019s going on?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI\u2019S DAD
Something wrong?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trembling, Banani points at the closet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
YOUNG BANANI
In there\u2026 he\u2026 was watching me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His father slowly opens the closet. The statue is there, motionless. He sighs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI\u2019S DAD
It\u2019s just the statue, son! It doesn\u2019t do anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI\u2019S MOM
We didn\u2019t know it scared you that much\u2026 \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BACK TO PRESENT \u2013 FAGGIOLI\u2019S OFFICE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAGGIOLI
Were your parents aware of your phobia?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI
After the birthday incident, the wealthier kids were sent to a psychologist.
Me\u2026 well, handyman work didn\u2019t exactly pay much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAGGIOLI
I see. But did they help you in any way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BANANI
They thought I\u2019d gotten over it. Also because\u2026 I never wanted to talk about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banani looks down.
In the shadows, Igor shifts slightly and mutters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IGOR
Sergio, the owner of the place, looked at that clown statue and said: \u201cWhat\u2019s the worst it could do?\u201d
Well, it seems Banani wasn\u2019t the only one in town with coulrophobia! \ud83e\udd23
\u2026 Yeah. What can a statue do? Tap dance? Play cards? I don\u2019t know\u2026 and apparently neither did Sergio! \ud83e\udd23
\u2026 Okay, Sergio, let me help you out. Know what a statue can do? Nothing! Same as rocks dream about! \ud83e\udd23
\u2026 You know, people in Banani\u2019s hometown were a bit weird. Starting with his family. Let\u2019s piece this together.
Dad puts the statue in the closet.
Then little Banani wakes up in the dead of night, groggy, opens the wrong door\u2014and BAM, face to face with the clown.
And then Mom says: \u201cWe didn\u2019t know it scared you that much\u201d? \ud83e\udd23
\u2026 Sorry, but that line is suspicious. Suspicious and out of place! What did she mean by that? That it wasn\u2019t an accident? \ud83e\udd23
\u2026 First off, she says \u201cWe didn\u2019t know\u201d\u2014we. So both parents knew the statue was in there?
Okay, maybe Mom knew. But come on! After watching a clown go up in flames with his own eyes, did they really think a clown statue would only scare him a little? \ud83e\udd23
\u2026 Maybe it was a test\u2026 to see if little Banani was still scared of clowns. \ud83e\udd23
\u2026 Of course he was!
Or maybe they just wanted a good laugh, and things got out of hand. \ud83e\udd23
\u2026 Ha! Mom and Dad\u2026 what a prank! \ud83e\udd23
\u2026 Thanks, I had a great time! \ud83e\udd23
\u2026 Just one more tiny childhood trauma! \ud83e\udd23
\u2026 Now that\u2019s what I call sensitive parenting! \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We’re back in Professor Faggioli\u2019s office.Banani\u2019s session continues. INT. PROFESSOR FAGGIOLI\u2019S OFFICE FAGGIOLIEarlier you said clowns haunted you throughout your childhood. I take it there were other incidents as well? BANANIYes, Professor. The worst of them all is the one I still dream about today. FAGGIOLIYou’re referring to the clown in the closet. The one … 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-5335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-episode"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5335","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=5335"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5336,"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5335\/revisions\/5336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savedblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}