This afternoon, we attended a birthday party of this little boy, whose father has business dealings with Bob. Last year, we attended his 3rd birthday party at the same place too. But I remember it was so much happier then.
This year, they hired a clown to do balloon sculpting too. This guy, I shall call him the clown, doesn't speak well, and doesn't know how to control the kids, but once he donned his costume, he literally mesmerized the young crowd with his amazing cartoon sculptures. The balloon sculptures he made are the best I have seen, and he was rather entertaining too, without even needing to speak.
Little Tara, of course, was in sitting in the crowd too, watching with interest at the sculptures churned out one by one by the clown. And one by one, he picked the kids from the crowd and made them stand beside him while he went on with his magic. After he chose a few kids and done a few pieces, the little girl ran to me and said something about wanting one sculpture too. I noticed the clown picking kids from the front of the crowd so I told her to try sitting in front to see if he will pick her. After another few kids and another few balloons, she still hasn't caught his attention. So she ran up to me again, and I told her to sit quietly and wait for her turn.
After a while, the little girl decided to walk forward and ask for the balloon, taking her own initiative. The clown told her to go to the back of the room and cry and someone will give her a balloon, I smiled to her when she ran to me instead and ask for a balloon. I told her I have none and she ran back to the clown and said there is no balloon. The clown told her the same thing again and Tara ran to me once more, and once again, I said I've got no balloons for her. All these while, I had been thinking that the clown was just making some fun and laughter for the young crowd and I'm more than willing to let Tara join in the fun. But I never expect the clown to tell her the same thing again, for the third time. And Tara, unsurprisingly, came up to me again, asking for balloon. This time, my smile went rigid. It dawned on me that the clown never wanted to give Tara any balloons and was just making a fool out of her.
I told Tara to forget about the balloon but the little girl walked back to the clown, hopeful, and replied the same answer for the third time! So the clown told her to sit on the chair at the corner and he will give her a balloon later. Even I am sure she will get her balloon soon after the clown finished with his current one but boy, was I wrong!
The father of the birthday boy came into the room at this point, to announce that the cake cutting will start in 5 mins, so the clown, having already finished one balloon sculpture, was trying to rush for the last one and yes, I was expecting the last one will be for Tara but no! The clown chose yet another kid from the floor instead of making one for Tara, like he promised! The little girl's face went from a smiling one to a confused one, having realised that she still didn't get her balloon. I was really angry at that point. I forced a smile, tried to get Tara's attention and beckoned her over. I told her we shall forget about the balloons and I strode out of the room, with the still confused little girl in tow.
The clown seem more interested in dazzling the older children and couldn't be bothered with Tara, who was the youngest of the lot. He seemed to be telling Tara that she only deserve a simple "Hard Rock Cafe" balloon rather than his masterpieces! Judging from the number of times he asked my little one to cry for a balloon at the other end of the room! Seemingly trying to get rid of her, in a way.
When we went to Bob, who was talking to a group of men at the dining area, he asked if we had fun in the room. When I told him the whole scenario, he was pretty agitated, stood up and wanted to confront the clown. I stopped him, not wanting him to create any scene at someone else's birthday party, and one, whose father has business dealings with him. So I gritted my teeth, smiled happily for my little girl's sake, and tried my best to catch one balloon, which was floating around the ceiling in the centre of the dining area. Tara didn't even seem to mind what had happened earlier and was watching gleefully for me to get the balloon for her, which made me even angrier at the clown, at the same time, sorry for my little girl.
I gave up after a while, as the balloon was a little too far away and I can't leaned over the railing any further. So I did the next best thing I can do, ask for one from the staff, but sadly, that never came as well, as the staff were too busy, I guess.
Bob couldn't leave yet, so I brought Tara to Forum, hoping to get something nice for her, just to make things up, even though she clearly wasn't affected in any way. Up until now, I'm still feeling really upset. I just cannot tolerate the fact that someone had made a fool out of my little girl. This, I swear, will never happen to her again! I don't think I can exercise the same self control if this happens a second time round.
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