again.
“Can you get me a washcloth?” William asked.
“Just go to the bathroom,” David instructed. “I don’t know how much water you’ll
need to get all that off your face.”
William closed his eyes, hoping this was a dream.
He opened his eyes again, and it wasn’t. He really did look like a partially
made-up clown.
William grabbed his flannel from the floor and exited the bedroom.
As soon as the door shut behind him, Mrs. Bauer entered the hallway. William
quickly covered his face with his flannel.
“William, how was the party last night?” David’s mother asked as she approached
him.
“It was g-good,” William responded, not looking at his friend’s mother. He hoped
that not looking her in the eye would make it so she wouldn’t notice the makeup he
hadn’t been able to cover up.
“Are you okay?” she stopped. William could feel her eyes studying his face.
“I'm—I'm fine,” William replied, still avoiding eye contact.
“Is that makeup?” she asked.
“Um. Um.” William bolted around her and into the bathroom.
Before he shut the door, he heard Mrs. Bauer knocking on David’s bedroom door and
asking, “Are you boys experimenting in there?”
William sighed as he locked the door behind him. He bit his lip as he saw himself
in the mirror. He grabbed the washcloth that hung by the sink. As he wet it, he
realized it was white. He didn’t know if the makeup would stain the washcloth.
“William?” he heard Mrs. Bauer ask from outside the door, followed by a couple of