The Marco and Happy Slappy Show!

"This isn't what I signed up for!" Carly thought as she glanced around the studio's small, dark, and dreary-looking lobby. Her surroundings made her rethink her career choices, and her older sister, Beth, looked less than pleased about Carly's obvious disappointment.

"You are doing it again, and you promised me that you would at least give this a true shot."

Carly shifted her look of annoyance from the room and smirked at her sister. "Doing what again? I haven't even said anything yet!

Beth returned her gaze. "Oh, don't act as if you have no clue what I am talking about! You are doing that squinting thing with your face again, and the only time you do that is when you are upset!"

Carly huffed at the remark, but didn't reply. Of course, her sister was right, but she would never admit it to her. She had that same tic since she was a baby, constantly twisting her tiny face into a little wrinkled ball if she wasn't happy. Being four years her senior, Beth knew this embarrassing fact and could mock the expression perfectly. Beth also knew how much it got under her skin when she picked on her about it, making the topic one of her favorite playful gestures.

Beth and their Dad were Carly's whole world since their mom died from throat cancer. One of those, they never smoked, but got it anyway, situations. Dad blamed himself. He smoked when they first met, but quit once she became pregnant with Beth. The doctors explained to him that there was no way that it could cause their mom's cancer.

Their mother left Beth and Carly an inheritance of $5,000 each from an insurance payout and a few good investments. The family decided to hold off on Carly attending college for one year to try her luck at acting. Their mother would have been happy with the decision. With Beth already graduating from Harvard the prior year, she and her boyfriend, Bryant, would travel with her in the RV for the next year, living off their income from their inheritance.

The deal was that she would be on the first plane to Harvard for a physics degree if it didn't work out, and not working out was code for they ran out of money. So with a solid plan, they hit the road with hope and excitement, but hope was running thin, and so were their funds. Thankfully, they snagged a few acting gigs to supplement expenses, so they could get modest hotel rooms, only using the RV to travel to the jobs.

Carly walked over to the large cutout of the show's stars: Marco, a large clown who had to weigh at least a ton, and his cousin, Happy Slappy, tall and thin, but his costumes never seemed to fit him correctly. Both clowns wore full clown gear and were as obnoxious as you would think a clown would be.

By no means was the Marco and Happy Slappy show prime time. It was a show about two clown cousins who travel to different locations each week, get into mischief, and cause havoc to anyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with them. Happy Slappy appeared to be the brains and Marco was usually the butt of the jokes because of his weight.

The show was supposed to target young adults, but the humor came off as crude and inappropriate. Beth had signed a four-episode deal with the studio, which included at least four weeks of free catering and staying in a small two-bedroom apartment above the studio where they would be shooting for free. They were getting a good percentage of money per week and a larger payment that would be given at the end of completing the fourth episode. It was the best job opportunity they had been offered so far.

Beth giggled at the situation. "You know it could be worse. We could have no paying gigs and still live in Dad's RV."

The thought of going back to sleeping in the RV regularly made her skin crawl. She loved her Dad and appreciated his constant support. If not for him allowing them to borrow the RV, they wouldn't have lasted one month on the road, let alone the eight months they have been gone.

They saved money on hotels and enjoyed the convenience of the RV when traveling from state to state for acting auditions. They alternated sleeping and driving and lived off cheap soups and PB&J sandwiches, not wanting to spend any more inheritance money than necessary. It wasn't the ideal living condition, but it was how all the greats began their careers, and it was free.

The RV, however, was a nightmare to live in. The air conditioner was broken, and though the heat worked, it gave off the odd smell of rotten eggs and old sushi. The bunk beds were well-kept but filled with lumps from years of use, and the vehicle's shocks were non-existent.

Over the last few months, they have lucked out on finding a few small rolls. As of today, Carly's demo reel includes two commercials, the first of which features her sitting on a rock in a forest made from a room of plastic plants and trees. The design team did a fantastic job creating the tiny space into a majestic and lush world of greenery and colorful wildflowers. Both Carly and Beth were impressed.

The only issue was that the room was thick with a potent, toxic smell from whatever cheap and possibly life-threatening material they used to create their serene imaginary utopia. The shoot took twice as long as budgeted because the crew and actors constantly needed to go outside for fresh air.

Carly spent the next two days pretending to have a cheerful conversation about how much happiness chocolate syrup gave her to a cartoon German Shepherd puppy, who, for some strange reason, was colored green and sported a purple bow tie and cap.

She spent all day grinning like a dimwit to a tennis ball, duct tape to a wooden stick. She lost feeling in her face for two days after that ordeal. The worst part was trying to hold their laughter when Bert the pup swore his undying love for the chocolate syrup. If Bert had eaten as much chocolate syrup as he claimed, Bert, the pup, would have died in less than a week.

The second commercial was a little better, and then she soon began landing parts working as an extra in shows, and once as a murder victim on a detective show. The Marco and Happy Slappy show was their big break. It wasn't much of a start, but a start it was. The amount of money and the additional perks the tiny studio offered would be crazy to pass up.

Beth told Carly the studio offered them a dream deal. Still, Carly heard whispers of the previous actors not lasting 24 hours, let alone four episodes. When asked why, the person who made the remark would shrug off the question and change the subject.

This would constantly freak Carly out, but Beth would tell her not to worry when Bryant was with them. He was there to keep them both safe.

Carly knew she was right, but that knowledge didn't shake her uneasy feeling.

The stage set was designed to resemble a therapist's office. The show was titled "Marco and Happy Slappy can't agree." They received the script a week beforehand, and the show centered on Marco wanting to get ice cream instead of going to the gym like he promised. Their good friend and neighbor, Dr. Popple, suggested they visit with Dr. Bingerston, the leading expert in laugh therapy.

Carly played Dr. Bingerston and was supposed to help the two cousins agree on what to do with their afternoon free time. A tall-looking man wearing a dark suit pulled Carly and Beth out of conversation, looking like he was there to protect the president.

He swiftly approached the girls and glared at Beth. "I was told there would be three of you?"

Never one to be intimidated, Beth smiled sweetly at the stranger, not hiding her annoyance at his lack of manners. "Excuse me, I am Ms. Carly Bell's business partner, Ms. Beth Bell. We are scheduled to arrive at 7:00 am, and we are ten minutes early."

She waited for him to respond, and continued when he stayed silent.

"Could you please show us where the dressing rooms are now, sir? We wouldn't want to be late."

The man's face relaxed slightly at Beth's confidence and boldness. He cracked a tiny grin and turned to lead them to what they presumed was a dressing room, but it was the size of a school's janitor closet.

Beth noticed a folded note on a small table holding a bowl of mints. She read the note and nodded, pointing to a grey suit in the closet.

"Hurry to get dressed, be in the hair and makeup chair in twenty minutes.

You have to be ready to go on set at 8:30 am sharp. Carly felt her sense of dread return as she finished her hair and makeup, but didn't mention it to Beth. What difference does it make now anyway, she thought to herself? They were already there.

A plump, red-faced woman with tiny strands of hair protruding from her lower chin greeted them on set. Her name was Mrs. Powell, and she was the assistant director's assistant.

"You can't get any lower than having been greeted by the assistant director's assistant," Carly whispered to Beth, but she quickly hushed her.

Mrs. Powell explained that they didn't work from cue cards or scripts. Everything is done by improvisation. The script the studio sent explained the scenes and what they wanted to accomplish with each shot, but no lines were given. Carly was to wait for the clowns to go into their act and try to fit in with whatever silly behavior they were doing. Easy enough, she thought as they set up for the first scene.

Carly watched the first two scenes, when Marco and Happy Slappy first disagreed and went next door to their friend for counsel. Dr. Popple goes along with a few slapstick gags and pretends to become tangled in the phone cord while he is calling her character, Dr. Bingerston, for help.

The third scene is when Carly makes her big appearance. She confidently sits behind a shiny, expensive-looking desk and waits for the duo to enter the office. Happy Slappy comes into the office first, slamming the door open. The force behind the door hitting the wall cracks the door's center glass and shatters onto the floor. The sound makes Carly jump, but no one else besides her and Beth seems to notice or care about the broken glass or that Marco strolls into the room next with no shoes on.

Marco stood in the broken glass and waited for Happy to flop on the leather couch before sitting beside him. The bottom of Marco's feet was covered with blood, and he had tracked it across the floor. Neither clown seemed to notice the blood, so Carly looked at Beth to question what her next move should be. Beth shrugged in confusion, but confidently waved her hands, indicating that Carly should say or do something to keep the scene moving.

Carly carefully studied the two clowns to decide her first course of action. Marco didn't seem hurt, so maybe the blood was fake and this was planned beforehand to get an amusing reaction out of her.

Carly decided that she would play along. During her research, she watched enough of the show to know the key to success is when they do something stupid, you try to do something even dumber.

Carly smiled at Marco and threw him a box of tissues from her desk. "Did you forget your shoes today, Marco?"

Marco grabbed the box of tissues, pulled one out, and blew his nose before shoving the used tissue back into the box and tossing it back onto the desk. The blood around his feet spread out, slowly reaching Happy's huge red clown shoes.

Marco watched as the red liquid slowly crept closer to Happy's feet. The nearer it came to touching Happy, the more excited Marco seemed to become. Happy must have noticed it as well because he lifted his feet onto the couch and smiled at the look of disappointment on Marco's face.

Happy shot Carly a snarled look and gruffly said, "Dr. Popple sent us." He then explained the situation while Marco kept making bobblehead movements, showing his agreement with what was being said.

Carly made up some creative nonsense about what laughter therapy can do to help. When she was finished, she turned her attention to Marco, who seemed to be paying great attention to their every word but didn't add any feedback to the conversation.

"Marco, what is something that makes you laugh?" Carly asked in her best professional voice.

Happy, who had started to mumble curse words under his breath while she was reviewing what she thought of a funny rendition of what laugh therapy would look like, stopped whispering and curiously looked at Marco to ensure he didn't miss his response. Marco tilted his head slightly as if he was contemplating one of life's biggest questions, and nodded his head as if finally agreeing with what his answer would be.

Marco shifted uncomfortably in his seat for a moment before grabbing a hammer from out of his colorful baggy pants and violently striking Happy across the side of his head.

Happy's head thunderously cracked open, and Marcos' hysterical laughter filled the air. Beth screamed at the sight of the gore. Her voice trembled as she watched Happy's head split open. Carly, weirdly, didn't have the same panicked reaction. If she had witnessed such a horribly gruesome scene under normal circumstances, she would have had a heart attack.

Being there and acting in that scene made her feel calm and strangely dedicated to not wanting to break character. Carly stood up from behind the desk and slowly walked over to Happy's body, slumped over the couch, to look closer at the damage. She smiled.

The studio was quiet, as it had been the whole day. There was no bustling noise from other actors or crew. Now that Carly had thought about it, the entire day seemed oddly still.

The room was filled with an eerie silence, broken only by Beth's

screams. Carly looked at Marco with a stern glance. Her smile was replaced by a look of sheer anger. Marco immediately stopped laughing and shamefully put his head down.

Carly made a tisk, tisk noise that one would make to a young child who was caught being naughty. "Look at this mess! Marco, this may make you laugh, but I am not pleased."

Marco quickly stood up and pointed to her chair. "Don't fret, doc! I was just playing with ol' Happy. You go relax, and Marco the clown will clean up this mess in no time!"

She sighed as if waiting for him to complete such a dull task was beneath her, but the clown amused her, so she returned to her chair.

Beth stopped yelling. She had become fixated, along with the rest of the room. Carly looked at her sister and was pleased with the look of awe on her face. This was quite a performance, and Carly felt a sensation of gleefulness she had never felt before about being part of it. She felt a strange coldness sweep over her. The sight of the blood and brain matter excited her, and a comfortable darkness began to form within her. Everyone wanted to see how this would unfold and how it would end.

For the next thirty minutes, Carly watched Marco clean up Happy's blood and skull fragments. He sang songs and told jokes while working. When he was finished, he smiled proudly at his work, ignoring the smudged blood and chipped skull fragments that he missed. Dr. Popple then entered and dragged Happy's limp body through the broken glass from the door, but Happy didn't flinch as the glass dug into his skin. They disappeared into a back room that Carly hadn't noticed before.

Everyone waited anxiously while Dr. Popple fixed Happy's wounds in the next room. Marco paced worriedly around, making strange yelping noises and violently shaking his head. A few minutes later, Dr. Popple returned to the room with Happy, looking like he was never injured.

The show ended with the clowns deciding to go to the beach for their free afternoon. The last scene showed the two cousins sitting together in the sand, building a sand castle.

Once the director yelled, "That's a wrap!" everyone broke into a loud cheer and exited the studio. The sudden noise seemed to wake the girls. Still dazed, they quickly reached the parking lot to meet Braynt.

He noticed that they seemed off, but they refused to discuss it with him or each other. It felt like a nightmare—one that neither girl wanted to relive. A few months after the taping, Beth admitted that she had looked online for the show but couldn't find anything.

Bryant told them the show was canceled because a guest actor made it to the end of the fourth episode but disappeared soon after without spending any of their benefit package. Carly and Beth shuddered and shared an uncomfortable knowing look between them, but didn't dare share what happened. Marco and Happy Slappy were gone, hopefully forever, and Carly's darkness had thankfully gone with them.