[ CW ] Start the story with the sentence , `` Have you ever seen a clown that looked better with the make-up on ? ''

Have you ever seen a clown that looked better with the make-up on? 
 
 I have, and it was terrible. I live in an apartment building with my mom, and across the hall there's this man who's a professional clown. I had never seen him without makeup on, because he usually only came out of his apartment to do his clowning job. 
 
 Mom once told me that this clown was a war veteran, and she wondered how an respectable solider like that could end up being a performing clown. She seemed to think that the whole thing was just so sad and terrible for some reason. but that was probably because she did n't think clowning was a respectable profession. 
 
 However I thought the guy was pretty good at clowning, because he had a way of making me laugh... and his jokes were just so funny! He was like the best Clown ever. 
 
 There was a long stretch of time when I did n't get to see him on the way out to school or on the way back home... so I started to miss his jokes and the way he did that silly dance. 
 
 So on the weekend I went over to his apartment door and knocked. The door was unlocked, so it opened up a crack when I knocked on the door. So I simply opened the door and went in, despite the fact that I was n't supposed to go into others' apartments without permission. 
 
 That was when I saw him without his makeup on. He was in the kitchen making food, and was unaware of the fact that I had entered his apartment. But I made some sound, and so as an result he turned around... revealing all of the scars on his face. 
 
 His face was so scarred that it basically looked as if he had a very deformed face. It actually frightened me a lot at the time... and I honestly thought for a moment there that some scary stranger had came in and took over my beloved clown's apartment. 
 
 But then he spoke with the same guttural voice that I often associated with my clown. 
 That was when I knew that this scarred stranger and my clown were the same person. 
 
 He asked me what I was doing in his apartment, and the first thing I could think to say was this: `` Why do you look so different without your make up?'' 
 
 He explained to me about putty makeup and how that could cover up anything... even deep scars. and then he went to get my mom. 
 
 My mom scolded me so much, and told me that I was not to go into other people's apartments again. 
 Afterwards all I could think about was how horrible my clown's face looked under that makeup. and the more I visualized his face, the more monstrous it looked... 
 
 And It honestly creeped me out how he could wear makeup like a mask to hide his damaged face. It got me thinking about all the other clowns out there... were their faces horribly disfigured too? Were all the clowns just hiding their true selves behind makeup? 
 
 I used to love clowns a lot... but ever since that day when I saw my beloved clown's true face.... I do n't love them much as I used to.
