The circus

There was a little town out in the flatlands called Lanyon. Not much went on there except the annual circus, a great fair that drew in spectators from all around the area. Jost asked his father if they could go and visit the circus. Jost was in love with the circus. When he grew up, he wanted to work at the circus. His father agreed to take him.
 They went to the circus on the weekend, a bright sunny day that wasn’t too cold or too hot. The circus had that overwhelming smell of food frying, cotton candy, and other smells that couldn’t be distinguished. They first watched the show in the circus tent. It had a dancing bear, a lion, a little mouse parade, too. Jost enjoyed it quite a bit.
 After the circus show, Jost asked his father if they could go on some of the rides. His father cautioned him that most of them weren’t safe for a young child. Rollercoasters and anything that went upside down were off limits. Jost was a little disappointed but decided on a few rides that spun around rather quickly.
 Finally, Jost asked his father if he could play a few of the carnival games. His father said they were all rigged, just a scam to steal money from rubes. He begged his father to allow him to play at least one game. Eventually, his father relented and gave Jost some money to play a few games. He first played the game with the BB gun, trying to pop some balloons. He popped two balloons but missed the third. The carny smiled like a hockey player and told Jost to try again. Jost thought better of it and decided to try a different game. The next game he tried was throwing a baseball at some plastic milk jugs. He threw the ball as hard as he could and… the ball bounced off harmlessly. Jost was confused and tried again, throwing the ball even harder. The same result. He asked the carny what was wrong. The carny removed his hat and scratched his bald, looked at Jost and just gave a wry smile.
 Jost was upset. He felt betrayed and embarrassed. He felt his face begin to burn with anguish. He ran to hide his shame and found himself behind the game stalls. The carnies behind the stall noticed him and asked what he was doing there. Their previous customer-facing demeanour gone. Now they assaulted him with harsh words. He ran back to his father to avoid them further. He told his father that he never wanted to visit the circus again.