The Clown Hero

Olivia Parker can hardly believe it when she receives an invitation to Diane Gilbert's birthday costume party. Diane's parties are legendary in Odyssey, with fireworks, acrobats, and even "unicorn" rides, and this year the invitation promises a private concert by pop star Goldie P. Olivia, who once tutored Diane in Spanish, is allowed to bring a guest, and she chooses her best friend, Zoe Grant. But Olivia's mother has heard that the Gilberts let their kids throw parties without any adults present, and after checking into it, she gives a firm no.

That evening, while Olivia sleeps over at Zoe's house and the two girls mope, a friend texts that Diane's parents have changed their minds and will be at the party after all. Instead of calling her mom, who is at Bible study, Olivia decides she doesn't need to ask, reasoning that the only problem has been fixed. The girls rush to rent costumes, where they run into snooty Valerie Swanson, who sneers, "You're not even cool enough to walk on her street," and grabs the clown gear she wants. Olivia ends up as a clown anyway, and Zoe gets stuck as a donkey.

On the way to the party, Olivia notices a man shivering on the sidewalk. Moved, she gives him her old coat to keep him warm. The man responds with strangely grand praise, and suddenly newsman Ted Humphries appears with a camera, announcing that she is on Channel 10's new hidden-camera segment, Surprise Hero. Panicked that her mother might see her on television and learn about her disobedience, Olivia refuses to give her name and runs off, leaving the coat behind, with her party invitation still in the pocket. Shaken, she admits to Zoe that she never really believed her mom would have said yes, and she decides to skip the party entirely. Zoe tells her, "Ted Humphries was right. You should listen to your donkey."

Soon Ted's nightly broadcasts turn the mystery into a sensation, as he begs the "clown hero" to come forward and try on the coat, Cinderella-style, and to identify the item left in its pocket. Before Olivia can decide what to do, Valerie Swanson calls the tip line, correctly names the invitation, and, since she wore a clown costume to the party, is declared the hero. Furious that a fraud will get her award, Olivia confesses everything to her mother, who forgives her honesty about sneaking toward the party but gently warns her to set the record straight with kindness and humility, not to humiliate Valerie.

At the live studio broadcast, Olivia never has to say a word. Valerie gives a ridiculous speech plugging her new video blog, then refuses to put on the shabby old coat in front of the cameras, accidentally admits she only bought hers as a costume, and flees the studio. With Valerie exposed, Zoe urges Olivia to speak up, but Olivia stays silent and can't explain why. At home, her mother helps her see the truth: she no longer needs to correct a lie, so coming forward now would only be about getting credit. Her mom reminds her that there is something "beautiful and holy about doing good things in secret," just as Jesus taught. Moments later, an anonymous package arrives on the porch, the signed Goldie P CD from the party, given to Olivia by some secret friend. On the news, callers flood the tip line with stories of secret good deeds inspired by the clown hero, from cleared storm branches to a paid-for meal in a drive-thru. Olivia decides the clown hero's identity should stay a mystery, and Ted Humphries agrees on the air that the hero's wish to stay anonymous may be the most heroic deed of all, signing off with, "And that's the real story."