The Stars of the Show

Chapter 3

『✩ ᴍᴀʙᴇʟ ɢʟᴇᴇғᴜʟ ✩』

The curtains began to reveal the three of us on stage: me, my brother, and our great uncle Ford. We were about 11 years old, learning underneath the wing of Great Uncle. The audience was small, but excited for the return of the Tent of Telepathy. There were a few families that sat in the stands, but there was one person that stuck out to my interest. An albino boy had been sitting alone, watching us in awe as we stood upon the stage. My chest started to grow heavy, and my heart pounded against my ribcage. I had thought to myself, 'who could this mystery boy be?' The other two next to me didn't seem to notice this unique character, or at least didn't seem to care. I could feel my brother's hand lace into mine, as he raised his free arm to the audience with a practiced smile. Instinctually, I had done the same. Great Uncle Ford stood behind us, looking to the audience and speaking to them with a loud but commanding voice.

"Welcome everyone to our Tent of Telepathy! These two with me are my niece and nephew, Little Mabel and Dipper! These two have been practicing for months and been put under my care. Since this is their first show, please, show them some love!" The small audience began to clap enthusiastically, as well as the boy. The pounding started to surround me, both from the applause and the heart that beat inside me. I couldn't keep my eyes off of this boy who seemed so excited for our show. He was perfect.

Then, my brother pulled me by my hand to our first performance of the day. I had to pry my eyes off of the boy to focus on my brother. He kept a small grin that I could tell was entirely fake. It had to be. He took my hand above me, and gently spun me. Glitter started to surround our sights, causing the audience to 'ooh' and 'awe.' My brother cast some silks to surround us, and I had taken hold of one myself as he released me, and I began to twirl. I spun perfectly, and I could tell from the sounds of excitement from our audience they enjoyed this opening act. This all made me smile while I continued. I lost track of time as I was enveloped in love and admiration. The wind whipped through my hair, and my arms outstretched in joy. My feet never missed a beat in their slip-ons as they continued forth my momentum. Lights started to flash through the tent and the silk I had been holding wrapped around me gently like a cocoon.

The next thing I knew, Dipper slowed me down again and balanced me by the waist before I could fall from the dizzying performance. I gave a laugh from the sudden euphoria I had experienced, and the audience in turn applauded. These emotions were something I couldn't even describe. I loved this. I absolutely adored this environment. It was new and exciting. I could then hear our great uncle speak again.

"Thank you, you two, for your wonderful dance. Onto our next act!"

The day continued forth with what we had practiced. The audience continued to be amazed by my beauty as I remained the star of the show. Many death-defying stunts had taken part. An hour passed, maybe two. "Now!" Our great uncle announced again. "For our next act, we will need a volunteer!" Dipper began to set up a human sized wheel. I didn't remember this portion in rehearsal. Was this a surprise? Great Uncle Ford placed his hand on my shoulder and gave what I thought to be a genuine smile to me, "well, why don't you pick from our audience?"

My heart started beating faster again. I looked to the crowd of people excited to partake in our show. But of course, what caught my attention was the wide-eyed boy who wildly stood upon his seat to be seen with his hand stretched up as far as he could reach. His blue eyes sparkled in the lights of our tents, even if he seemed to be sensitive to the flashing lights and effects. His excitement was contagious as it started to stretch to me with a smile wide across my face. My hand stretched out to the boy as I spoke as loud as I could, "you! The boy with white hair!"