Where's Casper?

Representations

I look at the man in front of me, the one who is going to take my "ticket".

He looks a bit like Dante, although he's a bit slimmer. They must be at least cousins. Maybe they're brothers.

"Your ticket, kid."

I don't get why he is calling me a kid. I'm 16. And I'm not dressed up as a kid. I stole my father's clothes, and maybe they don't fit me as they're supposed to, but I checked three times in the bathroom mirror. I look good.

"Do your parents know you're here?" He laughs as he lends me his empty hand, waiting for the piece of paper he'll never receive. I pretend to laugh as I wait for Eveline to do her job. I promised her some hot chocolate if she helped me. Too bad I don't have the money to buy it right now.

And there she is! She's crying, just as we agreed. She's a true beauty, as Father says. She has golden locks, and she has green, doe eyes, just like her mother. And her lips look like rose petals. I wish I was a pretty little girl.

"My parents... I can't find my parents!" Eveline yells and sobs. "Please, sir, would you be kind enough to help me?"

And, of course, the man falls for it. She takes his hand and drags him into the crowd, just far enough for me to sneak in.

The people around me don't say anything, but they giggle. Valenda is a weird city, you know? Most of them know me as a troublemaker, and the rest of them are too nice to say a thing. I sneak into my seat; it shouldn't be too flashy. Not the first row. The second? Nah. The third is the best choice.

I sit down on the chair, and I look at the other four rows behind me. There isn't anyone sitting there except for an old sleeping hag with her grandson.

The boy rolls his eyes and spits on me. I do not know him, so I turn around, disgusted. What should I wipe it away with? I don't have a tissue on hand.

Next to me, there's a pretty girl with red hair and strawberry colored freckles. She smiles, and I put my arm around her neck. She clearly didn't see the boy's deed because she started blushing when I slipped my hand down her waist, reaching the pocket of her blue dress, and, unintentionally, her... yeah. I swear, I like boys!

I find a handkerchief, and I steal it. You should be grateful for what you get. That's the only useful thing my life has taught me. I take it to my eyes and wipe that little wretch's spit away. The girl sighs, and I don't say anything. She looks at me. For a second, she was calm, but when she looked at me again and I didn't respond, she looked disappointed. It's not my fault I had to do such extraordinary things for a piece of anything.

The lights go out, and I can't see anything anymore. People whisper to each other, all of them barely waiting to see the representations. After a few moments, the curtains are drawn. Now, it's showtime.

I look down. I couldn't care less about the greetings, but I actually knew the voice. I look up again. Dante!

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." He starts. Oh, this night keeps getting better! "I think you all are excited to see what you've paid for. To be honest, I'm really excited to see what I've paid for, too! This is my first year as the master of this circus!"

I stop breathing. The master? What does he mean?

"This circus had stayed the same from his first representation, and we're all proud of it. Even though a few of the actors got too old, unfortunately, we still have others on this stage who will do their numbers for them."

Before, I've wondered how he spoke so fluently. Now, I see he's actually reading from a piece of paper from the hand he keeps making gestures with. Brilliant, if you ask me.

"With all of this being said, I encourage you to have as much fun as possible. Let the lions come on stage, and applaud Sophie of Gavaldon, our newest lion tamer!"

The blonde lion tamer enters with a wide smirk on her face. She looked more feline than the lions themselves. Her movements. Her tight, black dress. She was entirely perfect.

I'm really excited; I tell myself I will only see a few of them. But then a boy with snakes entered. And a few acrobats. And I just couldn't leave before I saw all of them.

"The night is about to end, and we still have one more representation to go." The whole crowd whines, and I find myself sighting, too. "Cheer up. I said we have one more representation to go, so welcome our next actor on stage. Coming from Bloodbrook, the one and only man without bones, Aric Lesso!"

The guy looks perfectly fine to me. He is one of the guys I envy. Guys like Dante. Handsome. Tall. Muscular. He has black hair and pale skin, and he's wearing a red and white clown suit. But then an iron circle starts coming down from the celing.

He puts one hand on it, and it starts going up again. I would've been very glad to watch more, but the ticket guy comes in and starts looking for someone. For me.

I slowly stand up and get out of there. I walk a bit bent over so I don't catch unwanted attention. I get out safely. I want to start running, but a hand clutches on my shoulder, and I tell myself it's the end.

"Did you think you can fool us?" The ticket guy asks. I start shaking. He laughs. "I waited for it to finish. I'm not that evil. So you won't have the right to protest when I'll take you where we're heading to right now."

I squeak. He's taking me to one of the carriage boxes. He's going to kill me!

"You know, your sister told me everything before I could figure it out by myself." He speaks once again as he puts a collar around my neck. "Smart kid. She asked me to tell you you can't fool her anymore since she isn't a little girl."

If I don't die tonight, then I'm immortal. He leaves and locks the door. This is the end. Nobody will look for me. Nobody will know. Nobody will find out.