Cirque

5: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑱𝒐𝒌𝒆

I woke up with a start to the sound of my alarm blaring through the peaceful morning.

Oh, that's right. University. I broke into wry laughter, my University was a joke. My journalism degree just taught me useless skills that I was more than capable of figuring out on my own. I was tempted to drop out entirely and start up my own business. I jumped out of bed, threw on a hoodie and a pair of baggy jeans, and brushed my hair into my signature messy bun before pulling on my old tennis shoes.

"Oi, Cassandra, are you gonna go to yer' university?" Mum called through the paper thin wall separating my small closet-of-a-room from the main living area.

"What do you think? Of course not." I really hadn't thought of University much at all this morning. No, the one thing that was lingering in my mind was the message. Who knew such little words could make me feel so much excitement and fear...

I opened the door to the living area. "Morning, Mum," I called over my shoulder as I headed right out the front door.

"Going out for your mornin' walk?" Mum was pouring a glass of orange juice in the kitchen.

"Yeah, that's right." I was actually going to bike to the abandoned carnival again. I had to make sure this whole thing wasn't some messed up prank. If there was nothing there, then I would forget about the whole thing forever. I promised myself this.

I certainly wouldn't tell Carlos or Mum where I was going. It would only make them worry, and what they didn't know couldn't hurt them!

Of course, I wasn't actually going to attend the invitation tonight. Definitely not. I wasn't even considering it. Not even a bit. 11:30 tonight, I wouldn't be there.

But a tiny look-around this morning? It really couldn't hurt. I would see there was nothing there but old rusty machines, tricky street lights, and neighborhood teenagers. I hopped on my old purple bike and began to pedal down the road. It was a misty, foggy, morning. Typical London weather, but I liked it this way. Misty mornings always seemed like they were full of mysteries and potential.

I wove my way down the sides of highways streaming with cars heading to work, and took a swift turn down a series of old beat-up backroads, overgrown with grass and garbage discarded in ditches. I had heard that this street used to be colorful and full of life, filled with constant music, lights, and laughing voices. As I slowly pedaled down the street, glancing at the faded broken-down signs advertising fun and thrills, I wondered what had happened to make such a wonderful place become so abandoned and lonely.

It kind of reminded me of myself. What had I done to make Dad abandon me like he had?

I shook my head. Thoughts like that were hardly relevant right now. A light, misting, rain had begun to fall. Thoughts of hot coffee and Carlos' warm smile were beginning to drift through my mind. I pulled up in front of the broken-down gate.

It was time to get this over with and go back home.

"Hellooo, anyone here?" I asked hesitantly, my voice fading into the fog. I parked my bike by the gate and ducked through the broken gap I had used before. The carnival was silent, no trace of the eerie music that had greeted her before.

"What am I doing?" I said aloud, tromping through the haze of fog, decaying contraptions and faded colors lying around me. "Am I going crazy?"

Just then, some bright yellow lights flashed on just in front of me. I shrieked and jumped back. The fog had been so thick that I hadn't seen a life-size cutout of a clown right in front of her. The lights started turning on around the cutout one at a time. It must have once been some sort of carnival game, but now all that was left was the image of that clown, shining amidst the gray haze.