Running

Chapter Ten

A couple hours had passed and I found myself sitting on the bleachers in the tent, a bag of freshly popped popcorn in one hand and a "vintage" Coca-Cola in a green glass bottle in the other. I guessed there were nearly 500 people bustling around me. It overwhelmed my senses. I sat, not very patiently, as I waited for the circus to begin. People pushed past to get to their seats. I became increasingly aware of two things: People are rude and I am claustrophobic. I sighed and leaned back. Well, as leaned back as you can get on a back-less metal bleacher.

Suddenly, the previously steady lull of noise went silent and I realized that the curtained doors had been closed and the stadium lights had begun to dim. Adrenaline started pumping through me. I was excited!

It was pitch black and so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Then flash! One giant spotlight turned on, shining in the center of the ring. I saw a man standing there. It's Uriah. The top hat tipped me off.

"WELCOME TO BROWN'S CIRCUS, ILLINOIS! Thank you so much for coming out here on such a beautiful night! We sincerely hope you enjoy this performance. The performers have spent many, many hours perfecting their individual skills and certainly appreciate your generous applause after each performance. However, if you could please refrain from the use of cellular devices as well as cameras, especially with a flash, the animals would greatly appreciate it. They are highly trained, but animals are still quite unpredictable and anything could happen. Now, LET'S HAVE A GREAT NIGHT!" He bowed low and the crowd cheered. I smiled.

The spotlight went dark. The lights slowly came back up this time in a purple hue. Six white horses galloped into the ring, completely tackless. They looked like the were glowing. I realized the purple light was actually a black light. Their long tails flowed behind them as they circled the ring. I heard the crowd gasp and I realized they were all looking up. I shifted my gaze to the top of the tent and saw a beautiful girl being lowered down. She was young, probably close to my age. She wore a gorgeous white, flowing gown and her dark, waist length hair was braided and resting over her shoulder. Her bare feet reached the ground and she spread out her arms. At that, all of the horses stopped and turned to face her. She spun in a circle and the horses did the same. They flicked their ears as they watched her, waiting for the next cue. She fell down to her knees, arms still held out. The horses walked into the middle of the circle. They were now completely surrounding her. I could no longer even see her. Suddenly, all of the horses reared at once and once their forefeet were back on the ground they backed up. The audience gasped, including me. The girl was gone! And in her place was a pure white dove! It flew to the top as the audience cheered. The place went dark yet again.

Sabeena's performance was following that, and following them was a comedy act with a monkey. I laughed until my stomach hurt. I couldn't remember if I had ever laughed so hard. Occasionally a clown named Bloopers came out to entertain us and make us laugh even harder. There were a total of ten different acts, not including Bloopers, but the one that thrilled me the most was the aerial artists.

I watched in amazement as the guy and his female partner wrapped themselves in ribbons, and spun on hoops, or tossed each other through the air. The guy was what held my attention, however. My heart raced as I watched him. His strength, his fluidity, his bravery... I decided I would need to find out more about him.

*****

I found Uriah after the performance. "Where am I sleeping tonight?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. As much as I had slept today, it was still taking a toll on me. Besides that, it was almost 10 pm.

"I talked to Char earlier and she offered to have you sleep in her trailer. I can't have you sleeping in mine, not yet anyway. I'll take you over there. Are you alright sleeping in your old clothes for a night? I can send you with Char and money tomorrow to get some more things."

We walked back to his trailer to grab my things then he led me to Char's trailer. As I stepped up to open the door he asked me what I thought of the performance.

"It was great! I loved it, but I do have a question." He raised a thick, black eyebrow. I continued. "Who was the aer-"

"Uriah!" I was interrupted by some man calling for him a few feet away.

He turned around to see who it was. It was obviously someone of some sort of importance because he turned back to me, "Kenna, I'm sorry, can you save that question for tomorrow? I've got to get to this man."

I nodded.

"Goodnight, dear."

"Goodnight, Uriah. Thank you so much."

He smiled. I turned and knocked on Char's door.

The pleasant, dark skinned woman opened the door. Her face lit up at the sight of me.

"Kenna! How was your night, sugar?" She bubbled.

I grinned as I stepped inside. "Good. It was good. It was the best night I've had in a long time."

"Oh! That's peachy! I'm so excited that you will be staying here for a little while! It'll be so much fun! Like a proper girl's sleepover! I haven't had one of those since I was in high school and don't ya know that was a long time ago!"

"I'm sure it wasn't that long ago!"

She laughed heartily. "Honey, I'm nearly 54. I'm getting on up there."

I looked around her trailer. It was slightly messier than Uriah's and there were various pink and leopard print items scattered around. She unfolded the cushions at the table and made my bed. We sat and talked for another hour before going to bed.

(A/N: sorry for the short chapter again. They annoy me, but I couldn't think of what to add to it.)