Jerome Valeska: Circus Love

Chapter 1- Sadie's Suitcase

The sun sets on Haly's Circus as the last few giant tent posts are hauled onto the trucks and the final caravans are unhitched. The performers all bustle about in their civilian clothes moonlighting as road crew, a hive of movement around the collapsing camp as they pack up to move towns.

Sadie sits, the only still body in the area, perched neatly atop an old brown leather suitcase at the very end of the track leading into the field of the camp. Her white blonde hair its usual straggled mess floats delicately in the breeze glowing as the low gold of the sun shines through its tangled ends. Her ten year old body clad in a mix match outfit, work men's boots, sequined leggings with noticeable holes under a pair of denim dungarees, a baggy hand knitted multi-coloured jumper with oversized sleeves all covered with a huge adult sized leather jacket.

Jerome had been half watching Sadie all afternoon as he had helped Uncle Zak pack down the chuck wagon, he found it hard not to stare as the sun was now lighting her up as she sat so still on her suitcase at the edge of the road. A hard punch soon knocked him out of his trance as Uncle Zak's fist forced him forward into a stack of pots, a scrawny ten year old he was hugely outweighed by his obese uncle. "Get to work you worthless idiot!" Zak barked with a sneer.

Jerome hurried back to shifting the pots and pans into the wagon, taking a last glimpse towards the road. He hefted crates into the wagon spotting Jeremiah scribbling in a note book just behind the trailer. Carefully he takes two big saucepans off the stack, checking Uncle Zak has left he creeps around the side and up behind his hunched over brother. He opens his arms wide still moving slowly to not make a sound, the pans outstretched. With a menacing grin he smashes the pans together as hard as he can millimetres from the back of Jeremiah's head.

"Jesus!! What the.." Jeremiah falls awkwardly to the ground spilling pages all over the floor as he jumps a mile, "Jerome..what..why?" He fumbles around after the papers his initial anger turning quickly to slightly worried annoyance.

"Oh lighten up broth-er, you're always so tense." Jerome dances around laughing at his own trick with glee, "serves you right for not helping, getting out of all the hard work again you little snake." Jerome's joy flits to anger and back to amusement with a sly smile.

"You know they need me to do the books, it's not my fault everyone else here is a moron Jerome" Jeremiah picks himself up straightening with a little pride, an air of contempt in his voice. "Oh yeah, I forgot you're too clever to work or have any fun brother, too smart for the rest of us idiots right?" Jerome smashes himself in the head with one of the pans theatrically "Duh, ha ha ha!! Ow."

Jeremiah looks at him with distain, spotting Zak behind his still clowning brother he quickly moves back heading into the bustle of the camp mumbling under his breath with a smirk "see you later Jerome."

Zak comes up behind Jerome who is totally absorbed in his own performance, he catches one of the pans stopping the kid mid fake swing, "Oh, hi uncle Zak" he smiles tauntingly, "Guess I'm in for it now then, well what's new?". Jerome darts back in an attempt to escape but the pan has already been brought down connecting hard with his skinny rib cage, a couple more hard bashes leave Jerome breathless and crumpled on the floor, Uncle Zak saunters off laughing, "Get your ass up, we are ready to leave, don't tempt me to leave your pathetic ass behind" he shouts back as he swings the pan happily.

Jerome scrapes himself up and hobbles back to his mother's caravan defeated, the darkness draws in and the circus pulls away from the field in convoy. Jeremiah sits neatly at the trailer table, a secret smile as he notices his brother's bruises, Jerome looks out of the window clutching his ribs pretending not to see his brother's amusement.

The convoy pulls past little Sadie one by one, still static sat on her suitcase, Jerome peers back at her in the dust. The last caravan stops, a large rough looking man hops out stomping up to Sadie, Jerome can see her body tense, even at this distance, the man is her Father, a Lloyd, one of the clowns. He grasps her by the shoulder and drags her up and towards the truck, scraping her suitcase up in the other hand. Sadie doesn't fight, she hardly reacts at all a just going limp, emotionless her slender legs just dragging helpless in the dirt, and then she is gone.