The next hour and a half was incredible. Victoria sat in fascination as acrobat dancers dressed in ritzy dresses twirled on ribbons. She watched as horses with men standing on their backs galloped around the stadium, the men even jumping from horse to horse a few times. Victoria gazed in enthrallment as the parade of animals made their way around the arena, the largest being an elephant. The entire performance was undeniably lovely, and Victoria couldn't help but grin and cheer.
"Thank you very much for coming, ladies and gents! We hope you enjoyed the show and will come and visit us again! Have a great day!" Called the jovial announcer. People began to shuffle themselves out of the grand big top. Victoria felt uncomfortable at the volume of people pushing and shoving past her, she didn't like the sea of voices.
The girl fought her way against the crowd, heading to the main part of the stage. Her stomach was filled with nervous knots. Within minutes, she made her way across the diameter of the tent. Victoria speedily spotted a large black door with "Stage" titled on it.
Taking a deep breath, she raised her fist to knock on the door. Only, she could not get herself to. The girl stood in this position for at least 10 seconds.
"You gonna knock or should I hun?" A woman's voice with a robust American accent frightened her. She screamed.
"oh! You got a decent voice. I assume you're applying for some singing job?" The woman predicted. She looked to be in her 40's, with fire truck red hair and a large mole on her cheek. Her eyes seemed tired and unimpressed.
"No I'm-"
Before the girl could entirely finish her sentence, the door swung open.
"Marlene! You're late," the man's eyes drifted over to hers and hardened "who's the rug rat?" He was about 70, with scruffy white hair. He wore a elegant suit complete with a white bow tie.
"I found her outside your door sir."
"Oh. You want a job doncha? What can you do?" He questioned.
"I-"
Once again, Victoria was interrupted by the woman, Marlene.
"She's a singer, sir."
'Oh! Good! We've been looking for a decent girl for duets, with our Luke. Show us whatcha got."
Before she knew it, she was handed a microphone and urged to go on stage and sing. A few other curious circus folk took a seat in the front row, their eyes filled with interest.
Inside, Victoria was having a nervous meltdown. She was no singer. She could not sing a note.
The girl brought her lips to the microphone.
"I'm actually not-"
"Listen kid. I don't have all day. Sing or leave." The man said, his voice flat and frank.
Classical music began playing.
Suddenly, anger began to boil over inside her. Victoria was never given a chance to explain herself. Never given a chance to show what she could do. She was always passed off as some useless punk with no life ahead of her. Not today.
Red faced and fuming, she dropped the microphone, it hit the ground and made a loud, high pitched ringing sound. Everyone was silent. Victoria felt eyes drilling into her, judging her every move.
Victoria then furiously kicked off her shoes and began to perform a routine she had done for the nutcracker in year 10. Sure, the classical music didn't quite match up to what she was used to, but it was close enough.
Timidly, she danced. After the first few seconds, she forgot where she was and who was watching. Victoria was lost in her own little lovely world. She continued to dance.
All the sudden, the music changed, it was no longer classical. Hip hop. They wanted to see if she was able to switch up her moves. And she did. Jazz, hip-hop and ballet were the genres of dance Victoria knew best, but she knew a little of everything.
The song finally ended and the music stopped all together. All the other performers stood up from their seats and began clapping and cheering. She did all right. Thank god.
The man who had originally titled her a "rug rat." walked up to the stage with a merry smile on his face, taking her hand and shaking it.
"Well done, well done my friend! I've got to be off now, a circus like this doesn't run itself you know." He turned to stride away.
"Wait! So does this mean I got the job?" She called out to him. He stopped dead in this tracks.
"My dear girl! I asked you to sing, not to dance! Although you may be an remarkably good dancer, we are not looking for another dancer at this time." He said curtly.
"I'm not just a dancer! I can cook! I can clean! I'll do anything." Victoria pleaded.
"I don't want you to do anything. I want you to sing." The man replied, a ghost of a smile on his features.
Victoria felt a tap on the shoulder. She turned around to see it was the blond boy, holding a microphone out to her. He nodded to her and mouthed, "Just do it."
Sighing, she took it from his hands and held it to her lips. She needed this job, and Victoria would do whatever it took to get it. She sang the first song she could think of, which happened to be her childhood favorite.
"Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Once in a lullaby"
The man stopped and turned around with a satisfied smirk plastered his face. She hated it and she hated him.
"Somewhere over the rainbow
Blue birds fly
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Dreams really do come true ooh oh
Someday I'll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimey tops
That's where you'll find me"
Victoria finished her song and stared at the man, waiting patiently for a reply.
"What's your name sweetheart?" asked the man with a wry smile on his wrinkled features.
"Tori." She replied unsteadily. She no longer wanted to be just "Victoria." She wanted a nickname, something she had never gotten back home.
"I'm Dex. Welcome to the circus, Tori." Was all he said before exiting the tent.
Turning to Luke with a wicked grin on her face, she could not help but wrap her arms around him in a hug. Thanks to him, she had a home. He hugged her back.
"Thank you."
"It's no problem really, you're an amazing dancer." His pleasant voice laughed.
"That the thing, I'm a dancer, not a singer. Why would he hire me based on my singing skills?"
"He didn't. He wanted to see if you were desperate enough to humiliate yourself and sing. The circus is only cut out for people who are desperate and have nowhere else to go."
Tori nodded, deep in thought.
"I was that bad?"My Inbox
"You were terrible." He giggles.
"I'm Tori." She nods.
"Im Luke."
"I know."
AN: Thanks for reading! make sure to vote and comment :)
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The Runaway |5sos au|
RandomHe loved the way she got so into thought that she entirely lost track of her surroundings, abandoning responsibilities entirely. Retreating into her own little world. And so badly did he want to be part of that little world.
