Demon

Chapter 11

(Tae's P.O.V)

Not much time has passed since Mr MacSeren's funeral; in fact, only a few days have gone by. However, it seems much longer than that. The apartment is quiet now without the usual sounds of the ringmaster's busy footsteps, hustling about and getting ready for the show. Another reason why it's so quiet is the absence of Reggie's loud footsteps, walking around randomly with no clear direction. Ever since the funeral, he's been cooped up in Mr MacSeren's old bedroom, turning it into a study and writing plans and notes for the new circus.

The Haven has temporarily closed down, to allow less stress for the new circus owner when he's planning. The only group of people he seems to not have let go is the sanitation crew, who walk around the empty park and keep the place's upkeep in check.

I've noticed lately that Reggie has started referring to himself as TomCat, a stage name he came up with to match the cat-theme he's going with. He has yet to figure a name out for me. He wishes that I call him TomCat, or Tom for short, but it's nearly impossible for me to drift away from the familiar name I've grown up with. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually but it's still hard in the meantime.

...

I sat quietly on the sofa in the living room, with my legs curled up to my chest as I boredly fiddled with the ruffles of my dress. Eventually, I couldn't stand the absence of anything to do any longer and I boldly stood up and strode to Reggie's office door. I knocked firmly, since I was filled with confidence and waited for his answer.

"It's open." the new ringmaster said quickly, although he sounded quick and alert, I knew he hasn't slept in days. I opened the door and slowly walked to the hunched figure of Reggie at his desk, furiously scribbling sketches of queer cat outfits while notes with attraction ideas and order forms for costumes and circus equipment lay strewn about his desk... he was definitely a busy man, but he needed a break.

"Reggie," I called, forgetting in that instant to call him by his stage name.

"Hmm?" he answered, not looking up from his sketches. I took a few steps closer.

"I'm bored, there's nothing to do," I proclaimed. Again, Reggie didn't look at me.

"Go ask a janitor to run the merry-go-round or something. I'm busy right now, I can't help you."

But I didn't leave, I didn't want to ride any pathetic rides at the moment, despite me being bored, I wanted something more than that. I wanted to have company with me. Eventually, my standing around and doing nothing annoyed the young man, and he eventually swivelled around to face me.

My god, this man even looked like he needed a break. There were dark circles around his chestnut eyes and graphite smudges around his forehead from where he rubbed his pencil-smudged hands on his eyes to escape tiredness. He looked at me darkly and it nearly made me leave, but I overcame the fear and stood my ground, giving him an innocent stare.

"I think you should take a break," I stated honestly. Reggie sighed tiredly.

"I can't... not until I finish these forms and get my ideas written down." Reggie slouched in his chair and rested his head on the back. His body seemed to be pleading for a long nap and some food, but his mind resisted.

"Please, TomCat!" I pleaded, remembering to call him by his preferred name this time. Reggie didn't move, nor did he speak and I almost feared he fell asleep right then and there, but, thankfully, he didn't. Eventually, he muttered, "Fine" under his breath and slowly got up straining from his aching back and frozen muscles. He stumbled on his weak legs and tripped over his feet several times and I raced to his side and allowed the lanky teen to lean on my shoulder, despite him being so many more feet taller than me.

I led him to the kitchen where he sat down in yet another chair and allowed me to make him some food. I didn't know how to cook very well so I just handed him some bread, cheese, and the fruit bowl. Reggie didn't seem to mind, he ate the food gratefully and even allowed me to help myself to some cheese. I had to control myself, though, to keep myself from eating the entire block.

Reggie gestured for me to come to him and I obliged. He took me by the hand and, before I even knew what was happening, he had spun me around and pulled me into his lap. I gasped and giggled as he continued to casually snack on his apple as if nothing had even happened. Although, Reggie couldn't contain himself for long as the contagious sound of my laughter soon swept over him and he burst into a fit of half-contained snickering. He tickled my neck with his fingers and I squealed and squirmed in my spot.

Reggie laughed mischievously and squeezed me against his chest to keep me from going anywhere. I had to give up, seeing as how I was clearly trapped with this ragamuffin. I leant back against his chest and relaxed there as the new ringmaster ate his small snack, occasionally passing me slices of cheese. He kept his arm wrapped around my waist and I was perfectly content with it.

After we ate, I led him to the living room, where the ringmaster sat on the living chair and watched me pull off the small box of cards from the bookshelf. I set them on the table in front of him and sat on the couch, awaiting him to deal the cards and start our small game of poker, like we always do to entertain ourselves, except, instead of money, we gamble cheese bits. Unfortunately, we didn't have any pre-prepared cheese and we had eaten it all anyway, so we had to go without it for now.

However, Reggie didn't take the cards, he instead smiled at them. I cocked my head to the side in confusion and furrowed my brows.

"What is it?" I wondered. Reggie then grabbed the box and took out the cards.

"I want to show you something I learned," he answered, shuffling the cards on the table. I watched intently as he shuffled them several times before eventually packing them back into place.

Reggie leant across the table towards me and spread the many cards outwards like a fan.

"Pick a card... any card," he said, smiling. I looked at each card carefully, before randomly choosing one that was near the middle. As soon as I did, Reggie took the cards back into his hand.

"Now don't show me; don't tell me either... just keep the card in your head, picture it there, and hand the card back to me," he instructed. I obeyed him and looked at the card, it was an ace of clubs. I handed the card back to him face-down and awaited more instructions.

Reggie took the card and randomly stuck it into the deck, he shuffled it several more times before finally doing something I had never seen him do before with cards. The ringmaster stuck the two halves of the deck between his fingers and let them naturally slid into each other and land in his other hand; it was rather pleasing to see how each card fit perfectly into one another and fall into place so effortlessly.

The deck soon came to an end, and all that was left were two cards, which he simply placed on top of the deck. He looked at me with a sly smile, about ready to pull his trick on me.

"I didn't see your card in the deck... maybe... perhaps you've imagined it so well that you actually sent it to your head?" he suggested. I laughed as if he were joking; that was beyond impossible; I saw him myself! He put the card in the deck.

But Reggie proved me wrong by suddenly reaching over and pulling a folded slip of paper out from behind my ear. He unfolded it and smiled brightly; on the paper, was a drawing of the ace of clubs.

I stared in shock at the drawing and combed my fingers through my hair, making sure nothing else was stuck inside my locks or attached to my head; there was nothing, so I became confused. My reaction made Reggie start to laugh, and soon I was laughing as well at his little magic trick.

"Do it again!" I pleaded, giggling. Reggie settled down and set the cards up again; he performed the trick for me once again, and after I stared in awe, he showed me another trick, this one was more complex and intriguing than the first.

He proceeded to show me more magic tricks involving cards for the rest of the afternoon. I became more and more awestruck with each trick, mostly because he managed to learn all of them without me even knowing and mastered them in such a short amount of time.

But what made me even happier, was the fact that, by the end of the day, Reggie actually went to bed. Hopefully now, by the next day, he can have more ideas fresh in his head.