%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| >> Static Item >> Fiction >> Friendship >> ID #386032 |   |
| |||||||||||||
|
CIRCUS MONKEYS
Chapter 6 Julie turned over once again on the tiny cot we squeezed in next to my bed and I couldn't help sighing aloud. She's not doing it on purpose. She's just trying to get comfortable. You don't have a right to be annoyed. I tried to tell myself, but as the tiny cot creaked slightly I snapped open my eyes and gave up. I wasn't going to get to sleep tonight. And why not? That was a good question. I shouldn't have had any trouble sleeping. I was with my friends, in my own room, and even with Julie's creaking, it wasn't exactly a loud noise. Plus, though all of our years together as friends, I had gotten used to her random movements in the night. So what is keeping me up? I tried to force myself to think it was the excitement of the day. That was a good excuse; we did do a lot after the elephant ride. I had decided to take my friends on a small tour of Baraboo. I knew that the circus would be crazy with everyone practicing heavily and the last thing I wanted was to get in the way. After all, it was only a week before the grand opening of the big top show. So we took a hike and made it to the town square a little after one in the afternoon. We saw a movie at the old Al Ringling Theater and then stopped into the village cafe for a snack. We spent most of our time just talking and laughing, catching up on all the days we had been apart. Everyone was really laid-back and relaxed - well, all except for Todd. He seemed really jumpy after the ride on Onny but I decided not to push into it. We dawdled on the square until past 5 and walked back, goofing around and such. Then we chatted in the living room of the trailer until my dad said we had to turn in. He would have let us stay up, but we were making too much noise for him to sleep anyway. So, now there I was, lying next to Julie who was yet again turning around and I couldn't sleep. Was it because of Todd and his slightly odd behavior? I didn't think so since it wasn't anything major. We had known each other for so many years, I could always tell when there was something really wrong with him. This definitely wasn't one of those times. Todd and I met in the fifth grade and clicked right away. We were instantly great friends and even though there was a time when I thought there was something more between us, that went right past without Todd even knowing anything. Actually, no one knew besides me knew, and it took me a while to actually confess the crush to myself. How did I finally decide? I wondered, just filling my mind with thoughts and memories in an effort to lull myself to sleep. I remembered being really anxious to talk to him and hoping that he would come over all the time. A sort of giddiness overwhelmed me, and even though he had always been able to make me laugh I slowly kept on thinking his jokes were funnier and funnier. It took me a while to realize I was doubling over with giggles if he said a knock-knock joke. I shook my head and smiled slightly in the dark. After a while the crush just faded away. Now he was nothing more than just a big brother to me. I used to imagine his lips upon mine and I couldn't put the image in my mind again without cringing. It wasn't that he wasn't great and everything but he just wasn't someone I could love that way. I was actually really surprised when I got crush on Todd like that. I was not usually a girl that had those goofy crushes where I had the yearning to write 'I Love Todd' on my hand. I liked having friends much better than boyfriends. I figured if love comes, then it comes. I didn't need some boy to make me feel special, and I didn't need to go searching for that Mr. Right either. So what is Joshua? I popped open my sleepy eyes and looked around the room. Did I really just ask myself that? I thought, uneasy. I could barely consider him a friend, why did I think of him when I thought of Mr. Right? I rolled over and buried my head in my pillow as a futile attempt to drown my thoughts. Stop thinking! I screamed at myself and flipped back over, staring at the light fixture on my ceiling. Joshua probably didn't even consider me a friend. More like an insignificant bug that kept bothering him. Even if I did mean something to him, it was just someone to hang out with. Not that there was anything wrong with that of course - that was how I thought of him! He was a friend that was a lot of fun to hang out with. Nothing more. Right? I kicked my legs and flipped to my side, snapping my eyes shut. Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep! "Lory, if you don't stop fidgeting I'm going to feed you to the circus monkeys, so knock it off!" Julie said sleepily and I couldn't help grinning at the irony of it. It sure wasn't her keeping me up all that time! I turned over one last time and forced myself to turn off my brain. Besides, I thought, just before drifting off to sleep. Joshua has Barbie doll Tanya, why would he want to waste his time with me? ----- "So what's on the agenda for today, Mallory, dear?" Lindsay asked me when all four of us were outside the trailer. Her fake English accent was articulated perfectly. I pretended to adjust an invisible set of glasses and looked serious, putting on an English accent of my own. "Well, I don't know about you but I could go for a spot of tea!" My eyebrows waggled. Lindsay and I broke down into a fit of giggles while Julie just rolled her eyes. Todd had no reaction at all, he just stared at me. I nudged him and gave him a look. Was he going to snap out of it sometime soon? "That was a joke you know. Funny. Ha. Ha." He came to his senses and grinned. I rolled my eyes and then told them what we were really going to be doing. "All the performers will be practicing a lot today, but not as intensely as yesterday so we can watch. There are so many fun people that I can have you meet. Plus," I licked my lips, "all the corndogs you can eat!" There was laughter and we started out, going into the big top tent. One glance around told me Joshua wasn't in there, but Tanya was. I quickly directed all of them to the opposite side of the tent. "Hey Jude!" I said to the tune of the Beatles' song. Judy turned away from her dogs and rolled her eyes at me. "Do you know how many times I've heard that?" She shook a dog biscuit at me, scolding. "You're lucky I like the song!" To that we laughed, and I introduced everyone. Judy had spent about ten years in Russia and picked up her act from the man who originally made it. Her dogs were the great great grand pups of the originals even, and prime for the show. "Are they ready to put on a practice show?" I asked suggestively. "They would love to!" She exclaimed then winked at us. "They love to show off to strangers." With two clicks of her tongue and a shout of the leader dog's name they were lined up on their respective sides. Seconds later, the dogs were in formation, running around in circles, jumping high in the air and over the other pups effortlessly. A snap of Judy's fingers and the little dogs lined up behind the bigger ones, a whistle and the dogs jumped on one another forming a pyramid. Seconds later the tiniest dog leapt up to the top. We clapped and cheered, marveling at their skill. Judy snapped and informed us this would be the finale. She held out a hula hoop and two dogs grabbed it. Helping each other, they soon had the hoop balanced on their noses. A whistle and the other dogs jumped through, some tumbling into a somersault. Once they were all through the two holding it up tossed it into the air and jumped through simultaneously while it was in the air. "Wow!" I couldn't help exclaiming. Everyone laughed, whooping and cheering for the dogs long after they had bowed and Judy had distributed the treats to them all. "That was amazing!" Julie complimented and everyone agreed. Judy allowed us to pet the dogs, and soon we were surrounded by the smiling and panting cuties. "Oh!" I cried as one named 'Bouncer' leapt on me and licked my face. I fell back laughing and managed to free myself, but not before receiving some doggy kisses. I sat up, wrestled with Bouncer a little, and then stood. I was about to see if the others wanted to check out the camels, but as I turned someone caught my eye. Joshua, I thought as I looked at his back. He was already in his practice suit and talking with one of the clowns. He must have come in while Judy's dogs were performing. When I looked up, Joshua had turned around and our eyes caught. I smiled slightly and he gave a little nod. I turned to the others who were also pulling away from the pups. "Come on, I have someone I want you to meet," I said and with a thank you to Judy, I led over to where Joshua was about to start practicing. "Hey Josh." "Hey 'Lory, I heard that we had some strangers amongst us." He joked, "These are your friends?" He seemed really easy-going and smiled at the others, but I could tell he was strained. He was standing up too straight, that was easy to tell in that skin-tight suit of his. Which looks very nice. I thought, and then jarred my thoughts back to the conversation. "Mallory thinks we're her friends but actually her dad is paying us to be nice to her." Lindsay said with a long, slow wink and I rolled my eyes. Of course, being Lindsay, the instant a semi-attractive male was within a 20 meter radius she had the charm turned on. "Uh-hu, right," I said and gave her a look. "See, she's in denial!" Todd said, throwing his arm over my shoulders with a fun-loving grin. I crossed my arms and pretended to be offended. "Please, why in the world would my dad pay for such crappy friends as you guys?" I mockingly elbowed Todd in the ribs and shook my head. "You'd think they would be nicer to me after not seeming me for so long!" I grinned at Joshua and he returned it with a weak smile. His eyes flickered to Todd's hand which was still on my shoulder. I bit my lip and started the introductions, sidestepping just enough so his arm fell back to his side. Everyone chatted a bit, and Joshua was very polite and nice, but I could tell he wasn't quite himself. After a few minutes he said he had to get practicing and we walked away. I knew it was just an excuse, he practiced all day yesterday and I knew how prepared he was. "He seems nice," Julie commented and I smiled. "Oh yeah, he's great!" I glanced back and saw him talking with Tanya. I guess. We spent the rest of the day talking to the performers, watching them, eating the deep-fried and delicious food, and generally just having a good time. Todd seemed to loosen up and everyone laughed and joked around. It was just like old times. As the day drew on we ended up just sitting on a picnic table and traveling down memory lane. They asked me all about my life on the circus and how I was taking it. Of course, they all knew how my mom died, and my long-term plan of never going to the circus again. "I've really gotten used to it," I said and realized that wasn't entirely true. How can you get used to the circus? There was something new happening everyday. I step outside of the trailer door and am bound to be surprised. "Actually, there's more than that. At first I was miserable but once I forced myself outside, or once Joshua pulled me out of the trailer, I should say, I found I could actually have fun." I shook my head. "It's just so neat. I mean, I live on a circus! There is always something fun and you wouldn't believe how laidback everyone is. They don't care about little problems, they just fix it or they do something else." Julie looked at me across the table and smiled. I smiled back at her - all right, so it was a full fledged grin. I thought my life was going to be ruined moving to Baraboo but it turned out ok, actually better than ok. I guess it really did turn out for the best. "Circus Monkeys -- Chap 7" 
© Copyright 2002 Madame Lunacy! (UN: xena_12 at Writing.Com).
All rights reserved.
Madame Lunacy! has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work. |
 Log In To Leave Feedback |
Static Items
Books
Forums
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
