Gifted, A Donovan Circus Novel (9 page)

“He probably knows how good
looking he is,” I pointed out. “Especially if he’s been in the circus!”

“Who cares,” Bianca replied.

“Where do you keep getting these
hot guys like Keegan and Gabriel?” I wondered aloud.

We began our walk to the Big
Top, but to do so we had to pass that same booth where Gabriel stood. We got
closer and Gabriel turned to look at us. I could see his blue eyes from here. I
looked away and focused on not tripping over myself.

Bianca looked directly at him
and beamed. “Hey there, how are ya?”

He nodded at us. “Not bad and
you?”

I gave a smile and continued my
walk. The other two, however, decided to slow down and actually continue the
casual conversation. I slowed, not wanting to be rude.

“You’re Gabriel, right?”
Brooklyn asked.

He nodded and looked at me. He
was just tall enough that I had to squint into the sun to look him. “Yes I am.
You’re Lucy, right?”

“Yep,” I answered.

He gave Bianca and Brooklyn a
brief smile then looked at me again. He actually gave me a once-over from head
to toe. “Nice uniform. What about your gift? I forget what Sheffield said last
night.”

“Firestarter.”

“How long you been performing?”
he asked.

“Pretty much since the day I was
born,” I responded.

“How do you like being new here?”

“Twenty-four hours in, not so
bad. How do you like it?”

“It’s improving.”

Bianca and Brooklyn watched our
conversation like a ping-pong tournament. I felt like I was on the defense with
Gabriel’s interrogation.

“Are you gifted?” I wanted to be
on offense.

“I am,” he replied. I raised an
eyebrow, but he didn’t continue. An awkward pause settled over us and I cleared
my throat.

“We need to get ready. Guess
we’ll see you later,” I said.

“I’d like that. We should get
together.”

“Well…I think there was talk of
going out later if you get bored,” I said after hesitation.

“I’ll definitely consider it.
Thanks,” he replied with a smile. His steady gaze flustered me.

“See you.” I had no idea how
people got a real conversation out of me. I turned and walked as fast as I
could to the Big Top. Bianca and Brooklyn followed.

“You know how awkward you are,
right? What was that about?” Brooklyn asked.

“That
was
a little weird,” Bianca said.

I reached the Big Top entrance
and stepped inside. I stopped to turn around to face them.

“What was with his
interrogation? And yes, Brooklyn, I am a walking tragedy of conversation,” I
said with a scowl on my face.

“No idea what the deal was,”
Bianca said. She peered out of the tent in Gabriel’s direction. “He certainly
liked you.”

“I don’t think that’s the case
at all,” I said. “The way he was being about it was rude. I think he might be a
jerk.”

“A hot jerk,” Bianca said with a
big smile. “I bet it’s the suit. You look good, girl! He liked what he saw. You
should hook that up, Lucy. He’s just your type: action-adventure hero good
looks with a soft spot to find! It’s your own fairytale or I guess in your
case, comic book.”

I cracked up. “On paper, that
sounds pretty good.”

The microphone squealed behind
me. Sheffield was testing out the sound. It was almost time for the show. A
flurry of activity went around us as folks ran around for final adjustments.

The rest of the night sped by. I
ventured out once to the grounds to find it swarmed with people playing games
or waiting in line for the Ferris wheel. Small children gaped at stilt-walkers
while boys tried to win their dates teddy bears or goldfish. When the show
finally began, I remained in my place by the artists’ entrance at the Big Top
to carry props out or direct customers to the correct side. I only caught
glimpses of the inside with its sparkly lights and rumbles from the crowd.

I knew it was almost Keegan and
Nik’s time when I saw the giant metal ball in which the boys rode their bikes.
Three times an elephant’s size, it reminded me of monkey bars from a playground
and I had a bizarre urge to climb on it. Five very large workers rolled it in
through the performers’ entrance. They all wore thick gloves and put all their
muscle into moving the ball. It hardly looked big enough for two Firestarters
on bikes. People were probably shocked the bikes didn’t explode or the riders
didn’t catch fire from close quarters.

A blur came to a sudden stop in
front of me.

“Hey Delia.”

“How is your first night going?”

“Not too bad. I wish I could see
more of the show, but I get that I’d be in the way.”

“You have plenty of time.” She
gave me an odd smile, one that could only be described as “the cat ate the
canary.”

“What’s up?” I asked cautiously.
Her smile grew bigger.

“Brooklyn overheard Keegan
telling Nikolas how cute you are,” Delia said to me in a hushed voice.

I blinked in surprise. That
wasn’t so bad at all, actually. I thought about Keegan and blushed. “She’s only
trying to tease me.”

“No, I think she is right. He
will not stop talking to you. I would not say he is shy, but it probably means
something.”

“He’s probably only being nice.”

“Do you not think he is cute?”

“Well, yeah, I’m not blind. He’s
super cute but I don’t want to cause any drama. Does he date a lot of the new
girls?”

“Not that I know. We try to get
dates outside of the circus, but who is to say you two would not hit it off
right?”

I paused for a moment to take
that in. I wondered if dating someone you worked with here was a smart idea. I
didn’t have much dating experience. I’d always feared I’d set the guy on fire
if he kissed me too hard. On the plus side, I wouldn’t have to worry about that
with Keegan.

Delia looked around and after a
second, her head nodded to my right. I turned to look at her pointed glance.
Keegan and Nikolas walked with their motorbikes on the well-worn pathway to the
Big Top. Fully dressed in very well fitted black uniforms, I could see that
like mine, they were made out of the same fireproofed material. Keegan’s short
dark hair matched the uniform; his eyes crinkled up as he laughed at something
Nikolas said. I caught myself staring at Keegan’s muscles and mentally slapped
myself back to reality.

“Yeah, I’m okay with that,” I
told Delia. She laughed at me while a big, ridiculous smile grew on my face. I
needed to gain control of my facial muscles fast or I’d look like some cheerful
idiot.

“You two would be very cute
together,” she whispered. I waved my hand at her in an attempt to shush her as
the boys approached; the last thing Keegan needed to hear was a girly high
school bathroom conversation.

“Hey, Lucy,” Keegan said. He
gave me an appreciative grin. “Like the suit.”

“No kidding. You look way better
in it than we do,” Nikolas agreed. The blood rushed to my cheeks, making them
both chuckle.

“C’mon, watch our act,” Keegan
said, motioning inside.

“Oh, I’m not really supposed to
be in there unless it’s with good reason. I can’t get in everyone’s way unless
I’m helping,” I said. Tripping up that acrobat and hearing her scream at me
earlier had been terrifying.

Keegan thought for a beat then
presented me his helmet. “I need your help carrying my equipment in for my act,
Lucy. Please?”

“Sure.” I couldn’t help but
smile. I took the helmet from him and tried not to look at Delia, whom I knew
grinned at me like I was a wallflower being asked to dance at the prom. If I
met her eyes, I’d burst into giggles. We turned to walk into the tent.

“Thanks,” Keegan said. I looked
to see him duck his head, a smile on his face. Nikolas caught it, too.

“Hey Lucy, carry my helmet too?”
Nikolas offered with a grin.

Keegan shot him a dirty look and
Nikolas put his helmet back on the bike seat with a wink at me. I bit back a
smile. That seemed pretty obvious, even to me. I noticed Nikolas’s suit came
with gloves; he must keep some form of lighter underneath the fabric to
jumpstart his flame.

Once inside, the sight almost
took my breath away. The Big Top, although with the same dimensions as the
night before at the meeting, seemed transformed. It seemed like half a football
field filled with sand and dirt. Lights shone everywhere, on the stands, the
acrobat wires, and the center ring. Shadows hid in the uppermost corners of the
tent. They put the considerably large crowd in perspective. I almost gulped
before I reminded myself I wasn’t going on the floor. Clowns ran around center
stage while the workers rolled out the motorbike ring.

The crowd, loud from the
conversation and laughter, was all I could focus on. Small children clapped and
screamed their excitement, their eyes huge in wonder; adults passed beverages,
popcorn and other treats back and forth, discussing the acts. The aromas of
food made my mouth water, but the noise made me want to cover my ears. I
couldn’t believe how loud it was inside; from where I’d stood outside all
night, it sounded like a dull roar.

Sheffield turned to see us walk
in. He spotted me next to Keegan and cocked an eyebrow. His look was clear:
didn’t he tell me to stay outside tonight? I grimaced and handed Keegan his
helmet. He looked disappointed at my exit.

“That’s my cue. Better go before
Sheffield gets annoyed. Break a leg!” I said to them. Once outside, I smoothed
the flap shut behind me, grateful for the sound barrier. I was no chicken, but
I’d spent the majority of my life avoiding the spotlight. This would take some
time. For the next several minutes, I could hear the crowd’s reactions go up
and down in surprise and fear, then finally jubilation at Nikolas and Keegan’s
talents.

Once done, I pulled open the
tent flap while the three workers rolled the giant metal ball out. As it got
out of the entrance, part of the Big Top’s fabric snagged on the ball.

“Shit, hang on. We can’t let it
take down the tent,” one of the guys said.

Another grunted his agreement.
“Don’t look so bad, but dunno how bad it’s caught.”

Keegan and Nikolas rolled out
their motorbikes and saw everyone. They matched our gaze upwards and saw the
problem. They cursed their displeasure.

“I can fix that,” I heard myself
say. Before I could stop myself, I grabbed hold of one of the spaces of the
ball.

“Watch it now, miss, this
thing’s burning hot, why we got the gloves on,” one of them warned me.

“Not a problem,” I assured him.
I waved my free hand at him to let him know I wouldn’t feel a thing and climbed
like a monkey to the top. My shoes flexed without resistance as I clambered to
the top. As I clambered up, I could hardly believe my boldness.

I reached the problem
area—thank goodness the men hadn’t continued pushing or the movement might
have scared the audience. The fabric was stuck pretty well and I tugged at it
for a second.

“Anyone got a pocketknife?” I
called to the boys on the ground.

“I got you, baby doll,” a worker
said. He reached into his boot then tossed up a small object. I lucked out,
catching it on the first try and jimmying the fabric apart without ripping it
too much. As I let the material go, it fell back and I could hardly see any
damage. Mission accomplished. I descended, jumping the last few feet down. I
landed easily and the men looked at me impressed. I shrugged, pleased, but felt
my cheeks grow red. Luckily, we had to get going, so the workers went back to
work getting the ball out of the entryway.

“Thanks, Luce,” Nikolas said.

“It’s what I’m here for, right?
No problem.”

“Bianca mentioned going out
tonight. You in?” Keegan asked me.

I nodded. “Definitely.”

“Great, see you in a little
while then,” he replied with a big smile. Nikolas rolled his eyes but looked
rather amused.

The boys said goodbye so they
could take the bikes into their proper locations. I stayed behind and kept an
eye on everyone to make sure they didn’t need me for anything. The rest of the
evening flew by without any problems.

At last, a cue I remembered: The
same five large workers walked past me; two steered a giant wheelbarrow filled
with tent material while the other three kept the material off the ground. It
was the second to last act, the acrobats. The last act of the show was the
human cannonball. I heard no complaints from the last two performances, so it
must have ended well. I heard thunderous applause and shrieks from delighted
children. As people exited the grounds, Bianca popped into my sight and scared
me half to death.

“Grab a broom. We’ll sweep up the
stands and help with trash. We shut down pretty fast if we work together,” she
said.

We walked into the Big Top and
grabbed two brooms that were in place for cleanup. We swept the audience seats
and Bianca ran a rake over the center ring to keep the dirt floor even. Others
joined us to pick up trash and clean the seats. All the artists from the first
half of the show were finished putting their things away; they came to help
with shutting down while the second act cleaned and situated their own aftermath.

Perhaps an hour after we cleaned
and put everything in its proper place, we were done. I looked at my watch:
barely eleven thirty. In circus hours, that was early. I could get used to
that. Delia had joined us to run requests back and forth. Bianca and Brooklyn
followed soon after, then the boys. Our conversation was brief as we walked
back to our campers.

“C’mon,” Finley said. “Let’s
celebrate a great opening night with some fun at the bar down the road. I saw
it when we drove in.”

“Yeah, I could use a drink
outside of my camper tonight,” Bianca replied.

“Everyone meet at the parking
lot in half an hour!” Nikolas yelled.