Tiger's Circus

Chapter 4: Trainer, Trainer

It was harder to enter than I thought it would be because of the clown who was handing out tickets. It was hard to call him that though. He might have worn the make-up, but he was hardly the fun-loving type. He was probably one of the most disgruntled men I'd ever met and he seemed to get joy from denying me entrance. I finally convinced him that I was an employee and thus shouldn't have to pay the entrance fee with the help of Mrs. Gailon at the face painting booth.

I opened the flap and walked in. The instant I stepped into the tent, my mind was filled with memories: the smell of hot buttered popcorn and cotton candy, the dim red tinted light and children's voices speaking in a mixture of boredom and excitement. I eagerly took my seat near the back.

At center stage and all lit up was Mr. Maurizio standing there in his gold-embroidered red coat and shining gold hat. He raised his arm and his voice boomed out. "Welcome to Circus Maurizio! Today, we bring a beast from a faraway land. The true king of the Indian jungle, Dhiren! I asked you all for quiet so we may hear the mighty beast's cry."

They were starting with the tiger? I smirked. I had been a little worried about whether Lisa and I would be able to complete with a tiger but if he was going first, the act couldn't be that amazing. The crowd loved it though. All around me, adults in the crowd shushed their children and eventually, there was relatively quiet except for a lone baby's cry. Then the lights went dim and the crowd seemed to go cold.

The roar rippled through the silence. It rumbled inside of me. People screamed most of them cries of delight and shock, but one was a true scream. It was louder than the rest and sounded like real fear. It came from backstage. I nearly stood up so did a few others when we heard a bunch of cartoony sound effects honking and pots crashing and a Hannès Schroll scream. I sat back down. It was part of the show. It had to be.

"Sweet Porco Cane!" Mr. Maurizio shouted. "That was one roar. Even I was scared." He laughed, but only a few people nervously joined in, "Some of our members are still tiger shy. I will go check and see to everything. In the meantime, the show must go on." He clapped his hands and the whole stage lit up. Then he briskly left.

Immediately, the music was back. A parade of clowns began to march in, but few people paid attention. They were too busy murmuring trying to reassure themselves. Even I had trouble focusing on the stage. Surely, it was normal circus show stuff. Nothing to worry about said the people who had come to the circus before. Right? I tried to relax. It was normal circus antics. Someone had probably screamed because of the roar backstage. Bob and Keith would probably laugh at me if they could see how tense I was. Everything was fine.

Soon the audience was able to settle down and enjoy the show. The clowns were all juggling and balancing on balls. One was balancing plates. I had trouble recognizing anyone I knew because of all the make-up. I thought I saw Bobby's dad juggling bowling pins. Bringing up the rear was Bradley's mother, Clare, who despite her white make-up and brightly colored afro, was looking very sexy. She sashayed in. On her head were a bunch of objects, anything from vases to pies to what looked like a pair of shears.

She surveyed the other clowns as they spread out to the perimeter of the stage. Clare remained in the center. They began to do a skit where each of the male clowns tried to impress her while getting more impressive and aggressive toward each other. The fighting climaxed with two jugglers having a juggle fight complete with knives, pies, plates, torches and a rubber chicken.

Just as the music crescendoed a man came flying out into the spectacle ruining the whole thing. He was dressed in a purple and white tuxedo and had a chair, whip, and large top hat. As he came to the sliding stop, he found himself in between the jugglers' display earning himself a rubber chicken to the face. The rest of the objects crashed to the ground and the clowns stomped their large feet in anger at their show being interrupted.