Tiger's Circus

Chapter 10: Tiger's Kitchen

When I showed up at the kitchen, I wheezed out, "I'm sorry. I'm late." I scanned the kitchen and realized that it was only Mrs. Gailon and Nick frowning at me. "Where's Ruth?" I asked.

"She's gone, Kelsey," Mrs. Gailon replied. "She finished early and stormed out."

"Yeah. She left like an hour ago," Nick confirmed.

"Oh..." I said in a deflated voice. I stumbled over to the dishes and began washing.

Mrs. Gailon wasn't done with me though. She added, "I hope you have a good explanation, young lady. I'm not happy with you either. I told Ruth you wanted lessons and now you've made me a liar. Really, Kelsey, you haven't even been here a week and you are already being unreliable. You should know better than this. It could mean real trouble, especially since we're still in your hometown."

"This circus is my home," I said cutting off whatever else she planned to say. I refused to let Sarah, Mrs. Gailon or anyone else make me believe I belonged in Oregon. It wasn't my home.

I heard Mrs. Gailon sigh and she asked me. "Do you understand what I'm saying?" At the change in her tone, I turned around to face her and the rest of the kitchen. Both Nick and Mrs. Gailon looked grave. Then it hit me. Ruth could have me fired before my first show, before I even left Oregon. All of that sense of purpose I'd felt with Lisa felt silly now. Why didn't I stop when my alarm went off for dinner? I had just endangered my position here. I could lose my home again just like that.

My throat was dry, but I rasped out, "I just forgot the time. I ran over here when I realized how late I was. I mean, how upset was Ruth? I messed up, but the lessons were optional right?" It wasn't much, but it was all I had.

"True," Mrs. Gailon said in a voice that said it really wasn't, "But those lessons were for your benefit and were a gift from your boss. You didn't tell anyone you weren't coming. It's poor showmanship, Kelsey, and Ruth will take it personally. Mark my words."

"She said she was going to cook your butt tomorrow and force you to eat it," Nick whispered to me as he filled the dessert fruit bowl. He looked dead serious. I gulped. I was seriously screwed.

The next day, I found out how screwed I was. I showed up extra early, but it didn't help. Ruth was sharper than a kitchen knife. "Kelsey Hayes," she said as I entered. I braced myself, but she said nothing else.

I began, "I'm really sorry. I-"

Ruth sliced through my explanation by saying, "I don't want to hear it today, Kelsey Hayes. Just shut it."

So, I did and we ate in silence. I found myself praying for someone else to show up and finally Chris did. I didn't like Chris all that much. His humor was a little too inappropriate for me, but he was better than nothing.

Even with Chris, KP was oddly quiet. I could feel my armpits sweating. Chris didn't even try to mess with me. The 2 hours went by slowly, but they passed. As soon as my phone read 8 am. I headed to the door.

"Hold it right there Kelsey Hayes," Ruth said still chopping some vegetables and not turning around. Chris grinned. He had been waiting for this I realized. But then Ruth said, "Get out of here, Chris. I need to have a word with Kelsey."

Chris frowned. "I just-"

"Out!" Ruth said. Chris reluctantly left. Ruth put down her knife. She turned and looked at me, "And you." I swallowed. Here it was. "I got some words for you. And you're not leaving till I'm done. Your animals can wait."

I wanted to object. I did, but her glare stopped me. "I'm tired of you acting like you belong here just cause your parents worked here. You think making up with your old girlfriend and entering the show is more important than your job, Kelsey Hayes? Well, you've got bigger problems. You can't cook, you can't show up on time, and you can't be trusted. You're lucky you're still here and it's time you start acting like it."