"When you're down, run off and join a circus." they say.
But this circus has secrets that violate
the strings of life-
✴︎✴︎✴︎
"We can dance until we die...
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✭Push me away, I'll be right here✭
"Get up sunshine." the warmth of the knitted blanket vacates my body and I wake with a start.
I groan, throwing my left arm over my face in an attempt to block out the bright lights shining through the window.
"Hey, kid!" the creaking of the wooden steps fills my ears before a hand tugs mine away from my face.
I stare up at the boy leaning over me. "Remember how I told you the cafe hours are limited? Yeah, well we have an hour to get down there, bribe the lunch ladies for extras, and find a table to eat at."
Another voice, slightly familiar, rings through the room. "Fifty minutes." my face scrunches with puzzlement and both Frankie and I turn to the voice.
Emery, the guy from the rehearsal room, sits on an extra bed I had overseen with the darkness of the room just last night.
He nods his head toward a clock on the wall above the door, his shoulder-length blond hair falling gently over his face.
"Even better reason for you," Frankie takes hold of my arms, pulling me into a sitting position. "to get up." I breathe a heavy sigh, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as he steps down the ladder.
I step down after him, pulling on the same coat from last night, and slipping on my shoes. The others have already gotten dressed.
I follow them both down the long, slightly dim hallway toward the eatery I was shown yesterday.
We walk in, heading towards the counters filled with food. Women with nets over their heads stationed behind the counters serving a variety of food.
As I glance around at the groups of people sitting, eating, and conversing with each other, my eyes land on a pair that seems to illuminate the scarcely lit space.
She isn't looking at me, but I can't help but get nervous under the gaze of the prudent woman.
I nearly jump when Frankie snaps his fingers in my face. "Kid? You there?" I shake my head, ridding the thoughts that nearly drown me.
"Huh? No, yeah I'm—" I look down at the tray of food I don't even remember grabbing. "Fine."
We find an open cubicle and slide into the comfortable blue seating. Frankie sits next to Emery, thigh to thigh, arm to arm.
A look arises on Emery's face but vanishes before I can give it a title. "So, either I'm a blind man, or you were just eyeing the one person who's known for breaking people like you."
