From the Story Files #2

Posted on Thu 16th Mar, 2017 @ 6:36pm by
Edited on Tue 4th Apr, 2017 @ 8:55pm

923 words; about a 5 minute read

The circus comes to town.

Jade laughed at the antics of a dozen clowns stuffing themselves into a tiny replica of a Starfleet 2-man shuttle. "No way. They will never all fit in there!"

When they did, she wondered, as much as any five-year-old in the audience, how they had managed the feat. She looked at T'scholk. "Do you know how they did that? It had to be a trick, right?"

T'scholk tilted his head around, leaning forward and back. "I do not believe it was a trick. I do believe they are double even a couple of them seem to be triple jointed. Simple contortion and careful placement. Truly fascinating." T'scholk looked around at the incredible shows, games, and exotic animals. "Do you think the games are rigged?"

Jade considered the question. "Yeah, I think they probably are. One of the young men was in Orchids & Jazz this morning with a friend, ostensibly to eat. He was way too charming, and way too interested in everything and everyone in the club. I expect they are like most traveling groups, and don't think it wrong to pick up anything not nailed down when they leave."

"Gentle Beings, all young at heart, please direct your attention to the center ring!" shouted a human dressed in black pants and a short red jacket. There seemed to be a lot of gold buttons and gold braid on the jacket, and his feet were covered in high-heeled black boots with red star bursts on the front. "We have for your amazement, the Flying Galindas! Watch them soar, watch them leap out into space. No anti-grav machinery is involved in these amazing stunts. Should they miss the ring, they will plunge straight to their deaths! Watch in awe as, time after time, they barely avert disaster! I give you ... the Galindas!"

"This ought to be good," Jade said.

"I must say I am always in awe at how they make it look effortless. I for one hate heights, especially those heights. I would probably regurgitate what I ate if I had to balance in the air like that." T'scholks eyes widened as he saw the ballet that was taking place meters above their heads.

The entire crowd caught their breaths and held them as two swings came toward each other, and the man on one flipped the woman he held toward the second swing, completely letting go of the woman. As the second man caught her ankles and swung away, they simultaneously let their breaths out again. Then the crowd began to applaud wildly.

"I can't believe they are doing this without the benefit of anti-grav," Jade said. "What if he misses?" She shuddered at the thought. "I'm not sure whether to thank you for this invitation or not."

"Thank me if they do not fall to their deaths. If they happen to fall, then I guess that whiskey could drown our sorrows." T'scholk said half as a joke and half in truth.

Fortunately, there were no falls, in spite of a few more heart-stopping moments. The next act was preceded by more clowns running around bopping each other on the head. "You know," Jade said, breathless with laughter at their antics, "this is really the stupidest thing, but I find it wildly funny for some reason." She laughed again as the smallest clown hit the largest one on the rear end with a red bat that went limp on contact.

Jade's hand reached into the bucket of generously buttered popcorn and she discovered she'd managed to empty it completely. It was the type of snack she rarely ate, but a circus was a good excuse for breaking all her culinary standards, and the health ones, too. With a sigh, she crumpled the cup and said, "That was delicious. Thanks for inviting me. I can't remember when I've taken off an afternoon just to have fun, and -" she broke off as a group of lions ran out into a large round cage in the center ring. Each of them roared and snarled as they jumped up on a stand when the scantily-dressed Betazoid snapped a long whip at them.

"It looks like we're back to heart-attack zone again!" Jade exclaimed.

"Thank you for coming with me, I find that I still have some Romulan tendencies to not branch out and be more outgoing." T'scholk looked at the Betazoid with the whip. "Do you think that the Betazoid is sensing the thoughts of those lions?" T'scholk cracked another of his smiles as he tried to joke.

"Hmm, interesting idea. How much thought do you suppose lions have?" A majestic looking female swung her head at that moment and looked directly at Jade. She had the uncanny feeling that the lioness was laughing at her. "Maybe more than we think," she muttered.

"Maybe so. I suppose we only have to worry if they know how to use phasers and start trying to take over the station." T'scholk paused. "That or if the lions start trying to get therapy sessions from the Betazoid then this part of the show will not be what I expected." T'scholk took it all in, this was a great day to get out of the rut of the restaurant, and to explore what he was unable to on Kronos, Romulus or even Earth. Many of his friends told him to change his routine and stop being so Romulan. This was a prime example of how to 'let his hair down' and enjoy all he could.

 

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