Cirque De Soleil by woooooooooooo (great reads .TXT) 📖

strawberry flavoured water” he replied. “I thought you might like it”
“It’s nice” I commented taking another sip.
“Do you have a water bottle?” he asked pointing to my bag.
I pulled out my water bottle and handed it to him. He took it to the kitchen area. He emptied out my regular water and filled it with the strawberry flavoured water. He placed it carefully back in my bag.
“Thank you” I replied.
We didn’t say much more. We sat, drinking our drinks. I looked at my watch just in time.
“I’d better go in case I’ll be late” I said picking up my bag.
“Are you sure?” he asked looking at his watch.
We both stood and turned to face each other.
“Yes. I have a few miles to cover. I’ll talk to my friend today and see if she would bring me one night” I replied.
“That’ll be great. We have a show on every night...” he started but I finished his sentence “for two months”
He patted me on the back and smiled, “A good memory. I’ll see you soon Lamia”
“Can I come over on my way home?” I asked.
“Of course. You’re always welcome” he replied.
I headed out the door, waving back at him.
I arrived at the school at the same time I usually did. Amelia was stood waiting for me at the gate. I walked straight to her.
“Hey” I said.
She had been looking out for me in the other direction. She jumped when I came up behind her.
“You came a different way” she commented.
“Yeah. I took a little detour” I replied smiling.
I didn’t mention the Circus until dinner. We were stood by our lockers, sorting out our books. I hoped – after a few hints – she would invite me to join her instead of me asking if I can join her. I wanted her to take me and I felt bad about using her this way but I think we’d both enjoy the show.
“Did you know there was a circus in town?” I asked her.
“Really? What sort?” she asked sceptically.
“Cirque de Soleil” I replied “Acrobats and stuff like that”
“Really? That might be rather good” she commented closing her locker. She might have fell for it. “Do you want to go to it?”
“Of course I do” I replied. “Who wouldn’t?”
“I’ll talk to my parents, you could sleep round and we’ll go to the circus one night” she said.
I gave myself an imaginary pat on the back and cheered to myself.
Of course my happiness was soon diminished. That happened a lot at school. It only took the few bullies to dampen a good day. A fellow orphan girl was the main bully. She was three years older than me. But it wasn’t me she liked to pick on, she liked to pick on Amelia.
I’d left Amelia for only a few seconds to go to the toilet and when I came back out she was pushed up against the lockers. My mind ticked. I ran to the orphanage bully girl and pulled her away from Amelia. I punched her hard on the face but that just spurred her on. She focused on me now. I told Amelia to go and get a teacher as two back up girls joined the bully. They pinned my back against the locker as she stated to throw punches at me. First my stomach but then she started hitting my face. She ripped my clothes as she threw me to the ground. She pressed her shoe on my cheek, holding my head down onto the floor. She climbed on top of me pulling my arms up across my back. Pain ran through my arms as she pulled them up so high they felt like they were going to be pulled right off.
Suddenly, I could hear the shouts of the adult teachers. I could feel her being pulled off me and my arms flopping weakly at my side. I was pulled up and brushed off.
I was walked to the headmasters office. Amelia was at my side.
I was to be sent home early. They asked me if I wanted them to ring the orphanage but I told them not to. I knew where I wanted to go. I didn’t want to go back to the orphanage earlier. That would be torture.
I headed to the Circus. I found my way to Alec’s caravan. My lip that had swollen was still twice the size it should have been. I could feel the blood dripping from a cut in my cheek. My arms were painful to move and my stomach was already bruising. I knocked on the door.
“Come in” he shouted.
I opened the door.
At the first sight of me he rushed to me. He pulled me to the sofa and made me sit.
“What happened to you?” he asked as he got some ice and wrapped them in a towel. He placed that on my lip.
“A girl from the orphanage was beating up my best friend, Amelia, so I pulled her off of her and then she turned on me.” I replied. “I was sent home but didn’t want to go back to the orphanage so I came here”
“That’s probably best” commented Alec.
He picked up a tissue and used it to wipe the blood off my cheek.
“How are you feeling?” he asked after a few moments silence.
“My stomach’s killing me but apart from that fine” I replied clutching my stomach.
“Lie down” he said, pushing my shoulders down. I lay back on the chair. He took hold of the bottom of my school top. He lifted it just enough to see where the bruising was starting to show. He grabbed another tea towel and wrapped it around a collection of ice. He placed it on my stomach.
I winced as he pressed it down. He decreased the pressure until I stopped wincing.
“It might bruise a little but apart from that you’ll be fine” he commented.
I just nodded, staring up at the ceiling.
After a few moments of silence I said, “I told my friend there was a circus in town and she suggested that we come to see it together”
“That’s good” he replied.
I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on his sofa. He sat on a chair next to me, playing with his dog – Choppy. I even played with Choppy for a little while – throwing a ball down the length of the caravan for him to fetch. Being here felt more like being at a home. Alec started explaining to me some of the places he’s been. He’s been all over the world – America, Australia, France, Asia, Africa and more places. I’d never even seen pictures of some of these places. He showed me the photo’s of some of the places. It was amazing how I felt so welcoming and at home somewhere so different and new to me.
Alec introduced me to some of the other acts. There was a magician there – The Great Samuel – and he showed me his ‘escape the large can of milk’ trick. It was brilliant. He climbed into the can of milk and closed the lid. Alec locked the lid on top. I’d seen that it had been filled to the brim with milk so I knew he would have to get out eventually. Alec pulled down a screen so I couldn’t see the milk can, but I knew the only way out was the way he got in, the way that was padlocked. After a few moments, Alec lifted the screen back up. The milk can was exactly the same. It made me wonder if he’d failed in getting out. Had he finally met his match?
“So what do you think?” came The Great Samuel’s voice behind me.
I quickly turned to face him. He was stood there soaked with milk.
“How did you...?” I started looking from him to the milk can back to him. “That was awesome!”
“Thank you” he said bowing.
“Can you show me again?” I asked.
“Lamia, Sam has other things he needs to do ready for tonight’s show” replied Alex for him, grasping my shoulders. It seemed he was talking to Sam instead of me. Sam nodded and strode off without saying a word. He obviously got the hidden message in Alec’s words.
“That was brilliant, does he do that in the show?” I asked.
“Do you think he would skip his best trick?” he asked in response.
“I guess not.” I replied, hiding my embarrassment.
Alec looked at his watch and sighed.
“We should get you back to the orphanage” he said.
I groaned.
“What time is it?”
“Four. We both know your head Carer will have another go at me if I keep you any longer” he replied.
I slowly fetched my school back from his caravan and then endure the horrific walk back to the orphanage. How come every time I walk back it seems like I’m leaving home? Why did this journey always feel that way? I knew in the back of my mind why. The orphanage was nothing to be, but a shelter over my head. But the Cirque was more. It felt like home.
Ms Carris didn’t seem as bothered today, she still had a shout at us, but she seemed less stressed. Perhaps she was expecting me to return to Alec. Perhaps she anticipated it. I trod up to my room and sat dejectedly on my bed.
It took a week for Amelia to organise a sleepover. I was practically jumping when she told me – on Thursday – that I’d be sleeping around hers on Saturday. On Saturday night I would be seeing the show. We planned for me to spend Saturday with Amelia at her house.
I hoped out of the Orphanage as soon as breakfast was done, I wasn’t expected at Amelia’s until eleven so I popped round to see Alec. I spent most of my free time at the Cirque now. I had met most of the performers. The Gresley Twins. The Great Samuel. The Bendy Twenty – twenty extremely bendy people.
The Bendy Twenty were a collection of different ages ranging from Eighteen to forty. Ten were female and ten were male. The youngest – the nineteen year old – was a young lad, Bradley. He seemed the nicest. He had short brown hair and sparkling brown eyes. His outfit was a tight black gymnastics kit. There was a white strip of sequins going from the bottom left hand side of his chest up to his right shoulder. He kissed my hand when he was first introduced to me.
Type rope Tammy – I loved the name. She was the person who crossed the type rope. She was one of those super skinny, super pretty people. Her silky smooth blond hair was tied up in a neat tight bun.
The Switch Boards – A couple, a male and a female, swinging from one wooden swing to another. They did twirls and twists in the air. Both of them where extra strong – well, they have to be – and were covered in muscles from head to toe.
And finally, The Dropping Dancers – the dropping dancers weren’t dancer’s at all, they were gymnasts on fabric sheets hung from the circus top. Two females – both with red hair and bright green eyes.
I told Amelia I would get the tickets. Amelia handed me the money for her, her brother and her parent’s tickets. I took that straight to Alec who gave me five tickets in return – Alec said that I could get my ticket free. He also gave us the best seats in the house. The very front seat on the best