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It’s almost 12:00am when I get home. Going to sleep is easy. my bones are heavy with exhaustion. Checking my alarms before falling asleep, 7 hours of sleep is good enough for me.
“God’s dammit!” I’m late. I checked my alarms and they are set for today. Looking at my phone I realised it was charging to pm and not am. God’s, I hate those two. I put on a black t-shirt and brown cargo pants that still has paint on them from three days ago and a big sweatshirt and some sneakers and I’m out the door. Full on running to the cafe, I stumbled in with two minutes to spare yay… I look at the community cork board and see a flyer for. The freak circus (of horrors) a travelling circus. Sounds fun. to bad I can't see it, hell week and all(tech week). I clock in. The customer starts to blur together after like the 16th Frappuccino. I stop paying attention to all of the customers. I get a notification from the group chat saying that practice is cancelled, director is sick. We have two weeks until the show and sets aren’t even done. What do you mean? It’s cancelled!? Deep breaths Elliot deep breaths think on the bright side you can go to the circus tonight.
My shift ends and I’m able to close up the café. I should get a note book. I walk home. I get to my door and open it… I forgot to lock it this morning!. I do a quick look over my apartment seeing nothing taken or moved. I go to my room and grab one of the 100 empty notebook’s it purple. (It not a problem I swear)
The walk to the circus is quiet. I see the ticket booth. The ticket taker is there. “Hi, I was wondering where I got a ticket?” The ticket taker has a theatre mask on with a blue top hat. He stares at me for what feels like forever. “You can get them here” He hands me a brown ticket “how much do I owe you?” Of course you get tickets from the Ticket Taker. He looks at me like l’m weird for asking. Well I can’t tell if he’s actually looking at me that way with the mask, but I feel like he’s judging me. “4.50$” I handed him the cash. He clicks the ticket and with a whole punch and I go in.
I see five tenses that seem to be the attractions. I walk into the green one and sit in the back. Harlequin he says is his name he tells a story with puppets. It seems to be an old story from the circus. It’s sad. I feel bad for the angel but I can also understand where they’re coming from the monsters, they were starving. I could never imagine being that hungry. The storytelling was amazing. I had me on the edge of the seat. I can hear some people crying. I can help myself as I draw the angel puppet down into the notebook. I fell like I needed to remember her. Filing out of the tent afterwards was an ordeal so many people ran into me. It was not even funny.
I walk past the food and it smells weird so best not to get it. I wander into the purple tent. I see a stage in the middle of the tent lights pointed at it. A man dressed as a jester walks on to the sage he states his name is Jester, which is a little on the nose but he is a jester so it fits. He’s telling a love story. It's beautiful and it’s sad. It’s a tragedy but I can’t take my eyes off him. the way he moves on that stage. Like It’s where he’s meant to be. I want to be like him. I don’t even know when I start writing notes on his behaviour on stage. he’s like a marionette doll it’s like somebody with strings is controlling the way he moves, such control over one bodies is impressive. I wonder if he used to be a dancer. If I believed in love at first sight, I think I would be in love with him. The show feels like it’s messing something though it’s sad yes but needs something more. Maybe more actors than just him. He could tell like the storyteller and not the one living it like they’re his puppets.