CIRCO

by Tara Ellis

  The morning came in through the windows. The alarm clock rang and Artemis went to the bathroom for his morning pick me up. The one huff of cocaine shot him straight for the moon. He stepped out of his train car and onto the Atlanta train station. He wore a red velvet bath robe with a wife beater and bright blue pajama bottoms with little ducks on them. He sipped his coffee while stretching his limbs out of morning stiffness.

  Natalie appeared from out of the car. She saw a banner that welcomed travelers to the city saying “Welcome to Atlanta.” Natalie took in a deep breath through the nostrils, and there was nothing that could of smelled better to anyone, anywhere in the world. The smell was all too familiar like how one smells the cooking of their grandmother. She let go of that breath she held while exclaiming “home sweet home.”

  “Hey Jimmie!” shouted Artemis. “Wake up the kiddies!” Train conductor Jimmie gave Artemis a thumbs up, he disappeared from the window, and then a blaring whistle came right after. The whistle meant for his employees, cast and crew, to get themselves ready for their objectives. The cast were to pack whatever they needed and head for the front entrance. There a personal escort would drive them to the hotel where they were to be accommodated during the whole stint of shows in the city. The crew was provided with buses that took them to the venue where the show was going to be recorded. From then on the crew was going to work indefatigably to make the place sanguine for the ticket buyers.

  Every last employee Artemis had he interviewed personally. He wanted to make sure he was bringing aboard motivated people. As a boss he liked those who strive to do whatever they were brought on to do. He noticed everything, nothing ever slipped away from him. If somebody was slacking he would know and the slacker would be scolded in front of everybody.

  The cast was chauffeured to the Hilton Suites in the downtown Atlanta area. The crew was being loaded into buses to be transported to the Philips Arena. For the animals they were going to be carried in on a semi truck. Artemis was behaving frantic; something had been brought to his attention that was definitely not according to plan. Apparently two crew members have vanished without a trace. Artemis stood in their cabin rubbing his temples; he muttered to himself why is this happening now?

  “Okay who again went missing?” asked Artemis.

  “That new girl Selena,” said Jason. “Is that her name?” he asked Chucky. He nodded his head. “Yeah that new chick Selena and Freddy are both gone.”

  “Damn it, Freddy has to go missing right when I need him. How perfect is that?”

  Timsley walked by and asked what the matter was. Artemis filled him in with a frustrated tone. Timsley asked Jason if Selena or Freddy talked about quitting.

  “No he never said a word to me, and I would be the first he’d tell.”

  Timsley wondered if Selena left her job because of his drunken forwardness, then he thought that wouldn’t elucidate the absence of Freddy. Timsley told them to start from the beginning.

  “Well it was getting late,” started Jason. “I went to bed noticing Selena or Freddy weren’t here. I woke up and they still weren’t here. I checked in the isle way, the kitchen and the lounge. It’s like they disappeared. And I say that because if you look under here you can still see Freddy’s stuff under his bed. And there is still stuff under Selena’s bed too.”

  Artemis and Timsley gave each other a look. Artemis suggested “You think after the breakfast…”

  “They got left,” finished Timsley.

  It seemed like a logical conclusion, but Artemis had one more question. “Well how come they didn’t call any of us.”

  “That’s his cell phone still on the dresser,” pointed Jason. “I’m not sure if that Selena girl had one with her.”

  “It wouldn’t have mattered any way,” said Timsley. “That was a desolate area. I couldn’t even get a signal out there.”

  Artemis threw his hand in the air and cursed. “Great, just fucking great! I don’t have any time to figure this out; I still have a show to do. Come with me Timsley, you’re going to help load the animals into the truck.”

  “What?! That’s not me field! You have more trainers, let them handle it!”

  “Some of the younger cats think of him as head of the pride. Some might not appreciate any other trainers handling them. I don’t need any liabilities.”

  “I’m not a liability.”

  “You lost two men, a theater technician, an animal caretaker; both of them were on the crew, you’re head supervisor, you’re accountable, you’re coming with me.”

  They walked along the side of the train until they reached the back where the many variety of beasts were being loaded into trucks. The elephants and bears were already headed towards the stadium. It was the cats that gave most of the problems for the trainers. They all were competent on their job but it was Freddy who held a certain power over the felines that made them accepting to his bidding.

  Artemis swung open the doors of the cat den and that allowed sunlight to beam straight down the aisle. In the car Artemis noticed peculiarity among his pets. It seemed they were all face towards the same direction. He and Timsley crept cautiously through the isle to see what they were glancing at.

  “Well looky what we have here,” said Timsley.

  Freddy awoken startled and bug eyed. Artemis didn’t say a word; just one eyebrow was cocked higher than the other. Vanessa twitched to life stretching her limbs while moaning in a song. She rubbed her eyes with both fists to get the sand out. Her heart nearly blew out of her chest because Timsley was the first thing she seen when she awoken.

  “Looks like somebody had fun last night,” Timsley implied to Artemis.

  Artemis walked away.

  “Get back to work,” said Timsley and he then was gone as well.

  Joyce was beaming with joy; her cheeks went numb from the stretching they had done smiling. She was in a big city being driven around by a personal escort. She felt like she was doing big things with her life now. During the car ride the radio played a promotion of the show, the announcer specifically mentioned her as a performer. It was like a fairy had struck Joyce with a wand with sparkles dazzling from out of it; granting Joyce a new life. In her own head she was a Disney Princess. It was the dream coming true; the rags to riches story that was going to be the stuff of legend.

  The escort had let Joyce out of the car at the front entrance to the Hilton.

  “Thank you so much,” she said. The driver went away after he wished her a blessed day. As she approached the gates a gentleman came out to her and asked for her name. She gave it to him.

  “Ah. Joyce. We were expecting you,” said he. The gentleman had took her duffle bag and told her to follow him inside. “Give your name to the hostess at the desk and she will give you a key card.”

  She did so, noticing the girl at the desk looking at her like it was all the joy in the world to see her face. The blush returned to Joyce; she was like a chocolate covered cherry. “Do they pay you all to be this nice? You have flattered me most outrageously.”

  “We have seen you on the television,” said the gentlemen. “I was up most impressed by your talents.”

  “It’s always nice to be in the presence of a star,” gushed the hostess.

  “Well you both certainly know how to make me feel welcomed. Thank you.”

  The gentleman helped her carry the luggage all the way to the suite. Along the way there was a family with three small children, the oldest who looked about the age for middle school pointed at Joyce singing “look it’s her.” They went up to Joyce and all received a personalized signature on the back of their t shirts. They didn’t have paper with them but Joyce obliged with the request anyway. That experience made their day. They walked away not realizing their ardor made Joyce’s day as well.

  When she got to her room she was out of breath. Thi
s was her first small encounter of fandom. A feeling raised within her little form so zealously it betwixt the mind, heart and the body. When she was settled in the room she went straight for the closest mirror which was placed above a cherry oak dresser. She had to see her face. Something told her to look in the mirror. And she couldn’t recognize who was staring back at her. It was still her face, but it was like an entirely new person wore it; a person with more confidence, a person who could hold a crowd’s attention, a person who possessed no insecurity, a person who looked strong. For the first time in the mirror she saw a person with beauty looking right back at her. At that point she was still a stranger but Joyce loved the woman in the mirror.

 

  First Day on the Job