Chapter Three
Rex pulled up a wooden chair and sat in it, leaning back and crossing his arms over his hulking chest. Laurent sat beside him, radiating warmth and encouragement. The two of them together reminded me of a dark rain cloud beside the sun.
“What do you do?” Rex stared blankly at me as I stood in the center of the ring.
I swallowed, spittle suddenly lodging in my throat. If they’d ushered me to the back of the tent and asked me to perform, it wouldn’t have been so bad. But here, in the middle of everyone in the room, all eyes were on me. The troupe members who were previously practicing or chatting suddenly dropped what they were doing and stood curiously around the circle, becoming an impromptu audience.
“Hey,” Rex barked, grabbing my attention again. “I haven’t got all day.”
I centered myself, forcing my gaze on Rex. His scowl deepened, so I looked at Laurent, who beamed at me and gave me two thumbs-up. I inhaled, holding my breath to calm my racing heart as I dropped my arms down. Slowly, I exhaled as I began to turn, dragging one foot across the ground and pausing. Another inhale brought me down to the ground, my spine horizontally level, before slipping my hands between my open legs and maintaining my balance at a sharp angle. I thought of myself as a human pretzel because I could bend and turn at angles that should have been impossible.
My audience was dead silent, so I had no idea what they thought.
I ignored them and rolled forward, my back gliding across the ground as if it were ice. The momentum brought me up again; then I pulled my back leg behind me, reaching past my shoulders as I twisted to meet the front of my leg with my nose.
A few whistles and claps rang out from the other performers.
Bolstered, I followed this feat with a slow, music-box turn on my toes, gradually bending my leg in a number of shapes that, for anyone else, would’ve snapped it in two. But to me, it felt like stretching dough, as effortless as each breath I took in and released.
I lowered myself to the ground in one fluid motion. Now, on my stomach, I rolled my legs upright and arched them around my shoulders, flattening my feet against the ground and placing my head between them before peering at the spectators.
Inhale.
On the exhale, I twisted my back, maintaining my stance on the ground as I snapped upright like a taut rubber band.
And that was it—it was all my blurring mind could muster. Beads of sweat had already begun to roll down my face, either from exertion or nerves, I couldn’t tell.
Throughout my routine, the background noise faded away, as I centered myself and concentrated. But now, I could hear it—my fellow performers were clapping and cheering. Even Valida, the snake lady, managed to give me a limp-wristed applause, a feat in and of itself, I imagined.
“Bravo, my dear,” Laurent sang out, standing up and clapping his hands loudly. I smiled at him, but my smile fell as soon as my gaze met Rex’s.
He appeared furious.
His angry eyes narrowed, and the grimace on his lips looked as if it might become permanent.
Rex rose from his chair, hushing the crowd. He approached me slowly before stopping right in front of me. He was like looking up at a skyscraper. He stood there, his chest heaving as he eyed me from head to toe. I waited, craning my neck to peer up at him, eager to hear his verdict. It was so hard to read his expression, like he was purposefully hiding it.
“Rex, she was incredible,” Laurent whispered.
Rex didn’t spare him a glance. Instead, he kept his glare pasted on me. “Consider yourself one of the curiosities,” he barked.
“C-curiosities?” I stammered.
It was like he’d initiated a secret signal. Suddenly, the bleachers cleared as my new cohorts rushed over to get a better look at me, although some were obviously more excited than others.
“Bindi!” A familiar voice called out, and I suddenly found myself crushed in Halfrieda’s strong embrace. “Didn’t think our paths’d cross again this quickly! Ya did a fabulous job, love! Yer quite the contortionist. Almost like a human pretzel.”
A human pretzel. It was as though she’d read my mind, knew how I’d referred to myself all these years.
Tears came to my eyes at her heartfelt compliment, although I grimaced slightly, her beard feeling a bit scratchier than I remembered. “Thank you.”
Halfrieda released her hold on me, her arms settling on her hips as she grinned. “Well, I’m glad you decided ta try out! That was some impressive bendin’ you did back there. Ever take ballet? ‘Cause the way you was movin’… like a right swan, all graceful an’ whatnot!”
I opened my mouth to reply, but no answer came. It was like my brain suddenly turned into mush and my memories vanished in an instant, just like that had when I was in Laurent’s office, trying to recall Amelia’s name. Suddenly, I couldn’t remember if I’d ever taken ballet.
“All right, everyone, all right.” A loud clapping sound pulled our attention to Laurent as he stood up from his chair. “Let’s give Bindi a warm welcome into our family, then get back to work. Don’t forget we’ve got a show to put on in a few hours’ time! You’ll all get a chance to introduce yourselves to her after the show tonight.”
Halfrieda seemed to be the only one disappointed, and the others dispersed quickly. I searched out Valida in the crowd, needing her approval above the others for some reason. I was surprised to see her give me a slight nod before she walked off. As small as the gesture was, it was more than I hoped for.