The Girl Who Joined the Circus

Chapter Fifteen

The crowd gasped in unison when Maleah crumpled to the ground, writhing in pain.

Murmurs resonated as the audience tried to understand what was happening, whether this situation was part of the show or actually real. I was sure some of them half-expected Maleah to get up and take a bow. But it wasn’t an illusion. And, it wasn’t part of the act when Laurent rushed over to her, his face pale and panicked. A hush fell over the crowd when it finally dawned on them that she was actually hurt.

Laurent addressed the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, owing to what has just happened, I regret to inform you that the remainder of tonight’s show is canceled. For anyone who wants a refund, please go to the ticket window where you purchased your ticket.” There were still surprised gasps from the audience and some grumbling but Laurent didn’t seem to notice it, or didn’t care. “Thank you and good evening.”

Bright lights flickered on throughout the tent and the audience obediently stood up and filed out. Many remained in their seats, however, desperate for any news about Maleah’s prognosis. I didn’t move from my spot, but stayed completely frozen as the frenzy of activity swirled around me. Rex practically tore through the tent to restrain the hysterical Mariah. She was a screaming mess of tears and clawing nails as she tried to break free from his grip. It took me a second or so to realize her anger was aimed at me.

“It was her!” she screamed as she pointed at me, finger shaking. “She was responsible for this!”

I pressed my shaking fingers to my mouth, shocked that she could possibly think I was involved in such a horrendous accident. “I had nothing to do,” I started, but Rex simply looked at me and shook his head before turning back to restraining Mariah.

The crew lifted Maleah away as Laurent continued offering reassurances and refunds to the patrons, but everyone who worked for the Cirque could tell Laurent was acting. Behind that masked comfort, our ringmaster was seething, even downright furious. His clenched jaw and rigid gait gave him away. Not only had he lost the most profitable night’s ticket revenue, but one of his star performers had suffered a terrible injury. Surely, even he suspected one of his troupe members was responsible for the accident. I could only hope he didn’t believe I was behind it.

Through it all, I just stood there, immobile as a statue. Too stunned or scared to react, and uncertain as to what I should do. Some of the troupe members expressed relief that Maleah could still move her arms and legs as she was carefully carted off the stage on a stretcher. That was a good sign. At least she wasn’t paralyzed.

Finally interrupting my stupor, Halfrieda appeared. She rested her hand on my shoulder as she barked out a message. “Bindi, we gotta git ya outta here! Rex told me ta take you to Laurent’s office. C’mon, let’s go!”

“Halfrieda, I…” My voice choked up and tears filled my eyes as I wondered why Laurent wanted me brought to his office. He couldn’t possibly think… I couldn’t even finish the thought.

Halfrieda didn’t say anything. Instead, she placed an arm around my shoulder and half-dragged me to Laurent’s office. Despite my protestations to find out what was happening with Maleah, Halfrieda forced me to stay with her in the office. Meanwhile, the medical personnel tended to Maleah and the rest of the troupe broke down the circus and packed everything up in preparation for our next destination. I was surprised to find we were moving on so quickly.

***

Laurent and Rex entered the office maybe twenty minutes later, probably after everything had started to calm down a bit, or so I assumed. As soon as they walked in, I swore to the fact that I’d had nothing to do with it. Laurent held up a hand and silenced me with a quick nod.

“We know this isn’t your fault, Bindi,” he said softly. “Don’t worry your pretty head about it.”

Relief suffused me as I then wondered why I was being held in the office if they didn’t believe I’d had anything to do with the accident. When I asked if I could help pack up the circus, they refused and so I took a seat on a rickety chair in the corner and wondered what was going to happen next. After witnessing such a trauma, anything was better than sitting here uselessly.

“If you don’t believe I had anything to do with it, why are you keeping me here?” I asked finally, tired of listening to them talk amongst themselves in lowered voices, clearly not wanting me to overhear.

“We don’t want you alone with Mariah,” Laurent insisted.

“Why? I haven’t—”

“She blames you for what happened to her sister,” Rex interrupted, in his usual gruff tone.

“We don’t know what she’ll do if she sees you,” Laurent added.

I squawked at the thought that Mariah was still blaming the tragic accident on me. “I didn’t do anything!” I screamed. “I’ll be the first to admit I’m not fond of either one of them, but I would never, ever do anything like that.”

Laurent and Rex again assured me they knew I wasn’t involved with the mishap for the second time but, even so, I wasn’t sure they fully believed it.

“This… it isn’t fair,” I said, feeling my voice breaking.

“We know, honey, we know,” said Laurent, consoling me as best he could before leaving again to supervise the troupe.

***

When everything was packed and loaded, I was finally allowed to board the train before it pulled out of the station.

There was a somber cloud hanging over the train and everyone within it. Unlike the trip coming into Guineesville, no one in the troupe wanted to talk, joke, or even play a game of cards. Everyone stayed locked up in their rooms.

Laurent was still fuming, and I wasn’t exactly sure why—was he simply angry about the lost revenue, or did he think someone had been involved in the mishap? Regardless, no one dared to cross his path.

“I ain’t never seen him so mad before,” Halfrieda admitted. “Guess we lost a lot more money than I thought.”