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Jabber couldn't fathom why the ringmaster wanted to see her–he only saw people if it was really important, so if he wanted to talk with her–well–she didn't want to think about it. The dread only worsened when her fingers made contact with the cold steel of her boss's doorknob.
"Hey ringer! you got some special assignment or something for this next show?" She attempted to gulp down the rising anxiety, she didn't know what exactly he was going to say next but past experience it was definitely worth preparing for the worst.
"Laila, this is your last show. You're cut, done, out, whatever." He glanced at his watch momentarily, "See, you haven't been making us much money, you just aren't entertaining enough, and we here are all about the fans, no?"
Her jaw would have dropped if she weren't the world's best performer–she would pat herself on the back later though. She was entertaining right? Her daring acrobatics captured all, she was the main attraction after all.
"Oh, yeah that's.. that's fine, then ill make this my best performance ever!” There was an attempt at a confident grin but it fell through fairly quickly, She supposed it was cool to know at least something could break her spectacular acting, but this wasn't a very fun situation to figure that out in.
"Get out of my office–its almost time for your show." He waved her off with another glance at his watch.
She skipped out of the office with all the confidence one could put on when having just found out they were going to lose their fans. What's a jester to do when a jester no longer? Well at that moment the jester felt like throwing up.
“Damn it!” She found herself kicking a community trash can in frustration, the trash can inevitably was stronger than the woman's foot and pain ran through her entire leg, “Shit shit shit ahh shit..” she mumbled gripping her leg.
She hobbled towards the circus tent, hopefully she could just walk it off, her leg would be a big problem if not; Acrobatics were her specialty, and a bit of juggling, so if she were injured it wouldn't fare well for her act.
The circus stands were adorned with faces waiting to be entertained by none other than herself, or.. were they? She hadn't quite gotten the ringmaster words out of her head–you aren't entertaining enough–he had said something along the lines of that. What was she going to do without the circus? she had nowhere to go, nobody to go to, nothing.
She was broken out of her sorrow with the sudden announcement of, "And for our final act tonight, welcome to all for their final performance, Jabber the jester!" her call to action.
The boom of the intercom rang through her ears as she sprinted up onto the stage, she winced whenever she had to step on her hurt leg, hoping that nobody in the stands would notice. Taking a bow to the crowd, her crowd, her fans, her lifeline, her reason for being. She began the familiar trek up the ladder to where her swinging bars laid wait, the ladder stretched almost to the top of the circus tent, but what’s an act without suspense?
She reached the top, panting in exhaustion, the pain in her leg was still there but it was getting easier to stand on. The bars were just as much work as the ladder but they were much more exciting to work with. She found a firm grip on the bar, if her grip were any less than steel she would slip and slipping was practically a guaranteed death.
Her legs pushed off the ground and suddenly she was swinging through the air, the wind beating her hair back, it always felt so nice–the air that is. Better than the air was the audience, the viewers, the watchers. They adored her, they all loved her performance, they were stunned by it! Curse her boss for lying to her, she wasn't dwindling in popularity, it only grew with time!
It was time for her flip, she twisted through the air, grabbing the other bar suspended in the air near her. It was easy for her, she had so much experience it almost felt like she could do it with her eyes closed, not a bad idea–she thought–it would probably be fun for the viewers to see her try.
But what if this was what the ringmaster had been talking about? What if she was just doing the same thing over and over? Her viewers must've been getting bored of her flips, her same old recycled flips.
She climbed up to stand on the bar–her leg searing with pain–perhaps she could reclaim their attention with a bit of juggling, she thought to herself. She pulled out the pins held by her waistband. Tossing them up in the air and back to her palm, juggling had always taken second chair to her usual acrobatics, but she was a professional at juggling as well.
What if it wasn't exciting enough though? Juggling was far less daring than even her acrobatics after all. She almost dropped a pin but quickly snatched it before it could fall. She frantically looked around at the audience gaging their reactions–she couldn't make any out but she assumed they were bored–bored of her juggling, her acrobatics, her.
"My final act, if you will, ladies and gentlemen! The most exciting of them all, an act none have done before out of fear! The jabber hop!" She bellowed to the crowd, she could barely hear herself over the ringing in her ears.
She swung the bar back and forth while juggling her pins, she tried to keep steady but it was incredibly difficult. She finally swung close enough to make the jump and leaped to the other bar while juggling. It was brilliant, it was the most entertaining anyone had ever seen. Why, the ringmaster couldn't cut her now, not with this!
And then jabber hit the other bar, her hurt leg flared in pain, too much pain for her to stand, to keep her grip on anything, and jabber slipped from the bar. Her pins hurtled out of her hands, there was no point in trying to grab at them, not anymore. Maybe it was for the better she fell, it was more entertaining this way, yes, the most entertaining hop of all, a final act for real.
They were all watching her again, she was the center of attention again, they would witness her best act yet. She closed her eyes, the wind was so warm as she plummeted, the glow of the lights that illuminated the whole circus was all cast on her, a final spotlight for her final show, Her fans would cherish her final act forever.
And then she opened her eyes–and there was no ground to see–only some kind of weird glowing circular.. thing? She was perplexed, but, this glowing thing, the mystery, it just made her act all the better for the audience, it was such a beautiful homage to her fans, all of them.
And as suddenly as the glowing orb engulfed her she was stranded in a forest she had never seen before. And maybe–just maybe–there were people out there, in this forest, people to be entertained by her.