Chương 69: First Performance

Clara's heart hammered in her chest as she stood by the entrance of the tent. It was almost time to open up their first official show. Her job was simple: all she had to do was give entry to people and ensure they paid their fare of 2 Riak. The business side of it made no sense to her. Back when she was younger, her family had owned a store, where things were simple. Buy things at a certain price and sell them for a little more. She had done the math.

Eth was paying all four workers about 25 Riak a day, 6 times a week, other than Mondays where they were off. The pay was decent – nothing spectacular – but when you considered how few hours a day they had to work as well as the relative ease of the work, it was amazing. Not to mention, he paid off their debts! Four people, six times a week, 25 Riak a day, added up to 600 Riak. 600 Riak a week, and based on Eth's commands, the circus would only be open once a week. 300 people.

That was the bare minimum to break even. And it seemed like Eth was looking to hire even more people. That was just too many people. Nothing added up, but in the end, it wasn't her duty to worry about the small details like those. Eth had given her Riak for a meal when she most needed it, then paid off her debt, and now was giving her an amazing job. How was a man of such a similar age able to accomplish so much?

At such a young age, he had to have been the most amazing businessman or more realistically, have an extremely fortunate upbringing. It was probably a mix of both. It didn't matter anyway; as long as she was getting paid and could provide food to her dad, she had no complaints. A soft bell chime went off from the only sturdy room in the tent, the dressing room, signalling it was time. The first fifteen minutes would just be Mateo entertaining the guests until the true show began, so the pressure wasn't high.

That didn't stop her from taking a deep, shaky breath. Just how many people were waiting outside to get in? Maybe not the 300 her boss was probably hoping for, but 75? 100? This would be her first time managing so many people… was she even ready? Shoving away all her doubts, she took a deep breath. She couldn't stall forever. She grabbed the end of the curtain… Then pulled!

"Aw, you look gorgeous, Clara!" Standing in front of the tent was a horde of exactly one person, her dad. He wore a wide grin and his one clean white shirt, which he saved for special occasions. The dark hair she'd gotten from him had turned almost fully white by now, and the only thing that showed their resemblance was his cheek full of freckles. She closed the curtain. Then, she pulled again! Still just him.

"Hi, Dad." Clara sighed.

"2 Riaks right?" He extended his shaky hand and placed the two coins in her hand.

"You're gonna do great!" Since his debt was still active and he stopped working at the mines, he still had be weary of Redigo soldiers shaking him down for his debt, but he decided to take the risk anyways. The debt wasn't large so Clara would pay it off before anything else, she wouldn't let her father down!

"Mateo will entertain you until the main show starts. He's by the stage. Normally, I'd say take a seat, but with just you here, you can probably get a one-on-one." He leaned to the side to see past her to the man who was waving at him from the stage. Her dad leaned closer to Clara and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Don't even bother asking me, I already approve." Clara's cheeks flushed, "DAD!"

"Whoa, whoa, don't make such a fuss, he might hear you." He chuckled.

"I'll go enjoy my show now." He slowly limped over to Mateo and struck up a conversation. She watched his back with a little annoyance, but her annoyance dried up as quickly as it came. How long had it been since he had been able to joke around like this?

"Maddam?" A voice came from behind her, and she quickly spun around.

"I assume this is the spot for the show on the posters?" It was a lanky young man, 25 at most, with a similarly aged woman hugging his shoulder.

"Yes! Two Riaks per person." He extended his hands and dropped four coins into her palm.

"We have a few other friends on their way, but they may be late." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"No problem!" She quickly counted up the coins and placed them in the till.

"The main show will begin shortly. I hope you enjoy it!" For the next fifteen minutes, Clara welcomed everyone coming in, a total of 14 people, until Yuna replaced her at the front. It was time to act out her role as the assistant, and hopefully, she didn't mess anything up.

"Welcome everybody!" Mateo's voice travelled far, and a soft applause travelled through the audience.

"Clara probably didn't tell you this, but despite my awesome skills, I'm not actually the main show today. Ha!" The crowd remained silent. Mateo awkwardly chucked and continued.

"In fact, compared to what you are all about to witness," His voice cracked, and he paused. After taking a few shallow breaths, he continued, "Compared… compared to that, I feel embarrassed to have even been up there!" The lights dimmed. Toan turned off half the fire lights. Due to Project Lumincessence, it wasn't too difficult to get indoor lights, but they were still a bit too expensive to bring to this part of the slums. The current setup, albeit a little unreliable, worked well.

"Introducing…" Clara facepalmed. He had forgotten a few lines. Oh God, I really hope I don't mess up my part. I owe Eth too much to fail here. A figure suddenly appeared from behind Mateo. He wore a white mask with a black cheeky smile painted on top. A small dark line travelled from the right eye to the smile, imitating the Eth's silver scar that dragged down his face. He wore a short top hat and a black outfit, with a black cape to match. The inside of the cape was red.

"The Magician!" Mateo announced with a little less enthusiasm than during the rehearsals. Still, it wasn't the worst thing, and he recovered nicely from his slip-up. Eth bowed deeply at the crowd, causing another soft applause. Clara couldn't see his face behind the mask, but could easily picture the same smile he put on every time he bowed to the crowd, real or not. The magician remained unmoving. The crowd remained silent.

"PSST! PSST!" From behind the stage, Toan got Mateo's attention. Mateo's eyes opened wide, and he immediately began talking again.

"A-any volunteers from the crowd?" He stammered. For a few seconds, it was silent, then eventually two hands reluctantly popped out.

"Y-you. Come on up here!" He pointed at the closest one. Once he arrived, Eth performed a simple card trick. The same one that had apparently won over Mateo in terms of the whole circus thing. Obviously, it was flawless, and the crowd loved it.

"Anyone else?" Mateo's voice was rejuvenated, seeing the excitement of the crowd build up. Clara shared the sentiment. Even if they messed up, their boss would have their backs! This time, more hands were raised. They had seen the trick from afar, but surely that volunteer was paid off right? No way his card arrived at the top of the deck! Eth performed a sequence of tricks, each on a different person and each increasing in complexity.

Her boss swept up all the cards into one hand, then allowed the next guest to pick one. He showed it to the crowds. Eight of clubs. Then, Eth gave the entire deck to the guest.

"Go ahead and shuffle it as much as you wish!" Mateo suggested. After the shuffling was done, he returned the deck to Eth. Then, he threw the cards high into the air, scattering them everywhere. Only one card was facing upwards. The eight of clubs. The crowd went silent, this time with neither cheers nor applause. Instead, it was a quiet wave of murmur. Clara shared their shock. She had seen the trick a few times already, but even then, she didn't have an inkling of a clue as to what the trick was.

The performance continued. By his fifth trick, each audience member watched his hands with intense, hawk eyes, looking for any explanation as to what they were seeing. Surely there was a simple trick they were missing! Yet no matter how close they looked, they could never figure out the secret; Eth's movements were just too precise. After a long while of card tricks, Mateo introduced the next trick.

"Coming up next, we have… Metamorphosis…" Mateo's voice mysteriously trailed off, trying to heighten the suspense. Clara pumped her fist. He was doing a great job! Wait. This is her part! Toan quickly pushed a box onto the stage before disappearing back into the background. She shook her head and paced onto the stage. This was by far the hardest trick of the set. If she was just able to get this right, the rest would be a cake walk. She walked, somewhat calmly, onto the stage, waving at the crowds.

The crowd— fourteen people—went dead silent, leaning forward to try and find the trick. They couldn't find the previous ones, but this one would surely be easier. One loud cheer still broke through. She recognized her dad's voice but focused on maintaining her smile and hiding her nervousness. She stepped into the wooden crate, then into the large sack Eth opened up for her. Soon, all she saw was darkness. She felt the rope restrict the hole she had used to enter and curled up low to fit into the crate in full.

The trick was in theory, really simple. The sack had another hole at the bottom she could use to quickly escape, then she'd use the hole at the back of the crate to get out of the box. Meanwhile, Eth would be in the process of rolling up a curtain to cover his whole body, then right as his whole body was covered, she would swap places with him and shock the entire audience! The difficulty lay in the speed.

The moment she heard the crate close above her and the thump from Eth stepping onto the crate, she began to move. She wriggled her body as quickly as she could, just as she had practiced all those times. But she couldn't find the hole! A deep sense of claustrophobia washed over her. Was this it? Had she been the one to mess up all of Eth's hard work? He had paid off her debts, and this is how she'd repay him? Focus. Focus, dammit. The hole, where is it?

She shuffled around in the sack, trying to escape, but the sack became more and more tangled the more she tried to escape. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized Eth would probably fire her. She had one good thing happen to her in all these years, and she was just about to mess it up. How worthless was she? I'm sorry, Dad… She sniffed. No! Get a hold of yourself, Clara! She jumbled around the sack again, this time just hoping for the best and hoping she would get lucky. Thankfully, she eventually did.

She quickly pulled the sack out from over her head and crawled out of the trap door. Eth was already holding the curtain high up, and she immediately took his spot. Without waiting for a beat, she dropped the curtain. Through her misty eyes, she could see movement in the crowd, although they were just a blur.

"But where did our magician go?" Mateo exclaimed. Eth, with his speedy execution, was already inside the box and stuffing himself into the sack.

"W-where did our magician go?" Mateo repeated quieter, directed at Clara. Shit! Clara stepped off the crate. She was supposed to pretend to look around, but her movements were slow and sloggy. She couldn't focus one bit! Her gaze landed on the crate she was standing on. Then, after sharing a glance with the crowd, she opened the box. A large sack was wriggling around. She untied the knots at the top, and the sack slowly fell off, revealing none other than the Magician, Eth. A gasp travelled through the crowd.

"METAMORPHOSIS!" Mateo yelled. Halfway through, his vocal cords gave out, turning his warrior's cry into a sound that could only be reproduced by stepping on a rat.