Disclaimer: I don't own Hey! Arnold, sorry, fact of life. But I do own a 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback whose mirror I viciously broke off backing out of the garage last week . . . yep, sad day. That, and yesterday I had jury duty, although I wasn't picked. Enjoy!
HA
This time as the sounds of the circus surrounded and drowned him, Martin didn't feel anxious or overwhelmed. He felt calm, even happy as they laughed and got to know one another. Not that he planned on telling anyone or not, but he was certain it was because he had Meilin on his arm. Dinah had her arms linked with Tess and Tobias, who in turn had their arms linked with Tim and Max.
The five of them toured around the tents fashionably, Tobias leaning in to whisper something in Dinah's ear every now and again. She would giggle and swat his arm playfully before leaning over to Tess in order to point out one performer or another and waving in her friendly way. Martin and Meilin, meanwhile, were walking just a bit slower, taking time to laugh.
"Wow, I think this is the first time I've seen you in normal clothes." He joked, smiling as she scoffed in mock objection.
"What? You think I can't wear normal clothes? Besides, this is only the second time you've seen me – you have no room for comparison." was her offhanded reply as she waved at the Bearded Lady. His grip tightened on her arm barely, not enough for anyone but her to notice, forcing her to look at him.
"I'd like to have the chance to make the comparison." He said quietly, and she stopped, smiling softly as they let the others walk farther on ahead.
"If you're sure you can handle it. Knowing me is like knowing Sun-Wukong, or so my mother always says." She laughed, more at the look on Martin's face than her mother's saying.
"Who's Sun-Wukong?" he asked, tripping over the name that was too full for his mouth to handle. She laughed, patting his cheek softly before continuing to follow his siblings.
"Never mind, Martin. I'll tell you when you're older." She brushed off, and before he could ask again, Dinah had turned and shouted in a surprised tone at her best friend.
"Meilin, it seems the Gammelthorpe Troupe had a little run in with Erik earlier." The aerialist could only watch Meilin's guarded eyes as the acrobat and contortionist stopped in her tracks.
"Really?" she asked softly, and Martin nodded as he caught up with her, before they started walking again, this time catching up with the others.
"Yeah – and what is with that guy?" Max questioned once they had made it to the freaks, and Dinah had skipped off to talk with the Lizard Man, Tobias hot on her heels.
"I'm sorry about Erik – he's a bit of a drinker and an ass. Pushy, and always thinks he's right, especially when it comes to things he considers his." Meilin explained as Tim stopped them by the ring toss. He made a few attempts, throwing a mini-fit at why none of his circular hoops couldn't make it fully around the square stands.
It was only Max who caught Meilin's quick gesture to the hustler, then the subsequent motion of the guy reaching below the table for only a moment. The next time Tim tossed the ring, it somehow managed to make it over the stand, to which he cheered and picked out a medium sized shark for Tess. Max shot the young Chinese performer a look, which she pointedly ignored as the group dispersed to their own interests.
Meilin had led Martin to the menagerie, although he was watching her more than any of the animals. The pair stopped at the giraffe pin, and Martin studied her as she leaned against the cage and smiled as the large beast lowered its head to nuzzle her hand. Using its long purple tongue, it licked lovingly at her palm for residue of any sort of treat Meilin had eaten that day.
"So, is it true, you know, about your family and being slaughtered?" he asked, and she laughed, although he couldn't be sure if she was laughing at him or the licking giraffe.
"No, not even. A circus is a business, and D.W. has to get the crowd riled up somehow. Actually, of all the families traveling with us, only two are from Shaanxi – my family is really from Hainan Province. Besides, have you not seen the summer Olympics? If even half the audience in there had half a brain they would realize that instead of slaughtering us, the government would have sent all of us to Beijing to be cultivated for the gymnastics teams. But D.W. is a master manipulator." She laughed, and Martin had never felt like a bigger idiot in his entire life. Why hadn't he thought of that? And here he prides himself on his intelligence . . .
The short girl next to him speaking rapid Chinese pulled him from his thoughts, and he turned to see that very forward giraffe playfully licking her neck. Meilin was trying to scold it, but because of the joy in her voice it wasn't working very well. Finally she said a phrase that seemed to have worked, for the long-necked creature feigned loss of interest and moved to its feed trough.
"The giraffe speaks Chinese?" Martin asked, and Meilin nodded with a smile while pointing to the other animals.
"Yeah. And the Elephant speaks Polish, the Lions only Russian, the Horses won't do anything unless it's said in French, I swear the Birds squawk in German, and the Hippo speaks Hungarian."
Without meaning to, Martin laughed. Loud.
At the absurdity of it all, Meilin assumed, before dragging him out of the menagerie tent and across the lot, into the Side Show lines. Martin was barely able to read the sign outside the first tent they entered, written in crazy circus font with banners.
Come See The AMAZING
LUG
The Man Who Eats Everything
Below the words was an illustration of a tall, relatively skinny man in his very early twenties, all sorts of odd objects forming a circle around him. The tent was small, with only a stool in the center with a bucket filled to the brim with some of the oddest, most common things Martin had ever seen. But there was no Lug in that tent, and Meilin stopped short with a shrug.
"Hmm, must be out on his smoke break." She mentioned off-handedly, but made no move the leave the abandoned makeshift stage. Silence reigned for a few moments, before Meilin turned to her companion again with a look of seriousness that seemed foreign on her playful face.
"I feel the need to apologize for Erik again." She said, and Martin was partially confused.
"Why?"
"Well, he's my boyfriend, and so I feel responsible for his actions." The young performed explained, and Martin felt as if the world had either stopped spinning, or suddenly picked up speed. She was . . . dating him?
"Oh." Was all he could say, and just as she was about to continue, a tall lanky man that resembled the picture except aged to perhaps mid to late thirties, entered from a back flap, a short self-rolled cigarette resting between his lips. His grey eyes caught Meilin, and he smiled while pulling out the cancer stick and setting it on his tongue, swallowing it with little effort as he sat on the stool.
"Hey Mei, what are you doing here?" he asked, before eyeing her escort with interest. His voice was heavy with a South Boston accent, and Martin was amazed he could even speak with an accent that thick.
"Just showing my young friend Martin here some of the fine and good people of the circus. And you know you're my favorite." She charmed, and Martin observed that either they had a very good working relationship, or he was very susceptible to flattery. Or maybe both.
"Mhmm, sure Mei. Well, how do you do Martin? Cecile B. Bianchetti." He introduced, holding out a hand with yellow nicotine stains between the fingers. Martin clasped it with friendliness, amazed at the strength that one handshake held.
"But I thought the sign said Lug?" the young farmhand asked with confusion, and Meilin and Cecile had to laugh. They had forgotten that he wasn't one of their own.
"Right, well, Lug is just my stage name, courtesy of D.W. Holmes. I mean, you gotta admit that sounds better than Come See The Amazing Cecile The Man Who Eats Everything, right? Lug just sounds more foreign, and foreign sells. Just look at Meilin here, why, she's a star, because she's a foreigner who can bend herself in half." He laughed, and would have gone on not a small group of rowdy teenage boys entered the tent. Meilin, recognizing the need for an exit, waved and pulled Martin from the tent.
Pulling out an intricately engraved pocket watch from the front of her jeans, the young Chinese woman flipped open the lid and groaned, before snapping it shut again.
"Come on, we had better get you back to the others. It's a quarter to three and we'll be shutting down in fifteen."
Tess had fallen asleep in the bed of the truck while Tim and Max talked quietly on the tailgate. Tobias was doing his best to woo Dinah, and Meilin could see her friend had a small daisy in her had. The smitten young man must have picked it for her. How sweet. When the two stragglers reached the old Ford, the eldest Gammelthorpes nodded and shut the back as quietly as possible.
"Hey, time to go. It was nice meeting you Meilin. Dinah." They bid a good night and entered the cab. Martin climbed over the bumper to sit in the back with his sister and other brother, who was still wooing the young aerialist.
"Come on Tobias." He chided, grabbing his brother by the collar and hauling him into the back by the scruff of his neck. The engine wouldn't quite turn over, but neither of the young men paid much attention.
"Wanna hang out tomorrow?" Martin asked quietly, while Tobias still chatted to Dinah. Both young women nodded with a smile.
"Sure, the show doesn't start until five, so how about you two stop over about noon?" Meilin offered while Dinah just blushed. It was obvious to all but the boys they had asked the same question.
"Alright." Tobias agreed as the engine finally turned over, and the old truck rumbled down the road. Martin continued to watch the shrinking figures, Meilin with her hands clasped before her delicately while Dinah demurely smelled the small white daisy. As they disappeared, Martin became vaguely aware that he was falling in love.
And with a look at his brother, who wore the same expression as he watched the same figures, he realized he may not be the only one.
O
Meilin waited until the truck was gone from sight before turning to her friend with a coy smile.
"He really likes you." She said mischievously, while Dinah sighed wistfully.
"I really like him too. And you know he's smitten with you." Was the brunette's serious reply, and Meilin sighed while returning her gaze to the road.
"Yeah, I know." Was her dejected response as her friend wandered off, muttering something about telling her sister Lottie that she was in love. As soon as she was devoid of her companionship, a rough hand grabbed her by the upper arm and jerked her around.
Coming face to face with an angry Erik had her caught off guard. Wasn't he suppose to be man-handling the crowd out of the lot?
"What do you think you're doing Meilin?" he sneered, and the young woman was accosted by the strong smell of vodka.
"What are you talking about?" she asked fiercely.
"You belong to me. What do you think you're doing spreading your legs for anyone other than me?" his grip tightened on her arm, and she involuntarily flinch. He smirked at her pain, twisting his arm harshly.
"I'm not spreading my legs for anyone, Erik." She barked, causing him to narrow his eyes at her dangerously.
"Erik! Get over here and help Jacob with the Rubes!" D.W. voice echoed across the lot, and Erik pulled Meilin's face so close all she could see was him and all she could smell was alcohol.
"Not yet, you're not." He growled, before letting her arm go with a shove and making his way back to the Amazing Lug's tent to flush out the strays. Meilin watched him go before lifting up her sleeve to inspect her arm. It was sore and already started to turn an aggravated red color; no doubt a full out bruise by morning.
Moving her eyes slowly to the road again, she sighed once more before making her way to Erik's tent to wait for him.
HA