NaNoWriMo day 4 excerpt done way early so I can enjoy(?) Election Day. (No Qale warning needed this time.)
Posted by
Qale (aka Qale)
Nov 3 '08, 22:09
|
Around two in the afternoon, many of the cast of characters in Vydden�s circus started making their way to Central Ops to grab lunch. Mealtime, business meetings, and payday were the only three times so many of the people were really gathered together like the extended family they were.
Sam was there. Well, actually, he was behind the grill. The man who literally could bench press the combined weight of everyone he served his signature all-beef hot dogs and burgers too, laughed as Kale told him he couldn�t possibly eat two patties that size.
Charles was there. Don too. Back from the early morning visit to the clinic, the old man had gauze and a bandage on his arm from where the bolt had scraped him damn good, as his partner kept saying to those gathered. Additionally, Don had another bandage on the other arm where the doctor had given him an injection to ward of tetanus. The Ferris Wheel operator claimed it hurt worse than the real injury, as he kept rubbing at the muscle.
Peace was not present. The fortune teller never took meals with the rest of the crowd much to Hadyn�s curiosity. In actuality, he wondered what she ate at all. Something with eye of newt perhaps?
Trevor also was notably absent as was Erin. The former had been occasionally been seen talking to the latter, Devyn thought to himself as he and his brother stood in the short line waiting for some of The World Strongest Man�s best beef. He grunted to himself, but the sound was lost just as one of Rosaria�s youngling�s screamed in delight of winning a simple ring toss game Cammy had brought over.
Min, as well as the carnival�s owner and ring-leader Vydden, were nowhere to be seen either. It wasn�t terribly unusual for them to miss a meal or two, especially on the first day in a new city. Neither Hadyn nor Devyn seemed too concerned as the lean pair of acrobats finally were served and took to one of the furthest benches from the growing crowd.
�Have fun up on the Wheel today?� Devyn asks. He plucks up the red bottle and squirts copious amounts of catsup on his burger. Looking down at his plate, he tries to resist looking directly at his twin. He isn�t sure why. He knows that Hadyn won�t respond until he does.
Letting the question hang in the air, he finally does raise his head, but only to cram the first few bites of the burger into his mouth. There�s almost a slight grin hiding around the edges of bun, beef, and cheese.
Hadyn rolls his eyes disgustedly. His slender delicate fingers pick up his own sandwich in which he�s not only not added anything, but taken away about half of the proportioned meat. With much less aggression, he takes a few nibbles from the burger before setting it down and resuming his haunting glare at his twin brother.
�Fiarn fiarn, Haddy, you ieanrn ishna ick durst?� Devyn hadn�t quite finished swallowing before throwing the twinspeak at his brother.
The pair had developed it partly before they even knew what they were doing. Back during the days of leaping off the tin roof of their mother�s home, the twins, so very close even then, had become tired of people listening in on their secrets. While Hadyn started to not speak at all, Devyn tended to speak for them together. One of the only times one heard them speak to each other, it tended to sound like gibberish every few words.
The twinspeak developed further once they were accepted by Vydden�s circus. Hearing the mustached man speaking to their mother, Hadyn and Devyn thought they heard that they would only be traveling with them for a year. But when the rigid, angular faced carnival operator spoke later to Min in their presence, it didn�t sound anything like English as they knew it. So many extra syllables with letters that felt out of place.
Min later told Devyn it was to keep people from understanding what was being said. It seemed obvious enough to the slightly older twin, but what the minutes younger one wanted to know immediately was what had been said. Unleashing his own peculiar language, the twins argued for the first time in front of a stranger. Riled up already from the excitement and confusion of being suddenly thrust in the limelight of the circus, young Devyn grabbed Hadyn and wrestled him from the chairs in Min�s trailer to the floor.
Hadyn pulled at Devyn�s hair, and Devyn yelled mercy. It was a dirty trick, he later added once they were upright and had Min simply staring at the two young boys.
�We can�t be taking you in with us if you�re going to be behaving like animals,� Min complained.
�We�ll be good, okay?� Devyn apologized on the twins� behalf.
�Fine, fine. Now what was that argument about anyway?� The Korean-American man returned to looking over catalogues and paperwork on his desk. A few pieces looked like outlines of the set up for the circus with extra additions scribbled in with pencil.
�Haddy wants to know what you and Mr. Leighton were talking about yesterday before momma left.�
Putting the reading glasses back down on the table, Min looked to Devyn first and then Hadyn. The sour expression on his face seemed to transform slowly to that of seriousness, and then, etching even further the frown became something akin to regret.
�Your mother�s given custody of you over to Mr. Leighton. This circus isn�t just your job now, it�ll be your family and home.�
|