Circus Summer (Circus of Curiosities Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

appropriate way to think of it. It certainly looks like there will be plenty of surprises within.
                 For now though, I have to go to school. Despite everything that has happened in the world, that’s one thing the United still insists on. We go to school until we’re eighteen, and then we either find jobs in our towns, or we have to go with the drafters when they come around. I’ve heard of a few people going off to college in the Center or other large towns, but there aren’t many people who can afford it these days.
                After school, I go to work in the Cliff View as usual. Even though I’ve put my name down on the circus’ list, I can’t afford to annoy Frank by not showing up. When I get there, I tell him what I’ve done, and he smiles, pulling me into a big hug.
                “One of my wait staff is going to be in the circus performing? That’s great!”
                It seems like he’s the first person who’s actually excited about it, telling some of the other patrons as they come in. I just try to get on with my work. Even if it looks like it might be my last day for a while, I want to do a good job for Frank.
                I’m about halfway through my shift at the restaurant when the people from the circus come in. There’s a large party of them, maybe a dozen, so that we have to push two tables together to seat them all. I can’t help staring at them as we do it. Like this, out for the evening, they look so… well, normal . Okay, so they’re all a little more muscular and athletic than the people we normally get in, and one or two have elaborate tattoos visible on their arms or necks, but for the most part they look ordinary.
    Even their clothes are more normal than they were when they made their grand entrance. The bright colors and patchwork outfits are mostly gone, replaced by the simple, casual clothes of men and women who work hard in physical jobs. I look around the table, trying to guess what each of them does in the circus, what act they’re in, but it’s impossible to tell.
    There’s one figure who stands out. He’s tall, with dark hair falling to his shoulders and deep green eyes that stare at me as I approach. He’s in his thirties, with strong, handsome features and broad shoulders. He isn’t wearing casual clothes. Instead, he’s dressed in a patchwork of denim, leather, plastic and other materials, covered by a long leather coat that falls almost to ankle length before he sits down. He sits at the head of the table, and the others seem to look to him every time they make a joke, or want an opinion. He’s obviously in charge, but it’s more than that. It’s like everyone there respects him, even loves him.
    Yet he’s staring at me like he’s seen some kind of ghost. I don’t know why. I’m not sure I want to know. I just want to take their orders and make sure they have a good night in the restaurant. I head over to take their orders, starting with the man in the long coat.
    “Hi,” I say, “I’m Leela. Are you ready to order?”
    He smiles up at me from his seat, and it’s the kind of smile I can imagine in the middle of the Big Top all too easily. “I haven’t decided yet. Why don’t you go around the table, and I’ll make up my mind by the time you get back.”
                I do as he suggests, but I can feel his eyes on me as I go from person to person. I’m not sure why he’s staring at me, but I try not to think about it too much, not even when the woman next to him glances at me too and whispers something that makes his smile widen. I don’t think that they’ll be trouble…it looks like they’re just here to enjoy their evening, and if they are… well, Frank will throw them out if it comes to that.
                Actually, all the circus people are polite and straightforwardly friendly to me as I take their orders one by one. I guess they’re used to