Page 9 of Galaxy Circus Act One

“Ah, Phillip and Fiona,” John says as William and Eric move to the side to let me through. “I’d like to introduce you to our granddaughter and your cousin. This is Lila Jenson, and she’s joined us to learn the ins and outs of the circus.” Fiona and Phillip both try to quickly put pleasant looks on their faces,but I’ve seen the truth already. They don’t want me here, I can tell. John turns to me, gesturing at the troublesome twosome. “Phillip and Fiona oversee and perform in one of the animal acts. At the moment, we have dinosaurs from the planet Reccedea with us. Humans believe the act uses animatronics, but in reality, they are living, breathing animals. We’ve taken care of them at our zoo on Skar, raising them and training them for this show.”

I think my eyes are just about popping out of my head at this point.

“Holy shit! Real dinosaurs? That’s freaking amazing. Are they similar to the ones from Earth’s history?” Phillip and Fiona both get smug looks on their faces, literally looking down at me as if my excitement marks me as a stupid tourist.

“Yes,” sneers Fiona in a whiney high-pitched voice, “but better. Your dinosaurs were primitive beings.Oursare much more advanced than that.”

“Yes, the T-rex allows us to ride on his back,” chimes in Phillip.

“Wow, are they kept here or on the ship?” I ask, looking around. They both erupt in peals of laughter.

“Why would they be kept in the staffing accommodations?” asks Phillip. “They’re kept in a secure facility on the ship and beamed down at the start of their performance.” Fiona sniggers, sharing a nasty side-eye with her brother.

“Imagine if they were kept down here and got free! The humans would be in a huge panic.” Looking thoughtful, she shakes her head, turns to me, and says, “You’veso muchto learn.” Well, ok then! Pretty sure we’re not going to be besties or anything. So much for making a home with my new family. At least the grandpas seem alright so far.

Sensing tension, William interrupts. “Phillip and Fiona are your grandma’s sister’s grandchildren. This is their first rotationwith the circus since they’ve been living on Skar and training the animals at the zoo. They also help out if any of the other acts need assistants.”

Ahhh, so they aren’t as experienced as they make out, and they’re not part of the actual Adams family line.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” I lie, using all the skills I’d normally channel when I was the new kid. Got to try and make an effort even if they do rub me the wrong way. They both nod their heads, but their eyes narrow when the grandpas move off down the corridor again.

Still following them, I realize we are steadily moving around in an arc.Duh, Lila, you’re in a dome. How else would you get around?John, who is in the lead, stops in front of door number 101. “This is your room while we’re in the dome,” he says to me. William pulls a card attached to a lanyard out of his pocket and hands it to me. Looking down, I discover it has my name and photo with CEO printed underneath it.How did they get my photo?

“This is your pass to everything,” he says. “It allows you unlimited access to all our systems. You are the only other person who has a pass like this apart from the three of us. Once people get to know you and see you around, they may come to you to gain access to the teleporter room to go up and down.”Teleporter? Holy crap.It’s like I’m in a movie, and my head feels light for a moment. I slowly reach for the offering, feeling like this is a moment that will change everything. I can’t believe they’re trusting me with so much so soon. How do they know I'm not going to run off and expose them to the world?

William must be able to see it on my face. “Even though you’re family, and we hope that trust is something that will build between all of us, the lanyard has been spelled. The minute you grabbed it, it activated, and now you won’t be able to use it for anything that will negatively impact the circus. There was also agag spell on it, so you will not be able to talk about it with anyone either.” A primal rush of indignant anger flows through me but then just as quickly recedes. Of course they need to protect themselves. Blood relation or not, they don't know me from the next human. I nod to him in acceptance, and a look of pride flashes through his eyes.

Eric reaches into his pocket and pulls out a watch-like unit. “This is our communicator. You wear it on your wrist and then say into it who you wish to communicate with. It will dial them directly, and it also allows people access to you. You can use it for regular communication, and there’s a meeting mode too. There’s no need for anyone to have constant access to you, so just push the button on the side if you do not wish to be interrupted.” Again, he winks at me. Ok then, Grandpa, becausethat’snot creepy at all. He passes it to me, and I grab it with my other hand. Looking between the two, I can’t seem to think of what to say. It’s all a little overwhelming.

In the silence, William swipes his own card through the slot on the wall next to the door, and the light on the handle turns green. He opens the door, revealing a fairly large room, and gestures for me to step inside. It has a huge bed that takes up a large amount of space. The comforter on it is purple, pink, black, and blue with silver streaks, with the Galaxy Circus emblem in the middle. On the wall behind the bed, there’s a door on either side.

William pushes past me and points to each door. “Bathroom and closet,” he explains. Turning, I survey the rest of the room. There’s a small desk and chair to one side, and sitting on the desk is what looks like an iPad. William walks over and picks it up. “This is the control for your climate and entertainment unit. It can also work as a communication device, but it gives you a visual as well—similar to Earth’s FaceTime. We have also loaded it with all the information on the acts we currently have workingwith the circus. We’re going to have you do time with each of the acts and the tech teams, so we’d like you to familiarize yourself with what is there. We don’t want you walking in completely blind.”

Eric walks into the already crowded room and pushes William out of the way. “You need to think very carefully about the Skar water,” he says to me. “It will benefit you greatly and help you with the ins and outs of the circus. If you decide to take that step, we would like you to drink it at our little celebratory dinner we’re having with all the crew to welcome you tonight. We’ll also discuss your role further, and you can ask us any questions you need to.”

My stomach rolls with nerves at his words. Woah, no pressure or anything, just going to throw me in the deep end and hope that I can swim. Well, lucky for me, I’ve always been a strong swimmer who can easily adapt to new environments. It comes from living in lots of different foster homes as a kid, and right now, I guess it’s going to help me keep my head above water with the aliens.Never thought I’d think something like that.

“Okay, I’ll think about it while I have a break and freshen up,” I promise him. “I’ll also have a list of questions about a mile long about everything once my brain catches up. I want to know about possible powers the waters might activate, and a ton of other stuff. Right now, it’s just… a lot, so I’m going to take a few minutes for myself.” He looks pleased at my response and gives me some space, joining John back in the corridor. I throw the swipe card on the top of the desk as I wander around the room, taking it all in.

“Oh, and Lila,” William calls, and I turn to him. “Most of our performers are aliens. We only take performers who have a humanoid form, as it is hard to explain non-humanoid appearances, but some of the performers have three forms—humanoid, their natural form, and half-forms. They’ll likely wander about in other forms since this is one of the only places they’re free to be out of their humanoid shape, and we want them to be comfortable.” His face becomes stern as he cautions me, “I’m warning you now so you can get your game face on. At dinner, there are going to be sights that are out of this world, and we know it might be rough, but they’ll be watching for your reaction.” With that, he turns and leaves. Before he can shut the door, John pushes past him and bundles me into his arms, his firm hug soothing my emotions almost instantly. I sag against him and bring up my arms to return the embrace. I can’t remember the last time someone hugged me or showed me any other kind of affection apart from Susie. Mark tries, but I get this icky feeling every time he touches me. No matter how much she encourages me or how starved for affection I am, I just can’t bring myself to allow him to touch me.

“Hang in there, Lila. I know it’s so much to take in, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better, but the Galaxy Circus is your birthright. This is where you would have been if it weren’t for the tragedy that stole your parents from us all.” He gives me a kiss on the temple and pulls away, gently closing the door behind him, leaving me feeling like a wrung-out sponge. I’m not sure I’ve got any emotions left to feel. I’ve certainly run the gauntlet of them all today.

I flop backward onto the bed, controller in hand, a big breath escaping my lungs.

I’m an alien.Well, fuck my life.

CHAPTER SIX

Lila

Since I have the communication device in my hand, I decide to give Susie a call to let her know I’ve arrived safely. It doesn't take long for it to power up with a big Galaxy Circus logo appearing on the home screen, needing only the push of one button. It’s the same logo that was on the wax seal on my letter and in the middle of the comforter on the bed. Pressing the phone icon, I dial Susie’s number.

“Lila! It’s about time, bitch!” Susie shouts after she answers on the first ring. She must have been sitting on the phone. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

“Hello to you too,” I sigh, holding the device away from myself. She’s so dramatic. “It hasn’t been that long. Stop getting your panties in a twist. It’s not like I could’ve teleported here.” Whoops, probably shouldn’t use that word. I’m going to have to be very careful what I say around her.

“I’m sorry. I just miss you so much already,” she whines. “You’ll be too busy to miss me.” I roll my eyes at her antics.