******POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNINGS*******

"What the hell happened tonight!" Morgan yelled, speed walking away from the circus side tent, flailing her arms. "Where is Hope? She is usually so on top of technical glitches! What happened?"

Still in all their circus clothes and makeup, my friends and I stood quietly outside, watching our customers fleeing angrily. Hearing her name, Hope appeared from the tent entrance. Her face was caked with soot and ashes.

"Some of our major wires were burned, Morgan. There was nothing I could do with such little time. Something must have caught fire," She explained casually. Something about it all seemed awfully planned. However, Morgan was not suspicious. She was simply... pissed. 

"Burned?! Oh my goodness, I don't understand any of this technology. And where were you four while this was happening?! Julianna you were the Ringmaster of the day! You don't just abandon a show when one little mistake happens! Tell me, what happened?!"

I began to stutter, not completely sure what to tell her. Fortunately, Kouhei had my back. 

"She was spooked by the power outage, Morgan! So she ran and we followed to comfort her. Don't tell me you're gonna yell at us for being good friends? Have a heart!"

Now Morgan was the one stuttering. "I... I suppose you're right... No, no. You all still shouldn't have run off. I was worried sick that-" Her mouth snapped shut. "No matter. The night is over. All of you to bed."

"We were going to do just so, Morgan. Actually, my tent-mates and I wished to have Julianna sleepover. She's still a bit shook up," said Kouhei. 

Morgan ran an exhausted hand through her blonde hair. "Sure, Kouhei. Why not. Let's just change every rule, every routine. None of that matters, does it!" She stormed away back to the ruins of the failed circus performance. 

"She seems a bit stressed," Greyson said, popping up out of no where. 

"Hey, Greyson! Thanks for taking one for the team, buddy," Trisha said, slapping him on the back playfully. 

"It was nothing. What did you guys learn?"

The friends looked around at each other quietly. They all pitied me, understanding that I must have been horribly confused. The Ringmaster was my father. How does that make any sense?

"Nothing, really," said Victoria suddenly. "It was actually pretty bor-"

"The Ringmaster is my father," I admitted honestly. There was no point in hiding it. 

Greyson's face was completely blank. To no one's surprise, he didn't know what to say. "That's... not what I expected. What now?"

"I am going to confront him. Tomorrow, though. Right now, I just want to relax a bit," I said, rubbing my arm self-consciously. 

"You know, I wasn't kidding about the sleepover. Come on, you gals too. Let's stay up all night and have our own little party!" Kouhei grinned widely. I was truly in awe of this boy; someone who had once been as lost as I was, now always in the best of spirits. 

"In your tent? There's no way you keep that place clean!" Victoria cringed. 

"I am insulted! I'll have you know, our tent is immensely better than your own," Kouhei sneered.

"How dare you say that! You're such a slob, I bet-"

"Vicky, he's just pushing your buttons. Let it go," Trish said in a comedic serene voice. 

"Hey, Kouhei. Did you know Jules here is a gamer?" Greyson mentioned. 

"No way! We got every game system you could imagine in our tent!" He exclaimed, while not forgetting to throw a playful smirk at Victoria. 

"Seriously? How do any of these electronic appliances work when we are always in the middle of no where?" I asked in complete bewilderment. 

"No clue. Hope takes care of that stuff. She's pretty smart for a twelve-year-old. At least, that's probably how old she is. She doesn't remember anything from her past," Kouhei replied. 

"Is that normal? To not remember anything?" 

"Not everyone remembers. Catherine, Hope, Sam... Ty, too. They don't remember a thing. Sometimes I wonder which is the best scenario..." Greyson chuckled. 

~~~

When we entered the tent, I was greeted by a triple-bunk bed with matching green bedding on each. Posters of various subjects were plastered on the walls: Bands, famous skaters, and video games galore. In front of the beds was a flat screen TV, practically drowning in game systems and tumbleweeds of wires. It was only a little messy, with a couple scattered napkins and take-out containers from a restaurant that was at the boardwalk. However, the strangest thing of all was the large potted plant at the tent entrance. It looked well-taken care of; it was thriving. 

"Hey, I see that weird look. I like plants, okay? It's a dracaena," said Kouhei. 

"Nerd!" Coughed someone from the third bunk. Ty rolled over to show his face through the wooden rails of his bunk. Had he changed from his circus attire already?

 "Oh, wow! We have a lot of company! We havin' a party?"

"Hell yeah!" Kouhei laughed, kicking some take-out containers under the bed. 

"Digusting..." Victoria mumbled, sounding both victorious and defeated at the same time. 

The majority of the night was spent playing multiple player games on the guys' multiple systems. I beat them all in Mario Kart three times, much to Greyon's contempt. He was later mocked for claiming himself to be the "best gamer in the room." Trisha and Ty snuck into the kitchen around midnight to swipe some cold pizza that Morgan planned to prepare for lunch the following day. We were going to get in heaps of trouble, but it didn't really seem to matter at the time. I had completely forgotten my worries about the Ringmaster and was having a ball... until Trisha made one wrong joke. 

"Cold pizza? Yuck. Can't that make you like... sick or something?" Victoria whined once the two had returned.

Trisha, looking frustrated, said sarcastically, "Yeah, Vicky. It'll give you cancer. No, of course not! It's pizza! The same thing as regular pizza, just colder!" 

This time, Vicky didn't have a snappy comeback. There was a long silence, as we all awaited what she would say. However, she replied slowly and somberly, saying "That's not a funny joke, Trisha."

"Geez, lighten up. What did I do?" Trisha complained.

Vicky stared her down, obviously getting worked up. 

"In the reality, I have cancer. That's how I ended up here."

"You can't be serious," Kouhei practically whispered. "...Vicky?" 

She didn't respond. The silence continued. 

"... Well, like that's my fault?" Trisha spat, getting defensive. In that moment, Victoria got up slowly and left the tent. 

"What the hell, Trisha? That wasn't cool," Ty groaned. 

"Yeah, well too bad! I was just making a joke. We all have problems, okay? Jokes are the only way to get by. In my reality, I thought it'd be funny for a fourteen year old to get into her mom's car after getting buzzed a little. And see? Everything is... better now," She sighed. "Maybe I better go too. I'll... I'll apologize to Vicky in the morning." She too, left the tent. 

"Nothing can go right these days, can it? I'm real sorry Julianna," Kouhei smiled wearily. "I'm a little overwhelmed now too..." He looked longingly at the tent entrance, as if hoping someone would return. "Hey, can I tell you three something? I was thinking things through one night... and I decided that one day I would leave. Go back to reality, you know? Because... Because I thought I would take Vicky with me and maybe... Nah, never mind me. She would never want to leave. She hates me, anyway." He stretched his arms back. "Well, enough of this sappy nonsense! Come on, who's on for Mario Kart round four?"