Gifted, A Donovan Circus Novel (3 page)

A girl walking by bumped into
me. Her eyes met mine and narrowed in question but she continued walking. I saw
someone whisper to his friend while he looked at me. I could’ve sworn another
girl pointed discreetly in my direction. Some of the looks weren’t entirely
welcoming.

My stomach clenched and my hands
went into a hot sweat. The scene slowed down as I looked at Delia—her
mouth moved, she talked to me about something, but I had no idea what. All I
could hear was white noise. Completely overwhelmed, my body felt like it was
seizing up. Flames would escape my palms and engulf me if I didn’t calm down.

Oh, goody. I was on the verge of
a panic attack.

“Get it together, Sullivan,” I
whispered.

I motioned to Delia that I
needed a second. I stumbled into the first tent I found, blessed the heavy
fabric for its cool shade and noise solution. I opened my eyes for a brief
second. I’d found a small saving grace for the moment in an empty white tent. I
closed my eyes again and had a sudden flashback to freshman year of high
school.

My friend Rachel and I had
attended a Friday night football game. I had paid for a soda while she got some
popcorn. We stood in front of the concessions stand, observing all the people.
The crowd gave a disappointed sigh at a play on the field.

“Think we have a chance at
winning the game?” I asked her.

“Not a chance,” she said. “We
haven’t won a game in like two years and we suck worse than last year.”

“Oh, well. I’m only here because
my parents thought it’d be a good experience for me. Mom actually kind of
kicked me out of the house. I didn’t realize they disliked me so much,” I
replied.

She had laughed and scooped
another handful of popcorn into her mouth.

“How are those carbs treating
you, Rachel?” a voice had slithered in. Laughter had followed. I turned to the
voice—it belonged to Cassie Johnson, queen bee of the popular girls at
school. She was also a raging bitch.

Rachel had frozen, her hand
halfway back into the bag. Not a week earlier, she’d told me how Cassie had
been her bully since first grade.

“Keep it up and you’ll have the
freshmen fifteen before college. Or in your case, fifty,” Cassie continued. Her
group of like-minded blonde wannabes giggled behind her.

Rachel looked down at her bag of
popcorn, her plump cheeks growing bright red. She let her mousy brown hair fall
in front of her face to hide the shamed blush. My temper flared and I took a
deep breath to stay in check. Heat rose to my cheeks and my free hand gripped
into a fist.

“What’s the matter, stuffed too
much popcorn in your mouth to respond?” Cassie asked.

“I didn’t do anything, Cassie.
Leave me alone,” Rachel muttered. She kept her head down but I saw tears
gathering in her eyes.

“That much is obvious. Your
lazy, fat ass never does anything—if you did, you wouldn’t weigh as much
as a hippo,” Cassie sneered. Her gaggle tittered again.

“Back off,” I snapped. “Go
impress your lemmings elsewhere, preferably near a large cliff.”

“And the new girl speaks,” Cassie
replied. “I thought for sure you were a mute. How sweet to defend the fatties
and losers.”

“Take your fake blonde hair dye
elsewhere. We can’t breathe with all the toxins you’re producing,” I seethed.
Her friends had grown quiet in astonishment.

She took a step towards me.
“What did you say to me?”

My feet didn’t budge. “You heard
me. I told you to leave her alone.”

“I can make your life hell. I’m
going to let this one go since you’ve just now left your dungeons and dragons.
But I’m telling you right now—mess with me again and I’ll make you pay.”

“Gee, that’s super nice of you.
Don’t insult Rachel again. Just because you’re insecure in your own skin
doesn’t give you the right to torture others. Now go get your broom and take
your flying monkeys with you.” My face felt hot. Too hot.

“You’re not even worth my time.
You’re a freak,” she sneered.

My palms itched to set her
trashy attitude on fire. Heat had flooded through my limbs; I wasn’t talented
enough to keep it together much longer. I needed to get away from her. I
turned, took a long sip of my drink and walked the three steps to the trashcan.
Cassie and her vultures watched my every move. I threw the drink away, my palms
burning. As I turned back to face Rachel, I saw her eyes glance behind me and
grow wide. I turned back around to see smoke exiting the trashcan. Flames had
erupted and I’d quickly crossed my arms across my chest in case they still
flamed.

“FIRE!” a nearby girl shouted.
The crowd scattered while someone behind the concession stand ran over with a
fire extinguisher.

No one could prove or explain
it, but I was rumored to be a firebug from then on. Cassie made sure to spread
the news, with a gleeful smile each time, no doubt. That had been my last
football game. The whispers and stares had kept me from most school events.

I hadn’t had a panic attack in
years, had trained myself to prevent emotions overwhelming me. I would not let
this overtake me and spoil the first day of my new life. I shook my head and
opened my eyes. The comfortable darkness of the tent put me back in the
present.

“I will not panic. I am in
control.”

It was a mantra I had repeated a
lot, especially after that Friday night incident.

I reminded myself to lock up the
emotion as I had done my entire life. Now should be no different. I took a
slow, deep breath, which calmed my nerves. The heat left my hands. Then I added
a new line to my pep talk: “I do not need to hide who I am anymore!”

Delia popped her head in and
found me. “Are you okay?”

“I am now. Just needed to get a
grip,” I answered honestly. “I’m ready for whatever we need to do today.”

She grinned at me and I rejoined
her outside.

“Come on then, Firestarter.”

We walked behind a Telekinetic
who worked her hands to control moving a giant mirror that could cover a large
wall. Mesmerized, I stared at her until Delia greeted her and startled me back
into reality.

“Hey Jade! Meet a First of May,
Lucy; she is a Firestarter.”

“What’s a First of May?” I
asked.

“It means you are a newcomer to
the circus,” Delia explained to me. She turned back to Jade. “She is my new
roommate, so I am getting her acquainted with the camp.”

Jade smiled at me in greeting.
“Nice to have you here,” she said in a soft voice. We walked together while she
concentrated on getting the mirror to its destination.

“Jade is a Telekinetic,
obviously. Why are you moving that gigantic thing, anyways?” Delia asked.

“Marty was in the middle of
lifting some machinery,” she said. She turned to me slightly. “He’s an
Unbreakable.”

“I vaguely remember him,
actually. I never knew much about his gift. Do they have as much immunity as
I’ve heard?”

“Marty can lift almost
anything—machinery, cars, small houses even. His bones can’t be crushed,
but he says there are other types. Ones who can help with knife practice or
take a bullet,” she explained.

Jade maneuvered the mirror
around a large man pounding a stake into the ground to hold a tent down. A mime
began walking alongside us, pretending to be trapped inside the mirror with his
reflection. One withering glare from tiny Jade and he slunk off behind a tent.

The sun disappeared behind
threatening dark clouds and I heard several people around the tents groan their
annoyance.

“Ugh, I’ll find Lucinda so she
can work around the weather; she was still in her tent a while ago so she might
not see those clouds yet. It’ll be easier for finish setting up. I’ll catch up
with you two later,” Jade said. She and her mirror disappeared between the
people and tents.

“Did I miss something? Can
Lucinda control the weather?” I asked Delia. That would certainly be a trick to
witness.

“Eh, not control it exactly. But
between her and Mabel, they should be able to push off the rain and clouds a
bit to another direction.” She started walking and continued talking.

“Lucinda is a Waterbearer; Mabel
is an Airspinner. They cannot control the weather per se, but they can
manipulate elements a little like you can. They will simply push the rain and
clouds off for a while; create a small barrier with their energy. It is a
pretty neat gift when you need it. I think she wants to create waterfalls from
her kitchen sink, but I am unsure if she will be of success.”

I laughed. “Actually, I’ve heard
of Waterbearers and Airspinners. I probably don’t know them specifically, but
we had one or two when I was here.”

She nodded. “They are great to
have around. They are nice women, smart and efficient. Lucinda wants to
eventually control hurricanes and Mabel determines she will defeat a tornado.
They are…adventurous?”

She looked at me with a furrowed
brow as we followed the already well-worn pathway. “Is that the right term?”

“Did you mean they couldn’t do
either of those things yet?”

“They have a long ways to go
before they reach their goals.”

“You meant ambitious.”

“Oh, yes. They are certainly
ambitious.” She rolled her eyes a bit to show she had been sarcastic.

I grinned at her. “That’s cool.
Hey, I don’t know when would be a good time, but I’m supposed to go to wardrobe
today.”

“Of course, we can head that way
now. Follow me,” Delia replied.

We wound our way between people
and tents until we came upon a large trailer with a blue tent attached to its
side. Delia walked right into the trailer.

“Hey, Sasha. New Firestarter
needs her suit,” Delia said in a singsong voice.

I stepped up the three small
stairs into the doorway. A much older woman came into my view. She was very
tall, with gray hair pulled back into a long braid, and rich caramel skin.

“You must be Lucy,” she greeted
me. “I’m Sasha, I obviously handle the costume and wardrobe needs.”

I shook her hand and looked
around. Sheffield must have a talented Illusionist on staff; the trailer seemed
much larger on the inside than I could’ve guessed. Sasha owned several sewing
machines. Colored fabric hung everywhere; sequins and masks enveloped the room.
Rows and rows of costumes lined the interior of the trailer. I could only see
slivers of wall between all the clothing that hung everywhere.

“You do costumes for every
person in the show?” I asked incredulously.

“I have some help now and again,
but I’m pretty good at what I do.” She gave me a smile. “Delia, you can stick
around. This won’t take long.”

Delia took a seat on a small
stool by the door and flipped through a pattern magazine while Sasha gave me a
once over.

“Sheffield put in his request late
yesterday. I’ll need you to try it on to fit it properly, but it’s almost
done,” Sasha told me.

“Wow, you work fast. I didn’t
know he’d make anything for me.”

“It’s more of a suit than a
costume. All the Firestarters have the same outfit, so it’s the same pattern,
easy, really. Completely fireproofed material for you guys.” She walked to the
opposite end of the trailer, rustled around her workstation for a minute, and
returned with my new uniform.

“Are all your clothes
fireproofed too?” she asked me.

I nodded; those of us with
particular gifts had to be prepared at all times. Not all gifted were in circus
shows; many of us, scattered amongst the human world with various ways of life,
worked to help their kind. Years ago, a scientist had discovered a particular
chemical that could be integrated with a soap detergent. Firestarters could
wash their clothes in it and if they caught on fire, the material wouldn’t burn
up and fall apart. Thank god—it got expensive buying tons of new clothes,
never mind the embarrassing nakedness factor. It gave me another reason to be
careful of where and how I used my firepower.

“Here,” Sasha said. She handed
me the suit. “Try this on and I’ll make the necessary changes. I can finish it
this evening.”

I took the fabric from her and
looked around. There was no changing area and I looked at Sasha. She cocked an
eyebrow at me. “We don’t have all day. No need to be shy.”

I hesitated but then quickly
stripped down to my underwear. Sasha didn’t bat an eyelash; Delia didn’t even
glance up. I pulled on the suit as fast as I could. A black one-piece jumpsuit,
it was made with a thick yet lightweight material that felt a little like
Kevlar body armor. I managed to slip in it without any awkwardness and I pulled
up the zipper that ran from navel to neck. It felt funny though, too snug in
the top and I couldn’t put my arms completely down at my sides.

“Shoot. The pattern is for men.
I’ll have to adjust it for the bust and hips. I’ve never made one for a woman
before. I’ll fix the neck too, no need to put it up to your chin like that,”
Sasha said. She frowned and grabbed her measuring tape. I followed her
directions, lifted my arms and turned as instructed. She finished in no time.

“All right, I think that’ll
work. I’ll make you look good,” she said. “You can change and go back out. Pick
this up in the morning before your errands start.”

I nodded and changed back into
my clothes. After I handed Sasha the suit back, I turned to Delia. She hopped
up from her stool and we said our goodbyes to Sasha.

We walked out of the wardrobe
trailer and found ourselves back in the chaotic crowd of performers and
animals. Used to being alone in the quiet, it would take me days to get over
the noise aspect. I gasped as a girl appeared out of nowhere beside me, handed
off an item to someone, and popped back out.

“Uh…what just happened?” I
asked.

“Transporter running errands.”

I had a brief moment of
lightheadedness. “There’s so much to learn. What if I don’t catch on fast
enough?”