The Tiny Ringmaster (2 page)

Ruth nodded.

After she washed her hands, she headed down the stairs to the dining room. Her mom looked up from setting the table. “Is your brother on his way?”

Ruth shrugged. A rumbling came from the top of the stairs. Her brother ran in, almost knocking over the table on his way to the other side. Darla closed her eyes in exasperation. “Charlie, slow down. You know better than to run in the house. Did you wash your hands?” Charlie nodded sheepishly, and Darla shook her head. “Don’t lie to your mother.”

“Ok, I didn’t.”

“Well you better hurry! You know what happens if you get back to the table after I start serving!” Charlie ran off to wash his hands. Darla shook her head again. “I don’t know where that boy gets all his energy from.”

Ruth sat quietly the whole time. This happened every night. Charlie would come crashing into the dining room, get in trouble, go wash his hands, and run back in before mom started serving. It was annoying. “You’d think he’d learn the routine by now. It’s not that hard.”

David looked across the table at Ruth. “Ruth, that’s not your place. You have to remember that he’s only six.”

Charlie ran back into the dining room and sat at the table. Darla smiled. “Alright everyone! Time to eat!” She brought out mashed potatoes, peas, and worst of all, meat loaf.

Ruth did not like what she saw. Her mom was not known to be the best cook, and tonight’s meal didn’t look at all appetizing. School lunches were usually better than her mom’s cooking. She tried hard not to gag. “I’m not that hungry.”

“Ruthie! You eat like a bird these days! You need some food!”

Ruth didn’t want to start a fight with her mom while her dad stared straight at her. “Ok, thanks mom.”

David nodded approvingly.

Ruth choked down as much dinner as she could stomach. She put down her fork and looked up at the clock - 6:50. Her mom looked at Ruth and Charlie and then down at their plates. “Are you both full?” They both nodded fiercely. Darla looked over at David. “Since it’s a little later than normal, you two can go upstairs and start your homework. I want it done by 8:30.”

Ruth and Charlie energetically pushed out their chairs.

“Thanks mom.”

“Thanks mom.”

Both ran up the stairs to their bedrooms.

Ruth hurried in and locked the door. She tried not to make eye contact with Charlie because she didn’t want him following her. She looked up at her clock. She stared over at her math homework. She decided that she could do it in the morning, or after her parents went to bed. She dragged her favorite chair over to the window. Someone knocked loudly at the door, and she knew who it was.

“Opppeeenn Seeeassammee!”

“No, Charlie! Go away! Leave me alone!”

“Opppeeennn Seeasssammme!”

“CHARLIE, GO AWAY!”

“OPPPPPEEENNN SEEEAAASSAAMMEE!!!”

“CHARLIE, I SAID GO AWAY!!”

“MOOOOOOMMMMMYYYY!!!! RUUTTHHIIEEE IS YELLING AT ME!!!”

There was a pause. For a moment, Ruth thought that something had distracted Charlie. Her stomach sank when she heard a small knock.

“Ruth, please open the door.”

Ruth huffed as she walked toward the door. She opened the door slowly. Charlie and her mom were standing there.

“Please apologize to your little brother.”

“But mom! He was banging and yelling at my door!”

“You could have opened the door and asked him politely to leave.”

“He was yelling first!”

Her mom looked at both of them and kneeled down to look at Charlie. “Charlie, you can’t bang on your sister’s door when it’s closed. You have to knock politely and then you have to leave her alone if she asks nicely. You understand?” Charlie nodded. “Apologize to your sister.”

“I’m sorry sissy.”

“Ruth, apologize to your brother for yelling.”

Ruth paused. She looked up at her clock again, contemplating how long she wanted to draw this out. She decided that she didn’t have the energy tonight.

“I’m sorry.”

Her mom nodded. “Alright, Charlie. Go to your room. Daddy will come play a game with you.”

Charlie ran down the hall. “Yaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy!!”

“You have to learn to be nicer to your brother. He didn’t choose you for a sibling either.”

“Mom!”

Darla chuckled and kissed her on her forehead. “Enjoy your quiet time.”

Ruth shut the door quickly and locked it. She walked over to her iPod and pressed play. She opened her window so she could feel the quiet night air, and she turned off her light.

She sat down in her chair and gazed up at her stars. She stretched out her arms and exhaled. She just wanted to listen to music and not think about the drums, her math homework, her annoying brother, or her terrible dinner. She just wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Glow-in-the-dark stars, things pretty much suck right now. I don’t guess… can you? I just don’t want to be here.” She shook her head in disgust. “What a stupid thing to ask, Ruth. You’re too old to make wishes on stars. Besides, those aren’t even real.” She closed her eyes as they started to water.

Ruth took a long, slow breath. It was cold and dark. It was much colder and darker than when she first opened her window. She reached out her hand to grab the chair beneath her, but all she felt was dirt. Her eyes flew open, and she stood straight up. She turned around confused and slightly panicked. Where was she? This wasn’t her room. She looked up. She blinked a few times to make sure she was actually seeing what she thought she was seeing. She was definitely not in her room – there weren’t any gigantic trees in her room. She had to be in a forest. Why was she in a forest? How was she in a forest?

“I’m dreaming. I’m dreaming right now, and I need to wake up.” She closed her eyes again tightly. “Wake up, Ruth. Wake up… Please, wake up.” She opened her eyes and began to feel scared. She closed her eyes and pinched her arm. “Ow.” She pinched her arm again harder. “OW!” Her eyes flew open. She was still in the dark forest. The trees were thick and very tall with no grass on the ground - only cold, damp dirt.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of Ruth. You’re just having a little dream, and you’ll wake up soon when mom comes to kiss you goodnight.” She tried to convince herself of this. The big trees loomed. She didn’t know what to do. She felt lost and alone. She wished that she were back at home in her pajamas curled up with her mom and dad on the couch eating ice cream.  She’d even rather be at school fighting with Lindie.

She turned to get a good look at things. She had to make a decision. She wasn’t sure which way to go, but she knew she couldn’t stay here. She looked down at her shoes, and she noticed that her right shoelace was untied. She walked over to a log and sat down to tie it. She sat there for a while, trying to look for some sort of sign. There was nothing. It was terribly quiet.

She put her head in her hands. As she fought back tears, she had an awful thought. “The stars!” She swung her head to gaze at the night sky. It was full of twinkling stars. She began to breathe faster. “No, no, Ruth. There is no way those stupid glow-in-the-dark stars brought you here. You are just dreaming. Get a hold of yourself!”

A trumpet sounded, and Ruth jumped. She sat totally still and held her breath. She could hear a faint noise somewhere in the distance. She stood up at attention. To her right, she noticed a bright, distant light. She paused, reminding herself that she needed to be brave. She decided that her best option was to go towards the light. Her stomach growled loudly. “Great.”

She walked slowly through the woods, trying not trip on anything. She didn’t want to break an ankle out here alone. She tried everything she could think of to calm herself, but now she was angry. Why did she fall asleep before doing her homework? If she had stayed awake, she would be brushing her teeth right about now. Instead, she was trying to find her way out of a strange forest.

Ruth was surprised to find a path carved into the ground as the trees became sparser, but she still avoided looking down at her feet for fear of what she might see. She just looked straight ahead. “Just keep moving. You’ll get out of here soon enough.”  As she approached the edge of the forest, the light grew brighter, and the noise grew louder. She still couldn’t make out exactly what was going on, but she could hear music and laughing. This reassured her.

At the forest’s edge, she could see that the light was a circus tent. The doorway was only half pulled back, so she couldn’t see what was going on inside. She figured that it was probably a party. Her stomach growled again. “People at parties usually have food,” she said decidedly.

There was no point in stopping now. She really didn’t have any other option because she was not going back into the empty forest. She stood at the edge and stared at the tent. She gave herself another pep talk, and she marched towards the doorway. When she reached the doorway, she hesitated. What if the people weren’t friendly? What if they didn’t want her there? What if they asked her questions she couldn’t answer? She wasn’t sure of anything, but curiosity got the best of her. She quietly and timidly opened the doorway.