That was a minor detail, though.
She’d figure out how to be even better as soon as she was chosen.
Ifshe was chosen.
No.
She wouldn’t let anifruin her night.
Whenshe was chosen. Because shehadto be chosen.
She and Camila dipped to the side to dodge a bull elephant’strunk as he reached for his favorite snack—the fresh fruit bouquets the concessions slinger painstakingly prepared every day. The elephant swiped three bunches and stuffed them into his mouth, paper packaging and all. Esmeralda grabbed one for herself and took a bite out of a candy-coated strawberry.
Camila clicked her tongue.
“What?” Esmeralda said with her mouth full. “Krystal should know better than to leave her cart where the menagerie lines up before the show.”
“Good point.” Camila tugged a skewer filled with sour-coated grapes from the bouquet. “I wonder who else will be in the Running,” she mused as they wove around the black-and-white-striped canvas that made up the Big Top.
Anyone could add their name into the Running, but only the very best, the brightest, the shiniest of stars—in the ringmaster’s eyes—got invitations to join. Those who were special enough to participate then had to pass three separate challenges that started and ended according to the ringmaster’s whims. Until only one remained. That person would be the new face of Carnival Fantástico. The gilded feather on Ángel Veracruz’s top hat.
“So far, I know of five other acts that got invitations. And ten others who received rejection letters,” Camila said.
Esmeralda winced at the thought. She’d die of shame if she got one of those letters. Or simply crawl into a dark cavern and never leave.
Camila went on, “The ringmaster always picks eight to startwith.”
Two acts left, then. Esmeralda still had a shot. She could still be chosen. Perhaps he was saving the best for last.
The best what?she asked herself.You don’t even have an act.
But she was savvy. She trusted she’d come up with something when the time came. She’d writtenLa Paloma Blanca: Fortune Teller Extraordinaire and Renaissance Womanwhen she had signed herself up for the Running. She might have fibbed and said she could perform as an aerialist, singer, fortune teller, cobra tamer, and all-around star. Upon reflection, the cobra-tamer part might have been too much.
Camila eyed Esmeralda with a raised brow.
Esmeralda did the same. “Why are you looking at me likethat?”
“You seem awfully distracted this evening. Normally, you’re going on and on about everything and everyone.”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.” She shoved two berries from the stolen fruit bouquet into her mouth, chomping noisily.
She hadn’t told Camila or Gabriel that she had added her name into the Running, for fear of not being chosen. She had just over two months left with the carnival; she couldn’t live out the rest of that time with them knowing she wasn’t good enough to be picked. Knowing she wasn’t special enough.
She was forever being pushed aside for something or someone better. Her parents did it when she was ten. The boy she once loved did it even after he told her he’d love her forever.Even Gabriel, who had also joined the carnival with her on the same day and was also on the run from the law, didn’t entertain the idea of fleeing with her when their term ended because he had someone he loved more waiting for him on the outside. She needed to prove to herself that she was worth something to somebody. That she could be loved and wanted. And chosen.
They exited Clown Alley and continued through the carnival until they made it to the third ring, where the least popular attractions were situated. They slowed as they neared a shabby wagon. Esmeralda had painted fortune telling cards on the front to give the impression that a great seer resided within.
That was a scam, of course. She could see into the future as much as the next person. Still, she made do.
Esmeralda peeked around the corner, where a short queue of customers had formed. She deflated. There weren’t nearly as many as she’d hoped. The cotton candy girls were there, at least.
“You’re going to watch the show tonight, right?” Camila asked.
“And miss another opportunity to witness you and Pilar argue in front of the entire audience again? Not a chance.”
“That only happened once.”
“And it was hilarious.”
