Front Row Sneeze

Frankie. Nerdy entomologist redhead. Bundled up in big sweaters. She was beautiful and thin, but was hidden beneath layers of nerd-core and fashion that made her look like a block of butter.

She and Tom had front row seats at the circus. She had been set with the task of making anatomically accurate costumes for the show. Praying Mantis. Roaches. Spiders. Especially working with engineers on the big mechanical one. Her favorite though were the moths. Beige winged with red circles flying through the air. So beautiful. She almost blushed.

“Ah-Chooo!” She sneezed into her purse. The person sitting next to her, mortified. Ewww…

Tom was taking pictures on his old phone. A Samsung Galaxy S8. He didn’t like to replace things he got used to. He was trying to get a perfect picture of the pretty girl in the butterfly costume. She sat in a 10 foot chair and was paraded around. Almost there… And…

The lights went off. The tent, pitch black. Frankie turned to Tom. He turned on the flash on his phone and Frankie sneezed.

“Ah-Choooooo!” Straight into Tom’s face. Great…

The circus ended early. It was dangerous to have the final act without power. Even with the emergency reserves. The crowd booed. Refund! Refund! But they were all rounded up like sheep and out of the tent within the hour.

Tom was miffed off too. He really wanted to see the ending. He was sure it would have been a banger.

He thought about Nadia. Wondered if she liked the circus. She was quite the looker. But something about her begged investigation. She had secrets. Maybe she needed love.

Tom decided he would call her soon.