To the flying circus!

That ever-growing pile of work can wait for tomorrow. It’s time to head over to the gym for the flying circus!

The introductory meeting for the circus is held in one of the gym’s small multi-purpose rooms. Huh. You were expecting big trampolines and tightropes, but it figures that they’re starting small. This room’s built like a dance studio with a long mirror along the walls, with martial arts mats laid across the ground. The better to cushion falls, you guess.

There are a few familiar faces around. You approach Charmaine, who’s standing next to a girl in pigtails, decked out in gold jewelry and wearing the shortest hot pink shorts that you’ve ever seen. {if Lucy > 0} Classic Lucy. {else} A closer look at her reveals her four gold earrings spell out the name ‘L’ ‘U’ ‘C’ ‘Y’. This must be Christina’s fabled hot roommate. {endif} You didn’t know Charmaine and Lucy were friends, although, judging from the way that they’re glancing at each other and not talking at all… maybe they’re not.

“You ever been to the flying circus before?” you ask them.

“No, but I did gymnastics as a kid. I really liked it until I grew too tall for it,” Charmaine says. “But then I saw this announcement and I thought that it could be a good way to reconnect with those roots.”

“That’s cool, I didn’t know you were into gymnastics. I’ve always appreciated how gymnasts are so… flexible,” you say.

Perhaps that was too much innuendo, because you see faint color rising in Charmaine’s cheeks.

“Kinky,” Lucy smiles, winking at you. “But I’m the pot calling the kettle black. It’s not like my intentions in coming here were pure either. Who doesn’t want to be lifted and fondled by muscular men?”

“Me,” you say, in sync with Charmaine.

“Lucy gets it,” Elsie says, and you jump at the sudden appearance of the redhead.

She smiles and strikes a pose. Elsie’s dressed in a tight tank top that has the words “STONEWALL’S FLYING CIRCUS” emblazoned on it, stylized in a way reminiscent of Monty Python.

“Are you here to lead our lesson today?” you ask.

“Yep, me alongside Charlie,” she says, and you notice your soccer pal hanging out on the other side of the room, making small talk with a couple of the gals over there. Smooth talkin’ dude.

“Speaking of which,” Elsie continues, “we should probably get started. Charlie! Charlie, we’re getting started!”

The two of them get the attention of the room, and then out of nowhere, Charlie puts his arms out and Elsie leaps up, her feet landing on his palms. He holds her legs tight and lifts her up in the air. Elsie pirouettes in the air above Charlie, and then she flips downwards like a tumbler, Charlie’s tight grip on her legs the only thing keeping her head from hitting the ground. Then, in what looks like a feat of superhuman strength, they reverse the whole thing, Elsie pulling herself back up above Charlie’s head, spinning back around, and then hopping off his hands with grace on the ground.

The room bursts out in applause, and you glance at Charmaine and Lucy, really impressed by the performance. Lucy wolf-whistles her appreciation, and you see Charmaine give them a nod of approval, which you suppose is her version of high praise.

“Welcome to Stonewall’s Flying Circus! Today’s our introductory lesson, and we’re so happy to have you here with us. Obviously, you’re not going to learn to do what we just did, or even to walk a tightrope or to juggle knives in this session today, but if you join the flying circus, you might in the future!” Elsie says.

“Now that the sales pitch is out of the way, it’s time to show you what you are here to learn today,” Charlie says. “We’re going to fly in duos today. When we do stunts in the circus, there are two roles. First we have our bases, whose job is to lift, throw, and catch the flyers. Naturally, the second role is the flyer, who, unsurprisingly, flies. No points for guessing which role I play.”

He squats down on his knees, holding his arms out, and Elsie steps up onto his knees, Charlie’s arms helping her to balance. Then, he sticks his arm out, leaning back, while Elsie lifts her back leg up high in the air, her arms sticking out, looking like a ballerina. They hold the pose for a couple of seconds, Charlie’s hand wrapped around her inner thigh to give her support, and then they get back down.

“This little stunt is called the Arabesque on knee,” Charlie says. “It may look easy, but trust me, you’re doing well if you can get it by the end of the hour. Cheerleaders practice this for ages trying to get it right, but we at the flying circus think we’ve got a trick or two to teach them.”

With that, Elsie hops off Charlie’s knee and there’s applause again, although it’s a bit more muted this time around.

“First thing’s first. You all need to find a partner,” Elsie says. “I recommend guys pair up with girls!”

“Or, more precisely, muscular people with light people,” Charlie says.

“Yeah yeah, same thing,” Elsie laughs. When nobody in the room immediately moves, she claps her hands. “Come on guys, don’t be shy! Partner up!”

Elsie +5
Charmaine +5
Lucy +5