by Tara Ellis
She was going to have to be with her miserable family. She vexed any time she would have to take part of a family function. She had deep disgust for Artemis that went to the bone. She loved her mother, she truly did, but she didn’t like her mom at all.
She decided to join the breakfast; she slipped on a pair of faded jeans, but didn’t do any of the morning rituals teenage girls do. She didn’t care to fix her hair; she didn’t care to wear any make up. As if she was frugal with her emotions, she just couldn’t care. At least not what these circus people thought about her, she was always surrounded by hundred’s of people running around her constantly. In her own way she thought of them as an extension of her family. The family she despised.
The train had stopped and Scarlett went off wearing a scowl where her face should have been.
Joyce had awoken to an intercom. It was a man’s voice yapping off about a breakfast. But she really couldn’t comprehend anything. She looked out the window. She saw people setting up folding tables and chairs with, plates, utensils and napkins. She wasn’t really hungry but she figured this was going to be her opportunity to get to know more people. For the few days she had been on the tour she only knew Britney. Everybody else was just brief run-ins. She felt like the new kid in school all over again. But this sudden opportunity was going to let her break the ice with her coworkers. She got ready. She pulled her hair back in a pony tail. Put on a little make up and slid inside a flower dress. It was a sleeveless white dress with big red roses. She looked like an overgrown Sunday school girl. But she thought she looked descent enough.
She left her cabin and headed out the train. The skies were cloudy but it was too hot for it to rain. She gazed out into the field. She looked so confused.
“I don’t know where we are either,” she heard from behind. She turned around and saw a young man with his head out the window. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“Oh, no your fine.”
“I’m thinking this is some type of cornfield, maybe.” He looked at her and smiled. “You’re Joyce aren’t you?” She nodded her head. He went away from the window. Joyce then straightened her dress. He came down off the steps. “Well aren’t you fancy.” She smiled. “My name is Andre. I’m not sure if you remember me…”
“I remember you. You were bouncing all those balls in your hands.” She realized how funny that sounded. “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that though.”
He gave her a smile filled with pearly whites. “You’re alright,” he chuckled. He was wearing a wife beater that showed all the years of what juggling did for his arms; Joyce unabashedly was impressed. She thought she could have been more confident around her colleagues but around Andre she was shy. There was a few seconds that went by before either one of them said anything again.
“So how long have you been here for,” she asked.
“Too long, I was juggling before I could walk. My father performed for Artemis, so naturally I walked into it. I was practically raised on this train.”
“How old are you now?”
“I’m 23. How old are you?”
“I just turned 18, not too long ago,” she said that with much emphasis. Almost as if to say don’t worry I’m legal. He looked over at everybody getting everything ready.
“They could use some extra hands,” he said. She looked away.
“Okay I’ll let you go.”
He had a little nervous twitch about him; he puckered his lips to the side, and shuffled his fingers into a fist, trying to work up the nerve to ask “well I was inviting you to come with me. If you want.” She looked up at him.
“Sure I’ll help you.”
Andre had a stack of plates in his hand putting them in front of chairs while Joyce followed behind setting the utensils, all the time they were chatting away laughing with one another.
Vanessa had slept through the feel of a stopping train and the blaring sound of an intercom announcing breakfast, but once the smell of scrambled eggs hit her nose she was wide awake. She stepped off the sofa and peered down the aisle, the train was dead quite. She looked out the window and wondered why the train stopped in some strange farmland. She went across the aisle, looked out another window and saw the banquette taking place. She saw her colleagues sitting at round tables talking, drinking and eating. She saw the Buffett and her mouth watered, she wanted in. She wanted in before the food was all gone. She attempted to get ready; she went back to her cabin, no one there. She pulled her hair up, slipped on some jean shorts, she thought about make-up but then those buttery biscuits and hot scrambled eggs and smoked sausage were calling out to her. She ran out the train. She was looking for an open seat at one of the tables so she could grab a plate. When she found one she didn’t even look up to see who was sitting at the table. She headed straight for the Buffett. The chef asked her what she would like. He had two skillets one he kept Sunnyside up eggs warm and in the other was scrambled eggs. “Scrambled eggs,” she said. He took her plate. “Can I have more?” The chefs eyes widen, then he added more. On the Buffett table there was her choice of a hearty breakfast and she took the opportunity. She grabbed a croissant, she scooped herself some grits, and a few slices of watermelon. At the end of the table there was another chef who asked her what she would like. He removed the top to the grill; he asked her sausage or bacon. She handed him her plate. “Both.” She poured herself a cup of orange juice then headed back to the table where she got her plate.
For a brief second it seemed to her like a wall was moving at her. She spilled her drink splattering it on someone’s pant leg.
“Oh, sorry.”
She looked upward to see the face. And the body was like a mile long in her eyes; she kept tilting her head to find the face and saw a teenage girl. Vanessa felt like Jack, the train was the magic beanstalk and now she saw a giant. She kept her held tilted up with her mouth hung open. Vanessa was wearing flat sandals and this girl at least had a foot and a half on her. She saw the face on this poor oversize teenager, her lips quivered and her eyes watered at Vanessa’s immature gaze. Vanessa looked around, everybody was staring at them. The enormous chunk of girl then walked to her table, biting on rolls like nothing happened. Never mind her being the giant; she was the beanstalk herself stretching into the sky. Vanessa then went to her table she saw the looks of Joyce, Andre and Jake, they were already embarrassed for her. “Hello,” she said.
“How’s it going,” said Andre. They all remained cordial for a moment introducing themselves, the normal routine when meeting new people. Vanessa bit into her croissant. “Who was that girl?” Vanessa asked.
“Her name is Celia, but a lot of us call her Enorma. She is seven foot four. Last year she was set in the Guinness book of world records for tallest person under age 18.”
“How old is she.”
“She is only 14.”
“Oh, my god.” Vanessa looked over her shoulder at Celia, she saw her staring back and then Celia went back to eating. Vanessa stabbed a piece of melon and pitched it into her mouth.
“One thing about her, she’s just as sensitive as she is tall. So try not to upset her.”
“Why? Is she gonna try to beat my ass?” asked Vanessa
“Oh no,” answered Jake. “Enorma is the type that wouldn’t hurt a fly. It’s Scarlett who you have to worry about. She protects Enorma like a big sister.”
Vanessa glanced over her shoulder once more, she saw Scarlett sitting next to Celia, both of them were staring right back.
“Oh,” Vanessa sighed. “I know that girl.”
“Who wouldn’t know Scarlett,” said Andre. “She’s famous.”
“I know,” said Vanessa “But not like that. When I was trying to find my cabin I asked her for directions and she got really bitchy.”
“I remember that,” implied Joyce. “I just didn’t see your face. She was a bitch to me also.”
/> “What did she do to you?” asked Vanessa.
“She just came off so… so arrogant.”
“I wouldn’t take it personal you guys,” started Andre. “She is just.” He shook his head. “Just one of those people.”
“Why does she act like that,” asked Vanessa.
“She can do whatever she wants here,” answered Jake. “That is Artemis’s daughter.”
“Stepdaughter,” corrected Andre. Andre looked over his shoulder and saw the stepdaughter gaze over at the table, he thought perhaps she was aware they were talking about her. “Guys, keep it cool.” The subject had to change, to anything, it didn’t matter.
“So what was your name again,” asked Joyce.
“My name is Selena Santana.”
“That is like the sweetest name ever,” laughed Andre. “Sounds like a comic book character.” They all laughed.
“I like your name it is very unique,” complimented Joyce.
“Thank you very much,” said Vanessa. She liked those compliments. It made her feel she made a wise chose for her alias. But she didn’t get it from a comic book at all; she took the names from Hispanic-American musicians Selena and Carlos Santana. Both were held as royalty back at home. Mommy would sing with Selena every time her music came through the radio. Something about Selena registered with Mommy so deep; Vanessa would watch the singer’s words fill Mommy with a new life. She would turn the stereo on full blast and dance around the house with a cocktail in her hand. When it came to Carlos Santana Daddy became animated strumming an imaginary guitar when his melodies flowed from the stereo. Both their music brought joy in a rather forlorn home. She held those names in high regard because of it. So she took them as her own. Miss Selena Santana. And it was more than an alias, she had devised and entire persona. She tried to portray herself to be a college graduate who majored in mechanics. But that wasn’t all. She didn’t just want a back story only, she wanted a new personality a better one than the old Vanessa had. She was trying to be more sociable, more amiable than the last insipid girl that harbored her. She completely thrown herself away and became somebody else. She wanted to change. It felt good for her to have a change. Once this new person had taken hold of her she decided to never go back.
She saw Timsley sitting with her other cabin mates continuing on with the drink. She figured that man is liquored up twenty-four hours of the day. Pathetic. She lost all respect for him after last night. The way he looked at her with those drunken perverted eyes of his. The way he blatantly asked her out for sex without…
Vanessa started to upchuck, but she caught it in her mouth and swallowed her breakfast once again.
A man named Freddy