CHAPTER 72
Lulubelle's ambition now was to work towards being able to do what Lucia and Carmel did: reach the top of the pyramid unaided, by springing up from the trampoline, rather than being passed up from hand to hand.
She spoke to Mr Mannfield about practising jumping from the trampoline up to a platform. As she got better at it, the platform could be raised higher.
He was uncertain about the safety aspect. The platform Lucinda climbed up to, to reach the trapeze, was too high but could easily be lowered. But there needed to be a safety net all around it. He agreed to discuss it with Ian, the leader of the acrobatic troupe, and let her know. In the meantime she could have time to practise on the trampoline, as long as the more senior acrobats weren't using it.
Lulubelle had been practising for an hour now and she was fed up. Her trampolining wasn't bad at all; she could get the height and had no trouble landing either back on the trampoline or on the ground. What she needed to practise was landing on a raised platform.
Arto was rehearsing, across the ring. He would easily lower the platform for her; he could do it on his own. But he couldn't climb up to it; even if he'd been agile enough, the rope ladder would have torn under his weight.
It was terrible to want to do something so badly and have to wait to get started, Lulubelle thought. How could she perfect a new technique that she knew she could do if only she could practise it, when she couldn't even start the practice? If she got it right, as she felt in her bones she would, she wouldn't need a safety net around her anyway. Lucinda never used to use one, even for high wire. She did now, but she was older. Young, talented acrobats who appeared on TV shows shouldn't need such things.
There were props of various heights in the wings: tubs and stands used by the seals; step-ladders and towers used by the clowns. She could probably use one of those. She'd just have to work out the height she needed first.
She tugged on the cord that kept the rope ladder tied to one side and let the ladder dangle to the ground, then started to climb it as she'd seen Lucinda do so many times. About fifteen steps up, she thought was probably the right height to jump, for starters. If she could find an object that height, that would do fine.
The hollow wooden tower would probably do. It was on castors; the clowns dragged it in and out, sometimes with one of them inside it, so it couldn't be too heavy to shift into the ring. With a bit of effort, she found she could do it. It was quiet in the Big Top this morning. Early morning was a good time. Apart from herself and Arto, who as usual was totally absorbed in his practice, the place was empty.
Arto was rehearsing his act with the seesaw. He would call people from the audience - the heaviest adults - and balance himself against four of them on the seesaw, going up and down. Then when everyone was laughing at the sight, he would lift the seesaw off its stand, put it over his shoulder with all the people still on it and walk off. It caused a riot.
Lulubelle loved to watch him. He made it appear so effortless. It was only now, seeing him practise it with weights instead of members of the audience, that you saw the hard work. Sweat ran into his eyes and blinded him and the veins in his neck looked fit to burst. Relentlessly, he practised his craft, over and over again, till he could create the illusion that the heavily laden seesaw was feather-light.
But she had work of her own to do now; she couldn't stand here watching Arto. She positioned the tower near the rope ladder, climbed the ladder and swung herself over on to the top of the tower to assess its height. Yes, that should be about right.
She dragged the trampoline nearer, pacing out the distance between it and the tower. Then, marking out a starting point a good length back from the trampoline, she launched herself towards it in a series of handsprings, landed squarely in the centre of the trampoline and shot upwards towards the top of the tower, landing neatly on her feet and flinging out her arms for balance.
'No problem, Lulubelle!’ she said aloud. Safety net, indeed! This tower was as safe as houses, perfectly stable, and her judgment and balance were good. 'Now,’ she told herself, 'let's try it with a somersault in the uplift.’
Grabbing the rope ladder, she swung herself down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the maintenance men come into the ring, through the performers’ entrance tunnel. She might have to be quick, if she wanted a few more practices. The men didn't like the props to be moved, if it got in the way of something they were doing. She hoped he was here to work on the seats or the rigging, which would keep him out of the ring and avoid him asking her what she was doing. So she ignored him instead of turning to wave hello as she normally would have done, and hoped he'd ignore her in return.
This time she was more confident, running from the scuff-mark she'd made as her starting point. The handsprings were stronger, higher, and her launch from the trampoline more energetic, giving her the force for one perfect somersault in the air before landing, arms out, on the tower.
Something touched her hand. Flinching, she saw him hanging on the rope ladder, his arm stretched out towards her, touching her hand. He was grinning. The teeth either side of his front two were filed into points. He was wearing the anorak hood with his blue jacket. The hood was red.
Lulubelle screamed, wrenched her arm away, and pulled backwards. As he went to step from the rope ladder on to the tower, she threw herself sideways, off the tower and down to the ground, landing on her back and lying still, at an awkward angle with feet and hands splayed out, like a ragdoll carelessly flung down by a child who had outgrown it.
Genius Page 72