Chapter 5 #2
Most people resume what they’re doing, but down the corridor a little bit, I notice a man and a woman unabashedly watching us.
She has shoulder-length, curly red hair, with freckles and brown eyes and a slender build that I envy.
As a ‘wannabe gymnast,’ I always wanted to be slim, but unfortunately, I ended up all tits and ass.
I’m happy now, but my fifteen-year-old self was devastated.
Like the woman, the man has freckles and curly red hair, but his is cropped short.
He’s also on the slender side, though part of that could be due to his height.
The two of them look similar enough that I would put them as possible siblings, including the fact that neither of them looks thrilled to see me.
In fact, I would say they both look angry for some reason.
Their foreheads are creased in frowns, and her lips are turned up in a sneer while his purse like he’s tasted something sour.
My grandpas stop when they get to them, pausing in sync.
“Ah, Phillip and Fiona,” John says as William and Eric move to the side to let me through.
“I’d like to introduce you to our granddaughter and your cousin.
This is Lila Jenson, and she’s joined us to learn the ins and outs of the circus.
” Fiona and Phillip both try to quickly put pleasant looks on their faces, but I’ve seen the truth already.
They don’t want me here, I can tell. John turns to me, gesturing at the troublesome twosome.
“Phillip and Fiona oversee and perform in one of the animal acts. At the moment, we have dinosaurs from the planet Reccedea with us. Humans believe the act uses animatronics, but in reality, they are living, breathing animals. We’ve taken care of them at our zoo on Skar, raising them and training them for this show. ”
I think my eyes are just about popping out of my head at this point.
“Holy shit! Real dinosaurs? That’s freaking amazing. Are they similar to the ones from Earth’s history?” Phillip and Fiona both get smug looks on their faces, literally looking down at me as if my excitement marks me as a stupid tourist.
“Yes,” sneers Fiona in a whiney high-pitched voice, “but better. Your dinosaurs were primitive beings. Ours are much more advanced than that.”
“Yes, the T-rex allows us to ride on his back,” chimes in Phillip.
“Wow, are they kept here or on the ship?” I ask, looking around. They both erupt in peals of laughter.
“Why would they be kept in the staffing accommodations?” asks Phillip. “They’re kept in a secure facility on the ship and beamed down at the start of their performance.” Fiona sniggers, sharing a nasty side-eye with her brother.
“Imagine if they were kept down here and got free! The humans would be in a huge panic.” Looking thoughtful, she shakes her head, turns to me, and says, “You’ve so much to learn.
” Well, ok then! Pretty sure we’re not going to be besties or anything.
So much for making a home with my new family.
At least the grandpas seem alright so far.
Sensing tension, William interrupts. “Phillip and Fiona are your grandma’s sister’s grandchildren. This is their first rotation with the circus since they’ve been living on Skar and training the animals at the zoo. They also help out if any of the other acts need assistants.”
Ahhh, so they aren’t as experienced as they make out, and they’re not part of the actual Adams family line.
“It’s very nice to meet you,” I lie, using all the skills I’d normally channel when I was the new kid. Got to try and make an effort even if they do rub me the wrong way. They both nod their heads, but their eyes narrow when the grandpas move off down the corridor again.
Still following them, I realize we are steadily moving around in an arc.
Duh, Lila, you’re in a dome. How else would you get around?
John, who is in the lead, stops in front of door number 101.
“This is your room while we’re in the dome,” he says to me.
William pulls a card attached to a lanyard out of his pocket and hands it to me.
Looking down, I discover it has my name and photo with CEO printed underneath it. How did they get my photo?
“This is your pass to everything,” he says.
“It allows you unlimited access to all our systems. You are the only other person who has a pass like this apart from the three of us. Once people get to know you and see you around, they may come to you to gain access to the teleporter room to go up and down.” Teleporter?
Holy crap. It’s like I’m in a movie, and my head feels light for a moment.
I slowly reach for the offering, feeling like this is a moment that will change everything.
I can’t believe they’re trusting me with so much so soon.
How do they know I'm not going to run off and expose them to the world?
William must be able to see it on my face.
“Even though you’re family, and we hope that trust is something that will build between all of us, the lanyard has been spelled.
The minute you grabbed it, it activated, and now you won’t be able to use it for anything that will negatively impact the circus.
There was also a gag spell on it, so you will not be able to talk about it with anyone either.
” A primal rush of indignant anger flows through me but then just as quickly recedes.
Of course they need to protect themselves.
Blood relation or not, they don't know me from the next human.
I nod to him in acceptance, and a look of pride flashes through his eyes.