High Wire (7 page)

The audience was quieting down. They were waiting for me.

Somewhere down there was a talent scout. I wanted to show off to him, to cross that thin black line like I was one with the air.

I also wanted to please Sorelli. He'd been good to me. He believed in me.

I thought what a dream job this was. The alternative was standing outside Aunt Ellie's organic-foods store with a placard.

Pooch was back in the trailer. Tomorrow Aunt Ellie's friend would pick him up. I imagined this friend collecting Pooch, walking him out of my life. My exciting life, with big things ahead of me, like Sorelli said.

I stepped on the wire. My weight was at my sides. I was in control. I was Zen.

The audience was silent, holding its breath. They knew the safety net was below, but they were still scared for me. They'd relax only when I was almost to the other side.

I moved forward, my steps light, my footholds secure.

Again the image of Pooch flashed into my mind. Happy, trusting Pooch, trotting alongside me. I realized it: I'd kind of gotten used to the little mutt.

Kind
of? Who was I kidding? I didn't want Aunt Ellie's friend to take Pooch away from me. Pooch was my dog.

But I couldn't keep him—as long as I stayed at Circus Sorelli.

Pooch, or the circus.

All at once the choice was as clear in my mind as a blue Alberta sky. I made my decision.

I moved forward. I missed my step. To the audience's gasps and shrieks, I fell down, down, into the safety net.

Two weeks later…

I stood outside Aunt Ellie's shop. I didn't wear a placard advertising fresh oranges. Instead, I juggled them.

Pooch ran around me, barking. He kept hoping one of the oranges would fall, so he could catch it. I never dropped one, but he never gave up. Dumb dog.

People stopped to watch us. It was kind of a double act.

It was about time for my break. I stopped juggling and grinned down at Pooch. “Okay, sport. Now we'll go to the park, and you can pretend you're scaring the ducks.”

Down the sidewalk, a car door slammed.

“Zachary!”

Sorelli was stomping toward me. Instead of his red jacket and jodhpurs, he wore jeans and a T-shirt. But he was still larger than life. Heads turned as he passed.

“Hi, sir,” I said uncertainly.

When I quit Circus Sorelli, I'd apologized to him for falling. For refusing to go back up on the wire.

He had yelled so long and so loudly, I hadn't been sure he'd heard.

I wondered if he was going to start yelling again now.

He didn't. He sank down onto the curb. I sat with him.

“You did it on purpose,” the ringmaster accused. He glared at Pooch. “You fell so you could keep a
dog
.”

I knew anything I said would just annoy him. So I started juggling the oranges again.

Sorelli fumed, using colorful language, for a while longer. Then he grew hot and wiped his face with the hem of his T-shirt.

“Here, sir.” I handed him one of the oranges. “Have this. It'll cool you off.”

Melanie Jackson is the author of numerous mysteries for youth, including
The Big Dip
and
Fast Slide
in the Orca Currents series, as well as the popular Dinah Galloway Mystery series. Melanie lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Titles in the Series

o
rca
currents

121 Express
Monique Polak

Agent Angus
K.L. Denman

Bear Market
Michele Martin Bossley

Benched
Cristy Watson

Beyond Repair
Lois Peterson

The Big Dip
Melanie Jackson

Bio-pirate
Michele Martin Bossley

Blob
Frieda Wishinsky

Branded
Eric Walters

Camp Wild
Pam Withers

Chat Room
Kristin Butcher

Cheat
Kristin Butcher

Cracked
Michele Martin Bossley

Crossbow
Dayle Campbell Gaetz

Daredevil Club
Pam Withers

Disconnect
Lois Peterson

Dog Walker
Karen Spafford-Fitz

Explore
Christy Goerzen

Farmed Out
Christy Goerzen

Fast Slide
Melanie Jackson

Finding Elmo
Monique Polak

Flower Power
Ann Walsh

Fraud Squad
Michele Martin Bossley

High Wire
Melanie Jackson

Hold the Pickles
Vicki Grant

Horse Power
Ann Walsh

Hypnotized
Don Trembath

In a Flash
Eric Walters

Junkyard Dog
Monique Polak

Laggan Lard Butts
Eric Walters

Living Rough
Cristy Watson

Manga Touch
Jacqueline Pearce

Marked
Norah McClintock

Maxed Out
Daphne Greer

Mirror Image
K.L. Denman

Nine Doors
Vicki Grant

Oracle
Alex Van Tol

Out of Season
Kari Jones

Perfect Revenge
K.L. Denman

Pigboy
Vicki Grant

Power Chord
Ted Staunton

Pyro
Monique Polak

Queen of the Toilet Bowl
Frieda Wishinsky

Rebel's Tag
K.L. Denman

Reckless
Lesley Choyce

See No Evil
Diane Young

Sewer Rats
Sigmund Brouwer

The Shade
K.L. Denman

Skate Freak
Lesley Choyce

Slick
Sara Cassidy

The Snowball Effect
Deb Loughead

Special Edward
Eric Walters

Splat!
Eric Walters

Spoiled Rotten
Dayle Campbell Gaetz

Storm Tide
Kari Jones

Struck
Deb Loughead

Stuff We All Get
K.L. Denman

Sudden Impact
Lesley Choyce

Swiped
Michele Martin Bossley

Watch Me
Norah McClintock

Windfall
Sara Cassidy

Wired
Sigmund Brouwer