Member-only story
Tommy Nook
Chapter two
Nook was never young. Lucky got used to it in a manner of speaking, and the star too. A blind spot. Something to put aside while she raised her child. Tommy was easy, a generative spirit who didn’t ask much: Little hunger here and there, change my shitty thank you, hug me, but that was about it. He grew up on the midway’s vibration. Knew when the crowds were early, knew when they were thrilled and when they were exhausted. Tommy was core to the game.
Lives squeezed between the tents are component like watching a cat walk by a fence never getting to see the whole thing. Terminated is a price paid for Carney’s bits and pieces. Sure, friendship and comradely, lovers in arms and family; bones thrown to the dog. The show keeps grinding the wheel and its all hands on deck. You don’t come here for a life though you think you do, you come because of what you do. Expectancy, and you expect in return your time in the ring; star shine.
Tommy accepted the space and understood from the git his star, but that wasn’t it. The boy generated consul. Plenty of outside influence: Uncle? Huff, five hundred pound lifter said to hurry up and learn something ‘hand to hand, bed of nails, anything just get going.’ Air, a fairy on the trapeze, cautioned him to take it slow ‘figure out what you want to do, what excites you first.’ Bobby who cleaned up behind the animals gave him a…