showstopper :)

Probably not going to finish this story, but I like writing so yeeeah

I sigh. Here we go again. Hoshiko is standing on the tightrope and in a few minutes it will be my turn. I try to calm myself and say to myself that everything will be alright; every single time before this went pretty good. 'I trust myself, I trust myself,' I say softly, hoping nobody can hear me. It is completely quiet. The only thing I can hear is the cheering crowd behind this door.

Breathe slowly, breathe slowly. If you don't breathe slowly... breathe slowly. I take a deep breath and hope Hoshi is alright. Suddenly the crowd begins to cheer. Shit, shit, shit, shit. No, no, no, no. I run the other way, back to the dormitory, but the guards block my way out and push me back to the rest of the artists. No, I won't perform if... not if Hoshiko... It is quiet. Then, all of a sudden, the crowd begins to cheer as one man. This can only mean two things, the best or the worst.

Silvio comes running into the tunnels and grabs my arm tightly. 'It's your turn,' he snaps, while he pushes me into the arena. The others give me a respectful nod as I get pushed past them. I know exactly what they mean, come back alive.

I step into the light and immediately the arena gets filled with cheering. The doors close behind me and Silvio steps onto a ladder, which he quickly pulls away behind him. Now it's my turn.

'Ladies and gentlemen,' is heard through the speakers in that horrible voice. 'I hope you enjoined the last performances.' He looks up at the VIP-box, where only the "important people" are allowed to sit. The Pure in the box shakes their head. I have to really do my best to not burst out laughing. Think about Hoshiko, don't laugh when she could be dead.

Shit. Hoshiko. How is she? Did she survive? I search the ground of the arena, searching for her body. They cleaned up very good, or she just survived. I assume the first option, but I hope it's the second one. 'This act will definitely be better than the last one. Here is Halegael with her burning rings!' Silvio disappears and a big iron ring appears in the middle of the arena.

I crack my fingers and do my tics. I take a deep breath. Then I run full speed to the ring, and, as soon as I jump through, it catches fire. With a somersault I land in the sand. That went alright. I still feel that something's not right. I look down at my feet and see that one of my toes is on fire. I quickly stick it in the sand, while the ring is being replaced by a smaller one.

I shake my head, bite my lip, run my finger over the other and do this all again. We don't have time for this, come on, come on. I shake my head another time and run to the ring. I land in a handstand after doing a screw in the air. I turn around and see that the ring is already been replaced. I try not to think about my tics and jump to the ring.