Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Summer Roads [Complete]

[Aradia McConnell]

"Definitely."

She picked up one of the fliers that was stacked up on a magazine rack under the bulletin board, and folded it up. Then they headed out, paid their entrance fee, and headed up the long path. It turned out the rock-thing was a large granite slab that had been marked with the lines of the exact four corners, with a little metal disc right in the center where the four points met. Livy was taking pictures of the individual state seals that were in the four different state sections. Aradia shook her head, laughing.

"You're not outta film yet? We still got half the trip left, you know!"

She stepped up on the granite slab, and did a slow circle around the little marker in the middle. Then, her eyes lit up and she glanced around to make sure no one else was trying to check it out yet. There was a family down the road paying the entrance fee and some people milling around the shops who had already seen the rock, but as monuments go it was pretty dead. Of course, it was a little early in the summer vacation season, lots of schools were probably still in session. Aradia motioned to Livy and Wakiki.

"Here, I got a picture you can take - check this out!"

Aradia positioned herself about a step and a half away from the marker. Then, in one fluid motion her hands dropped down and rested on the exact center where the bronze medallion was, and she kicked off into a handstand. She held that a moment, knees bent at first and then straightening, her toes pointed directly at the sky.

After a few seconds, she walked forward with her hands a couple steps, placing one hand in Utah and one hand in Colorado. Then she lowered herself slowly into a backbend, and ended with one foot in New Mexico and one foot in Arizona. After a moment, she bounced slightly, shifting the pressure between her feet and her hands a couple times, and finally sprang back into a standing position, and threw her arms out playfully before taking a bow.

"Ta-da! Okay, someone else's turn!"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I do have more than one roll," Livy told her friend. "Why would I not have more? For every three pictures taken, one is good enough, on average."

"Only for photography snobs like you," Wakiki told her, smirking. "It wouldn't be so bad if you'd toss some of the bad ones."

"Yeah, I'll toss them when then you toss your ticket stubs," Livy informed him.

"Hey, those are precious memories," Wakiki said. Livy was prepared to continue, but Aradia's display of physical prowess stopped them. When she straightened up and made her offer, Wakiki was looking anywhere but at her, and Livy was laughing.

"Haha, no," Livy said, grinning. "Not unless someone helps me by grabbing a leg or you guys wanna make a trip into the hospital today." She handed her camera to Wakiki and had him take a picture of her, and then her and Aradia, then reversed it. The other two put up with all the posing with a good-nature; this was pretty normal for her. "So were the shops any good?" she asked as she finally put the camera away.

"Not according to Aradia," Wakiki said. "Though she's found something she wants to do tomorrow." The flier was displayed, and Livy nodded. "Sounds fun," she agreed.

The three walked around a bit more, making sure to stand in all four states at one point. After they'd all had their fill, they turned and went back to the car. When he put the transmission into gear and hit the gas, Wakiki frowned. "What?" Livy asked, mirroring her brother's concerned expression.

"Did you feel that lurch?" he said, slowly heading back down the road. "I'm going to drive back to Red Mesa," he announced. "I saw a garage there. We should get the car checked out."

[Aradia McConnell]

They sat in quiet silence as they drove, eschewing music as they paid attention to the awkward hesitation between shifts and the slight grinding sound they could all hear now that they weren't singing along to the radio.

They reached Red Mesa without any incident though, and pulled up into the parking lot at the garage. The three teenagers climbed out of the car, and the man in the garage waved at them, motioning them to the office door before turning back to the car and finishing his current task. Wakiki and the girls filed into the dingy little office, and the girls sat down on the couch while Wakiki paced nervously. After a minute, the guy stepped in through the door, wiping his hands with a grease-stained rag.

"Hey folks. What can I do for ya' today?"

Wakiki shook the proffered hand, and jerked his head towards the door, where they could see the VW bug parked outside.

"Here to get my car checked out. It started making some noise, and the gears aren't shifting right. Do you think you could check it out for me?"

The guy glanced over at the bug, and between the three teenagers. His lips twitched slightly, and he arched a brow at him.

"That depends - I'm not gonna be seein' any pictures of these two pretty young ladies on any "Missing Kid" shows tonight on TV, now am I?"

Wakiki blushed slightly, but Livy laughed and Aradia both cracked up. Livy cleared her throat after a minute and shook her head.

"No sir, he's my brother, and this is a friend of mine. We're on a road trip, our parents know all about it, I promise."

The man nodded, and smiled at her politely before looking back at Wakiki and nodding again.

"Sure, tell you what. I'll take a look at it real quick and see what the problem is.. this guy ain't gonna be back in town for this old beater for about another week anyway. Lemme see those keys."

Wakiki handed them over, and the three teenagers made themselves comfortable on the beat up chair and old sofa in the office. Livy popped for sodas from the machine, and after about an hour, the older man walked back in, looking a bit concerned.

"How far into your road trip you kids in? Cause if you ain't gone far, it might not be a bad idea to turn around and head home. Looks like your transmission's about shot, you're gonna need to get that replaced pretty damned soon, son."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

“Sedona,” Wakiki said, looking a little sick.

“California?” the Navajo mechanic asked. His odd accent almost changed it into another word. “Well, you’ll never make it.” The statement was delivered flatly. “Guess you’ll want me to be fixing it?”

“How much?” Wakiki asked nervously. “We have some money.”

The guy shrugged. “It’ll be a couple of days to get a new tranny for the Bug in – gotta ship it from outta town, a couple of more for me to put it on…” He paused, clearly doing the math in his head. Wakiki was patient and calm, right until the mechanic said, “Should be around fifteen.”

“Hundred?!” Wakiki said, swaying a little, pressing his fingers to his temples for a moment. Livy reached up and put a hand on his back to stop her brother’s wavering.

“Yep,” he said. “Iffn you need money, you can hitch a ride to Shiprock. They’d have a Western Union.”

“No, I have the money,” Wakiki said, his shoulders slumping.

“Oh. Well, I need half up front to get started,” he said, nodding and smiling.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia watched as Wakiki pulled out some travelers checks and made them out to the guy. Then they each grabbed some luggage out of the trunk after getting directions from the guy to the nearest cheap hotel, a few blocks away. Livy and Aradia each took a bag of Wakiki's so he could grab the cooler and the camping gear, and they began trudging down the road forlornly. After a bit Wakiki sighed and began to address the issues.

"Well guys, I guess this'll have to do it. I should have enough left after this to pay for a hotel for a few days, and get us home. That's about it though. I'm sorry."

Livy put a hand comfortingly on Wakiki's arm, and Aradia kicked at the dusty road.

"Man, there's gotta be something we could do."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"If we had an elephant and some clowns, you could put on a circus for us, Ari," Wakiki said, chuckling forlornly. He sighed and straightened his shoulders. "You know, maybe the guy will come in under estimate. All we need for Vegas is five hundred dollars for the room Dad reserved in my name."

"We could have them charge it to Dad's card," Livy suggested.

"Ha, no," Wakiki said. "He already gave me the money for the room. You know what he'd say - 'I'm shorry about your trip, Waki-chan, but rhife is rhike that.'" His impression of their dad's accent was perfect, and Livy giggled in spite of herself.

"I'm sorry, Wak," Livy offered when the chuckles had died away.

He shrugged again. "Next year, right?"

"Right," Livy said, smiling sadly.

The 'hotel' was someone in-law's addition in their back yard. Thankfully, they were the only visitors in town, and it was open. Wakiki booked it for the foreseeable future; the kindly old woman who answered the doorbell in the main house was very sympathetic. She agreed to let them have an open-ended reservation until the Fourth of July holiday. "We'll be gone by then," Wakiki promised. "One way or another."

The in-law's suite was clean and small, with only one bed. The couch had a hide-a-bed in it, and they were able to make the situation work without violating Federal laws. They even had a kitchette. "So... you ladies want to see if I can scrape up enough food at the store for a decent stir fry?"

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia and Livy nodded. Livy knew it would be best for him to have something to do, so they let him head out to the store as they settled in. After getting the luggage distributed accordingly, the girls settled in on the couch, and Livy flipped on the small TV that was in the room. Aradia had been unusually quiet, but after a moment or two of Livy's idle channel-surfing, she finally piped up.

"You know, that's not a bad idea."

Livy looked at her, confused as the girl's sudden comment. Aradia grabbed the remote, and flipped the TV off so they could talk.

"What if we DID throw a little circus? There was a park in the town, I'll bet we could set something up there!"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Livy laughed for several minutes before stopping and looking at her. "Wait, you're serious?" Aradia nodded, and Livy said, "But... we don't have anything we need, like performers or an elephant. I mean, we have you, and Wakiki can sing, but that's about it. So I'm not sure what kind of draw you think we'd have."

Livy looked understandably doubtful. After all, she didn't have a clue how to do something like this.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia completely ignored Livy's doubting tone, her face taking on an excited look as she contemplated the idea.

"Wakiki can sing? Excellent! That gives us something else! What about you - what can you do?"

Livy shook her head, protesting. But Aradia wasn't taking no for an answer, and she stood up, putting her hands on her hips.

"You're gonna tell me that Wakiki has driven us all over the western United States, put up with our shit, and was even willing to spend his money on a hotel room in Vegas for us.. and we're not even gonna try to help him out? How are you gonna save the world if you aren't willing to embarass yourself a little for your brother? C'mon, Liv.. we wouldn't have to make that much. We could probably earn five hundred bucks. And even if we don't, at least Waki'll know we tried, huh?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I write really well," Livy said, crossing her arms. "I can't sing, don't play an instrument and we'd be hit with a medical bill if I tried to do what you try to do.

"Look, it's not that I don't want to help him," Livy said, frowning. "It's..." She looked at her friend, then smiled and shook her head. "Alright, for Wakiki. I have no idea what I can contribute, though. I mean... I don't have much that I can do."

But from the expression her face, Livy was willing to try.

[Aradia McConnell]

"Alright, that's the spirit! As long as you're willing, we can figure out the rest!"

Aradia had Livy grab a notebook from one of her pieces of luggage, and began to write down ideas. It was decided that Olivia would help do a lot of the side stuff - she would control the music for the shows once they figured out how to handle that, and Aradia decided she should write up a flyer for the circus that they could distribute. She also pulled out some of both of their clothes so that she could try and combine some accessories and clothes into an outfit for Livy to wear to be presenter for the show. After all, if it was going to be her and Wakiki performing, they would need someone else to introduce the acts.

As Livy tried on a couple of the things she had suggested, Aradia gazed out the window thoughtfully, trying to figure out what else they could do. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she hopped up, hurrying towards the door.

"Be back in a minute!!"

The door slammed before Olivia had a chance to protest. She was still gone ten minutes later when Wakiki knocked at the door, and the opened it. He stopped at the doorway, holding a bag of groceries and looking around at the clothes and scribbled pages strewn around the room.

"What the hell happened here?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Aradia," Livy explained, looking amused at his consternation. "What'd you find for dinner?"

"It'll be Southwestern themed, but we'll have a stir fry," Wakiki said, moving over to the counter and starting to unload his bag. "So what has Aradia done? Do I need to call my lawyer now, or can I wait until a bit?"

"She wants to put on a circus," Livy said.

Wakiki looked at her, quirking an eyebrow. "If she's that homesick, she can wait a couple of days, and I'll get her back home."

"Heh, I'll let her explain. It's her idea," Livy said, sitting back and waiting for her to return.

[Aradia McConnell]

Wakiki had gotten everything unloaded, and was cutting up meat for the stir-fry when Aradia burst back into the room, looking excited.

"Livy, I got us a horse! Oh - Wakiki, welcome back!"

His eyebrows had shot up at her announcement, and she laughed a little.

"What, didn't Livy tell you? I've figured out a way for us to raise the money for Vegas! We're gonna put on a show! I'm gonna rig up a trapeze, or maybe a ribbon will be easier and I can do ribbon-dancing. And Livy's gonna do fliers so people will come, and you can sing, and the people who rent this place are going to let me use there horse if I take care of some chores related to the upkeep around here for a couple days when we're not getting ready! I'm gonna clean out their stable for them, and give their horse a good grooming, and a couple other things like that. And in return, they're gonna let me practice tomorrow with the horse, and use her for the show!"

She finally stopped, and it dawned on the siblings that she hadn't taken a single breath in that entire announcement. They stared for a moment, taken aback by her enthusiasm, so she arched a brow and put her hand on her hip.

"Well don't just stand there - say something!"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Livy said you could tell me. Which you just did," Wakiki said, looking a little stunned. "You really don't have to do this for me, guys."

"Oh, no, you're involved, too, now," Livy added. "Aradia has big plans for your tongue."

Wakiki flushed a little and blinked before glancing at Aradia. "Care to outline those plans, red-stuff?"

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia put her hands on her hips, and looked at him skeptically.

"Weren't you listening to a word I just said? Livy told me you could sing, hot stuff! So that's what you're gonna do. What kind of music do you sing, by the way? That's gonna make a big difference in how we advertise this thing. I don't suppose you have any other talents I know about that we could put on display, do you?"

She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for a response. After all, they only had a short time to throw this all together. She planned on getting started as soon as possible.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I can sing a lot, just in the higher range - us Nippon boys are naturally a bit higher," he said. "I tend to do rap, but I'm flexible. Done some stuff in choir in high school, too.

"Other stuff? Well, I'm a class act with the ladies, but you already knew that," he added with a grin. At her unamused expression, he made a show of thinking and said, "Well, I could probably manage some jokes, even a bit of physical comedy. That what you're looking for?"

[Aradia McConnell]

"Yeah, that'll work great! In fact, you should sit down and start trying to write up an act. You could talk about the road trip or something, maybe work it in there somehow about how the car broke down, drum up some sympathy while being funny about it, you know?"

She paced the room for a second or two, thinking, then turned back to Olivia.

"While he's doing that, you go ahead and keep working on those flyers. Make sure to put it on there that we're gonna have three performances - one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. That way anyone who can't come at one time can come at another, and maybe we'll rake in a little more cash with multiple audiences. I'm gonna go out and muck out the stable, and get to know this horse a little. When you're done with that, Livy, come on out.. you gotta get to know her too. After all, you're gonna be holding on to her lead while I'm doing the tricks. It'll be easy.. I promise. Any questions?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Can we start with 'are you crazy?'" Wakiki asked, then waved off this own question. "Nevermind, I know the answer already. Certifiable."

"Look at it this way," Livy said with a little smile. "We can sit around and sulk, or we can do something. And having looked around town... our opinions are slim. This is as interesting as anything else going on, plus we can learn some new skills for our resumes."

"Still crazy, but I didn't say I wasn't going to do it." Wakiki tossed them a wry grin. "Can't let you two do it alone anyway. This is our trip, and if I left you to your own devices, you'd probably end up doing some Burlesque show or something." He winked at Aradia, then frowned and looked away. Going. To. Hell.

[Aradia McConnell]

The majority of that evening and the next day was spent in a flurry of Aradia-directed activity. The fliers were designed and posted at local businesses, and handed out to passerby's. The stalls were cleaned out, and Aradia taught a nervous Livy how to guide the horse in a circle as she first rode it, then started doing tricks on it. Fortunately, she was a fairly tame old girl, so she tolerated Aradia's antics without much skittishness. Wakiki figured out his jokes (with some hilarious inspiration from trying to watch Livy learn to deal with a horse). The neighbor kid who saw them practicing offered to loan them his boom box. Aradia even managed to fashion a makeshift trapeze by taking a broken off piece of a thick broomstick handle that the man renting them the room gave her permission to use, and sanding it down until it was perfectly smooth. When the man who ran the place asked her what she was doing with it, he even found her a couple long pieces of thin, sturdy nylon rope that she could hang it with, and drilled holes in the wood for her to thread the rope through.

Aradia didn't say a word about missing the Native American festival, other than to mention that there seemed to be extra people in town who had come to see it, and maybe that would work to their advantage when those people were on their way back. That Monday was a holiday, which meant that campers might be willing to stay another day for a free performance, since parents didn't have to be back at work until Tuesday. They'd decided to make the show free and just accept donations, hopefully that would lure enough people there who would feel like contributing.

Sunday dawned early, with Aradia taking the horse for a quick trot to warm her up, and Livy fixing breakfast while Wakiki practiced his comedy and singing routines one last time. It was going to be an interesting day.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I'm going to puke," Livy suggested. Her dark skin didn't normally show sickness, but right now her skin was gaining a strange tinge of green. "Have I mentioned that I don't do crowds well?"

"Just picture them naked," Wakiki replied, looking at out the gathered people. "Like her. And her. And her. But not her, nono."

"Funny," Livy gurgled. "Scuse me." She stumbled behind a car and did throw up. After rinsing her mouth with water, she came back to the group.

"It's time," Wakiki told her.

"Oh, god. I think I'm going to puke again," she whispered, her eyes wide.

Wakiki grabbed her arms. "It's ok, sis," he murmured. "If you puke, it's ok."

"It... is?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Just make it part of the act," Wakiki told her, then turned her and pushed her out into the open area set aside for their performance.

Livy stumbled in before catching her balance, earning a few giggles. With shaking knees, she walked to the center of the area. "Good morning, and welcome to the first performance of The Stupendous Traveling Companions of the Broken Bug Circus and Three-Man act. Well, 'Man' in that we're all human, because no, I'm not really a man." That only drew some polite titters, and Livy hid a grimace. Scratch that joke next time... god, I have to do this two more times...

"I'm the ringmaster, Olivia," Livy said, taking a bow, "and my brother and sister and I hope you enjoy our little show. This is more than a show though; this is a fund raiser for our car, which is in Cody's Auto Shop right now. This is our attempt to salvage our vacation by asking you to donate, if you feel like we have entertained you. First, allow my brother to entertain you with a musical number."

Wakiki hopped out, grinning and bowing like a broken puppet, flopping around at the waist. "Helllllloo!" he called to the crowd. "As my sister said, I'm going to play a little ditty for you, and given why we're doing this show, I think it's appropriate. Sing along if you know it!"

Grinning manically, Wakiki started to whistle, then launched into a half-rap, half-acapella song: "Some things in life are bad they can really make you mad/ Other things just make you swear and curse/ When you've chewing an life's gristle/ Don't grumble give a whistle/ And this'll help things turn out for the best...

"And always look on the bright side of life/ Always look on the light side of life/ If life seems jolly rotten there's something you've forgotten/ and that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing./ When you've feeling in the dumps don't be silly chumps/ Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing!"

He ran through the whole song, then launched into "Hello Mudda! Hello Fadda!" He went through several more silly songs, playing it up for the audience, throwing out jokes between each song. It was apparently that he was comfortable doing this; that being the center of attention was natural for him.

Finally, he bowed and blew kisses. "Oy, you've been great! And now, welcome my sister Aradia, who is going to show off with farm animals!"

Taking a firm grip on the lead, Livy lead the horse forward, Aradia on her back.

[Aradia McConnell]

She had done a job on the horse, not only cleaning her up but dressing her up a little as well, to match the show. She had woven a couple ribbons into small braids in the old girl's tail (thought it mostly still flew loose) and trimmer her mane nice and even so that it wouldn't get caught in Aradia's fingertips.

Aradia herself was dolled up in a sparkling blue and green leotard and a pair of tights. She had even sent Wakiki back to the grocery store the day before and made him buy some blue Kool-Aid packs. Her streaks were blonde, and her favorite trick was to dye them with the flavored powder, which would tint them temporarily to whatever color she wanted.

She let Livy lead the horse in a circular canter a couple times, just to get a feel for it again. She waved, and flashed the crowd a brilliant, adorable smile. Then Wakiki flipped on the music, and she began to perform.

The moves weren't too complicated, since this horse wasn't used to being a preforming horse. But it was still good enough to be up to circus standards. She held onto the old girl, and together they wowed the crowd as Aradia performed a series of tricks, handstands, twists, and overall flexible moves, all while riding bareback on the horse. Towards the end, she even slowly stood up, riding with her arms outstretched as she balanced precariously on the horse's back with her bare feet. Had it been a better-trained horse, she might have dared a backflip while on horseback.. but instead she chose the safer, but still cool-looking "back flip as dismount" option, landing in the center of the area as Livy slowed the horse to a trot, then stopped.

Aradia smiled as people clapped, and took the rope from Livy, murmuring a quiet "thanks". She ran her hand across the horse's flank, murmuring words of praise as she grinned at the big animal, and taking a bow while petting the horse. Then Livy took the reins back and led the horse away from the noise as Aradia bowed politely to everyone again. Then she motioned Livy and Wakiki out again, and the three of them bowed together to the still-cheering audience.

"Thank you all so much for coming! We have performances again this afternoon and this evening, before dusk. So tell your family and your friends - we'd be happy to entertain them too! As you leave though, we have one last song for you, and if you feel we've entertained you enough for you to contribute to our bug fund, we'd certainly appreciate it!"

The three began singing then, though Aradia had to nudge Livy a little bit to get her to sing louder. The song was simple though, and after much pleading and begging last night, Aradia had managed to talk Livy into joining them with a short version of a song she had heard at a Renaissance Festival some of the carnies had gone to one year when they were touring near Kansas City.

"Pay Me, you Owe me, Pay me my money down

You've got to pay me Mr. Stevadore, Pay me my money down

You owe me, you owe me, pay me my money down

You've got to pay me or you'll go to jail, Pay me my money down.

If I'd a known the boss was blind

Pay me my money down

I wouldn't'a gone to work 'til half past nine

Pay me my money down

I thought I heard the old man say; Go to shore spend all your pay.

I thought I heard the men below; You don't pay me and the BUG WON'T GO!"

As they sang they passed around a shoebox that was taped shut with a hole cut in the top. The last bit was improvised, of course, but it got some laughs, and as they sang people deposited a little bit of money in the box before wandering off. Finally, it was just them and Nellie, the horse. Aradia glance at the other two with a grin.

"See.. that wasn't so bad, was it?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

“Nah,” Wakiki said, grinning. “It was actually fun.”

“Right. Fun,” Livy echoed weakly; she still looked a bit pale. She’d never been comfortable singing and dancing or even speaking on front of others.

“Let’s count the loot.” Wakiki rubbed his hands together and reached for the box.

Aradia nodded as he started to count, but she was looking at Livy. “Mind helping me with Nellie?”

“Yeah, a distraction would be good,” the other girl nodded, moving over to the waiting mare. Together, the two brushed down the horse and gave her water and a bit of food. They didn’t want to bloat her, but it was going to be a long day for her if they didn’t feed her. “I’m glad this appears to be working,” Livy confessed to Aradia as they worked on the horse.

“I told you it would,” Aradia giggled.

“Yeah, yeah…” Livy laughed, but her giggles stopped as her brother approached. “How’d we do?”

“Just over a hundred,” he said, looking both pleased and a little deflated.

“We’ll get a bigger crowd, later in the day,” Aradia promised, her enthusiasm not dimmed a bit.

Only Livy didn’t look pleased by that pronouncement.

[Aradia McConnell]

Between shows, Aradia instructed Wakiki to figure out a way to split his act in half, because she had decided to do two performances, to lengthen the show. She found a piece of cardboard and a couple Sharpies, and set Livy to work creating one of those "Goal" signs that said "Fix the Bug Fund!" and had a picture of a thermometer. Livy used the red Sharpie to fill in the goal they had reached thus far. After all, as Aradia put it, "Nothing inspires people like a goal!"

Aradia, in the meantime, managed to climb up a tree, and attached the makeshift trapeze to the tree for the next act. She looped it up so that it was out of the way, but so that it could be tugged down easily.

After that, they had time for a bit of lunch before the next performance. They sat around inside the room they had rented, Olivia picking nervously at her food as Aradia and Wakiki chowed down.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Livy, you did fine," Wakiki said, giving his sister a comforting smile.

"I know, and thanks," she said, managing a small smile. "I just really don't like public speaking. Of any type." She set down her bowl. "Add in the chance of making a fool of myself, and it's just that much worse." She quickly stood up and headed for the door. "I'm going for a quick walk to get rid of nerves. Be right back."

"Guess she's got it bad," Wakiki noted, glancing at Aradia. "I can't think of anything else to help her, can you?" He looked hopeful, an easy expression for his young face.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia's eyes followed Livy as she headed out the door, then she glanced back at Wakiki and scowled a little.

"Nothing right off the top of my head.. but.. let me think about it for a bit."

By the time Olivia had returned from her walk, Wakiki had headed out to greet people as they began to arrive. She could hear the shower running in the bathroom as Aradia got herself cleaned up for the next performance. And lying on the bed was a simpler outfit - a pair of black capri slacks and a simple black stretchy shirt of Aradia's. There was a long white scarf threaded through the belt loops and a thin, see-through white peasant-style blouse that Olivia usually wore over a tank top. There were also a pair of Aradia's big silver hoop earrings. Overall, the outfit was much more neutral and dignified. It would still make Olivia look like the "ringleader", but in a much less flashy way. And on top of the outfit there was a small script for her, written in Aradia's loopy handwriting, that would help Livy introduce them without having to make too many jokes or try to entertain them much on her own.

It looked like Aradia had put a lot of effort in a very short time into trying to make Livy more comfortable with the next two shows.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Ah, crap. Now I feel like a whiner," Livy mumbled, but she was also quietly relieved. This was more her speed. Still feeling guilty, she quickly changed into the new outfit and tried to commit the new script to memory. When Aradia came out of the bathroom, Livy said, "I could have done it. We didn't need to change." She frowned. "I don't want to bomb the act because I'm all wiggy."

Aradia could tell that her friend was sincere. Livy may have been truly upset about performing, but she was also very willing to do the performance, as previously agreed.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia smiled, but shook her head at Livy and motioned to the script as she spoke.

"Look, in my experience, people do a better job when they're more comfortable. I remember once Markie tried to get me to do a routine with some classical music, real elegant ballet type stuff, you know? And I tried it - I really did. But my heart just wasn't in it. I do a better performance to Michael Jackson than Beethoven any day - that's just the kind of acrobat I am. I dunno.. I guess I'm just not classy enough for it."

There was a slight hitch in her voice as she made that last comment, and it was the first time Livy had ever noticed a flaw in Aradia's self-confident attitude. Some little part of Olivia's mind recognized that the girl standing in front of her might not be as sure of herself as she usually appeared, and that maybe that was part of her act.

"Anyway, it's not like you're not gonna do it. You're just gonna do it a bit different, you know? Some people, they just need a little push and they do alright, even if they're nervous. Others, well, they have a harder time. That's okay too, you know? We'll do better with something that you're move comfortable with than something more outlandish that you're not. So.. it's cool. 'Kay?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I still feel like an awful whiner," Livy sighed, playing with the pretty belt and frowning. "I agreed to help you - I didn't mean to put restraints on helping you. Sorry." She managed a smile, her natural 'giver's' instinct rising up. "But don't worry, I'll do my best with this, promise."

Smiling, she reached out and caught her friend in a hug, pulling her close. "Ok, I'm ready to do this. How long until show time?"

"Hey, hey," Wakiki said from the door, "what are you young ladies doing in here?" He grinned as the two jumped and Livy glared at him.

"You're just jealous because I get hugs from Aradia and you don't," Livy said.

"Hey, she'll give me a hug if I ask, right?" he asked the young woman, grinning at her.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia grinned back playfully, and placed a hand on her hip, looking him over.

"I dunno.. I mean, hugs are for special occasions. Livy just got a vulnerable moment hug.. or there's hugs for if I'm upset and you're being nice, but I'm totally okay, so that's not the right one either. Oh - wait, I know! The "gratitude" hug."

She walked over to him, and threw her arms around the taller boy's chest, laying her head against it.

"Thanks for coming with us so that we could go on this trip. I think it's the most fun I've ever had."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"No problem," the young man said, putting his arms around her, but only for a moment. He quickly pulled back, hands on her shoulders, smiling awkwardly at her. "Well, we're almost ready for the next show, right?"

"Right," Aradia said, wondering if he hadn't enjoyed the hug. He'd seemed eager to cut it short. "We ready?"

"Sure!" Wakiki said as, classically, Livy said, "No."

"We're ready," Wakiki promised, slinging an arm over his sister's shoulders.

"We are," Livy said, shaking her head just a little at Aradia.

"You know, if you guys could clown around like this in the performance, we'd have no money issues," Aradia laughed.

"I'll do my best to embarrass her," Wakiki said, then fell into hysterical giggles when she attacked him, slapping at him with open hands. Exasperated and feeling like the mature one, Aradia separated them and got them focused.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The second act had better attendance. More people, and more kids, had shown up as word had gotten around the settlement and its area. While Red Mesa was tiny, there were a number of farms and houses around it that were in the gossip chain. And few things moved faster on the Navajo Reservation than news and gossip.

"Gonna vomit. Gonna vomit," Livy muttered, then threw on a smile and stepped out into the center area. She ran through her spiel and seemed more comfortable this time. After she introed Wakiki, he sang. He'd found a couple of new songs to add to the mix, though he kept "Bright Side of Life." And it was a crowd-pleaser, as evidenced by the people rocking back and forth and trying to whistle. Most of them didn't get the reference, but it was what Wakiki was doing, and they joined enthusiastically.

Finally, Wakiki paused and introduced Aradia for her first part. He gave her a wink and a thumbs up as they passed each other on the way in and out of the 'ring'.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia flashed him a grin, and motioned to Livy to be ready with the tunes. She had some of her own stuff with her, which was fortunate because she'd had a couple of practice tapes mixed in with everything else and that was paying off for them now. She walked over and tugged the trapeze down from the tree, then motioned Livy to cue the music. She knew the horse stuff appealed to the kids in the crowd, as well as a lot of the songs. So she had decided to add this bit to the act to try and impress the adults a little more. After all, they were the ones with the deeper pockets.

Her performance wasn't flawless, but it was good. It was a new routine she had been working on, and to the adults watching they knew that the young woman performing in front of them had been practicing it very hard. They knew, where the children probably didn't, the strength it required for her to be able to hold a lot of the poses. They could see the risk she was taking by putting herself out there even though it wasn't perfect. It was an adult performance from a young woman transitioning into adulthood, but with enough fun at the end to remind them she was still a teenager enjoying herself. And most of all, though it wasn't perfect.. she seemed to be having fun, and wanting them to have fun too.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Wakiki watched Aradia, and his thoughts were not on her performance, or not strictly on her performance. He was thinking about what those legs and arms could do to him.

"Fourteen," he said, closing his eyes to block it out. "Fourteen." More than that, his father was trusting him to do this right, to be an adult and take care of both of the girls. Messing with Aradia in any way definitely wasn't taking care of them, either of them. Sighing, he pulled himself together with extreme effort and waited for his cue.

He was filling space between Aradia's acts; she was the star here and he knew it. It didn't bother him, much. Maybe just a little, in the part of him that liked to be the center of attention. As Livy announced him, he jogged out into the center of their 'stage' and bowed. He launched into two more songs, then told some jokes, including a terrible one about Republicans in Berkeley. Then he stepped back, and let Aradia have the stage again, this time from horseback.

[Aradia McConnell]

After Aradia finished her second performance and the two siblings joined her on stage for their finishing song and collection efforts, she was drawn away from them briefly as she was caught by two little girls - sisters, from the looks of them, who were completely awestruck by the young acrobat's performance. Their mother was looking on hesitantly as they drilled Aradia about how she learned and how she practiced, but as she spoke with them about gymnastics and horsemanship and life in the circus, they could see the young mother's face relax a little.

There were no outlandish stories about doing stupid tricks and dangerous stunts. Aradia talked to them about learning from someone who knew how to teach right, and how she'd been practicing since she was a little girl, younger than they were. She mentioned floor mats and spotters, and told them to never, ever do anything they hadn't tried without someone there to help them if they fell. She even described how the starter trapezes she learned on were only a few feet off the ground, and how they almost always had nets underneath in case of accidents. After she gave the girls hugs, and they ran off, the woman turned to Livy, who was collecting the money. She fished around in her purse, and pressed something into Olivia's hand.

"You kids seem like you've got great hearts. Good luck getting your car fixed.. and thank you for the show. My daughters and I had a wonderful time. C'mon, girls.. it's time to go, Daddy'll be back in town tonight and we want to have dinner ready."

She turned, and hurried the two kiddos off as Livy called out a polite "thank you". When she glanced down into her hand, the bills in her hand weren't ones, or fives, or even twenties. It was two neatly folded one-hundred dollar bills. The woman and her daughters certainly hadn't seemed like someone who had that kind of spare, but she was already gone and no way for Livy to try to return it, or make sure that's what she had meant to give them. And besides, the hundred dollar marks were obvious, there was no way the woman could have handed them over without noticing the denomination.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"That puts us most of the way there!" Wakiki laughed. They were back in their room, resting for the last show. "We might be able to make it now, without any more money."

"Really?" Olivia asked, looking happy. "Ya know... guys..." Her tone was speculative, and both her brother and Aradia were sure she was about to suggest nixing the next show. "We could let people know that we've made it, and that this next show is donation-free. Kinda a thank you for supporting us."

Wakiki frowned. "I guess, I dunno. Aradia? What are your thoughts?"

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia bit her lip, looking thoughtful. She sat down with a pencil and did some quick calculations. After a couple minutes, she reached over and grabbed her bag, digging around in it for a minute.

"We needed five hundred bucks for the hotel room, tickets, gas and food, right? And we've got.." She glanced down at the pad of paper again, checking her figures. "..four-hundred and sixty-five bucks from the show."

The young teen found what she was looking for, and pulled it out. It was a worn out looking guy's wallet that they hadn't really seen her use, since Wakiki had been insisting on covering the costs of the meals from him and Livy's cash and the traveler's checks they'd brought with them. She opened up the wallet, pulled out what she had in there, and dropped it on the pile with the rest of the money.

"There - one hundred twenty dollars puts us at five-hundred and eighty-five bucks total. Plenty for the rest of the trip, and a little extra just in case. Livy was brave enough to get up there in front of all those people.. if she wants to do the next show donation free, then that's how we'll do it."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"That's your money," Wakiki protested.

"I know, and you paid for everything else," Aradia said, smiling. "This is my contribution."

"Here," Wakiki said, taking some of it and handing it back. "That'll leave us over five hundred and you'll still have spending money."

"This trip is the coolest thing I could buy on this trip," Aradia insisted, even as Livy shook her head too.

"That's not necessary," Livy said. That was the start of a long argument that lasted all the way to the show, then backstage at the show, and was finally resolved late in the morning. Aradia would hold the money, but she made it clear that she wanted to spend it on a cool dinner at an awesome diner she'd heard about. They Izumis agreed, in part to get some sleep.

The final show was arguably the best one. Livy in particularly was good, having finally been put in a situation where she couldn't mess things up. Her performance wouldn't affect their outcome, and she was on fire, performing awesomely. Wakiki and Aradia did their awesome performances, as usual. Oddly, they still got a few donations, though not as much as the earlier show.

The next morning, they picked up the Bug and rolled out of Red Mesa. It was several hours to Vegas, but this time, they didn't tarry; the Bug breaking had taken away that casual attitude. They arrived at the Majestic early enough to get Aradia's dinner after checking in.

[Aradia McConnell]

Dinner was, of course, followed by the Siegfried and Roy show. Brother and sister could sense Aradia's excitement as if it was palpable. She even bounced a little waiting in line, she couldn't help herself. The show was more impressive than they had anticipated, and Aradia was completely enamored with the way Roy interacted with his beautiful white tigers, as well as the other animals on the stage. Other than that it was full of fire and sequins and magic tricks, and they all had a great time.

After the show, they filed back to the hotel room, and decided that with their leftover money they could afford a few room service snacks. They ordered quesadillas and chocolate-covered strawberries and a couple other snacks, as well as sodas, and settled in to wait. Livy and Ari had both claimed dibs on the bathtub first, and Olivia managed to beat the circus girl to the punch as she was helping Wakiki pick out stuff to order. So with Livy in the jacuzzi bathtub for at least as long as it was going to take for the room service to get here, and Wakiki busy flipping through the free assortment of movie channels while placing their order, Aradia decided to wander out onto the balcony to get a good view of the city, with it's lights and sounds and festivities. She nabbed Livy's camera, with the idea of using a couple of the pictures of the view, but ended up perched on the railing instead, just soaking it in and losing track of time.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I have been watching you for five minutes," Wakiki said from behind her, his voice worried, "and I keep remembering that you're a professional." He stepped out onto the balcony, his hands hovering in front of him, as if he were going to grab her. "I know you're fine, but can I please convince you to come off of there for my poor heart's sake?"

Laughing, Aradia tipped backwards. She arched her hands over her head to catch herself, as Wakiki lunged forward to catch her. Aradia's balance was thrown off and Wakiki, for all his enthusiasm, didn't really know what he was doing. He was trying to be a hero, and all he did was knock them both to the floor of the balcony.

There was a moment of stillness as both of them oriented themselves. "Ow," Wakiki finally said, rolling up onto his elbow to look down at her. "You ok?"

"I think so," she said, slowly testing the muscles in her back. "Hey, Wakiki? Next time, trust me to catch myself, ok?"

"I think I can do that," he grinned, then staggered to his feet with a groan. Still moaning, he reached down and took her hands, pulling her to her feet. As she swayed a little, her sore back giving out a little, he steadied her. "You sure you're ok?"

"I... think... so..." Aradia said, a flush climbing her face as she realized how close he was. She'd never had a guy hold her like this; it made her feel weird, though not in a bad way. His dark eyes caught hers and they held the exchange for a long moment. Anticipation built and held, then burst when Wakiki sighed. Looking both eager and resigned, as if there had been no other outcome to this moment, he lowered his head and lightly kissed her.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia felt her stomach do a couple somersaults of their own, and then her eyes drifted closed as she returned the kiss. It was as as innocent as he had been hesitant, her lips moving against his in a timid way that spoke volumes about her lack of experience. It was enough to send a small surge of desire through him, but at the same time enough to reign him in, reminding him again of just how young the girl in his arms was. With a certain amount of reluctance, he pulled back and looked down at her for a minute before swallowing back a gulp.

"Please don't have me arrested."

"Can you even be arrested for kissing me? I thought you had to do.. well, more..."

Both their faces flushed slightly at the idea, and Wakiki stepped back, sticking his hands in his pockets nervously.

"I'd rather not test that theory."

They studied each other awkwardly for a moment, then Ari's lips twitched into a little smile before blossoming into a full grin, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Waki, relax.. if I called the cops on you, how the hell would I get home? And who on earth would I go on my next road trip with? Livy would never forgive me, no matter how mad she was at you."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"What did you do now?" Livy's voice made both of them jump from where she was leaning in the doorway; barefeet on the carpet had given her the ability to sneak up on them. The thick, complimentary robe hung loosely on her small frame. She was smirking at her brother, but that faded a bit as she sensed that he was really uncomfortable. Like maybe he'd really messed up somehow.

"You know me... I'm innocent as can be," Wakiki said, even as his face tinged with red. "My turn for the jacuzzi!"

"Hey!" Livy shouted as he ducked past her. "You should offer first to Ari, jerk!" Wakiki just waved and ducked into the bathroom. Livy shook her head and looked at Aradia. "Can you believe him?" You should totally get some kind of evil revenge. I'll help!"