Page 2 of Tiger's Curse
He reached out with his hands to brace himself, but he managed only to scratch feebly on the cold, white tile of the floor. The prince watched helplessly as both Yesubai and his brother attacked Lokesh, who shoved both back viciously. Yesubai fell to the ground, hitting her head hard on the dais. The prince was aware that his brother was near, overtaken by grief as the life drained from Yesubai’s limp body. Then he was aware of nothing except the pain.
1
kelsey
iwas standing on a precipice. Technically, I was just standing in line at a temp job office in Oregon, but it felt like a precipice. Childhood, high school, and the illusion that life was good and times were easy were behind me. Ahead loomed the future: college, a variety of summer jobs to help pay for tuition, and the probability of a lonely adulthood.
The line inched forward. I’d been waiting for what seemed like hours trying to get a lead on a summer job. When it was finally my turn, I approached the desk of a bored, tired job placement worker who was on the phone. The woman gestured me closer and indicated that I should sit down. After she hung up, I handed her some forms and she mechanically began the interview.
“Name, please.”
“Kelsey. Kelsey Hayes.”
“Age?”
“Seventeen, almost eighteen. My birthday’s coming soon.”
She stamped the forms. “Are you a high school graduate?”
“Yes. I graduated just a couple of weeks ago. I plan on attending Chemeketa this fall.”
“Parents’ names?”
“Madison and Joshua Hayes, but my guardians are Sarah and Michael Neilson.”
“Guardians?”
Here we go again, I thought. Somehow explaining my life never got easier.
“Yes. My parents are . . . deceased. They died in a car accident when I was a freshman.”
She bent over some paperwork and scribbled for a long time. I grimaced, wondering what she could be writing that was taking so long.
“Miss Hayes, do you like animals?”
“Sure. Umm, I know how to feed them . . .”Is anyone lamer than me? Way to talk myself out of being hired.I cleared my throat. “I mean, sure, I love animals.”
The woman didn’t really seem to care about my response, and she handed me a posting for a job.
NEEDED:
A TEMPORARY WORKER FOR TWO WEEKS ONLY
DUTIES INCLUDE: TICKET SALES,
FEEDING THE ANIMALS, AND
CLEANING UP AFTER PERFORMANCES.
Note: Because the tiger and dogs
need to be cared for 24/7, room and board
are provided.
The job was for the Circus Maurizio, a small family-run circus at the fairgrounds. I remembered getting a coupon for it at the grocery store and I’d even considered offering to take my foster parents’ kids, Rebecca, who is six years old, and Samuel, who is four, so that Sarah and Mike could have some time to themselves. But then I lost the coupon and forgot all about it.
“So, do you want the job or what?” the woman asked impatiently.
