The Little Cheeseboy

Chapter 3

"Mmm circus must be farther than I thought, we might have to ask for a lift," Mr. Jones said worriedly. 

Suddenly the young teenage clown girl must've heard since she approached Mr. Jones and Isabel. 

"Hello my name is Amy and I heard you need a lift to a circus? What circus are you going to?" Amy asked with a smile. 

"Outlander's Circus? Do you folks know how to get there?" Mr. Jones asked politely. 

"Yes! That is exactly where my crew and I are heading right now to perform, you can ride with us if you like," she said eagerly. 

"Oh but that looks like a crowded spot to be we wouldn't want to take any more space," Mr. Jones said while Isabel hoped that her father would have agreed.

 "Nonsense, there is plenty of space, come on we love a big audience," she said pulling Isabel towards the car. Mr. Jones only smiled and nodded as he followed Amy to the yellow polka dot car.

Inside the car, everything was bigger and there was enough space to fit twenty people as Isabel viewed the modern and neon-looking interior. 

"This is my crew here," Amy said as she pointed at the rest of the clowns. 

"That over there is Christopher," she said pointing at the ginger teenage clown with a blue shirt with a red bow tie and orange pants along with his huge yellow shoes. 

"That is his brother Nathan," she said pointing at the young boy with a similar outfit to Christopher's except his button shirt was white and rolled up with yellow shorts and black shoes. 

"And finally this is Charles," she said finally pointing at the clown with a white undershirt and green polka dot shorts with massive blue shoes. 

Isabel looked at the clown g**g curiously until her father spoke up. 

"Nice to meet you, my name is Daniel Jones and this here is my daughter Isabel," Mr. Jones said smiling at the odd group. 

"We are happy to have ye ridding with us," Charles said. 

Nathan only rolled his eyes and Christopher smiled at Isabel and her father. 

"Nice to meet y'all," Christopher said still smiling. 

Isabel cracked a smile out of the funny group as the car began to speed over to the circus. The clown g**g's car could go really fast as the clowns joked around and told jokes to Isabel and her dad. Isabel was somewhat amused by the funny-looking and joyous group and even laughed at the group's funniness at times. 

Finally, they reached the circus and the clowns opened the door for Isabel and her father. 

"We'll be going now we have to perform but you can take the circus ferry and that will take you back to the train station through the river," Amy explained. 

"Thank you, we can't wait to see you up there," Mr. Jones said before the yellow car disappeared. 

Isabel looked at the black and white tent that stood over the ground with its pointy roofs and some oil lanterns lighting up the entire place which made it all look like a wonderland. There was the smell of hotdogs and cotton candy as well as many small attractions including a marry-go-round. 

"I never thought a circus would look like this," Isabel said out loud. 

"Impressive isn't it?" her father said. 

"Yes it is so beautiful, more than I imagined it would be," she admitted.

"Now the show is about to start how about we go inside," her father stated. 

" Okay," Isabel agreed as her father made his way to the entrance and showed his tickets. Isabel and Mr. Jones both sat in the very front of the rows of seats. 

There were lights of different colors illuminating the circus tent as the other people looked in awe and the stage was set. There was low carnival music in the background until the music suddenly increased and a tall man with a top hat and nice suit as well as a fine mustache came out with a wide smile. 

"Hello everyone my name is Mr. Munink and this is my circus. Now I welcome you all to enjoy this wonderful experience and I welcome you all to the Outlander's Circus!" Mr. Munink exclaimed as the audience cheered. 

"For our first act I welcome you my knife throwers," he said until three young pirate-dressed men appeared with two knives on each hand. 

Then a light flashed revealing a woman in a circus outfit, tied to a wooden board standing up as the young men covered their eyes tithing a piece of cloth around their head. The audience looked in sudden amazement as the knife throwers one by one threw the knife missing at the woman yet aiming at the board. Once the knife throwers were done, the audience cheered at the amazing act. 

"Now we will have the best clowns in town, welcome the Clown g**g!" Mr. Munink exclaimed as Isabel saw the familiar yet amusing clowns do their performance. Amy did perfect juggling while Nathan helped her with delivering equipment for her act. Christopher did bicycle tricks and Charles did jokes that also made the audience laugh. Isabel clapped louder for her friends once they had finished their act and they all vowed once they had finished their scene. 

"Now I will introduce you to my famous acrobats give it up for Katrina and Kevin!" he said as a girl with orange hair and cat ears in a pink jumpsuit and a boy with an orange jumpsuit and silver hair came out to do their act. 

They jumped and swung in midair without a net under them yet they looked so confident doing so. Isabel looked at the performers in awe as they did various tricks, she wished she were an acrobat but she only knew how to climb trees and she probably couldn't afford acrobat school either. There were also flame throwers, weight lifters, and other acts that surprised Isabel although she couldn't make out why they all wore weird costumes. "

Now for our special freaks, I would first like to introduce you to the weirdest, smelly yet most delicious boy, I welcome you The Cheese Boy!" Mr. Munink said as a light flashed revealing a small yet odd-looking creature. His body stanched all the way of the cheese and his body was covered in cheese holes. 

His expressions also looked saddened and depressed as he stood there as everyone made faces at him and made "ews". 

Isabel looked at the poor thing as people made fun of him but she doubted any of it was real. '

He does look sad though and smells terrible too', Isabel thought in the back of her head. 

"Wow that thing sure looks real, poor fella there," Mr. Jones said examining the odd-looking thing. "He isn't real," Isabel remarked folding her arms. 

"Who knows? Maybe he might be, after all, the world does have weird things in it already," Mr. Jones said leaning back. 

'Maybe I might just have to find out myself,' Isabel thought as she kept looking at the cheese boy.

After the show, which ended with the circus performers vowing to the audience in a farewell, Isabel found herself determined to see if this cheese thing was indeed real or not. She rubbed her thumb on her chin as she began to think of a way to distract her dad and make her point until it hit her.

 "Hey, dad I um...need to go to the bathroom...for something...can I go?" Isabel asked trying to sound awkward. 

"Oh! Sure, honey, you want me to wait outside for you?" Mr. Jones asked.

 "No just gotta take care of some girl stuff," she said trying to not sound stupid. 

"Oh, I see well I'll be right next to the ferry line when you're done," Mr. Jones said smiling. 

"Thanks, Dad, I'll see you there," Isabel said before jogging to the back of the circus. 

Isabel looked around the back tents which were still dark meaning the circus performers were still on the stage. 

She even wondered if she was at the right place until she heard a small eerie yet clear music tune coming from one of the tents. 

It sounded like a music box, she never owned one but her mother once opened one that her grandmother had given to her, that music box was in her mother's coffin through and she never dared to open it while her mother was gone, yet, the memory of its sound was crystal clear in her memory. She slowly tip-toed to the tent where she heard the soft song come from and peeked into the only tent that had some light in it. 

There stood the cheese boy she had seen in the performance, yet, he was looking at the music box on top of an old desk with a sad and painful expression. Isabel slowly sneaked into the tent as she examined her surroundings, the tent looked old and dusty from the inside, there was a small bunker bed next to an old broken TV and the old desk with the music box where the boy stood at. 

'Wow what a dump,' Isabel thought until her focus turned back to the cheese boy.

 His skin smelled like her father's unwashed socks and it also looked moist and greasy like a frying pan that hasn't been washed in weeks, he didn't look moldy but his skin was covered in holes everywhere. Isabel continued to observe the odd thing until he turned around to see the girl in outer shock and fear. 

"You...I... I mean..." Isabel stuttered until he took her hand. 

"What are you doing here?! You must get out of here before he comes back, if he sees you, he might kill you," he said urging her to leave. 

"Who? What are you talking about?" Isabel said sounding confused she had just got caught and her head was spinning. 

"Leave now before-" his voice was cut off by the sound of a group of men chattering and that's when his face grew with concern and worry. 

"Get under the desk, hurry," he said pushing Isabel under the old desk where the music box sat. Isabel surprisingly did what he said, being scared of what was about to happen, she told herself to quiet down her breathing as she continued to hear the voices of those men. 

Suddenly she heard a couple of pairs of footsteps step inside the tent and Isabel held her breath in her cupped hand as she prayed to God she would be able to get out of this one. 

"That was a great performance boy, or should I say freak, pack up your trash we have places to go and we can't keep waiting on you," a young man's voice said. 

"Of course Mr. Munink," the cheese boy said with a hint of sarcasm. 

"Don't mess with me you idiotic child, I saved you from molding in the streets, ungrateful brat," he said until Isabel heard someone hit a person to find the weird thing lying on the floor. 

He groaned in pain as he laid on the floor and Isabel's ears fumed in anger as she saw the poor thing lying on the floor. 

She was scared but despite that, she got out from under the desk and helped the cheese boy from where he stood on the ground and looked angrily at the same man who had introduced and owned the circus. Mr. Munink looked at Isabel with a menacing and deadly expression as the other two men who were next to him began approaching her with sharp knives. 

Isabel stood there frozen and afraid of what was to happen or what was going to happen but she still stood there holding him until the two acrobats who had performed earlier came in to see the entire scene. 

"Katrina...Kevin what are you two doing here?!" Mr. Munink exclaimed surprised by the two acrobats. Isabel looked at the two performers as they looked sternly at the owner of the circus, Katrina, which Isabel presumed to be the catgirl looked at him with the most anger. 

"How dare you hit my brother that way!" she said in a thick French accent. 

"Katrina sweetheart, he was misbehaving, you should understand that-" 

"I do not give a damn if he has misbehaved, touch him once more and I will rip that stupid mustache off your face!" she continued to say angrily. 

"Brother?" Isabel said confused. 

"Who are you girl?" Katrina said twitching one of her feline ears. 

"You...you are a real cat woman!" Isabel exclaimed still holding the cheese boy. 

"That is very disrespectful-" 

"Katrina calm down we'll discuss this outside," Kevin said sternly rubbing his hands through his silver hair. 

Katrina only groaned as she made her way outside the tent and Isabel followed her still carrying the unusual freak. 

"Now state your business girl," Katrina said crossing her arms but Isabel only stood in shock as she looked at the half feline and half-human. 

"Relax Katrina, she must still be in shock from all of this," Kevin said standing next to Isabel. 

"My name is Kevin and this is Katrina and I see you are holding her brother," Kevin said with a smile. 

"I...I'm Isabel...that man he hit him...I don't know what happened," Isabel tried to explain. 

"We know, Mr. Munink, unfortunately, owns all of this and has been trying to get ahold of my brother's curse to get a lead to the clockmaker," Katrina said rubbing her eyes. 

"Clockmaker?" Isabel said raising a brow. 

"We don't know if it's a real story or not but Mr. Munink believes it is, he is believed to hold a watch that can reverse time but we believe it's phony business," Kevin said shrugging. 

"I'm not so sure about that though, he has been very weird lately, like he has been preparing us for something," Katrina said rubbing her chin. 

"Look right now I need to go meet my dad at the ferry," Isabel said nervously. 

"You can't leave right now especially after what you saw," Katrina said seriously. 

"What do you mean I can't go?!" Isabel said in fear. 

"You can't because you saw all of us for what we really are and that puts you already in grave danger with the circus," Kevin stated as a matter of fact until Isabel dropped the cheese boy and bolted across the tents trying to lose the acrobats. 

She could feel the warm air hit her face as she continued to run with the voices of the acrobats ringing in her ears but she didn't stop until Katrina leaped in front of her and Kevin flew in front of her with a pair of white bird wings. 

Isabel looked at both of them afraid as Katrina held Isabel by the wrist and pushed her into one of the tents, inside the old tent, Isabel rubbed the back of her neck as Katrina and Kevin looked at her with a serious look. 

"We know how afraid you must feel right now but truth is that you can't leave for your own sake and your father's," Kevin tried to explain calmly. 

"We need to smuggle you out of here and into the city so you can find a way to escape," he said rubbing his chin.

 "Katrina, we must find the clockmaker before he does," the cheese boy said entering the tent rubbing his head. 

"That is phony business brother, I can't risk you going out there," Katrina said in a serious tone. 

"It is not, I have read about him in Munink's old books and I have a strong feeling I will find him, especially tonight," he said holding his cheese hand to his heart.

 Isabel felt like she wanted to throw up at the scattered information she was getting at that moment with all those strangers surrounding her. 

"You are crazy if you think I will support you in this," she said in an angry tone. 

"Please I have enough information to find him now, he is the only hope I have left to lift up my curse and others," he said in a begging tone.

 "I can't believe I'm going to do this...fine but you will not go alone at any cost...you girl will accompany my brother," Katrina said facing Isabel which made her flinch. "Me?" Isabel mouthed. 

"Yes you girl, you have no other choice, Mr. Munink won't let you off easily if you stay here," Katrina said unfolding her arms. 

"She's got a point, Isabel, you cannot stay in the city and with Mr. Munink near nor you or your family are safe with his spies around," Kevin added. 

"Why should I go to find the clockmaker though?" Isabel asked defensively. 

"My brother needs someone to go with him and you need to be in a safe place before Munink returns so I recommend you both leave together," she said in fact. 

"Right...but I don't really know you people so I'll get going," Isabel said as she began to plot her escape. 

"The clockmaker can perhaps help you," the cheese boy commented. 

"I don't need any help," Isabel spat out. 

"He is claimed to have a clock that can cure me but also reverse time and bring back a loved one," which made Isabel's ears twitch. 

Perhaps this could be a way to bring her mother back and see her again.

 "A loved one?" Isabel asked frowning. 

"Yes..." he said smirking.

 "I can't leave my father though," Isabel said clenching her fists. 

"All of the audience is required to take the ferry so I'm sure he will be fine and we'll make sure a message reaches out to him," Kevin stated. 

"What is your father's name?" he added.

 "Daniel Jones," Isabel said simply. 

"We'll take care of that but we must smuggle you first," he said before making his way out of the tent.

 "Follow me," Katrina said as she headed outside of the tent as well. 

Isabel couldn't believe she was doing all of this and weirdly enough following a group of strangers who claimed to care about her but something in her told her that maybe after seeing these freaks, she had a chance to see her mother again.