In the entertainnt industry, there is an expression called rotten tomatoes.
This term originated from the rumour that when people watch a terrible performance, they throw tomatoes onto the stage. It was used to refer to actors with poor skills, and also to criticize a performance by saying sothing like, After watching that show, I felt like searching for rotten tomatoes.
However, its not easy to find records of actual tomatoes being thrown onto the stage. According to a investigation by a magazine specializing in theatre and circus arts, there has been only one official case of tomatoes being thrown onto the stage in the past 30 years.
And today, in the town of Luz, there might be another case.
On the day of the opening ceremony of Circus Grand Prix, the square in front of the Rose Windmill Cabaret was open to perforrs who were not participating in the competition. Those who applied to the organizers were allocated space to set up their own stages and perform freely.
The festival atmosphere was filled with lively songs from all directions, musical instrunts playing cheerful lodies, acrobats displaying their skills, and actors performing short plays.
Among them, two n dressed in suits and wearing clown makeup had set up a sign that read Typical and were performing a cody act. One of them acted foolish, and the other would slap him in a slapstick cody routine, a typical two-person cody act.
However, labelling their performance as typical only applied to the format. The content was refreshingly bad. The dialogue was nonsensical, the humour was out of place, and most importantly, the flow of the play didnt make logical sense.
How a complaint about yesterdays fish stew by a rural village chief led to a conversation between an airplane captain and a co-pilot was sothing that nobody understood.
Not only was the script a problem, but the actors performing it were also an issue. Awkward delivery of lines, interrupted timing, and unnatural physical cody.
Both of them possessed skills that warranted a shower of rotten tomatoes with no room for excuses.
At first, the audience laughed out of disbelief, but as ti passed, they began to express their irritation and eventually resorted to yelling.
Enough! Stop it!
Boo, not funny!
Get off the stage!
In the midst of a festival where laughter and applause filled the air, this was the only place where shouts and jeers were heard.
Despite the lack of positive response, Allen and Jo continued to perform on stage. They decided to step down when they felt the angry glares of the audience intensifying.
Haha! Wasnt I right? Thats your real talent! Suab, the snake charr who was standing behind the stage, burst into laughter as she watched the two of them.
She had been traveling with Allen and Jo since a few weeks ago after a rather unfortunate initial encounter. However, after getting to know each other through conversation, they surprisingly got along well. They ended up sharing accommodation and helping each other with their performances.
However, no matter how close they were, Suab couldnt honestly say that their performances were entertaining.
Their scriptwriting skills were lacking, their acting abilities were subpar, and their codic timing was often off.
Since receiving praise from Wonderstein, it had only gotten worse. They celebrated their talents being finally recognized, and with that, they started moving in even stranger directions.
They kept rewriting the script, tweaking their performances, and even changing their postures.
They were working hard, but no matter how you looked at it, it was a fiasco.
She had advised them countless tis that this wasnt it, but they wouldnt listen.
They held onto the belief that the path of art was long and treacherous, even if the audiences reviews werent favourable.
So, despite their persistence, today, which they had called a turning point, ended up being a humiliation in the middle of the performance.
Allen and Jo hit rock bottom.
Their stubbornness had led them to this.
Rotten tomatoes.
Ella, who had been watching their performance from the audiences perspective, shook her head in dismay.
That devil had created yet another set of victims in a bizarre way.
Allen and Jo.
Ella had thought from the mont she first saw them that they were unlikely to succeed as actors.
Still, the reason she hadnt prevented Wonderstein from inviting them was their incredible swordsmanship skills.
With such skills, they would be better off training in acrobatics or knife tricks than doing cody.
Once they joined the circus troupe, Ella had planned to make them give up cody and focus on that direction.
So, when they rejected the offer of joining, she felt annoyed.
She had been eager to see how far they could succeed with their skills.
But seeing them completely ruined like this was its own kind of pity.
Ella looked up at the clock hanging in front of the Rose Windmill.
It was almost ti.
The opening ceremony would start soon.
She headed towards the back door of the Rose Windmill Cabaret.
There was still so ti before the opening ceremony, so she wandered around the square in front of the cabaret, watching street performances.
She could have gone into the theatre and waited, but it wasnt a good choice.
The cabaret staff were all working hard for the opening ceremony, and goofing off on the side would be a good way to invite trouble.
She was no longer just an ordinary acrobat.
She was the assistant ringmaster of a circus troupe.
If she misbehaved, not only would she suffer the consequences, but the entire circus troupe might also face criticism.
Furthermore, the theatre staff who had shown her kindness might not hear good things about her.
So, she decided to wait outside until the ti ca.
Ella glanced back.
A girl with white hair was following her, like a doll.
Maya.
To others, they might not even look like they were together.
They were several ters apart, hadnt exchanged a word since their argunt yesterday, and their gazes were directed in different places.
They hadnt spoken a word to each other since their argunt and the situation had yet to be resolved.
Of course, in front of Wonderstein, they had pretended as if everything was fine. It was an unspoken agreent between them.
So, in front of him, they acted nonchalantly, but as soon as they were out of his sight, they distanced themselves from each other as if they had never been together.
Ella looked at Maya, who was pretending not to care, with an expressionless face and sighed.
She knew what Maya wanted.
She probably wanted Ella to get her in for the opening ceremony as well.
However, maybe due to pride, she didnt say a word of request and just quietly followed behind her.
But was I the sa?
Ah! Then Ill go alone! Its actually nice not to have to take care of anyone!
Although she could have suggested going together, she hinted subtly with the intention that if she really wanted to co, she would co on her own. It was too damaging to their pride to show open kindness.
Honestly, deep down, she just wanted to co alone without her.
But she couldnt do that.
Whether she liked it or not, now they were in the sa troupe.
Even if they didnt show it, if soone found out, and they couldnt pretend otherwise.
Ella Yang! You arrived just in ti. Did you co alone?
The side entrance of the cabaret.
The man who had decided to bring her in today was waiting there.
It was Paris, one of the cabarets perforrs.
He greeted Ella with a friendly smile.
Do you have a companion?
Oh, I have one person with .
Maya quietly approached behind Ella.
They still didnt et each others gaze.
He glanced at Mayas appearance, let out a small sigh of admiration, and then cleared his throat.
Is she your friend?
At the word friend, Ella and Maya briefly t each others eyes.
In that mont, they realized they were thinking the sa thing.
No.
Under Pariss guidance, the two girls entered the cabaret.
Occasionally, employees were running sowhere, looking for soone, or focusing on sothing.
Paris asked Maya a few questions that he would typically ask soone he was eting for the first ti, but Mayas short, concise answers made him uncomfortable.
Hey, Paris! What are you doing there? You should be moving the equipnt!
Oh, sorry! Can you wait here in the lounge for a mont? Ill be back after I finish this.
Paris rushed off following a senior calling him.
The lounge was a small room with enough space for about six people to sit on sofas.
The two girls sat as far apart as possible and didnt say a word.
Awkward silence flowed for a few minutes.
Ella was the first to break the silence.
Sorry.
She looked at Maya with a sheepish expression.
For saying your magic was weird.
Silence fell again.
Maya didnt react to her apology.
She still had an expressionless face.
But Ella could tell.
She was flustered.
Maya spoke after a short pause.
Why do you dislike the ringmaster?
Ella, who was considering her response, quickly found a good excuse.
You cant tell just by looking at what he does?
Ah.
Maya nodded as if she understood her answer.
No matter how much she might dislike Ella, she couldnt say that Ella didnt do much. After all, Wonderstein himself entrusted her with responsibilities and was off having fun with other won. Maya had only been in the circus for a few days, but whenever she saw Ella, she was always working.
On the other hand, the ringmaster was leisurely sipping tea with another woman
Hmm.
Thinking about it, Maya felt a little embarrassed about her past actions.
She hadnt understood the feelings of the hardworking assistant ringmaster.
Im sorry too.
A smile appeared on Ellas face.
Maya also showed a slight smile.
To others, it might not look like a smile at all, but Ella could tell.
It was an effort on Mayas part to show a smile for her.
Maybe they could beco good friends
I should call you Assistant Ringmaster.
Maya, who had been calling Ella by her first na until now, brought up the issue of titles formally.
Ella responded with a playful smile.
Its okay. Just call Ella.
Assistant Ringmaster.
Maya said firmly.
Its fine. I prefer Ella.
Thats not how close we are.
Her cold response made Ella smile awkwardly.
Maybe were not a good match
But if this level of communication is possible
Can I keep calling you Maya?
Yeah.
At that mont, the lounge door opened with a loud bang, and Paris entered.
Sorry for the delay. Lets go. The opening ceremony is about to start. Ive reserved a good seat for you among the staff.
The two girls left the room.
Their distance had beco slightly closer than /CircusTL
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