14

ROLL UP, ROLL UP

EXCITEMENT IN MOUNT ISA

The BIGTOP Circus finally reaches Mount Isa. As the convoy of orange semitrailers drive through the main street, everyone stops and stares. The tigers awake from their sleep and stare back at the friendly faces. The monkeys throw their poo at little kids waving from the footpath and it lands in their ice-creams on top of the rainbow sprinkles.

The loud carnival music is interrupted by Socks yelling into the megaphone.

‘Roll up, roll up,’ he cries.

The people on the street cheer, excited that the circus has come all the way to Mount Isa.

‘On Saturday night we open the BIGTOP Circus Spectacular!’ yells Socks. There’s another big cheer. ‘Be amazed by our world-class performers. Be amazed by our amazing animals!’

Another truck passes, with an acrobat doing flips on its roof. The crowd ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. Next to the acrobat, a man swallows a sword covered in flames.

Socks puts the megaphone down and leans over to Jocks. ‘Keep an eye out for that Conlan kid,’ he growls. ‘Ringmaster needs his DNA so he can create the strongest clone ever!’

Jocks laughs so hard his squishy red clown nose nearly falls off. He straightens it up and keeps driving. ‘Don’t worry, Socks. This clown has a very big bag of tricks!’ he says.

Both clowns laugh hysterically as they wave at the crowd. The crowd waves back. The circus is in town.

One of the good things about being in Mount Isa is that I get time off school. Usually, Mum wouldn’t let me stay up to watch The Footy Show, but tonight, Nanna and I are kicking back on the couch and getting all the news about the NRL. The host of the show, Fatty Vautin, is Nan’s favourite. She laughs at all his jokes. Fatty introduces his co-host, Erin Molan. She’s not in the studio tonight. Instead, she’s doing a special report out on location.

‘Where are you reporting from, Erin?’ asks Fatty.

They cut to a shot of Erin standing outside a large stone building. When Nanna sees where she is, she nearly falls off her chair.

‘True! She’s outside the Mount Isa library!’ yells Nanna. ‘What’s she doing here?’

Erin turns to the camera and begins her report. She tells Fatty that the rugby league world has gone into meltdown over the disappearance of Deadly D. She talks about the kids who don’t want to go to school. She even interviews mums and dads in the street. They all wish Deadly D would come back.

‘So what takes you to Mount Isa, Erin?’ Fatty finally asks.

‘Well, the rumour is that Deadly D has gone walkabout and is hiding out somewhere here in town,’ she says.

I look at Nanna. She has the same look of shock on her face. She keeps watching the television.

‘I’ll be on the lookout for Deadly D up here, Fatty,’ continues Erin. ‘It’s my mission to bring him back to rugby league.’

Nanna turns off the TV and looks at me. ‘Stay away from the windows, don’t answer the door, and don’t answer the phone,’ she instructs.

As I walk down the hall to my room, I hear her ringing Mum.