Based on Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, my class was asked to create short stories from a series of photographs. I did enjoy the process, but my writing skills are a little rusty. I hope you enjoy the story!
I highly recommend Ransom Riggs' book.
The Circus on the Cruise Ship
Chapter 1
Dear Nathaniel
While I would like to start this story
with a witty anecdote or describe an extravagant party, it is quite impossible
to do so. In fact, I must do the exact opposite. For, you see, Nathanial Jackson
was anything but happy.
Nathaniel Jackson was a bachelor who
lived alone in a small flat in London. Nathaniel thought he was quite the
catch, to be honest, and didn’t understand why he was a bachelor. He expected
one of the lovely secretaries at work to be infatuated with him. Nathaniel was
the youngest member of the anthropology department at the University of London
at a respectable 32 years of age. He was the professor who taught the
introductory class to the Anthropology major. Nathaniel felt, in his great
knowledge, that he should be respected and admired by all of his students and
coworkers.
In truth, they quite disliked him. Oh,
please don’t get me wrong. His work ethic was quite wonderful and he had a
wonderful sense of dry humor. His appearance was the problem. Nathaniel was a
stern-looking gentleman. He wore a rather strange hat with a wide, floppy brim.
It might have looked ridiculous, but the brim cast a rather foreboding shadow
across his eyes. His eyebrows had the habit of furrowing and making Nathaniel
look very cross. His moustache mostly intimidated the students and coworkers.
It was a stiff, bristly path of hair that covered his mouth completely. It was
incredibly difficult to tell if he was smiling or frowning. Most of Nathaniel’s
acquaintances thought he frowned more often than he smiled. As such, the
students avoided him outside of class and the secretaries thought him very mad.
Nathaniel was very self-conscious about
his moustache. He grew it out on purpose in order to hide a frightening scar.
He was injured as a soldier in the army, drafted into war as a younger man. The
fight had frightened him and made him wonder if he would ever return to his
education and receive his degree. When he survived with a jagged scar across
his lips from a piece of shrapnel, he was quite happy to return to college.
Before he had managed to grow his moustache, he hid his face behind a medical
mask and told his classmates he had a passing medical problem. It worked quite
well, though his classmates feared for his health. Some even gossiped that he
must be hiding some hideous deformity behind the little mask. But that seems to
matter very little now. At this moment, we are discussing the concerns of the bachelor
professor of Anthropology!
Worried over his lack of love life, Nathaniel
sought advice from his good friend Jackson Surnought. Jackson was a professor
in the archaeology department. A good deal more popular than Nathaniel, Jackson
was very welcome at student gatherings and promoted the Archaeology department
with humor. Nathaniel had met Jackson at one such party. However, Nathaniel did
not expect his colleague to arrive in an Egyptian Sarcophagus. The
anthropologist thought Jackson was a little odd, but trusted his advice. With
this trust in mind, Nathaniel asked Jackson for romantic help.
“Nathaniel, dear boy,” Jackson nodded
sagely and draped an arm across Nathaniel’s shoulders. “You need to find a
place to have fun and let go. Let the ladies see you as a joyful man with a big
brain and a bigger heart.”
“And where would I go to display such
frivolity?” Nathaniel questioned.
“Hmm,” Jackson murmured thoughtfully. “I
know the perfect place! There is a strange circus in town. The entire spectacle
takes place on a marvelous cruise ship.”
“A circus?” Nathaniel frowned at Jackson.
“On a Cruise ship. I’m beginning to think you very mad, Jackson.”
“Oh, it sounds very strange, but it is
true. Why don’t you go and enjoy yourself?” Jackson nudged the young Anthropologist’s
shoulder and smiled cheerfully. “Even if you don’t find a lady, you can study
the circus performers for your new investigation.”
Nathaniel was very hesitant about
visiting a circus on a cruise ship. How did one even get to such an event? Did
you buy a ticket to the circus or to the cruise? Was it a very long cruise?
Nathaniel decided that he didn’t care. He went to the docks immediately after
his classes.
Chapter 2
The Ship at the Dock
The docks at London were a curious mix of
frightening and awe-inspiring. The entire area was shrouded in mist from the
river and smog from the industrial factories. Some of the ships and wooden
docks were stained and falling to pieces. However, the towering cranes and
singing of productive dockhands were another matter entirely. Nathaniel was
fascinated by the vitality present in such a dismal place. The most incredible
part of the London docks was the majestic, gleaming cruise ship resting
peacefully alongside a tidy dock.
Surely
this, thought Nathaniel, as he climbed the little ramp onto the deck, is the cruise ship with the circus. It is
the only ship large enough to hold such a grand event.
As Nathaniel stepped onto the deck,
he was met by a well-dressed man with a cheerful smile. The stranger was
dressed in a formal evening suit, with a little pocket watch and chain tucked
into his waistcoat. He wore a black top hat with a little red ribbon around the
base. He carried a little notebook in one hand and reached out to Nathaniel
with the other.
“Hello, good sir!” He shook
Nathaniel’s hand heartily. “Welcome to The Elizabeth and her circus, The
Fascinating and Unusual!”
“’The Fascinating and Unusual,’ sir?”
Nathaniel inquired.
“Oh! Some friends or acquaintances
must have directed you here! Little scamps probably didn’t tell you much about
the show, did they?”
“No, he didn’t. I think he wanted it
to be a surprise.” Nathaniel peeked around the stranger. “But I would like to
know more before I decide to buy a ticket. Whom should I speak to about the
show?”
“Oh dear! I’ve done it again.” The
strange man straightened his jacket and bowed. “I am the Ringleader of the
show. My name is the Good Sir Gottenheight! In apology for these rude manners
of mine, let me offer you a free ticket to the circus. In fact, the show is
about to start! Let me show you where to go!”
Good Sir Gottenheight gently ushered
Nathaniel across the deck and down a narrow staircase. A little frightened and
alarmed, Nathaniel could only follow The Good Sir Gottenheight’s directions as
they descended into the depths of the cruise ship.
Chapter 3
The Fascinating and Unusual
Nathaniel and the Good Sir
Gottenheight exited the staircase into a grand ballroom. The ballroom was a
wide room with small booths, stalls, and display stages on both sides. Some of
the booths had painted backdrops of forests or decorated theaters. The other
booths had plain fabric drapes and small wooden stages. A member or team of The
Fascinating and Unusual Circus occupied each area. Nathaniel hadn’t thought
that a whole circus group could fit into such a space, but the grand ballroom
was extraordinarily long. The room seemed to stretch to the entire length of
the ship!
Maybe
the grand ballroom is the main attraction of the ship. Nathaniel thought as
he glanced at the performers as they walked by. Maybe the ship is more a theater than an actual cruise vacation.
While Nathaniel was a little wary,
he began to enjoy himself as he explored the crowded ballroom. The room was
filled with other guests: young children and their parents, curious gentlemen,
groups of ladies with their parasols and fans, and cautious dockworkers.
Nathaniel watched the dockworkers as they glanced into the first few booths
before dashing out the door. Nathaniel laughed a little to himself; these workers
probably skipped out on work for a little bit to see the show.
The first booth in the ballroom was
a young, half-clad woman of exotic origin. She wore a flowery lei around her
neck and a European petticoat with flower designs. Her long, dark hair was
falling about her waist like the tide on the shore. Nathaniel did not think she
was so unusual, but he had studied several native tribes in foreign places. She
was probably more interesting to the native Londoner.
The Second booth held two sisters in
white gowns, playing in front of a garden painting. At first glance, Nathaniel thought the
younger sister was braiding the elder’s hair. A closer look revealed the young
girl was holding up her sister’s hair as it turned into a tall carnation! Her
hair was turning into a flower!
This
must be a common circus or magician’s trick! But it certainly looks like real
magic. Nathaniel nodded and walked
further down the ballroom.
The booths at the end of the
ballroom were definitely the strangest. In one booth, a man and woman were
dressed in strange costumes. It looked as if their torsos had grown enormous
faces with bulging eyes, thin noses, and wide smiles. Their heads were hidden
behind large hats. Nathaniel considered the costumes for a moment and was incredibly
startled when the man’s eye winked. Another booth was a small black bear
controlling a marionette of a young woman in a white nightgown. Finally, the
last booth held two women in zebra costumes. As he watched the women dance
cheerfully, he realized that these were not costumes! The large, equine ears
and tail moved independently!
Nathaniel stumbled backwards in
alarm. This was too strange! This wasn’t a circus at all. This was a freak show!
Nathaniel shuddered and began to sprint towards the door of the grand ballroom.
He had to escape this hellish nightmare. Perhaps he was not as happy as he
could be in his ordinary life, but anything was better than what he encountered
here!
Why
aren’t the other guests as alarmed as I am!? Nathaniel suddenly asked
himself. I will ask one person before I
run out the door. Who is closest to the ex---
Nathaniel froze in alarm. The grand
ballroom was completely empty. There were no other guests. The laughing
children with their parents, the curious gentlemen in their afternoon dress,
and the young ladies had vanished into thin air. Nathaniel was almost too
frightened to look around the silent room, but he glanced slowly over one
shoulder. And he screamed.
Chapter 4
The Elizabeth
Standing directly behind Nathaniel
was the young, exotic woman from the first booth. Only she looked nothing like
the calm, dignified performer she once was. The flower lei and petticoat had
vanished. Her face had sunken in at the cheeks and eye sockets into a grotesque
mask as she stared at him. The thick waves of black hair was draped over her
shoulders and flowed down her torso. The strands were moving and twisting like
black mambas. Nathaniel stumbled towards the doorway and crashed against a
sudden wall.
Has
the door closed? Am I trapped here?!
“Nathaniel? Why are you leaving?”
Good Sir Gottenheight frowned at the young anthropologist. “I told the
performers to put on an especially good show today. Didn’t you enjoy it?”
“Enjoy it?” Nathaniel asked, a hint
of hysteria leaking into his voice. “Yes. I did enjoy it. I’m terribly sorry,
but I need to return home. I’ve paperwork to grade for my classes!”
“Oh, Nathaniel.” Good Sir
Gottenheight shook his head. “Jackson told us how unhappy you were. None of the
students liked you. The women avoided you. How could you ever be happy in such
a sad place?”
“What-“ Nathaniel swallowed against
the lump in his throat. “What do you mean by ‘Jackson told us’?”
“Jackson is an old friend of ours.
He used to be our Egyptian performer, rising out of a sarcophagus and
surprising the guests. You’d never guess how old he actually is with how
spritely he acts.” Gottenheight smiled fondly. “Jackson asked if he could leave
the circus for a bit of time. We agreed as long as he sent a replacement. And
he nominated you!”
“Me?!” Nathaniel was breathless with
anxiety and fear. “But…but I’ve nothing fascinating or unusual!”
“Oh, you certainly do! That lovely
scar from your time in the army! A little…. theatrical magic and you’ll be a
prize performer! And there’s simply no time to waste!”
Good Sir Gottenheight smiled in pure
delight and snapped his fingers. Even as Nathaniel heard the sound, ropes of
black hair were wrapping around his arms and dragging him back down the grand
ballroom.
“Now, just hold still, Nathaniel
dear! We’re going to make you a star!”
…
While I would like to end this story with
Nathaniel’s escape from the circus, it is quite impossible to do so. In fact, I
must do the exact opposite. For, you see, Nathanial Jackson was anything but
happy.
