Lug was wearing a red wig, a matching nose, makeup that made his skin as white as chalk, and loose, colorful clothing.

His lips and cheeks were painted bright red, and his feet were adorned with large shoes.

He was unrecognizable.

Deborah had dressed and made him up, and from the smile on her face, it had amused her greatly.

But not Lug.

Lug didn't smile.

"A sad clown doesn't sell tickets, make an effort!" said Deborah.

She was facing Lug, still dressed in her blue acrobat outfit.

They were in the center of the stage.

Fortunately, there was no one in the stands.

Lug had no way of knowing what time it was.

He hoped for one thing: that no one would see him in this outfit.

"What do I have to do?" asked Lug, annoyed and stressed.

He hated uncertainty and change.

Training, risking his life, vomiting, bleeding, sweating.

All of this was hard, but it was now a familiar territory.

But being dressed as a clown? Playing the fool? What kind of hell had he landed in?

"You're going to learn how to clown, didn't you guess? You're not that bright." answered the acrobat with a sneering smile.

She was particularly unpleasant with Lug, without him having done anything to deserve it.

"I want to learn how to juggle or do acrobatics. I'm not interested in clowning." he said, taking off his plastic nose to scratch his nose.

"It's also itchy..." he put his nose back on, this time scratching his head.

"If you want to learn the acrobat's trade, you must first learn the clown's trade. That's how it works here." she raised her arms and said theatrically, "At the circus Plaaaazaaaaaar!!!" she spoke loudly, very loudly.

As if she was on stage.

Lug couldn't make sense of this woman.

Her actions made no sense.

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"So, did you have to clown before you juggled?" asked Lug, completely ignoring what Deborah had just done.

"No, talented people like me go straight to the point. I was born graceful, it would have been a crime to put a princess like me in such a get-up." she said with a haughty air, looking Lug up and down.

"So, you're making me play the clown because it amuses you, and not at all because it's the basis of the training?" asked Lug, ready to rip off the wig on his head.

"She's right, it's the basis of the training here." said a male voice.

Margon had just entered the circus.

He was wearing a white tank top and a canvas bag in his hand.

Lug didn't like this man, without really having any reasons for it.

"We're here to entertain, that's our job. And the basis of entertainment is not to do acrobatics or train lions. It's clowning." said Margon.

"That's right, you have to learn how to do a lot with little. Simple, isn't it?" added Deborah.

"Okay, but after this, I'll learn more interesting things?" asked Lug.

Deborah tapped her chin with her finger, the other hand on her hip. "MMmmh... Yes... We'll see." she said.

Lug had to face the reality. He was going to have to make a fool of himself.

"So tell me, what do I have to do?" Lug asked Deborah, while keeping an eye on Margon who was emptying his bag on the ground and pulling out weights.

He seemed to be preparing for the next show.

"Train to be a clown? Are you stupid or something? You'll learn by participating in the show. You'll be paired up with our clown, Bastia." Deborah spoke with confidence, punctuating each word with finger movements, as if she were talking to an idiot.

"Spectacle? Participate? What does that mean?" Lug stammered, his skin painted white, no one seeing that he was livid after hearing those words.

"You. Bastia. Together. Play. Show. 6 p.m." Deborah accompanied each word with finger movements as if she were speaking to a child.

"6 p.m.? Today? You want me to perform in front of people??" Lug began to panic.

"Well, what did you expect? A clown school? That's useless. It's the pressure that makes the cork pop on a bottle of champagne. You need to put yourself under maximum pressure, it will loosen you up, you'll see." Deborah spoke with confidence and for once, in a reassuring tone, as if she understood what Lug was going through.

"But I'm not ready, can't we practice before?" Lug turned to Margon, but he was no longer there, he had gone into the storage room.

He turned back to Deborah, who was stretching.

"Listen, Lug. I need to get ready for later. Think of some ideas. It's not hard to make kids laugh."

"And that person you mentioned, Bastia? Can I talk to him?" Lug was desperately looking for a solution. He felt like a student who had just learned there was a last-minute exam.

"Bastia? Good luck, he's not easy to deal with." replied the young woman.

Lug felt there was nothing he could do.

He would have to wait for the show.

He walked towards the stands, climbed up, and sat down.

From there, he could observe the scene.

He saw Margon coming back from the storage room with cones reserved for felines. He started setting up equipment.

Deborah was still stretching.

Then he saw the woman he had seen with Margon on the first day.

She was wearing her acrobat outfit, went to give a kiss to "musclor" - as Lug had started to call him in his head.

Lug then descended from the stands.

This woman seemed more approachable than the other people he had met here. Maybe she could give him some advice.

As he walked towards her, he saw another person entering.

Dressed as a clown from head to toe, with a blue wig on his head.

Lug froze.

He had a strange feeling of belonging.

As if he were on an alien planet and had just seen someone of the same species for the first time in years.