Arla grimaced when the woman took her hand, only then realizing even they were dirty. But, thankfully, the ringmistress didn’t look fazed. Though, Arla supposed, she [i]was[/i] the leader of a circus. She’d probably dealt with much worse.
	Arla shivered slightly at the sound of her name on the ringmistress’ lips. Somehow, the woman managed to make even that sound like an exotic stage name. The girl blinked in surprise at the woman’s response to wanting to talk to her. 
	Once the woman’s back was turned, Arla took quick moment, pumping her fist at her side in triumph. Straightening herself quickly, she hurried after the ringmistress with eager, proud strides. At last, things were going in her favor. The woman had even seemed genuinely interested in what she’d have to say.
	She followed the ringmistress along the outskirts of the back yard. Her brows furrowed as she noticed the few people along the ringmistress’ chosen path quickly step aside, giving them space.
	[i]Talk about respect![/i] Not that she could blame them with the aura the woman exuded. The woman’s job was one typically heavily sunk in a man’s world, yet she owned it better than any man could dream of. Arla found it rather inspiring. It made her hope that much more she would be accepted into the cirque’s ranks. Even if it meant janitorial duties. Or being a clown. One way or another, she [i]would[/i] convince the woman to let her join them.
	When she sat in one of a pair of chairs, Arla hesitated. She didn’t like the idea of turning her back to the main entrance to the area. She glanced toward the rest of the activity. It looked like nearly all the circus performers had paired up with someone, some dancing to the hypnotic music, others lounging in the seats. Some people had even started to doze off.
	 As much as she wanted to, as much as the atmosphere tried to coax her into letting down her guard, she just couldn’t bring herself to completely relax. Not yet. Not until she was further away.
	[i]Don’t ruin this.[/i] With another breath, she forced herself to turn her back on the activity. She offered the woman an uneasy smile in thanks for the offer to sit. She quickly unshouldered her backpack and took the second seat. 
	The amount of willpower it took to not sink completely back in the padded seat surprised her. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized exactly how long she’d been on her feet for. Sure, she’d knelt during the show for the sake of better pictures, but that hardly counted.
	She placed her backpack between her feet and took another breath, trying again to clear the persistent haze attempting to crowd her mind. She took a moment to regather her thoughts. Hoping she wasn’t allergic to the incense or something, she met the ringmistress’ gaze.
	“I want to join your circus,” she started, getting straight to the point. “I don’t have an act to offer… or any actual experience in the circus,” she scowled slightly at the admission, “but I’m a quick learner and hard worker,” she tried to amend firmly. Her words threatened to flow into each other in her rush, not wanting to give the ringmistress the chance to respond until she finished selling herself.
	“I could help with teardown and setup, clean up, whatever you’d need. And I’m not afraid of the dirty jobs.” She gestured to herself with a smirk. At least her current state could potentially help her point. “And I’m a good photographer.” She took the camera from around her neck. “I didn’t get the chance to see if you guys have a website—I just saw one of your fliers—but I could help with updated photos for that if you do.” She turned the camera on to its playback mode and increased the brightness of the screen to what she’d found most people preferred. She squinted as the light lit her face, and turned it from herself quickly. “I was even the photographer for my school paper.” She offered the camera to the ringmistress. “I took a lot tonight, if you’d like to see what I can do in that department. But, no matter what, I’ll pull my own weight.”