Jessi stood backstage, as she did almost every night. Well, except for Sunday. That was her day off. Jessi was a baton twirler. But her act was more original than normal baton twirling. Jessi spun flaming batons, along with hula hoops, torches, and swords. She worked in a popular club in Las Vegas. The club was called Der Verein which was German for ‘The club.’ She was second in the show, right after “Ally and her Amazing Acrobatics”
Ally finished her routine and bowed for the cheering crowd. With a wave, Ally jogged off the stage and Big Bill took her place to introduce Jessi. Jessi grabbed her props and her lighter and walked onto the stage on cue. Big Bill smiled at her and walked back to the wings. Jessi set her swords, torch, and hula hoop on the ground. She was going to begin with her batons. She nodded to the sound guy backstage who started her track. Jessi lit her batons and the crowd cheered. She threw them both up into the air, catching them behind her back. Jessi smiled to herself as the crowd roared. After a few more tricks, she used her batons to light her hula hoop and swords and then tossed them to a stagehand waiting behind the curtains.
Jessi picked up her flaming hula hoop and spun it around her waist while juggling her swords. While she was juggling, a stagehand pushed a thick, decorated, board on wheels onto the stage. Without a word, he positioned himself in front of it. One by one, she hurled the swords at the board, making an outline of the stagehand’s head. When she was finished, the stagehand rolled the board off of the stage, swords still outlining where his head had been. She stomped on the back of her torch, causing it to pop up off the ground, much like a skateboard. Jessi caught it in one hand, and with the other, she pulled her lighter from her pocket and held it to her torch. In seconds, her torch was ablaze with bright orange flames. Many people in the crowd gasped. After inconspicuously letting more gas out of her lighter, she blew on her torch and fire sailed over the stage.
Jessi dropped her torch to the floor and stepped on the tip, putting out the fire. She picked up her torch, and after a smile at the crowd, she walked confidently offstage. Big Bill walked onstage to introduce the next act.
Jessi walked into her smallish dressing room. Various costumes were hung all over the room, and make-up covered the vanity table against the back wall. She leaned her torch against the wall and sat down on the black leather couch in the middle of her dressing room. She rested her legs over the arm of the couch and picked up the bowl of popcorn the she had left on the table in front of her.
Someone knocked at the door.
“Come on in!” Jessi called, sitting up.
The stagehand from her show entered.
“Hey Julian” she greeted him with a smile.
“Hey Jess” he replied, crossing the room and sitting down next to her. “I thought you were gonna kill me with those swords.” he said with a laugh.
“You’re kidding me” Jessi joked as she reached over to mess up Julian’s dark hair. “I told you, I will never hit you with a sword unless you really deserve it.”
Julian rolled his eyes and fixed his hair. “For some reason that doesn’t make me feel any better.”
Jessi slapped his shoulder and stood up. Julian laughed at her and stretched out on the couch. Jessi picked up a water bottle from her table and took a drink.
“Great show tonight, though.” Julian continued “The crowd really loved you”
“Thanks”` Jessi said, walking back over to the couch and patting his leg, hinting at him to move. Julian smiled but didn’t budge. Jessi rolled her eyes and pushed Julian’s legs off the couch. She sat down beside him, leaned back, and rested her boots on the table where the popcorn bowl had been.
“Let’s go out tonight, and do something fun.” Jessi suggested.
“Alright, what do you wanna do?” Julian asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I don’t know, something we haven’t done before.”
“Okay, lets go.” Julian said standing up.
