High Wire by Melanie Jackson Page A

to him, to cross that thin black line like I was one with the air.
    I also wanted to please Sorelli. He’d been good to me. He believed in me.
    I thought what a dream job this was. The alternative was standing outside Aunt Ellie’s organic-foods store with a placard.
    Pooch was back in the trailer. Tomorrow Aunt Ellie’s friend would pick him up. I imagined this friend collecting Pooch, walking him out of my life. My exciting life, with big things ahead of me, like Sorelli said.
    I stepped on the wire. My weight was at my sides. I was in control. I was Zen.
    The audience was silent, holding its breath. They knew the safety net was below, but they were still scared for me. They’d relax only when I was almost to the other side.
    I moved forward, my steps light, my footholds secure.
    Again the image of Pooch flashed into my mind. Happy, trusting Pooch, trotting alongside me. I realized it: I’d kind of gotten used to the little mutt.
    Kind of? Who was I kidding? I didn’t want Aunt Ellie’s friend to take Pooch away from me. Pooch was my dog.
    But I couldn’t keep him—as long as I stayed at Circus Sorelli.
    Pooch, or the circus.
    All at once the choice was as clear in my mind as a blue Alberta sky. I made my decision.
    I moved forward. I missed my step. To the audience’s gasps and shrieks, I fell down, down, into the safety net.
    Two weeks later…
    I stood outside Aunt Ellie’s shop. I didn’t wear a placard advertising fresh oranges. Instead, I juggled them.
    Pooch ran around me, barking. He kept hoping one of the oranges would fall, so he could catch it. I never dropped one, but he never gave up. Dumb dog.
    People stopped to watch us. It was kind of a double act.
    It was about time for my break. I stopped juggling and grinned down at Pooch. “Okay, sport. Now we’ll go to the park, and you can pretend you’re scaring the ducks.”
    Down the sidewalk, a car door slammed.
    â€œZachary!”
    Sorelli was stomping toward me. Instead of his red jacket and jodhpurs, he wore jeans and a T-shirt. But he was still larger than life. Heads turned as he passed.
    â€œHi, sir,” I said uncertainly.
    When I quit Circus Sorelli, I’d apologized to him for falling. For refusing to go back up on the wire.
    He had yelled so long and so loudly, I hadn’t been sure he’d heard.
    I wondered if he was going to start yelling again now.
    He didn’t. He sank down onto the curb. I sat with him.
    â€œYou did it on purpose,” the ringmaster accused. He glared at Pooch. “You fell so you could keep a dog .”
    I knew anything I said would just annoy him. So I started juggling the oranges again.
    Sorelli fumed, using colorful language, for a while longer. Then he grew hot and wiped his face with the hem of his T-shirt.
    â€œHere, sir.” I handed him one of the oranges. “Have this. It’ll cool you off.”

Melanie Jackson is the author of numerous mysteries for youth, including The Big Dip and Fast Slide in the Orca Currents series, as well as the popular Dinah Galloway Mystery series. Melanie lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Titles in the Series
    o rca currents

    121 Express
Monique Polak
    Agent Angus
K.L. Denman
    Bear Market
Michele Martin Bossley
    Benched
Cristy Watson
    Beyond Repair
Lois Peterson
    The Big Dip
Melanie Jackson
    Bio-pirate
Michele Martin Bossley
    Blob
Frieda Wishinsky
    Branded
Eric Walters
    Camp Wild
Pam Withers
    Chat Room
Kristin Butcher
    Cheat
Kristin Butcher
    Cracked
Michele Martin Bossley
    Crossbow
Dayle Campbell Gaetz
    Daredevil Club
Pam Withers
    Disconnect
Lois Peterson
    Dog Walker
Karen Spafford-Fitz
    Explore
Christy Goerzen
    Farmed Out
Christy Goerzen
    Fast Slide
Melanie Jackson
    Finding Elmo
Monique Polak
    Flower Power
Ann Walsh
    Fraud Squad
Michele Martin Bossley
    High Wire
Melanie Jackson
    Hold the Pickles
Vicki Grant
    Horse Power
Ann Walsh
    Hypnotized
Don Trembath
    In a