It's the boy I ran into on the streets.

He turns and looks at me, and his eyes narrow. "You?" he says incredulously. I shrink back a little. "Yeah, me. Nice to see you again. Just letting you know, you were rather rude earlier," I say, hurt creeping just barely into my voice. But then I freeze. The tension in the room seems to go up dramatically. Everyone side glances at Whisper, who bristles. "I take it you two know each other..?" Lenny says nervously.

"Yeah, we know each other," the boy says, surprising me. He holds out a hand to me. "My name is Peter. Sorry about earlier. I was having a bad day," he explains. Aren't we all, I think sarcastically. I take his hand. "It's alright. My name is Roxanne, but everyone calls me Anne." He smiles slightly. "That's a pretty name," he says. I smile back at him. Everyone relaxes.

Ringmaster Oogway stands up and clears his throat. Everyone looks at him, and he gestures to the table. We all crowd in, Whisper on one side of me, Julia on the other. Grandmother Rosetta starts dealing out cards. "What game are we playing today?" I ask, my fingers itching with anticipation. She raises an eyebrow. "Go Fish," she says, then continues to deal out the cards until everyone has seven.

Ooh. Usually, we play Liar Liar or Solitaire to get the cookies. Simple games that everyone knew. The rules were usually every time you got away with lying, you got a cookie, or person to finish their game first got first pick. Go Fish was different. The number of groups you had determined the number of cookies you got. Everyone usually got at least one. I smile. I liked to consider myself a master of Go Fish.

Once I got my cards, I smiled. Two 8s, two Jacks, one 3, one King, and one 6. I hoped nobody would ask me for my doubles. The game started with Julia. "Peter, do you have any 5s?" she asked sweetly, pouring honey into her voice. I roll my eyes. Julia thought that if she sweetened up to players, they would be more likely to give her the cards she needed. She didn't realize that it's not their choice. "Go fish," he said. Julia sighs dramatically, then pulled a card from the deck. Next is Grandmother Rosetta. "Anne, sweetheart, do you have any 4s?" I smile inwardly. "Go fish."

The game continues. Cards are exchanged, but nobody has lain down a group yet. Then it was my turn. I carefully study my cards, and then I turn to Peter. "Peter, got any Jacks?" He looks startled, then he slides two Jacks towards me. I pull out my two Jacks and set them down, completing the group. One cookie down, a plateful to go, I think smugly.

Whisper gets a group next, a group of 7s. Then Lenny gets a group of Aces, which surprises me. He usually didn't get a group until near the end. Peter gains my 6, but Oogway quickly takes Peter's 6s and makes a group for himself. Then I get another group of Kings. Soon everyone has at least one group except Peter. He looks at me. I have the last card, my 3. He has three cards in his hand. He smiles. "Anne, got any 3s?" I smile and slide the card across the table. He lays down the group, guaranteeing himself one cookie. Everyone cheers and I cheer as well. Peter beams at me, and I feel my cheeks get warm.

The cookies are passed around the table. I breathe in deep. They are sugary perfection, warm, crispy dough with sugary crystals baked into the top. I eat my two slowly, then I stretch in contentment. Oogway smiles at me, then walks out of the trailer, rubbing my head on the way out. Slowly, we all head out of the room. I walk over to the largest beam in the Circus, a massive wooden pole perfect for climbing- if you like a challenge.

I pull myself up the pole, my hands grabbing well-worn spots in the wood. I make my way up to a platform that we had built a long time ago. I open a trapdoor in the bottom, then pull myself onto the smooth wood. I can see the entire Circus from up here.

To the left, I can see the practice field, with the trapeze set, makeshift tightrope, ring dancing field, and weight set. Over to the right is our animal area, where the horses, the seals, and the tigers live. Then, of course, down the middle are the trailers, where the trailers form a path leading up to the circus tent. I take in a deep, relaxing breath. I never get tired of this view. I spot Whisper on the ladder leading up to the trapeze set, and I wave. She waves back, then launches off in an elaborate routine of soaring, falling, swinging, moving through the sky like she could fly.

"She's really good at that," a voice says from behind me. I jump and turn to find Peter standing there, looking out across the Circus. "Nice view you have here," he comments, noticing my staring at him. "Don't do that! It's really creepy how you can just come out of nowhere! How do you even do that?" I demand, moving to stand next to him.

Peter looks uncomfortable for a minute, then he pulls down his sleeve and reveals a bracelet with Void Crystal set into it. "I use this. If you use Void Crystal right, you can both repel Wasted and be able to become invisible." I gently touch the piece, but it seems just like any other crystal. "How..?" I say uncertainly. "Void Crystal has a ton of different uses, all based on the way it's cut. The natural use is to repel Wasted, which doesn't require cutting. The way this Crystal is cut, I can become invisible for a short period of time," he explains.

I look at him, my excitement rising. "How long can you turn invisible?" I ask. Peter shrugs. "The longest I've been invisible is 3 minutes." I have a moment of realization. "No wonder I didn't see you in the alleyway! But you don't have an act here, right?" I say, my words tumbling over each other. He shakes his head slowly. "Well, this can be it! You can find a way to make yourself seem magic- that you can disappear into thin air!"

Peter seems skeptical at first, but then he breaks into a smile. "Why not? It's worth a shot!" he says, looking excited at last. I pull him to the trapdoor. "Come on! Let's get to the practice field. We need to perfect your act by tomorrow!" As I open the door and slide down, I feel a sensation. I realize that I feel free. For the first time in a long time, I finally feel free of my burdens, especially the monster of a burden called Dean. I inhale deeply and savor the feeling.