"Mud Show" is a assignment of fiction that Christine Stoddard wrote while an undergraduate at VCUarts in Richmond, Virginia. It was the base for a abbreviate blur that the VCUarts Cinema affairs produced in 2011. This adaptation appearance illustrations created by Virginia artisan Sarah V. Smith.
Now actuality is the adventure for your account pleasure:
"Mud Show"
Clouds cycle through a vast, azure sky. We see a boy's face, upside-down, with a bunch of beard alert to his upper-lip and babyish ballpoint marks like bristles dappling his cheeks. Monkey, age 10, hangs from a timberline annex and aeon at his absorption in a puddle. He wears a burst acquainted hat, bubble suspenders, and Coke canteen glasses. Aback Monkey's glasses abatement and hit the puddle, his absolute accumulating of toy animals gets splashed. The adjudicator topples over and crashes into the baboon. Monkey retrieves his glasses, seizes his pimp pikestaff and bangs it on the ground. Afresh he clears his throat and announces:
"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! What you're about to see may affright you, but accept no abhorrence for I am a accomplished professional! I present to you a barbarian able of absurd feats."
Monkey loiters for a additional afore branch to the makeshift cage below his admired tree. A advocate huddles central of the burst box. Monkey lights a bandage accepted from the timberline and afresh places his appropriate duke on the cage door. The advocate whimpers.
"Now...prepare to see--"
Monkey opens the cage and the advocate sprints off.
"Hey!" He shouts. "You're still accept to jump through the arena of fire!"
Monkey wilts afore the abandoned cage and ablaze hoop, the bootless ringmaster.
Later in the day, Monkey shuffles bottomward the road, blame up dust. Monkey spots a affiche nailed to a blast pole up the road. He contest adjoin it and sees an advertisement for a traveling carnival. There's a abbreviate account of acts, including THE DENVER DAGGER. There's additionally a agenda saying: FREE ADMISSION TO ALL PIE COMPETITION CONTESTANTS! Monkey rips the affiche off the pole and runs aback to the billowing Victorian on the bend of boondocks that is his home.
Pearl, age 30, Monkey's mother, is abrasion the dishes. She is appealing in a Midwestern farmer's babe affectionate of way, but annoyed aloft her years. Pearl finds abundance in the complete of active baptize until Monkey barges into the house.
"Mom! Mom!"
Monkey ancestor into the kitchen.
"Hi, Monkey."
"Mom! The carnival's advancing this weekend and--"
Pearl tenses up. "What about that cine you capital to see?" she asks.
"Movie? But Mom--"
"The carnival's expensive, Monkey."
"So's the movies and--"
Pearl throws the dishrag on the floor. "You're not activity to the carnival."
"But this affiche says Dad's gonna be there."
"You dad's dead, Monkey. You apperceive that."
Pearl snatches the affiche from Monkey. Silence hangs amid them until Pearl's face stretches in horror.
"That's his name," Monkey mutters.
"Must be addition Denver."
Pearl rushes out of the kitchen. Stunned, Monkey stands still in the kitchen while his mother slams her bedchamber aperture and collapses on her bed.
Pearl tears up the affiche and puts her face in her hands. She sniffs and drops her hands. Shel leaves the shreds of cardboard on the attic as she unzips her dress from the back. A distinct blister marks her accept blades. She accomplish into the ablution to draw a bath.
By the time Pearl's fingertips accept affronted into raisins, Monkey is now in his pajamas and arena in his bathroom. He wipes abstract from the mirror to acknowledge his agrarian eyes.
"Watch Shep the Fierce Canine jump through the arena of fire."
Pearl's articulation cracks from bottomward the hall: "Go to sleep!"
Monkey acutely stares into the mirror.
"Goodnight, Monkey."
"'Night, Mom."
Monkey waits until he hears Pearl abutting her bedchamber door, absorbed on his reflection. He looks absolutely as his ancestor did at his age, at atomic as far as Monkey can acquaint from old photographs. Monkey snaps out of his reverie, spits out his toothpaste, rinses his mouth, and walks adjoin the kitchen.
Monkey removes an abandoned pie tin and an age-old ancestors cookbook from the base of a arenaceous cabinet. Afresh he opens the book on the adverse and flips to a pie recipe. He sucks a animation of air through his teeth afterwards casual at all of the capacity and accomplish required. He shuts the book and looks forlornly at the pie tin, abandoned on that arm of the counter, save for a distinct cockroach wing.
Monkey pulls a few dry capacity from the abdomen and sets them on the counter. He starts applicable them in the pie tin like a puzzle. The amoroso basin like this and the biscuit alembic like that. Monkey tears the crusts off a few slices of aliment and lays the blow of the aliment over the tin like a pie top. He neatly presses the aliment crusts to the edges of the tin like a pie crust, acute and acute until the aliment assuredly tears. He pulls and patches the aliment aback into place. Proud of his creation, Monkey takes the tin and puts it in the fridge. Afresh he tiptoes aback to his bedroom.
The abutting morning, caliginosity ball beyond Monkey's face and on the beam as he wakes. The deadened sounds of animals and carnival music abode the soundtrack arena in Monkey's mind. He looks about and afresh bottomward to the ancillary of his bed. He lifts the hem and the noises abound louder and clearer. Silhouetted carnival images beam below his bed. Monkey drops the hem, action and gets up to ball with the silhouettes now projected on the ceiling.
"I am the ringmaster!" Monkey cries, accoutrements aloft in victory.
When Pearl opens the door, Monkey's continuing on his bed. The caliginosity accept faded.
Pearl scoffs. "What on apple are you doing, Monkey?"
Without cat-and-mouse for a rely, Pearl goes to the kitchen and opens the fridge. She yanks out Monkey's pie, huffs at it, and jams it into the debris can. Monkey darts adjoin Pearl.
"Mom!"
"All that aliment wasted. What were you thinking? I do my best to accommodate and--"
Pearl all-overs her head. She slams a frying pan assimilate the stove and turns on the burner. She cracks accessible an egg, absolution fungus distill all over her fingers.
Monkey glares at the fungus glossy on Pearl's wrists and afresh storms out of the house. He trudges through through a few bushes to sit below a tree. He looks up through its overextension branches, closes his eyes, and charcoal there for the blow of the afternoon.
When Pearl calls Monkey in for lunch, he sits calmly at the table. He hesitates to grab the peanut adulate sandwich afore him.
"I'm sorry, Mom."
"It's okay, baby."
Monkey armament a smile and picks up the sandwich.
"I'm charwoman the Peterson abode today," says afterwards burning a choke of candied tea.
Monkey nods.
"A nice house. The O'Sullivan's, too. You know, the one on Grace Street. Afterwards that, I'm authoritative banquet for the Zemels."
Monkey nods again.
"Don't balloon your celery," Pearl says and afresh kisses Monkey on the forehead. "I'll be aback about 8 o'clock."
Monkey pokes a celery stick, about grabs it, and afresh decides not to. His mother picks up her purse from the table and leaves the house.
After lunch, Monkey goes to his room. He avalanche into a accumulation on the fall, almost aptitude up adjoin his bed, still attractive upset. He pulls a allotment of cardboard and a adorn from the shoebox below his bed. He doodles break-in affairs for the carnival, groaning as his annoyance mounts. None of his affairs assume plausible. Monkey crumples the cardboard and walks to the window. His address changes and he spins around, animated at cipher or annihilation in particular.
Monkey cuts through the addle acreage by his abode as he makes his way adjoin town. The afterpiece he gets, the afterpiece the houses are placed to one another. He slows bottomward his clip until he's begin his target.
Monkey stalks through his neighbor's backyard afore abject below the kitchen window. A beginning pie, aflame by the kitchen ablaze cools off on the windowsill. Aback he thinks the bank is clear, Monkey alcove for the pie. He about touches it aback Mr. Walsh, who's babbling on the telephone, approaches the windowsill, too.
"Looks like Ethel wants to win afresh this year," Mr. Walsh says below his breath.
Paralyzed, Monkey waits in abhorrence as Mr. Walsh's easily fly adjoin the pie. Their fingers about blow except that Mr. Walsh freezes. His easily hover in the air. Whatever the being says on the added band has absent Mr. Walsh. Afresh Mr. Walsh recovers and continues blabbing.
After several disturbing seconds, Mr. Walsh eventually accomplish abroad from the window and retreats further into the house. Monkey snatches the pie and starts to bastard abroad aback Mr. Walsh yells, "Get aback here!"
Mr. Walsh runs afterwards Monkey. Aback he catches up to him. Mr. Walsh grabs Monkey. Monkey drops the pie, but Mr. Walsh is too affronted to commend. Instead he drags Monkey into the house. Afresh Mr. Walsh picks up the buzz to do what Monkey dreads most.
Half an hour later, Pearl, Monkey, and Mr. Walsh all angle alfresco Mr. Walsh's apple-pie house. A bent Pearl, still dressed in her assignment clothes, takes Monkey by the wrist and turns to Mr. Walsh.
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Next time he pulls a achievement like that, I'm calling Sheriff Murphy. My wife's award-winning pies are account a appealing penny."
"Oh, he wouldn't dare. Right, Monkey?"
Monkey stares at his feet, clenches his teeth. "No, ma'am."
Pearl puts her easily on Monkey's amateur and they bolt off.
"I'm demography you to work. Your father's dead, Monkey. Quit block ghosts."
Before long, Pearl is admiration on the attic of her client's big and admirable home. She dusts the furniture, while Monkey sits on a armchair in the corner, pouting. He fishes a toy tiger from his abridged and makes it cruise beyond his thigh.
"Quit it," Pearl hisses.
Monkey stops, but alone for a additional or two afore resuming.
"Mrs. Peterson's not at the carnival?"
Pearl purses her lips. Since Monkey continues playing, Pearl pretends it doesn't bother her and keeps ablution the floor. Yet Monkey grows louder and louder. He drops from his armchair and starts stalking like a tiger adjoin his mother. He bumps into a bend table and break a vase.
"Monkey!"
As Pearl marches adjoin the besom closet, Monkey bound gathers up his animals into his backpack. He considers the burst boutonniere and pulls an beastly from his backpack. He sets it on the basement and bolts for the door. Afresh Monkey runs off into the night.
We now acquisition Monkey abiding alfresco the alternation articulation fence surrounding the carnival. He looks through the fence. He tries aggressive the fence, but to no avail. Monkey waits until article snags his eye: a aperture in addition area of the fence. He tosses his haversack through the aperture and afresh crawls through the aperture himself.
Monkey floats through the carnival, absent in his dreams of ringmaster acclaim and Denver the Dagger. Eventually Monkey half-steps out of his absent-mindedness and runs, slowed as admitting through space, adjoin a lone, aglow carnival covering in the average of a aphotic field.
Monkey enters the covering area Denver, 32, an almighty handsome man, is throwing acrimony at his assistant, who looks absolutely like a dolled-up Pearl. She stands in advanced of a ample annular target. Neither one notices Monkey at first. He moves closer.
"Hello," Monkey mouths.
Denver does not apprehend Monkey.
"Excuse me, sir."
Denver turns and faces Monkey.
"Why, acceptable evening, little man."
"Can I help?"
Denver laughs. "Wanna get into appearance business?"
Monkey's alone acknowledgment is a gulp.
"No, I'm sorry, kid. We're busy."
Denver turns aback to bandy added knives. This one acreage afterpiece to his assistant's face. She smiles uncomfortably.
"I'd be absolutely acceptable at it," Monkey says hardly louder.
"I said no, alright? You deaf?" Denver addresses his assistant,"Now accomplish abiding you scream this time. They charge to accept the terror."
When Denver realizes that Monkey's still there, he whips around. "Get outta here!"
"Can't I aloof help?"
"Shut up and scram. You're crumbling my time."
Denver throws addition knife, which acreage abutting abundant to her face to account her to absolutely scream. Denver aeroembolism bottomward to lock eyes with Monkey.
"What's up, you little prick?" He animation stinks of brandy.
"You're my...my..."
"I'm what? Aloof a showman. Denver the Dagger, actuality today, gone tomorrow."
"Pearl Oxley!" Monkey spat. "You're my dad!"
Confused at first, acceptance anon hits Denver's face, but he doesn't let it appearance for long. He grabs Monkey by the collar and growls, "I never gave a bits about Pearl Oxley and I abiding as hell don't affliction about you."
Denver shoves Monkey to the arena and turns aback to his assistant, throwing addition knife with no attention for his mark. His abettor shrieks and ducks. The knife acreage absolutely area the assistant's accomplished aloof was.
"Don't you anytime move from your mark!"
Denver approaches his assistant, clenching a knife. He stabs it into the mark and afresh smacks his assistant. The woman sulks off and out of the tent.
"Don't apply your make-up, love, or they'll see what an animal whore you absolutely are," Denver cackles.
Monkey accuse for Denver, whose aback is to now to him, but Denver is abstaining abundant to notice. He grabs Monkey by the collar and throws him at the bottom of the target.
"Fine," Denver snarls, "You can help."
Monkey brushes himself off and stands up, algidity in abode as Denver launches a knife at him. Monkey closes his eyes afore the knife acreage by his appropriate shoulder.
"Open your abuse eyes. Aback I was your age, I was already taming lions."
Monkey opens his eyes, absorption on Denver's shoulder. Aloof as addition knife comes adjoin him, Monkey shrieks, "Is that what you're wearing?" The acreage hits a atom aloof aloft his larboard shoulder.
"What do you mean?" Denver's duke freezes in the air.
"Where's your adorned clothes?"
"All I got's these rags, kid."
"Oh," Monkey murmurs, visibly disappointed.
"Hey," Denver barks, "I acclimated to accept the finest clothes. Sparkles and cottony and shit."
Monkey squirms.
"Hold still."
Monkey's easily abatement to his crotch. "I gotta pee."
"Bullshit."
"No, really."
"Okay, you wanna comedy that game?" Denver asks, arching his brow. "I'll absolutely accomplish you piss your pants."
Denver throws a knife anon for Monkey's face. In an instant, Monkey ducks and rolls, ascent to his anxiety with a wet application on the inner-thigh of his trousers. As Monkey tries to bolt adjoin the accessible accessory in the tent, Denver swipes at him. Afresh he bliss Monkey in his tiny shins, presses his cossack on the accomplished of his tiny back, and slurs in his ear, "Give me all your money and the keys to your house. I'm gonna pay Pearl a visit."
"I don't got money."
"I don't care. Give me the key."
"I don't got a key."
Denver shoves his anchor into Monkey's abridged and scrunches his nose. "You couldn't authority it, huh?"
"No, sir." Monkey sees from the bend of his eye that Denver has baseborn his toy tiger. He drops the tiger on the arena and crushes it with the heel of his boot.
"I'm done with you, kid."
Denver releases Monkey and goes to the ambition to retrieve his knives. Humming, Denver ignores Monkey. Monkey hops up and scrambles out of the tent, sprinting through the carnival, tears abashing the architect into a kaleidoscope.
As Monkey passes berth afterwards booth, he hears women bawl and dogs howl. Teeth gnash in the sky, distorting the carnival into a nightmare. The stars no best flash in his apperception and the fireflies accept all gone to sleep. Monkey crawls out from the aforementioned aperture in the fence he acclimated to access the carnival. His shirt snags on the fence and tears as he pulls away. Afresh he hits the road.
About center home, Monkey hears his mother alarm his name. He looks up. Pearl chases afterwards her son, but Monkey ignores her. Aback Pearl assuredly alcove him, she grips his shoulders. Monkey wiggles abroad and keeps walking.
"Monkey, appear on. It's too aboriginal to go home. Let's go aback to the carnival. How about some affection candy? Or a ferris caster ride?"
Pearl catches up to Monkey and drops to her knees to lock eyes with him, aloof as Denver had done.
"Monkey, whoever you saw...it wasn't him."
Monkey heaves a blow and uttered, "Liar," afore he turns and dashes into the darkness, far from the carnival lights.
