One

Agriculture is what built this country, as Daddy said. Without farmers, everyone would starve and die, as Daddy said. Our family has dedicated itself to this great cause for many generations, and so I must continue this tradition, even if I'm not a boy, as Daddy said. Daddy said a lot of things, that crept in one ear and raced out the other. My mind is too full: I heard Johnson, who lives a mile south, say that humans can only keep so much in our minds. That's why I have to keep the important things safe by blocking out the not so important things. I'm sure my mind ain't that big, after all, I am a girl. 

Summers aren't that bad, if God decides to turn his fan on. Sometimes it gets so hot that my family mops around the house, as if in a trance, wishing they were anywhere but here. I don't mind. Summer reminds me of the circus that comes to town every summer. The clowns are much funnier than watching the piglets fight for attention, the fortune teller is much more entertaining than the radio,the people there are much more interesting. Circuses used to be much more exciting, but then I got used to the same old same old, just like the folks here. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of meeting someone interesting, someone who can take the boring out of days. This year is exceptionally hot, with the air dry and crackling. In fact it is so hot that I am afraid the circus will skip this town, then I won't be able to meet anybody new. The wind still blows,half-heartedly, teasing the curtains, then leaving without a second glance. Surely if the wind continues to act like that, the circus will not visit. Oh well. I'm too old to fool around any longer, mother says I have to start learning how to cook and sew, so that my future husband will be able to be a good farmer.

The sun radiated heat high in the cloudless sky, making the sky exceptionally blue. The heat made the highway look wet, and inviting; however, when Fanny ran a mile towards it to inspect the oddly wet road, she was dismayed to find it perfectly dry and hot. It seems like everything was playing tricks on her these days. Yesterday, her mother had informed her, with a serious face, that Fanny was getting married. Freaking out, Fanny threatened to pack her bags and run, when her mother sheepishly clarified that Fanny-May, the diary farm girl, was getting married, not her. Now, today, the posters for the circus were being put up, despite them saying that the circus was not coming to town that summer. "Gosh darn, why is everything so complicated these days?" Fanny took a swig of her homemade lemonade, and continued to fan herself with the daily newspaper. She  slowly rocked the porch swing, as she squinted down the road. A blue rusty pickup truck was bumping along the dirt road towards her house. It lurched to a stop right at the gate. A young redhead jumped out from the back and hopped over the small white fence 

"Julie! How many times do I have to tell you to use the gate properly? I swear you're going to break our fence someday, then I'll have to paint the new one again." Fanny threw down the daily newspaper  and hopped down the porch steps.

"Good gosh Fanny, I'm too excited! I've come to pick you up."

"For what?"

"The circus you dummy. That thing you've been waiting all summer for?"

"Really? They're here?"

"The newspaper is meant to be read Fanny, not used as a fan." Julie wrinkled her freckle dotted nose, then grabbed Fanny's arm. "Come on, let's go!"

"Wait, I'm not wearing the dress I prepared!" Fanny looked down at her shapeless daisy patterned dress. 

"There's no time, we're only meeting the members of the circus today. The real show starts tomorrow." Julie's father is a member of the town council, and the head of the entertainment committee. That's why Julie got to meet the circus members before anyone else, and Fanny, being Julie's childhood friend, received most of those privileges. 

"Alright, as long as we're only meeting the clowns."

A tint of pink crept into the sky as dusk grew near. The pickup gave a final "putt-up" before coming to a stop at the camp site. "Julie look! There are so many new trailers, and all very colorful." 

"Darling, it's like you've never been to the circus." Julie hopped off the back, and held out her hand for Fanny. 

"Always the gentleman." Fanny sent a puff of dust into the air as her slippers hit the ground. "Ow, the ground's really hard."

"Always the sissy. Come on, before they all go to sleep."