Chapter 11:

"I raise 20."
"Check."
"I raise to 200."
"I fold."
"Oh Why do you do that?"

That's a brief extract from life on the road. Now lots of people may picture travelling around Europe with 3 beautiful girls, and imagine days of glamour and adventure. I'm sorry to bring you down to earth but the reality might not be as idealistic as you imagine. The first few days were very much about work, most of the time being spent on the roads of France and Switzerland. We could at least spare a couple of hours for lunch everyday in whatever town we drove in to. Evenings were spent at a campsite over a gas stove meal.
One big difference to my everyday life was the limited access to electricity. It was a big change from what I was used to, where I had my tablet and DVD collection to keep me entertained in the evenings. It was amazing though how quickly I adapted, and didn't really miss any of those things. We spent much of the time talking, joking and playing various games that were kept in the van, that the Wild Cats obviously had played a lot. I had remarked on the fact they were the first people I'd ever met to own an official scrabble dictionary.
"Lilly insisted" said Kelly.
"Well there was no way I'm repeating the debacle of sheeps-gate again" replied Lilly.
"You mean sheep-gate" I said.
"No sheeps-gate" said Lilly. "It was one of the most embarrassing moments I've ever had."
"It wasn't that bad" said Hayley.
"Wasn't that bad" said Lilly. "I had to explain to that librarian that you two were making that commotion because we'd turned off the motorway, just to find a dictionary over an argument over whether or not sheeps is a word."
"I still don't see why it's not" said Hayley. "You have ewes, rams and lambs, why not sheeps."
"I told you" said Kelly. "Sheep is both the plural and singular word, you don't need to add an S on the end."

By far the most played game though was Texas holdem poker. A game I'd had almost no first hand experience of playing before. I'd always assumed it to be a mostly luck based game, but was quickly discovering there was a lot more to it, in terms of understanding your own hands odds, and the betting between players. Luckily we weren't playing for money, or I'd have to have done the sensible thing and sit out all the games. Instead when someone got low on chips they could either buy them off another player in return for a favor, or in return for doing various odd jobs like cleaning the outside of the van or cooking dinner.
I'd picked up the basic rules quickly enough, and a few days in was starting to recognize what betting strategies the other Wild Cats used. Lilly tended to underplay her hands, letting other people take the lead in the betting until near the end of the hand, where she would often catch others out once they'd already invested a fair amount of chips in the pot. Hayley's methods were perhaps the closest to the ones I adopted, betting chips based on the strength of her own hand, but saving the large bets for the last round of betting. The Wild Cat I had the most trouble playing against though was Kelly, she played very aggressively, putting out big bets as soon as she had something that looked strong. For instance I'd been dealt two kings, a very strong opening hand, Hayley had put out an opening bet of 20, that I had matched. Kelly had now responded by raising things up to 200, which was a lot considering I only had 260 worth of chips left.
"Oh Why do you do that?" I asked.
"What" asked Kelly.
"Bet so much before the flops even been dealt" I said. "For all we know our hands will be worth nothing on the flop, yet we'd have bet a huge amount on it."
"Hey if you don't have fire power to back up your bet just fold" said Kelly.
I took a second to double check my cards. I realized my heart was beating a little quicker in anticipation of my decision.
"All in" I said, pushing my whole stack in.
"I call" said Kelly, adding an equal number of chips from her much larger stack.
We both turned over her cards. I was gratified to see a little trepidation come across Kelly's face when she saw my pair of kings, which was ahead of her hand of queen, nine. A large smile came across my face as Hayley dealt the first flop card, and it was a third king, making my three kings almost unbeatable. The next card was a seven, then to my concern the next card was a 10. That meant I had 3 kings, but Kelly had 4 of the cards needed for a 9 through king strait, if a jack came up her hand would beat mine. The fourth card to be dealt was a 5, which didn't affect either of us, then to my horror the fifth card dealt was a jack.
"NOOOO" I exclaimed, cursing my bad luck.
Kelly gave a smug smile as she gather all the chips, bringing her number up to around 1500.
"Do you want to buy back in?" asked Hayley.
"I might just sit up front with Lilly for a bit" I said.
"Oh go on" said Hayley. "I'll make you a good offer for a thousands worth of chips."
"Like what?" I asked.
"Well seeing as Lilly won a romantic meal out from Kelly earlier, how about you treat me to a romantic night of pampering when we have the place to ourselves" she said.
"What would that entail?" I smiled.
"I reckon scented candles, wine and chocolate" said Hayley, "and maybe some massage oils for us to use on each other."
Loosing wasn't always a total disaster in these games of poker.
"Are you all right up there?" Kelly called out to Lilly who was currently driving.
"I'm alright" said Lilly. "This spectacular Swiss mountain scenery makes a nice change from the usual trudging along motorways."
I had been struck by the beautiful scenery myself, taking the chance to view it whenever I wasn't otherwise distracted.
"It must be my turn to drive soon" said Kelly.
"We can take a break, and swap over at the next town" suggested Lilly. "Hopefully if we keep driving we'll put a decent amount of miles behind us today."
"Yeah, it would be nice to have a few extra hours for lunch in Milan tomorrow" said Kelly.

Chapter 12:

With apologies to the people of Milan, and the other places we stopped at I'm going to skip to the end of our journey, at the Plaza Bra (yeah that's the real name, you can Google it) in the center of Verona. I found myself looking around in amazed disbelief. We were located on a cobblestoned plaza, surrounded by historic looking buildings, including one side that had a long line of bars and restaurants. There was a small tree filled park in one corner and iron lampposts lining the edges. The main feature though was a large structure called the Arena that was an ancient Roman coliseum, like I'd seen in many films and history books. As we checked in with the carnival organizers and drove into our dedicated plot of land I could see quite a few other rides and attractions were present. At the largest clearing I could see the base of a large tower like structure being set up, there was a fun house, ghost train and several more compact thrill rides, family rides and a small kiddie coaster, as well as several food vans, games and a couple of other travelling side shows and exhibits.
"Is this really it?" I asked.
"It sure is" smiled Hayley. "It's one of the more impressive locations we operate from."
"It's amazing" I said, "but how does the whole carnival fit in, there's not room for everyone surely?"
"For this event they split into 2 parts" explained Kelly. "There's the larger area at the edge of the city center where the main carnival takes place, but there's also this smaller range of attractions set up in this great location."
"Don't spend too long enjoying the view just yet" said Lilly. "We want to get everything built up today, so we at least have tomorrow off before things start on Friday."

If you had any misconceptions about women being no good at mechanical or practical things they would soon be put right if you saw the Wild Cats at work when setting up the tent. With the van parked in place Lilly and Kelly climbed up on the roof, and started to pass all the various items down to me and Hayley, instructing me where everything went. With everything down we were soon setting up the frame for the giant tent, and putting the canvas up on it. With all that done we were soon setting up the stage structures, the ticket booth, the generator, all the shows lighting, the seating, the costumes and various other bits. It took a bit of time, but eventually we had everything set up. After that we grabbed a meal at one of the restaurants along the edge of Plaza Bra, before heading back to the tent. Not that I wasn't keen to explore a little more of Verona, but after 3 days on the road, and a tiring set up we were all more keen for an early night. I knew I'd have several chances to explore more over the next week and a half.

The next day I joined the Wild Cats on what for them was very much a busman's holiday, as we got a train from Verona to Lake Garda to visit one of the local theme parks. This wasn't a major surprise as I knew all threes interest in the subject went further than just their chosen profession. Kelly had told me to enjoy the theme parks while I could, because in a few weeks Lilly would be driving everyone mad wanting to visit all the zoos in the cities we were visiting.
What really surprised me though was the choice of park. When we arrived at the train station there were advertisements everywhere for a park called Gardaland, and as we headed to the bus stops about 100 people were crowding around where the Gardaland shuttle bus picked up from. We though were at another bus stop with 6 other people where there was a sign for another park called Movie Land.
"So why's everyone going to Gardaland?" I asked, "and why aren't we going there?"
"Well Gardaland is the more heavily advertised and commercial park" said Kelly.
"The rides are good, but not enough to justify putting up with the cost, and the crowds there will be at this time of year." said Lilly.
"Nor the fact they seemed determined to rinse you for every cent you've got" said Kelly.
"Movie Land is a lot more fun" said Lilly. "There's a lot of bizarre unique rides that you won't get anywhere else. That's why we almost always do it at some point on the trip."
"Always the day before the Verona Carnival?" I asked.
"Sometime we do another park on the trip over, and do this after the carnival, but unless 2 other parks both have major new rides we can't wait to do, we'll end up doing Movie Land at some point." said Hayley.

Well after that build up I had high expectations of Movie Land, and I'm glad to say it delivered as the most off the wall theme park I've been to. Most of it was themed as a giant movie studio, with rides based around various film genres, and recreations of famous movie cars like Nightrider, the General Lee, or the Back to the Future Delorean. It hosted some amazingly good magic and stunt shows that were far better than anything than anything I ever expected. Other hi-lights included a Terminator themed cinema where you shot robots with laser guns, a ride where you drove around a track and into lakes at speed on the back of a truck, another where you drove around the stunt arena on a speed boat, a weird submarine simulator that saw us getting soaked, a really unusual design for a drop ride, and another thrill ride covered in shag pile carpet. I could see why the Wild Cats loved the place, it wasn't the most sophisticated park I've ever been to, but it was definitely one of the most fun.

Chapter 13:

One of the highlights of our day at Movie Park came about after lunch, as we headed over to the parks ghost house attraction, based on the pancake day films called Porcelain's Palace. It had an elaborate front, rising up to two stories high. At the top was the name of the ride in giant pink letters across the top, in the middle was a large picture of Princess Porcelains face, a beautiful black haired woman, with her face painted white with make up to give her a porcelain doll like appearance. The building itself was painted black, with bricks depicted in white paint. At regular intervals across the top row were large windows, in each one was a moving animatronics model of one of Porcelain's victims, having batter (or the dyed water used to depict it) poured on them, sticking their heads out a giant fibreglass trifle, or being hit by a pie. Also around various points were various examples of airbrush art depicting both Princess Porcelain and scenes from the Pancake Day films. On the bottom level I spied an entrance arch and two open areas where it looked like some game took place, before you went through an archway into the main palace itself.

We had to wait in a short queue, were we could watch the first part of the ride, before we were admitted to the first part ourselves. It was a raised stage area, set up to allow an audience to watch from the queue, and pathways in front of the ride. Along it were a row of busts with sculptures of spooky looking faces. In between each head was a headless statue, with the top sculpted to allow for someone's head to rest in place. In total there were eight places for people to place their heads. We were each directed by the attendant to each position our head on one of the central four spaces.
"It's Playtime" was called out. This was from a lady dressed as Princess Porcelain who was on stage. She had the same white face paint, black and red leather hoodie jacket from the first film, and a similar pair of black boots. She was also wearing a headset microphone that allowed her to speak to everyone watching.
"Wow, three beautiful ladies with one man. Someone knows how to get lucky" said Porcelain. "Now while my assistant prepares things let me explain the rules."
As she did this another girl dressed as a clown brought a number of custard pies on stage. These were especially made with a reusable base made from an inch thick large circle of sponge, topped with a three inch thick layer of shaving foam. She put one in front of each of us, positioned on a wooden circle at the end of a long pole. The right length to act as a catapult to throw the pie in our faces.
"The game is a simple test of reactions" said Porcelain. "By each of your right hands is a big red button. You see those lights above me. When the green light comes on your to press it as fast as possible. If your the last to press it, or you press your button immaturely you'll lose, and you'll get one of my big chlorafoam pies in your face. Whoever avoids getting a pie to the face is the winner."
With that Porcelain headed over to the side of the stage where she reclined back on a large throne that was located there, surrounded by two of her clown assistants who were both holding a pair of pies each.
I turned my attention to the lights above us. There were four of them lined up in a row. The first red one was lit, the next two amber and final green were unlit. As the first amber light lit I rested my hand above the button, the second amber light lit up a few seconds after that. I then heard a yelp to my left. I glanced over and saw Lilly gasping, her face covered in a layer of white foam, where she'd just been hit with her pie.
"Wait until the light turns green" called out Porcelain.
Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the green light coming on. I quickly hit the button. There was a few seconds pause before I heard another yelp. I glanced over and saw this time it was Hayley who'd failed to hit the button in time, and was now wiping foam out of her eyes.
"That's two naughty girls who didn't pay attention" called out Porcelain. "Hopefully you two can do a little better."
I glanced over back at the lights, where only the red was lit again. The first amber light lit and I held my hand above the button, the second amber light lit up. I watched the lights nervously as they seemed to take forever. The green lit up and I pushed down as quickly as I could. Unfortunately I wasn't quite quick enough, a fact I discovered as the pie was thrown into my face. I stepped back, my face covered in foam, wiping my eyes to see Kelly celebrating with a little victory dance.
"Don't get too cocky" called out Porcelain. "There are still plenty of games for you to play in my palace. Why don't you go and have some fun."

We'd now entered Porcelain's Palace and were making our way through a narrow corridor. It was decorated with pink nursery wallpaper. From the ceiling hung parts of dolls, teddy bears and other toys on string, low enough to ensure we brushed past them as we walked by.
"I can't believe they don't even give you a towel" moaned Lilly.
"I can't believe your complaining so much about one pie" laughed Kelly.
"Hey, if it had been Princess Porcelain rubbing it over me, instead of just being thrown in my face I would have really enjoyed it, although not as much as I suspect you would Kelly" replied Lilly.
"Oh, I forgot you said she was your weird crush" I said.
"That's why I dress up as her at Halloween" said Lilly.
"Oh look a mirror" said Hayley.
We were emerging out the narrow corridor into a slightly larger square room. It was decorated like a child's bedroom, including a bed that took up the center that we had to walk around to get to the exit door. I quickly noticed a few demented touches like broken toys, a diary with a load of hateful things written in red crayon, and a load of sketches not dissimilar to the ones seen in the films, showing the design of the traps. At the far end of the room was a dressing table, including a large mirror in a frame behind it, that Hayley and Lilly were heading to.
Suddenly the glass in the mirror slid upwards, revealing two evil clowns behind the frame. One was holding a giant foam gun, that sprayed out a cloud of white foam over both Hayley and Lilly. As the mirror slid back down they both slowly turned round, revealing their bodies completely covered in a thick layer of white foam from their waist up as they wiped their eyes.
"Don't you dare laugh" said Hayley.
I sucked my cheeks in as best I could, trying to resist the urge to grin.
"How come your still clean Kelly when I'm like this?" Asked Lilly.
"You don't normally complain when I get you that messy" laughed Kelly.

The exit to the bedroom was covered by a curtain, made up of numerous six inch wide strips of fabric that hung down to the floor, colored either a bright yellow or bright red, arranged to make an eye-catching striped pattern. Upon stepping through the door we emerged into a small three foot square room. On each wall was another curtain, exactly like the one we'd just stepped through. We tried each of them, and found two had wooden walls behind them, but one had another door, which led into another identical square room with the walls covered in curtains. For the next couple of minutes we had to find our way through the maze like area, while watching out for evil clowns hiding behind some of the curtains, or taunted us from an opening in the ceiling above. Several were armed with water pistols which they used to soak us. At several points we emerged into a slightly larger room, with two doorways on each wall instead of one. In these of course there was a clown, either already in the room, or hiding behind one of the curtains who taunted and confused us as we searched for the next doorway.
It was such a large room that brought us to the end of the maze. We could tell it was the end because one of the doors had no curtain over it, and had a dark corridor on the other side. Lilly and Hayley headed strait for it which turned out to be a mistake. As the got close to the door a clown jumped out from behind the curtain next to the door, letting out an evil cackle. As Hayley and Lilly recoiled in shock the clown raised his arm and squirted a load of pink silly string at both Lilly and Hayley. As they turned around, still covered in a fair amount of foam, along with the newly added layer of silly string Kelly let out a quiet giggle. I couldn't suppress a giggle myself, which set Kelly off even further, until we were both laughing uncontrollably.
"Stop it you two" cried Lilly.
"Come on," said Hayley. "This time you two can go first."

Stepping through the door, closely followed by Kelly we quickly turned a corner and came to a flight of stairs. We slowly climbed up and came to a doorway to a new room. This time it was a mock up of a kitchen. Along the walls were various counters and cupboards, as well as an oven and a fridge. On the counters were various large bowls and large containers containing various messy substances, all labelled with a description of the contents. On closer inspection I spotted they'd all been screwed to the counters to stop anyone tipping them over. In the middle was a large table, sitting on which was another clown, but dressed up appropriately with a chef hat and apron. He was holding a china mixing bowl, filled with what looked like cake mix, and a wooden spoon.
"Visitors!" He exclaimed. "I see you've all been having fun, playing Porcelain's games downstairs. Are you ready to play some more."
"Yes" came the response from us.
"Oh, that wasn't very enthusiastic" said the Chef. "You could always head strait into the next chamber if you don't want to play."
It looked liked Lilly and Hayley were about to do just that, but I realized that might not be the best idea.
"Hang on" I said. "You've seen the films. There's bound to be some evil messy twist."
"Evil?" Exclaimed the Chef. "Everything here is for fun and play. Your right though, there is a game to play. When you step into the chamber the doors will close, and if you loose our little game the sprinklers will activate before the next door opens, soaking you. To win you have to have activated enough of the switches hidden in this room, before the time runs out. As a little hint, most of the switches can be found at the bottom of the various pots, pans and containers found in this room, so dig deep. Your time starts now."
With that the chef turned over an hourglass on the table. We all spread out around the room to search different areas. I started with two large jars, one was red and labelled strawberry syrup, the other was blue and labelled blueberry syrup. I placed my arm in the texture was a lot different to what I initially expected, being more akin to the stage gunge like we used to use in the bloodbaths on stage, rather than actual syrup. I found nothing in the strawberry jar, but at the bottom of the blueberry jar I felt a large plastic button which I pushed down. That done I looked around for any container's we'd not tried yet.
"Try the cupboards, oven and fridge" called out the Chef. "There's plenty of fun to be had in there."
Lilly and Hayley both opened a large cupboard, and revealed a further assortment of containers. One in the form of a load of saucepans filled with mess, the other with containers labelled as various ingredients. Kelly opened the oven door to reveal two shelves, each with a large casserole dish filled with a brown messy liquid. I opened the fridge to reveal an array of boxes and packages, plus three containers that caught my eye. One was a large tall plastic container with a white liquid labelled milk in the door. One was labelled the cheese box and contained a thick yellow fondue like substance. The last was one of the vegetable trays at the bottom of the fridge, which contained a light brown liquid, containing various black lumps in it. I reached into the cheese box with my left hand and the milk jug with my right. The yellow liquid was very thick and gooey, the white liquid was a lot thinner and cooler. I found nothing in the cheese box, but found another button to press at the bottom of the milk jug. With only a little time left I turned my attention to the vegetable box. I plunged my right hand in, and after feeling around a number of cold squishy lumps I felt a last button at the bottom which I pushed down.
"Time's up" called out the Chef as I removed my hand. "Why don't you head into the next chamber and find out how you did."

Chapter 14:

Cautiously we headed into the next room. It was a rectangular room, just long enough for us to all stand in a line. The walls were a pale yellow, like the color of white walls that have been water damaged. Above us on the ceiling I spotted eight shower heads, spread out at regular intervals to ensure there would be nowhere to avoid the water if it started. We all looked at each other nervously as the door behind us slid shut.
"How did you all do?" Asked Hayley.
"I found four switches" replied Lilly.
"I got three" I said.
"I only found two" said Kelly.
"I also got three" said Hayley.
We stopped talking as we heard three loud beeps in a row. We nervously waited for several seconds, until there was a fourth higher pitched beep, and the door in front of us slid open.
"We did it " cried Lilly.
Not wishing to hang around we all went through the door as quickly as we could. We came out into another grimy room. We noticed several dirty signs on the wall describing factory rules and regulations, and several rusty old machines against the wall. In the middle of the room was another actress. She was in a solid looking steel chair, with her wrists shackled to the chair arms, and a bowl of what looked like flour on a stand in front of her. Her face and hair were also covered in a layer of flour.
"Quick. Get Out!" She screamed. "Before she gets you as well."
We made our way thought the door, and spent the next few minutes navigating a confusing array of corridors, taking a maze like route over the upper level of the palace. We eventually came to a set of stairs leading back down that led to a room with another actress stuck in a chain link cage. She desperately called for help, even reaching through a hole in the cage to grab us as we walked around her.
From there we had several more grimy corridors until we came out in a larger room. This one was a large square, and had a pool of dirty brown looking water on the floor. To cross it we had to make our way over a diving board like structure to reach the opposite door.

From there it was round the next corner to the largest room we'd been in so far. Taking prominent position was a set of steps, leading up to a large golden throne. Reclining on it was an actress dressed as Princess Porcelain. Upon closer inspection I could tell it wasn't the same one we'd encountered outside the palace.
"Finally. I thought you'd never get here" she said. "Are you ready to play with me one last time. If you look to my left you'll see one of my big pools, where I like to keep my supplies of mess, ready for all the fun games I like to play" said Porcelain.
To her left was a large circular pool, about five foot in diameter. It was filled up with a white soapy foam, like the stuff I'd seen used at foam parties in nightclubs. It stuck out from the pool in a large pile, that came up to my waist, but looking at the edge of the pool I spotted steps down that took you deeper into the pool than the level we were standing at on the floor.
"The game is a simple treasure hunt" said Porcelain. "In my pool there are a number of rubber blue balls. You all have to go in and search for one each. The results of the game will decide which route you leave my throne room by."
We all stepped up to the edge of the pool. We stepped slowly in, not because the foam bothered us, but because of the steps that were obscured from view. By the time I'd reached the bottom the foam came up to my shoulders and Kelly's neck. Lilly and Hayley were having to push foam aside to keep their heads above it.
"How are we supposed to find anything hidden at the bottom of this lot?" asked Lilly.
"You'll have to dive right in" suggested Porcelain.
Hayley followed her suggestion, squatting down and feeling around with her hands. Everyone else opted to try with their feet first. Hayley emerged a short time later, triumphantly holding a blue ball above her as she stepped back up the steps, where she stopped to wipe some of the foam that now covered her off, including throwing some of it in my direction. As this happened Kelly crouched down into the foam and then emerged with a ball she'd found at there feet. Rather than leave the pool at this point she opted to grab a handful of the foam and smear it in Lilly's hair. Lilly responded by throwing a handful in Kelly's face. This distracted Lilly from the task in hand, so I was the next to find a ball with my feet. Taking a deep breath I crouched down, until I was submerged in the white airy foam. I quickly grabbed the ball and held it above my head.
"Well it looks like your playtime's over" said Porcelain. "Why don't you follow me, and I'll show you your way exit."
We all climbed out the pool, and followed her to an alcove behind her throne. In it were four dark doorways, and by each one was a post with a rope attached to it that led into each doorway. We were all told to stand by a different post each.
"Your last task is to find the exit without any of my friends catching you" said Porcelain. "I'd hold on to the rope though, otherwise you might get lost in the dark."

I held onto my rope with my right hand and slowly stepped forward. I quickly turned two corners, and found myself in pitch black darkness. Unable to see I spent a nervous few minutes following the rope as it went up and down. At one point I had to crouch down to get through a small tunnel. I also had to watch for various items hanging from the ceiling I couldn't see in the darkness, surprise water sprays, and obstacles I had to walk through what felt like a ball pool, and a huge pile of a load of polystyrene balls.
Eventually I came to a large post which the rope was attached too. As I felt up and down the post I discovered several other ropes, all leading away from it. I choose one on the opposite side of the side I arrived at chest height and followed that. About a minute later I froze as I heard footsteps nearby.
"Who's there?" I heard a familiar voice call out.
I couldn't resist temptation. I remained silent and crept slowly forward towards the sound of the voice, making sure I remembered where the rope was.
"Hello?" I heard again, just in front of me.
"RRAAAAAAAARGH" I cried, grabbing in front of me. As I grabbed onto someone I heard a loud scream.
"Oh, hi Lilly" I said. "Is that you?"
"You Bastard" she replied in response. "Where are you?"
"I'm back at my rope" I replied.
"I'm going to slap you so hard when we get out of here" she said.

It was only a short time later where I stepped through a doorway and round a corridor in to a dimly lit corridor where the rope ended. Looking down the corridor I spotted a junction up ahead. One way turned to the right, the other continued strait ahead to another corner. I wasn't totally surprised when I saw Lilly coming round the corner.
"You!" She called. "I should abandon you here to the evil clowns."
"Oh, it wasn't that bad" I said.
"It was a terrible thing to do to some poor girl stuck alone in the dark" she replied.
"Since when have any of you been damsels in distress?" I asked. "I thought you were a beautiful, strong and independent modern girl."
"Come on lets go" she said. "Before anything else happens."
We headed down the corridor and came out at the far end of a long rectangular room. In front of us was an old TV monitor. As we approached on a grainy image came onto the screen, showing Princess Porcelain's face.
"Well done. You've reached the exit of my palace" said Porcelain, "but if you ever want playtime with me again, don't be shy about coming back."
With that the image faded back to black. We walked down the corridor, which was decorated with large bus stop adverts featuring various adverts and publicity images from the various entries into the Pancake Day film series. We ended up stopping by one showing a full body shot of Princess Porcelain, as Lilly insisted on taking a photo of her posing by it,. As we got to the end the advert we were walking past suddenly swung back. I jumped as I heard an evil cry and saw a demented looking clown holding a large shaving foam pie jump out from the advert. Me and Lilly both bolted for the exit. I ended up being struck in the back with the pie just as I ran out.

Outside we paused as we wondered if Hayley and Kelly were still behind us, or had made it out first. I got my answer as I looked over to part of the stage area, where there was a large cage, about ten foot square, made of rusty looking metal bars. Inside were two women, both wearing the same clown make up of the other actors, but instead of the normal clothing they both wore black pvc jumpsuits. One of them was leading a reluctant looking Hayley and Kelly to a bench in the middle of the cage. We all moved in for a closer look.
"Well it looks like we've got a couple of prisoners" said one of the clowns. "You got caught trying to escape Porcelain's Palace didn't you."
I saw Hayley say something in reply, but as she wasn't wearing a microphone I couldn't hear her.
"Don't worry, you'll be able to leave soon" said the clown. "We've just got to give you a little present first."
The other clown came forward holding two large, red balloons, both filled with some sort of opaque liquid. She handed one to the other clown who held it above Kelly's head, she held onto the other one and held it above Hayley's head.
"Ready?" Asked the clown.
Hayley and Kelly shook their heads giggling nervously. The clowns held the balloons teasingly in both hands for a couple of seconds, before tightly squeezing the balloons causing them to burst, and the contents to fall down on Hayley's and Kelly's head, leaving their hair dripping with thick green slime.

Chapter 15:

It was the next day and we were having an early lunch, helping ourselves to the deli platter starter we were sharing while waiting for our pizzas to cook. It would be inaccurate to say fun time was over, but with the official start of the carnival this evening we had to take things a little more seriously. Kelly had her laptop set up, and was leading what was an informal meeting in preparation, of course with me being the new member a lot of the checks were to do with me.
"So has Lilly gone through everything on the control console, and Hayley shown you what costumes we need and when?" Kelly asked.
"They've been through everything with me" I said. "There was a lot to learn, but I've made written notes, so I think I should make it first the first show."
"Do you have any questions about anything?" asked Kelly.
"I've got two things" I said. "Why is there about twice as much to know about as there was back in Brighton? Also if I'm doing the ticket booth before the show won't the fact I don't speak Italian be a problem?"
"There's twice as much because we do a longer show here, that we charge a higher ticket cost for" said Hayley.
"Why's that?" I asked.
"It's a different market" said Kelly. "In Brighton it was a crowded carnival, and we drew people in by getting as many people to pay for half an hours of inexpensive entertainment as we could. Here, being located in the City centre, by a major tourist attraction there's lots of people looking for a night out, so we can draw in people who wouldn't consider any of the rides with the promise of a longer rock n roll show."
"Basically we can make more money here selling more expensive tickets, even if it means doing fewer shows because we've made them longer" said Lilly.
"The language question is a fair point" said Kelly. "To be honest though it's never been that big an issue for us. This is a popular tourist destination so English"
"Or more accurately American" interrupted Hayley.
"O.K. American is widely spoken" said Kelly.
"We do most of the show in English" said Lilly. "For most of the songs it's how people will recognize them from how they were sung by the original artist."
"It's probably not a bad idea for you to learn a bit of basic Italian just in case" said Kelly. "We'll get the phrase book out when we get a chance."
"Is that everything you want to ask about the shows?" asked Hayley.
"Everything I can think of for now" I said.
"The main thing we've got to sort out now is our promotion of the shows, which we'll be starting this afternoon" said Kelly. "On our busiest days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday there will be 2 of us stationed at the show tent to sell tickets and hand out pamphlets, while the other 2 will need to head to one of the other big tourist areas to hand out pamphlets there. The good thing about you being here is all 4 of us all get 2 afternoons off each during the week, plus there will be 2 of us free each day which I think is a big improvement" said Kelly.
"Huge" said Lilly.
"Before we'd only get one afternoon free each, and we ended up hanging around the tent half the time anyway as that's where the other 2 were" explained Hayley.

So it was after lunch that day that work got serious. I was sent out with Hayley to do a load of pamphleting around the Piazza Erbe. This was a historical square that hosted a large tourist market, and had some of the main shopping streets just off it. Now I was a little nervous about promoting the show at first. You may ask what's so hard about just giving out pamphlets, but I was asked to try to talk to people and tell them about the show, and was initially a little nervous about approaching complete strangers to talk to them, but after a few hours I got more confident, and was even able to spark up interest in the show with some people I approached.
Of course the show itself was when we all had to work our hardest. We did 2 shows a night at 6, 8 as well as an extra 10 o clock show on peak evenings and 2 afternoon shows at the weekend . Now putting on the shows was fun for everyone, but we still had to do a lot. Once the doors opened we had to seat a couple hundred people. Once that was done I had to rush backstage, spending the next hour putting used props and costumes away, while making sure the ones needed next where in position. At times I'd have to help one of them into one of the more elaborate costumes, or just help with hard to reach zips. You may think helping 3 beautiful girls in and out of their costumes sounds like a real thrill, but when you have to work to limited time you don't stop to think about things like that. To make things even more complicated I had to keep half an eye out on things on the stage while this was going on in case I needed to override the computer controlling all the lighting and music cues. After an hour of total madness we'd all be ready to collapse, at least for a short time before we had to be back outside to promote the next show.

Thankfully it wasn't all work and no play. Now I have to admit I didn't know that much about Verona, which seemed a shame as I soon discovered it had a lot to offer. Not only is it home to the afore mentioned tourist attractions it's also home to Juliet's Balcony, of Romeo and Juliet fame. Yes I know they weren't real people, but the play was set in Verona. This sounds like a beautiful romantic place to take someone, but in reality it's one of the least romantic, romantic locations you could think of, dominated by tourists and trinket sellers.
Verona though was at it's best when we stepped off the main tourist areas once you got off the main tourist centers though and explored the beautiful streets with numerous spectacular churches and interesting buildings to find, plus some absolutely beautiful views along the Adige river. Walking hand in hand with Hayley along these streets on our afternoons off really was something special, a huge contrast to my relationship of previous years.

Chapter 16:

It was the second Friday night, nearing the end of our time in Verona. The good news was I'd made it first my first week working with the Wild Cats without any major cock ups. I was in the backstage area tidying up after the last show while the other 3 were in the van freshening up. Now the more attentive amongst you may think this scene sounds a little familiar, as I was in a very similar situation on the last Friday of the Brighton Carnival 2 weeks ago. This certainly went through my mind when I heard all 3 Wild Cats call me into the van.
"Err, what do you want?" I called out.
"Just come in the van and we'll show you" replied Hayley.
"Why can't you come out here?" I asked.
"What's the matter?" asked Lilly. "Don't you trust us?"
"Last time you called me into the van like this I spent several hours chained to Hayley, covered in custard" I said.
"Are you going to claim you didn't enjoy that" Lilly sarcastically replied. "Anyway I promise we're not going to chain you to Hayley."
"That still leaves you with a lot of options" I said.
I cautiously made my way to the van and nervously stuck my head in. I wasn't surprised to see a load of plastic sheeting had been put down on the floor, in a similar way to two weeks previously. A few other things were different though. This time Hayley wasn't sitting naked on the floor, but was standing in the centre of the room with Lilly and Kelly. All 3 of them were now bare foot and stripped down to their bras and knickers.
"What's going on?" I asked, blushing a little in anticipation of the answer.
Hayley came over and led me in by the hand to the centre of the room, where she slowly stripped me down to my underpants as she explained.
"Well we have a little tradition we always indulge in on our last weekend in Italy" said Hayley. "If you look over there you'll see we've brought a load of tubs of our favorite Italian ice-creams. By now they'll have melted down to a soft gooey mess, which we're all going to cover ourselves in."
"Before you can join in though your going to need to pass a little test" said Lilly.
"What kind of test?" I asked.
"A little test to see how well you know us, and Hayley particularly" smiled Lilly.
"You'll need to kneel down on your knees in the center, while Hayley gets a few things from her bag" said Kelly.
I had noticed both Hayley's and Lilly's bags placed in opposite corners of the van, and rightly guessed there'd be a few toys for the evening in them. As I knelt down Hayley was approaching me holding a pair of handcuffs and a thin long red scarf. She went round behind me and handcuffed my hands behind my back, and then blindfolded me with the scarf. I felt her place her hands on my shoulders and lean in close to me.
"You looking forward to this?" she asked.
I nervously nodded in response, my body trembling in nervous anticipation.
"I'll tell you what's going to happen" she said. "In a minute all 3 of us are going to take it in turns to give you a massage. Your task is to identify which massage is the one I give you. Do you think you can do that?"
"I hope so" I replied.
There was a brief pause as I knelt there nervously. A small smile found it's way on to my face in anticipation of what was to come. I was confident in my ability to guess correctly, but was a little worried about explaining it to Hayley if I did get things wrong.
Not before long I felt the first pair of hands on me. It was outstretched fingers running down my spine, which then ran back up and found their way to my neck, which the fingers softly gripped and caressed. The real giveaway though was I felt a light sting as long fingernails pricked my skin. Only one of the Wild Cats kept her fingernails manicured that long. After about a minute the first massage ended and she walked away.
"Do you think you know who that was?" I heard Hayley ask.
"I reckon that was Kelly" I smiled.
"What?" said Lilly. "How'd you get that so quickly?"
"Your not supposed to confirm it and make it easier" said Kelly.
A brief pause later and the second set of hands was touching me. I shivered a little as I realised these ones had a coating of oil on the palms. I felt a hand on each of my shoulders, caressing them in a circular motion. I let out a few quiet moans of pleasure as the hands slid up to the top of my shoulders, before running there way down my arms.
"Do you think you know who that was?" asked Kelly.
"I have a pretty good idea" I nodded.
"Do you want to say who?" asked Lilly.
"I'll think I'll wait before making my final guess" I said.
"Your just holding out for a third massage aren't you" said Hayley.
"Can't say I blame him" replied Lilly.
Any doubts I might have had were soon dispersed once the very familiar touch of the third Wild Cat caused my skin to tingle. The initial contact was made when I felt a firm exciting smack to my arse. Here her hand stayed there, keeping a firm grip as it explored my arses form. Next I felt her lean on my back, and put her arms around my body to slowly rub her hands across my chest, while leaving electric feeling kisses on my neck. Thanks to the blindfold I was acutely aware of every touch, the sound of every breath she took, and the sweet smell of her perfume. My whole body trembled in pleasure in response.
"Are you ready to make your guess?" asked Kelly.
"Maybe a little longer" I replied.
"Come on Captain" Hayley murmured in my ear. "This is just the warm up for your real treat we've got in store."
"Oh now you've spoken to him and given the game away completely" said Kelly. "This whole massage game was a bit of a waste of time really."
"Oh I wouldn't say that" said Hayley. "I've had a lot of fun, and looking down at his pant's I see Captain's enjoying himself."

Chapter 17:

There was a slight pause as what they had planned next was prepared. I was acutely aware of the sound of all 3 of them, now kneeling in close proximity to me. Hayley was now in front of me, Lilly behind and Kelly to the side. I felt the warmth of Hayley's breath as she leaned in close.
"Well that's the warm up act over" Hayley said. "We're all now holding a tub of ice-cream each, so are you ready for the main event?"
I let out a small giggle, in response, nervously struggling with my handcuffed hands as my heart beat in anticipation. I let out a gasp of shock, as my body tensed, hit by the sudden shock of multiple cold lumps of ice-cream being pushed onto my body. I was completely overcome by the multiple pleasurable stimuli I was now experiencing. Lilly's hands slowly spread the ice-cream across my shoulders and neck as it warmed up to my body temperature, and slowly became a thick gooey mess. I felt Kelly simultaneously teasing ice-cream across both my stomach and the base of my back. Hayley though wasn't going to be out done, she started massaging ice-cream across my chest, then when that was coated in a sweet gooey layer she started to teasingly drizzle the melted ice-cream onto my head, and then slowly caressing it across my face. Hayley held onto my head as she leaned in close. A huge smile came across my face as I felt her tongue delicately lick the ice-cream off different parts of my face. After testing several places her tongue was soon caressing it's way across my lips. After several teasing licks I felt a warm passionate kiss placed upon my lips. I felt her tongue invade my mouth, where it met my tongue, eager to reach out and touch what my handcuffed hands couldn't. I let out a loud muffled moan as I clenched my fists, and was hit by a euphoric wave of pleasure. I panted deeply, and my muscles went limp totally overcome by the pleasurable feelings I now experienced.
At this point Lilly and Kelly slowed down as Hayley removed the blindfold and put her arms around me. We looked each other longingly in the eye.
"Looks like someone's just pleasurgasmed" smiled Lilly.
"He' going to be doing much more than that tonight" replied Hayley before kissing me once again. This one was much more aggressive, with her chewing on my lip while playfully pinching my shoulder with one hand and scratching my chest with the other.
"Are you going to let him out?" asked Kelly.
"Ooo, I don't know" replied Hayley, regarding me with sultry eyes.
"Go on" said Kelly. "He aught to get to cover you in some ice-cream. I'm sure you'll soon have him at your mercy again soon enough."
"He's not the only one getting handcuffed later" said Lilly while putting an arm round Kelly.

Hayley got the key out from her bag and uncuffed my wrists. Lilly and Kelly went together to one corner, while Hayley reclined seductively in the opposite one, holding a tub of mint-choc ice-cream, waiting for me. I crawled over and took the tub off her. I scooped out a handful and placed a handful at the top of her chest. She gave out a quiet yelp from the shock of the cold, followed by quiet moans of pleasure as I rubbed it across her chest, and then slipped my hand under the lacy cup of her bra, rubbing the melting goo across her breasts and now erect nipples.
I took another handful of ice-cream, pausing to admire the beautiful smile on her face. I placed the ice-cream on her head, and slowly rubbed it across her flame red hair with both hands. With her hair done I teasingly spread some more across her smiling face. We teasingly looked each other in the eye's, as I picked up the tub again. This time I poured some of the melted ice-cream strait onto the tub, on to her belly button. I listened to the sound of her deep breathing as I trickled it across her stomach, coating it in the green goo. I couldn't resist going lower, and let the stream find it's way down to her lacy knickers. She audibly moaned with pleasure as I let the stream of liquid pour down on to them. I gave her a loving look as I took the last handful of ice-cream in the tub, and then rubbed it across her crotch. As I continued to tease and pleasure, she closed her eyes, and lay back fully. Her hands grabbed firmly onto me as I continued to tease her more and more, until unable to hold back she grabbed my head and placed and incredibly intense and passionate kiss on my lips. We kept our lips locked together for an eternity, not wanting to let go.
Hayley looked me in the eyes and put her hands on my shoulders, firmly pushing me, guiding me to where she wanted me. I knew exactly what she wanted, and offered no resistance as she took to the corner and lied me down where one of the vans fixtures was. She was soon holding two pairs of handcuffs. I happily let her take my wrists and handcuff my wrists to the fixture above me. She was now mounted on top of me, and looked me in the eye as she ran her hands down my chest. She leaned in and whispered in my ear.
"I'll be back in a minute, and we're going to do something absolutely amazing."
I looked up as Hayley crawled over to the other corner. Over there Kelly was handcuffed on her back like I was, and Lilly was slowly rubbing the ice-cream over her. Hayley murmured something in Lilly's ear, before they both leaned in to talk to Kelly. I heard Kelly give a loud gasp about halfway through. Then I saw both Hayley and Lilly crawl back to where I was.
"Why don't you watch" Lilly called to Kelly. "It will be a great preview of what we're going to do to you."

Chapter 18:

My heart pounded as they seductively crawled over. Lilly snuggled up to me on my right side, and Hayley on my left, both teasingly stroked their hands across my chest.
"You've never had a threesome before have you" smiled Hayley.
"No" I stammered.
"We thought it would be a nice treat for you and Kelly" smiled Lilly.
My whole body tensed as Hayley locked her lips with mine, while at the say time Lilly's tongue teased both my right cheek and neck. I then looked on fascinated as they both looked each other in the eye while reaching a hand over to fondle with each others breasts. Lilly then pulled down the cup on Hayley's bra to expose her breasts, that already were coasted in a layer of mint ice-cream. Lilly though had a tub of vanilla with her, and slowly rubbed a thick layer onto Hayley's breasts. Hayley then lent in, and teasingly rubbed her left nipple across my face, leaving a streak of ice-cream as she did so. Then she brushed her nipple across my lips, which I eagerly opened to taste with my tongue. I heard her breathing deepen as I continued to tease her breasts, and Lilly took the chance to massage more ice-cream on to Hayley's back.
Hayley lent back a little, but stayed snuggled up closely to me. Both of them took another handful of ice-cream as my heat pounded in anticipation. I was totally overcome with euphoric pleasure as both rubbed ice-cream across my chest, while simultaneously playing footsie, tickling and teasing both my feet with their own.
"Looks like your pants are getting too tight" smiled Lilly.
They both crawled down so both their faces were teasingly close as Hayley slid my pants down my legs, smiling at the sight of my now throbbing cock. Lilly held up the ice-cream tub and I gasped as she drizzled cold melted ice-cream onto it. That was only the start though. I was completely overcome by the sensation as both Lilly and Hayley teasingly ran their tongue over my cock, licking the ice-cream off every bit, and then continuing to savour the taste.
"Don't stop" I begged as things came to an end.
"Don't worry" Lilly murmured into my ear. "Hayley's going to make you cum all right."
Hayley had just gone over to get a condom from her handbag. She removed what remained of her underwear and mounted my thighs. She looked at me teasingly as she took the condom out the packet and slid it onto my cock. She didn't waste time at that point, not even waiting for Lilly to get into position before holding my cock and guiding it inside her as she mounted me. Lilly snuggled up on my right side again where she could stroke me with her left hand and feet, while fondling Hayley's arse with her right hand. Even Kelly joined in watching from where she was handcuffed, stroking her foot along my leg. I closed my eyes and pulled against the handcuffs, driven absolutely wild by the overload of sensations. Both mine and Hayley's breath got deeper and deeper, as she rode up and down on me, and I thrust back and forth into her. I heard Haley start to moan deeper and deeper, as she rode me fast and faster, I let out a loud squeal as I could feel myself on the verge of cuming, I took a deep breath, wanting to hold on for Hayley. Her moans got louder as I felt her lean forward and place her hands on my shoulders. I briefly opened my eyes to see her face, a picture of ecstasy, she let out one last cry to heaven before tightly squeezing my shoulders as she came. I closed my eyes and thrust my now ready to explode cock into her a few more times before letting out a moan of my own as I came myself.
We both finally allowed our bodies to relax. After a few minutes I dared to open my eyes and slowly focused on Haley's contented face.
"How'd I get such a special girl like you?" I asked.
"You were pretty special yourself Captain" she replied back.
"Are you O.K. Hayley?" Lilly asked.
"I'm great" she replied.
"Are you ready to give me a hand with Kelly?" said Lilly.
"Come on then" Hayley replied. She slowly got up from her position on top of me, pausing to remove the used condom before heading to the opposite corner with Lilly where Kelly was still waiting.
"Us 3 are going to have some fun now" Lilly called out. "You can watch me make Kelly here scream her head off."

As enticing a site that was I didn't concentrate to start with. Instead I just lay back enjoying the euphoria that consumed me. It must have been a good 10 or 15 minutes before I finally started to focus on things around me a little more. Looking over I saw Kelly was still handcuffed on her back, with melted ice-cream drizzled all over her. She was groaning loudly as Hayley was licking and fondling her breasts, while Lilly was teasingly licking her crotch with her tongue, while fondling her arse with her hands. I couldn't resist returning the favor Kelly did earlier, and reaching out to stroke her leg with my own foot. We did this for several minutes until Kelly's body tensed and she let out a loud scream, followed by a lot of deep audible breathing.
"Kiss me again" Kelly called out.
Lilly responded by placing a loving kiss on Kelly's lips. Hayley took the chance to come back over to snuggle up and share some kisses with me.
"Did you two enjoy yourselves?" Lilly smiled.
Me and Kelly responded with some nervous nods and yeses.
"Do you want to get the other bits Hayley while these two recharge?" Lilly asked.
"Lets" said Hayley. "We've got a lot more fun planned" Haley smiled to me. "None of which involves letting you two out your handcuffs."

Chapter 19:

Hayley and Lilly left, leaving me and Kelly handcuffed opposite one another nervously exchanging looks with one another.
"Well that was fun" she giggled.
"I know" I said. "My bodies still tingling."
"Mine too" said Kelly. "It was your first threesome then?"
"It was" I said.
"Only my third" she replied. "My last was on my birthday a couple of years ago."
"Really?" I said. I was a little surprised it wasn't a more frequent thing judging by the last 40 minutes or so.
"I guess I shouldn't be totally surprised" she said. "They've both been a lot more affectionate than normal on this trip because of you."
"How does me being here affect Lilly?" I asked.
"Well normally Hayley is either single, or away from her boyfriend. We usually hold back because it wouldn't be fair on her to see us enjoying ourselves like that. Now you're here we don't have to hold back. I think Lilly especially has always liked the idea of a romantic foreign getaway, so is really letting herself go after several years of having to hold back" she explained. "Take now for instance. Normally me and Lilly would have a little time together while Hayley was in the shower after the ice-cream, but we'd have to end it after that. Now you're here it seems they've decided to make a night of it."
"How did all this messy stuff with the ice-cream and everything start?" I asked.
"Believe it or not it was started by one of Lilly's ex-boyfriends" she replied.
"Really" I said in surprise.
"Well he had a thing for seeing Lilly messy, and me and Hayley would join in with some jokes where she'd end up covered in hair mouse or shaving foam" she said. "This progressed to things like food and pie fights we had with each other for fun, and progressed to what you see now. It's how the blood-bath part of our show came about as well."
"What happened with Lilly once having a boyfriend?" I asked.
"That's quite a story" replied Kelly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude" I replied.
"It's O.K." Kelly said, pausing slightly before continuing. "It's a bit of a cliche to say I knew I was different growing up, but it's true. As other girls started to become interested in boys I realized I didn't share their interests, and found myself fancying other girls."
"Was Lilly one of those girls?" I asked.
"Very much so" she smiled. "We had quite a bit of fun together growing up. There's the food fights, and a few slumber parties were we ended up snuggled up together. She was clearly bi-curious, and I thought about us becoming a serious couple, but had been scared to tell her. Then as she got older and started to get into more serious relationships with boys I had to put my own feelings aside."
"That must have been tough" I said.
"It was" she replied.
"So then what happened?" I asked.
"It was a little over 4 years ago, not that long before we started the Wild Cats. Lilly had broken up with her boyfriend, and was looking for a distraction, so us three went out for a night out together. Well we both had a little too much to drink, and we both ended up back at Lilly's house and slept together" she said.
"That's how you ended up together" I said.
"Not quite" she replied. "When I woke up the next mourning I got dressed and out the house as quickly as I could, before Lilly had even woke up."
"Why?" I asked.
"I was scared" she said. "After years of putting my feelings for her aside I couldn't stand the idea of having to say what happened had just been a drunken fling, so I avoided Lilly and ignored her messages requesting to talk form the next few days."
"What then?" I asked.
"I got an invite from Hayley to meet up at her house" she said. "What she didn't tell me was Lilly was also waiting for me their. I was scared at first, but Lilly told me she liked me too, and wanted to give being my girlfriend a shot. Hayley gave us our privacy so we could spend the rest of the afternoon kissing and cuddling. Now 4 and a bit years later we're still together and very much in love. Hopefully we'll be together now for the rest of our lives."
"I'm coming back Kelly" was called out, interrupting mine and Kelly's conversation. Lilly and Haley soon rejoined us, both still in their underwear with streaks of ice-cream across their bodies. Different this time was they were carrying some stuff. In one hand they both had a carrier bag and more ominously in their other hands they were both holding a bottle of clear rum, judging by the level of the liquid both of them had already had a few drinks.
"I brought us a few nice things for tonight" Haley said as she snuggled up to me.
She reached in her bag and pulled out a container of cooked chicken chunks which she opened and shared between us, feeding me my half a piece at a time, while eating her half and continuing to flirt with me. With the chicken gone she offered me a mouthful of rum, before consuming a large swig herself.
"Now what else is there to nibble on" she teased before playfully chewing on my ear and stroking her hand down my chest until it was down at my cock. I gasped as she playfully stroked it as it slowly became hard once again.
"Feels like your ready to go again" she smiled. "That's good, because I'm about to suck your soul out."

Chapter 20:

It was the next mourning, or more accurately given how late we'd all stayed up, later that day. We all stayed up very late in what had been an orgy of nibbles, rum and numerous passionate sexual encounters, until Lilly and Hayley had fumbled with the handcuff keys to finally let me and Kelly out so we could all fall asleep snuggled up with our respective partners in our arms.
As I hazily returned to the world of the living I could tell from the light peaking through the curtains that the sun was high, even by the standards of the nocturnal lifestyle our job usually entailed. Lilly and Hayley who had more to drink than me and Kelly were still sleeping deeply. Hayley was still snuggled up next to me.
A quick look showed the van was looking the worse for wear. The plastic sheets were still down, there was still bits of rubbish around, including 2 empty rum bottles and numerous multicoloured pools of now warm melted ice-cream everywhere, including some interesting patterns over all our bodies. Looking over I exchanged smiles with Kelly as we looked at our still dozing partners. She still had her arm draped around Lilly who was quietly snoring, snuggled up to her.
"This is why we don't normally keep any alcohol in the tent" said Kelly.
I smiled as I looked at our dozing companions. Despite the state of her hair there was still something rather endearing about the way Hayley looked snuggled up to me.
"Don't they look beautiful while they're asleep" I said.
"I know" said Kelly. "Shame we're going to have to wake them."
"Hayley, oh Hayley" I said gently nudging her.
"Lilly, come on my little fallen angel" Kelly tried.
We both got a few non committal grunts as both our partners fought against being brought out of their slumber.
"Come on you two" said Kelly. "It's fourteen minutes past eleven."
Lilly and Hayley both groaned loudly.
"Can't we just cancel" moaned Lilly.
"I'm afraid not" said Kelly. "We've already sold quite a few tickets, plus if we cancel shows it could be held against us. There are others who would like our pitch."
Reluctantly Lilly and Hayley opened their eyes and slowly propped themselves up.
"Mathew, do you think you could get these 2 lushes a couple of cold juices" asked Kelly. "I'd better get in the shower now. Otherwise the 3 of us won't be ready to go out and do the show on time."

Over the next hour I helped out as best I could as everyone concentrated on getting ready. I stayed in the van to pick up the rubbish and the plastic sheets while Lilly and Hayley where cleaning themselves off, before I got showered and dressed myself. We then checked everything was ready for the first show, at which point I was sent out to the local supermarket to get a vitamin and carbohydrate rich lunch for everyone, which the Wild Cats nibbled on when off stage during the show, before sitting down to finish afterwards.
After a brief rest we left Lilly and Hayley on light duty at the ticket office while Kelly pamphleted around Plaza Bra and I headed over to Piazza Erbe. It was tough going the rest of the day with several shows to do, and we were all a little relived after the last one of the evening and we could all collapse in bed with a takeout pizza.
"Next time you two plan a wild night like that could you choose a night when we don't have a mad day of work the next day" suggested Kelly.
"At least the carnival's almost over" said Lilly. "One more day to go, then we finally get a day off."
"For now let's finish our dinner and all then catch up on sleep in preparation for that last day." suggested Kelly.
No-one had any objections whatsoever to that plan.