Lauren hadn't planned on working at the circus. Of course, as a freshman English major, who had procrastinated on finding a summer job, she didn't have much of a choice. It wasn't her fault that her previous workplace, a trashy burger joint, had burnt down. Still, with no work, and more college debt on the horizon, she needed to find something to do this July. Her mom had noticed an ad in the classified section, so here Lauren was, sweating in the summer heat. She scowled, idly playing with her tangled brown hair. Who even read the classifieds these days? It didn't matter though. Beggars couldn't be choosers, and at least the woman on the phone seemed nice.





As Lauren walked through the circus, she had to say she was unimpressed. They had set up the circus at a convention center, with small tents housing carnival games, while the amphitheater housed the main event. Lauren dimly recalled seeing advertisements for it yearly, but she had never bothered to attend. It was only a local thing, so the acts were probably mediocre at best. She finally spotted a small tent, with a sign reading, "Interviews Inside" and hurriedly opened in the flap.





Inside, a tall white man and a short African-American woman were talking about something. The man was standing near the side of the tent, speaking calmly, while the woman sat behind a foldout table, frowning slightly.



"So really..."

"Why hello there!" the woman happily cut off the man once she saw Lauren. She quickly got up from her makeshift desk, and gave Lauren a big handshake, smiling all the while.

"Hi there, I'm Taylor, but everyone calls me Tayla! It's nice to meet you. Oh, please, have a seat." She gestured to a seat opposite the table. Lauren immediately liked Tayla. The black woman seemed to radiate positive energy. and was wearing an old Knoxville Circus t-shirt.

"I'm Lauren, and you are?" she directed the question at the man standing in the corner as she sat down.





The man examined her for a second, lost in thought, before realizing the question was directed at him.

"Oh, right. John Eagleton. I'm doing hiring consultation." Tayla briefly looked at him, confused, before shaking her head and going back to her normal, cheerful self.

John looked out of place. He was wearing black dress pants and a white, short-sleeved, button-up shirt with a black necktie. Lauren wondered what he was doing there. As far as she could tell, she was the only applicant.





After an awkward pause, Tayla started talking. "So as you can see, we're a pretty small operation. We'd just be having you do some minor things here and there, maybe running a booth or two. Would that be okay?"

Lauren was about to respond, but John interrupted her. "Well, actually, we're looking for some more talent. Tell me, do you have any special skills we should know about?"





Lauren wasn't sure how to respond, and looked to Tayla for guidance. Tayla merely shrugged apologetically, blushing slightly.

"It's alright to feel nervous," interrupted John once again, "Tell you what, why don't we do some deep breathing? Just in and out. In...and out. In...and out. In...out..."

Lauren felt compelled to follow along. She dimly noticed Tayla doing the same.

"In...out. In...and out. Just relax. Relax and obey... There we go. Less nervous now?"





John was right, she did feel less nervous. Funny how that worked.

"As I was telling Taylor earlier, attendance to this circus has gone down, and this place is bleeding talent. Without a change, this place will shut down soon, and we don't want that, do we?"

Both Tayla and Lauren shook their heads.

"Well, I'm here to give this dump the shot in the arm it needs. That's why Taylor hired me. Isn't that right Taylor?"

Tayla took a second to process the information.



"Right." she said hesitantly, unsure of herself. "I've been running this circus for several years now, and I don't want to see it go under. That's why John's here." As she spoke, Tayla's voice gained more conviction.







Tayla had conveniently forgotten that she hadn't hired a consulting firm, or that John had only met her an hour ago. In fact, the man wasn't part of a hiring firm, his real name was not John Eagleton, and he wasn't even a man to begin with. Rather, 'John' was a benevolent trickster spirit, accidentally summoned by Tayla's grief over the lack of any applicants and the circus's increasingly dire financials. The spirit, now calling itself John, had helped Tayla calm down, and hypnotized her into believing its cover story.







"Exactly, that's why I'm here." John continued. "I'm here to help the circus."

"And that's why Lauren's here!" he exclaimed.

Lauren blinked, confused.

"You're here to work for the circus in its hour of need. Isn't that right Lauren?"

"Y-yeah. I'm here to work for the circus." That was right, wasn't it?





"I know just how to make this circus pop. What you guys need is a mascot." Lauren and Tayla looked at each other, slightly confused.

"Yes, a mascot. You need better advertisement, after all, and kids just love mascots. Don't you agree?" Lauren and Tayla nodded, still unsure where this was going, but willing to entertain him.

"And we have a new hire right here, don't we?" Lauren and Tayla agreed. Lauren was going to work for the circus.

"So Lauren could be the new mascot." Tayla continued nodding along, but Lauren started to snap out of her reverie. She didn't want to be a mascot, did she?





Seeing her hesitation, the trickster persisted. "Lauren would be a great mascot. She has great people skills. I'm sure she would do a wonderful job."

Lauren's thoughts started betraying her. She could be a good mascot, but she was too embarrassed to do something like that.



John sensed her discomfort. "Just relax. There's no need to be scared. You would be in costume. No one would know it was you. You want to help the circus, don't you?"

"Yes." replied Lauren. She was here to help the circus.

"Being a mascot will help the circus. You want to help the circus. You would do great as a mascot. Could you do well as a mascot?"

Once again, Lauren merely said, "Yes." Was she really agreeing to this?

The trickster pressed the point. "Being a mascot is fun. You get to have fun with people, and help the circus out. Do you want to be a mascot?"

Lauren's doubts were fading fast. "Yes." The urge to be a mascot was growing too powerful.

John went in for the kill. "Will you be our circus mascot?"

"Yes!" agreed Lauren, perfectly happy with her decision. She was going to be a mascot.







"Taylor, isn't that wonderful?" John had to make sure Lauren's boss was still under.

He didn't have to worry though. Tayla happily echoed his words back, "It's absolutely wonderful."





John breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't make people do things against their wills. He could only persuade them. Still, this next part might be tricky.

"So we're agreed that Lauren's going to be the new mascot." Both women nodded. "So now we just need to decide what type of mascot Lauren will be."

Both women thought about this. If Lauren was going to be a mascot, she needed a costume.





The trickster studied Lauren, making sure he had made the correct choice. Yes, she would do nicely in this role.

"I've got it. Lauren will be a circus monkey." Both women frowned, but John had expected that. He decided to start with the boss.



"Taylor, why don't you like this?" he wanted to make sure he got this right.

"Wouldn't that be racist?" complained Tayla. The black woman had a point.

John tried to brush it aside. "Don't worry. She'll be a silly monkey, not a caricature. Besides, you're African American. They'll understand if it was your idea."

His logic made sense to Tayla. "But..."

"Don't worry. She'll do great as a monkey, you'll see."





He needed to turn his attention towards Lauren. "Lauren, you want to be a mascot, don't you?"

"Y-yes" Lauren was growing more confused by the second. Something was seriously wrong.

John acted fast. "Just relax. That's it. In and out. In...and out. In...and out. Relax and obey."





"Picture yourself as a monkey. Feel the thick brown fur covering your skin. Feel it growing, and growing, and growing."

As he spoke, Lauren's body started to morph. Fur started covering every inch of her body.

"Feel your tail starting to grow. Watch your hands start turning into paws. Look as your feet become monkey feet. Feel your face pushing into a muzzle."

The changes were getting more and more rapid. Lauren hopped off her chair, landing in a hunched over position. Her hands now had pronounced knuckles, and her toes were became more flexible. A large tail, which was at least two feet long, shot out above her butt. Her face warped as her eyes turned from blue to a dull brown.





"Monkeys don't need clothes. You only need to wear a brown bikini. Feel your transformation all over your body."

Lauren's clothes couldn't contain the expansion of fur. With John's words, they disappeared, letting thick dark brown fur cover her body. A brown bikini appeared to cover up her breasts and butt, although it had a tail hole built in. She shrank a few inches, but still within the realm of human height. Lauren looked like a monkey from head to toe.



"Think a monkey's thoughts. Give in to all of a monkey's instincts."

A million different ideas sprang into her head. Devouring bananas. Screeching like a primate. Dancing like an animal. It all flooded in, overwhelming her.

"You are a monkey. You are a big circus monkey. I want to hear you say it. Tell me what you are."

The instincts had overpowered her. "I am a monkey." Her old life seemed like a distant memory. She was a monkey.

John smiled. He had done it.

"You are the circus's mascot. You are its monkey mascot." The monkey responded with a loud "Oook ook!"





He turned back to Tayla, whose mouth was open in shock. "It's a wonderful costume, isn't it Taylor?"

Tayla was trying to rationalize what she had just saw, but was failing miserably.

"Magic isn't real, Taylor. Lauren is just wearing a costume. That's what everyone sees when they see your mascot. Just a monkey costume."

Tayla latched onto the explanation. Yes, Lauren was just in costume. It was the only thing that made sense. Tayla didn't even notice her memory being rewritten.



"Doesn't she look good as a monkey? Don't you think she's perfect for the role?"



Tayla nodded. "It's the perfect role for her."





He turned back to the monkey. "You are a very good mascot. You can speak English, and entertain the crowds. You are a monkey, so you are a skilled acrobat. You can do handstands easily and swing on the trapeze with grace. Do you want to entertain the crowd?"

"Yep!" exclaimed the monkey. She couldn't wait to make her debut.

"Every good mascot deserves a name. Let's see... From now on, your name is Monkeygirl."

"Ook-ay! I'm Monkeygirl!" cheered the monkey. She could already picture introducing herself to the crowd.





John wanted to make sure he had done his job right. "Do you enjoy being a monkey?"



Monkeygirl rolled her eyes. "Of course I do. Monkeys have so much fun!"

"And do you enjoy being the mascot?"



Monkeygirl beat her chest. "Yeah. I love this circus!"

John nodded, it was all going to plan. And now time for the final step.







"When you are a mascot, you are Monkeygirl. When you are not a mascot, you are not Monkeygirl. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Monkeygirl felt very tired all of a sudden.

"You are not working right now, so you are not a monkey right now, isn't that right?"

"Yes." As soon as she said that, the changes started to revert. Her fur and tail receded, Lauren's clothes reappeared, and she was back to being a normal human college student.





John smiled. He may have been a trickster, but he was a benevolent one. "Do you like being Monkeygirl?"

Lauren thought about it for a second. "Yes. Monkeygirl gets to have so much fun, and I like helping out the circus. I would be embarrassed if anyone found out though."

John was glad his victim was enjoying herself. "Your identity as Monkeygirl is a secret. Only Taylor and you know the truth. Will you be able to keep it secret?" Both women nodded.

"That's good. As long as the circus is in session. Lauren will report in for work. Her cover story is that she is a technician working behind the scenes, but you both know Lauren is really Monkeygirl."





"Lauren, whenever you say the words 'Magic Monkey' you will transform into Monkeygirl. Everyone will think you are wearing a costume, but you will be the only one to know that you've actually transformed. Why don't you try it out?"

"Magic Monkey." whispered Lauren, as her fur and tail reappeared. Within seconds, she was back to being a furry monkey. She winked at John, shaking her tail a bit, clearly enjoying the change.







"Very good. Now, Monkeygirl, whenever you say the words 'Human Magic' you will transform back into Lauren. Do you understand?"

"Yep!" Monkeygirl knew her triggers. She saw that John was looking at her expectantly, and so she uttered, "Human Magic." With the magic words, she quickly transformed back into human.





"You must keep your double life a secret. You are free to transform whenever you like, but you must keep your double life a secret. Do you understand?"

Lauren nodded, and solemnly stated, "I do."





"Then I think we're done here. Lauren, I know you're going to be an excellent mascot for the circus. And Taylor, I wish you luck. Goodbye." With a snap of his fingers, the spirit known as John vanished.





Lauren and Tayla blinked in surprise, while their memories of John faded away.





"So, um," Tayla was the first to break the silence. "Are you okay with being Monkeygirl?"

"Yeah." Lauren said, somewhat surprised by her answer. "I can't wait to make some monkey business."

They both laughed at the dumb pun as they thought about the future. Neither one of them was particularly sure of how they arrived at this particular arrangement, but they knew it would all work out. After all, the circus had its mascot.

