"I was 17, the youngest of our year, and my allocated buddy was Cal. He was a year older, full of energy and had a way of making everyone laugh. We clicked instantly, and we took the rules of being a buddy very seriously including giving each other a muffin if one of us was injured. We both ate a lot of muffins that year."
"We also balanced each other out. He specialised in teeterboard and balance ladder, and I perform with hula hoops. Cal has a larger-than-life personality, while I am quieter. His brain always seemed to have a million tabs open, whereas mine works quite differently. Circus school was very social. On weekends the whole group went to movies or parties, but slowly and subtly Cal and I drifted into spending more time together. We became flirty friends."
At 17, a move from the Sunshine Coast to Melbourne began training at the National Institute of Circus Arts alongside 23 peers. An assigned buddy, Cal, a year older and boisterous, became a close companion; shared rituals like giving muffins after injuries formed early bonds. Their specialties and personalities complemented each other as social weekends gave way to private time and flirtation. A declaration of love occurred during a Paris study tour and they became a couple. Intensive touring led to separate contracts in 2015, with Cal in the UK and the narrator in Germany, making long-distance unsustainable and prompting a breakup.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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