No Business Like Show Business || John & Sulley
John refastened the gloves on his hands in the interim, before he gripped the handle of the sledgehammer tighter, and swung it again, the head hitting the stake squarely. While he prepared for another swing, the other men working as roustabouts drove the stake as well-- the only way to get over a thousand stakes into the ground in good time was to have a lot of powerful men working together, as it had been done for years.
The stake drove into the ground, and they moved on to the next one that was marked out to begin driving it into the ground. The sky was clear, which was good, because if it weren’t, the tent-raising would be delayed. The elephants would panic in a storm, and the winds always had the possibility of ripping apart the canvas before it was up. Even though the fundraising had earned back their money, he didn't figure they could afford repairing the tent a second time in such a short span.
It was a long while before the tent raising was complete, but it was done in time for that evening's show. John sat back on his heels in the shade, taking a breather, because he was damn worn out. But it had been worth it, to see the tent standing proud and the folks mingling outside the fence, curious to the carnival that had come to town.
He stood, and hoisted a shoulder-full of spare three-foot long stakes that had been on hand in case any had been damaged, ready to take them back to the cars for storage. He hadn't moved far though when he nearly collided with someone, and he glanced down.
"Shit, I'm sorry-- that was my bad. You okay?"