The Magician's Assistant

[11] Experiment Gone Wrong

          “How is this going to work, again?” My grip on steering wheel tightened as I began filtering my mind for possible things that could go wrong. I looked out at the darkening sky and pressed my lips tightly together to keep from saying more.

          “Rachel,” James laughed, “I’ve said it three times.”

          “Once more,” I encouraged. My foot accidentally slipped down harder on the gas pedal and I eased up on it a bit.

          “We’re going to walk into the gas station,” he paused, “Do you understand that part?”

          “Don’t patronize me,” I snapped, and then took a gulp of air and prompted him to finish, “And then what?”

          “You’re going to go to the back of the building by the frozen goods. The milk and egg section. Got that?”

          I nodded quickly, mentally storing that in the front of my brain.

          James seemed satisfied that I had retained that bit of information. “Pretend like you’re looking for expiration dates on the produce or something. But you’re going to keep your eyes on me. Don’t make it too obvious, either. We don’t want to make things suspicious.”

          “Okay…”

          “When I feel like I’ve picked a good person to scar for life,” he grinned devilishly, “I’ll magically appear.”

          “Are you sure this is a good idea?” I bit my lip, beginning to second guess the entire plan.

          “Calm down,” James frowned. “Look we don’t have to do this tonight…”

          “No,” I refused to turn around now. I knew James wanted to try it and I wasn’t about to crush his hope. If he wanted to try and materialize to another person, I wasn’t going to stop him. In fact, I would be right by his side. “We’re almost there anyways.”

          James didn’t reply. He only nodded, paying close attention to his hands. His thumb traced the lines in his palm. It seemed as if my anxiousness had rubbed off on him.

          “Hey…” I said softly, “Don’t let my pessimism get you down. This is going to work.”

          “I hope so,” he replied quietly.

          Minutes later, we arrived at the gas station. I drove slowly into an available slot and parked the truck. With five large steps, we’d be inside the grungy looking building. My limbs were already quivering with excitement.

          “Okay, so you remember the plan? If I disappear and don’t come back, that just means my energy was drained. I’ll be back soon, though. Hopefully tomorrow,” James looked into my eyes as he said this.

          I wrapped my arms around my waist in an attempt to warm myself up a little from the chilly nighttime air. “You nervous?” James raised an eyebrow at me.

          “No,” I answered. James gave me a look which clearly told me he didn’t believe a word I said. “Well, a little,” I admitted.

          “Don’t be,” James flicked my nose.

          “Alright, let’s do this,” I eased myself out of the truck and managed to walk convincingly calm to the doors into the gas station. I opened the door and held it open for the girl behind me, whom I soon realized was Diane.