The Magician's Assistant

[2] The Show

          The assistant was then holding a glass of water in her left hand, and with the flick of the guy’s wrist, another one appeared in her right. In the matter of seconds, seven more glasses appeared in the front of the stage, colored the same as a rainbow; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. They seemed to appear out of thin air. People started clapping again, amazed at how he could pull off these tricks. I was a little impressed too, since I had absolutely no idea how he did it.

          Picking up one of the glasses, he splashed some droplets water on the ground, proving that there was indeed water inside. Touching the water with his finger, it seemed to immediately turn to ice. Turning the cup upside down, the solid ice block clattered to the ground. Claps and hoots of praise from the audience followed.

          After that, he stepped to the front of the stage and shrugged off his jacket. I could make out a thin sheen of sweat beading on his forehead. It wasn’t too hot in the building, but maybe it was hot on stage under the spot light. I assumed that was why he was sweating.

          In his left hand, he held the black velvety jacket. Just as fast as it was there, it was gone. Turning around so that his back was to us, he was suddenly wearing a white shirt instead of a black one.

          There were hoots and hollers of surprise, cheering him on. This guy definitely knew how to keep things exciting. The girl that was holding the glasses suddenly got into the box, closing the top behind her. In the blink of an eye, it was gone, and the only person that stood on the stage was William Larkin.

          He looked out in the audience and his eyes skimmed through all of the people. I could make out his chest rising and falling incredibly fast, and his shoulders slumped in fatigue. He looked like he just ran five marathons, and I didn’t understand it. After offhandedly waving to the audience, he bowed. He threw his black hat out into the crowd, letting all of the girls fight over it.

          The spotlight died out and we were left in darkness yet again. Everyone started screaming, clapping and cheering, amazed with his performance. I couldn’t help but join in. After a couple of seconds, the lights flicked back on one by one. The sound was almost enthralling, and I carefully listened to the power buzzing back in the club. Beside me, Jess was gazing at the stage in complete awe.

          “Close your mouth. You might catch bugs,” I joked, sticking my tongue out at her.

          She snapped her mouth shut, looking at me with a dazed expression on her face. “I think I’m in love…”

          “Oh, shut up. No you’re not,” I said while laughing. She rolled her eyes and mumbled a quiet ‘whatever’.

          “That was the last act. I hope you all enjoyed the show! Have a great night, everyone!” The announcer said, also telling us about a drink we should try at the bar. He thanked everyone for showing up and buying tickets, and told us to have fun for the rest of the night. The crew was packing up to leave, but were plenty of autographs up for sale.

 The flyer had said that it was a talent show, but I learned from the announcer that the last couple of acts were well-known, and even professional. They were the ‘special guests’.

          “Aw, shit –“

          “Jess.” I interrupted her, peeved with her swearing routine.

          “Aw, shucks, I mean,” she laughed awkwardly, “I wanted to meet that William guy. Or even the nerdy guy with glasses. Maybe he’s hot up close…” Jess rambled, and I eventually tuned her out. She was insanely boy crazy. It was overbearing at times.