So I don't own Now You See Me or its characters. I don't own the plot except for the changes that I'm doing. Sadly. I know that I have other stories up on this site that aren't finished and I know that I just basically scraped my original book until I can figure out how to fix it but I had to write at least the first chapter of this. I love theses movies, so very much. I recently watched the first one again, for like the 20th time and I somehow came up with the idea of this story. Hopefully you guys like it and please comment and vote!
The actress that I see as Gwen is Emily Wickersham, she's on NCIS. The picture at the top is her with glasses.
Happy reading!
Fortune Teller
New York is a wonderful place to get lost in. With the people bustling around you without a care in the world as to who you are and the many back alleys. The skyscrapers really look as if they are touching the clouds and if you could only stand on their roofs you would be among the stars.
New York is also a perfect place to be a street magician. By setting up shop on a busy corner you can see more people in five minutes than you would in a shop in a whole business day. If you're loud enough and interesting enough you can make a decent amount of money.
In my opinion I fit into both of those categories.
I was once described as louder than a freight train. I have my best friend to thank for that actually, well, former best friend. We had a falling out. I however am a firm believer that it's the magic itself that draws people in, rather than my vocal chords.
My kind of magic isn't showy nor is it flashy, which can actually be a bit of a downside. I'm not one of those escape artists and I'm definitely not a mind reader. No, I'm a fortune teller and a pretty good one if I do say so myself. Well, I do have an advantage over other charlatans. Seeing as I'm not a charlatan, I'm the real deal. I oddly enough have a minor, and I do really mean minor, gift of precognition. It's doesn't work on myself or anyone I personally know, only strangers. I don't see far, only a day forward at best and a few seconds at worst. But no matter how crappy this ability is, it's a gift. I'm just restricted in my use of it and if putting on little shows for the hustle and bustle has made a difference in one life, then I'll continue to do them.
Today I have chosen the busy street corner that my shared apartment is on to preform my magic. I've set up a white card table and covered it in a rich purple tablecloth. I place a deck of tarot cards from my bag on the cloth and add a deck of regular cards just in case. I also sit out a clear glass jar with a royal purple ribbon tied around it, for tips. For the added bonus of looking cool, yet having no purpose whatsoever, I have a crystal ball. It's set in a jeweled, clawed grasp and I use it as the centerpiece of my table. Now all I have to do is wait. The freight train vocal chords will only come out to play if I don't get an audience anytime soon.
My first visitors of the day are a group of kids. They're all wearing a uniform for one of the local middle schools a few blocks down the road. A little girl from the group stops in front of my table as her friends continue walking, they take several more steps before realizing that she had dropped behind. The four children then crowd around my table as I offer to tell them their futures.
I ask the smallest girl to look into my crystal ball and tell me what she sees. She confusedly stands on her tiptoes and peers into the glass ball, seeing nothing. She shakes her head and I tell her that it's alright, not everyone can see their own future, that's what I'm for. She smiles and I make a show of placing her small hand on the crystal ball and then peering into it myself. I get a flash of her nailing a somersault in gymnastic practice when I touch her hand. I glance up from the crystal ball and smile at her before telling her what I saw. She jumps up and down squealing in excitement and the next child steps up.
He's only slightly taller than the little girl and looks enough like her to be a family member. I tell him to look into the crystal and he too sees nothing, which is expected. I do the same as I did with the little girl and when I pick up his hand I see him getting his science test back and on it is an A. I tell him what I saw and his face lights up.
Next up is a slightly older girl with long blonde hair in a braid. I decide to use a different technique with the last two girls and I ask the blonde girl for her hand. She bites her lip nervously as I gently hold her right hand, palm facing up. I trace the lines of her palm for effect as I see her panicking over a pop quiz in one of her classes, I can't tell which. I inform her of what I saw and she looks disappointed for a moment before she thanks me.
Finally, the last girl of the group bounces forward. She is roughly the same age as the blonde girl and has vibrant red hair. She thrusts her left hand out excitedly and I trace the lines on her palm. I see her being bullied by a dark haired girl at lunch. I tell her what I saw and tears begin to well up in her eyes. Her friends notice and start to comfort her. I apologize but explain to her that I don't control her future, she does. She gives me a watery smile and each of the children place a few dollars into my jar before walking off.
The day continues on like this, with me alternating between using the crystal ball, the palm reading, and the tarot cards. I do a few minor card tricks with my regular deck but I mostly stick to my fortune telling. The tip jar slowly fills up, the people all blur into one and before I know it I'm packing up. I screw on the lid of my tip jar and place both decks of cards into their correct boxes before placing them in my bag. But when I do I see a tarot card that doesn't match my deck sticking out. It's on a nicer type of paper than mine and it has a glossy look to it. It's the Wheel of Fortune and when I turn it over it reads March 29th; 4:44 PM, 45 East Evan Street, NY, NY. over an image of an eye.
That's today. In two hours.
As I hurriedly continue to pack up my things I think about the ever mysterious Eye. Now every magician who has even a fraction of talent knows about the Eye. They are what we work towards. We're all unconsciously, or for some of us consciously, striving for their attention. The goal is to one day do something so amazing, so incredible, so unique that the Eye notices you. Some magicians give up of that dream and others believe in it until they take their final breaths.
I've always believed in the existence of the Eye but I never in a million years would have thought that they would choose me. I'm lugging my table and bag into the elevator of my apartment building when I come to a decision. I'm going to this meeting. I don't care that it might be a prank or that it could be some elaborate serial killer's plot to get me alone. I'm going.
I lean the table up against the wall of the third floor as I fumble with my keys. I know that my roommate Karen is out, doing who know what, which is great because that means she won't pester me about where I'm going. Karen means well but she's too pushy most of the time. I sigh in relief as I finally get the key in the lock and open the door.
I pick the table back up and lug it into my room where I shove it onto the wall and try to brace it so it doesn't topple over. I wait a couple of seconds with my hands out in front of it until I'm sure that it's steady before walking into our shared bathroom to put my contacts in.
I was too lazy to put them in this morning and so decided that wearing my glasses was better than going outside with the vision of a ninety year old grandma. But now that I've been invited to join the Eye I have to make a decent impression and contacts make me feel better about myself than glasses. I don't have time to change out of my dark gray leggings and teal beaded dress that make me look the part of a fortune teller, so that will just have to do. I run a brush through my thick blonde hair, grab my bag of charlatan fortune teller things and the Wheel of Fortune tarot card before rushing out the door.
Hopefully this isn't a huge mistake. Maybe, just maybe, the Eye needs a fortune teller.