Chapter 15
Reunited
"Okay, show me an expression of horror!"
"How's this?"
"Hahahaha! You're such a kidder, Sigmund!"
I was in my acting class at the moment with my new acting coach, Mrs. Keen. She was a sweet, elderly woman who spoke softly and giggled at everything I did. She was a wonderful teacher though, and gave me freedom to express myself the best I could during our session. It was the first time I had ever taken acting classes and I didn't know what to expect when I first walked in, but as the lesson went on, I realized how good I was!
"I'm having fun, Mrs. Keen."
"I'm glad you are, love! You're a fantastic student! Okay, now a sorrowful expression." This would be easy. Mrs. Keen gasped when she saw my face. "Oh my! You look as though you want to cry! Great job! Wonderful job!"
After another half hour of lesson, I was finally finished for the day. I thanked Mrs. Keen and headed out to my driver out front. As I stepped out of the building, I pulled my sunglasses on and hopped into the back seat of the luxury car when the door was opened for me. As the door closed behind me, I pulled out my new cellphone, courtesy of my manager, and checked the itinerary for the rest of the day.
The week had gone by so quickly since I was so busy. It was official, I was going on tour and it was going to be a major one over the winter holiday in December. My management staff had titled it, The Crystal Tour. I hardly had the time to see my parents these days, but they were having a good time staying preoccupied in our new home. I also didn't have much time to sleep. Energy drinks quickly became apart of my everyday life. They were a need for me to keep going without passing out. October was nearly over and it was expected of me to work through the month of November in anticipation of the tour.
Today, the start of my weekend, I was headed to the airport for an international flight completely alone this time. Though I had asked my father to accompany me for the business trip, he declined. He told me I'd have to get used to being on the move on my own, especially when it came to traveling to new countries and cities. I knew he was right, but I hated it. I hated being alone and so far away.
I had two major flights within the same day. First, I had to stop in L.A. for a talk show to promote my tour. Then, I was headed to an autograph session and an evening show in a small town called Galaxy Hills. After my Holiday special from last year had aired, I was heavily requested to visit by fans in the area in the year that followed. My team had also seen a surge in my merchandise being sent out to that particular town as well. With the big tour quickly being planned out, my management team wanted to see what the demand was like in person before adding the town to the dates.
By the time I got off the plane after my night in L.A., I was completely jet lagged and not at all in the mood for screaming fans. This autograph session wasn't optional though. It was important for another reason, aside from the tour. I would be debuting my newly designed merchandise at this session. If fans in this town liked it the way they had my first round of merch, they'd talk about it in the forums online leading up to my tour and spread the word. Other fans would be more likely to purchase when we put them into stores and up online for sale.
Stepping off the plane in Galaxy Hills the morning after my talk show appearance, my guards escorted me into a luxury bus where I met with my hair and makeup crew when I stepped inside. I didn't even protest with hair and makeup, I knew that I looked like hell and could use all the powder they could give me. I was able to chug down two, tall cans of energy drinks by the time we got to the venue. I sighed when the car came to a stop at the magic store we were visiting. I looked towards the door when it was finally opened.
"Sigmund! Good morning!" My manager greeted, boarding the bus. I waved weakly in return.
"Steven." I sighed, unenthusiastically. He went on with demands anyhow.
"Okay, I want you to make a nice, grand entrance! Something that'll surprise your audience. You have an entire crowd of fans on the other side of this building here."
I nodded and adjusted my coat before I hopped out of the van. I stretched for a minute, twisting my back and rolling my neck to get the kinks out after the long travel I'd just gone through. I hoped it would help wake me up a little, but it didn't. Not even in the slightest. I was exhausted, physically and mentally. With a deep sigh, I did as my manager asked.
I heard a wave of screams and gasps from my fans when I had conjured a smoke image of myself above the crowd. I thanked my hair and makeup crew and waved at my manager before materializing to the other side of the building. My fans hadn't even noticed when I appeared. They had all been preoccupied with the shadow version of myself. They waved and snapped pictures of the anomaly. I shook my head to myself.
"Excuse me!" I finally spoke up.
Necks practically snapped in my direction. Immediately, there were more high pitched screams and wide eyes from all when I showed up on the red carpet at the entrance of the magic store. My security guards raced to stand near me, nearly getting trampled by fans in the process.
"You've been dazzled~!"
"IT'S HIM! OH MY GOSH! IT'S REALLY HIM!" A man squealed from the crowd. I held back a laugh. He was most definitely not the norm in my age bracket of fans and seeing him caught me off guard completely.
Other members of my security team ushered fans into a queue while my manager's team bought out the new merchandise. It was then that I was told that the fangirling, grown man was actually the owner of the magic store. He was pulled from the crowd to meet me.
"Oh man, this is so cool!" He beamed with a heavy lisp. I mentally cringed.
"Nice to meet you."
"I'm Oz! I'm like, a huge fan of your show. Seriously, you're awesome!"
"T-thank you..."
Truthfully, it scared me that a man his age watched my show, but after he bought a t-shirt from the pop-up stand that was quickly set up outside the store, it was okay with me. My security ushered me over to the stand and pulled a folding chair out for me to sit on. I was thankful for that seat.
"Right this way for the signature of me on our new, exclusive merchandise!" I called out.
The crowd nearly ran the security over again when I announced that, but they were forced to stay on line. A girl with an overly colorful windbreaker and wide eyes blushed when she was allowed to the booth first. She dragged another girl behind her, strawberry blonde with an equally colorful pea coat.
"Y-you're my most favorite celebrity ever!" She giggled, fluttering her eyelashes at me. I smiled softly at her.
"Thank you, darling." I replied smoothly, giving her a wink in return. She turned to her friend and squealed with her. I laughed to myself, which made the girls hop around together, covering their faces in excitement.
They both picked water bottles, posters and matching shirts from the merchandise booth. I was actually surprised they had purchased so much. I conjured a metallic marker, which made them gasp when it appeared, and took my time to sign everything they purchased.
"Who should I make this poster out to?" I asked.
"Yo! My name is Yo!"
"To Yo, with love...Sigmund! How's that?" She inspected it and hopped in place with joy as her friend handed me her poster next.
"And I'm Francine!"
"Alright...there you go!"
Both girls were escorted away afterwards, frantically waving goodbye and letting out more screams when I was away from view. I signed everything from notebooks to body parts. The first round of fans swept the booth of merchandise clean and it was quickly restocked for the next person to get what they wanted. I was surprised that someone would want a poster with my face on it. Even more surprised when one person bought ten of them. My fans asked me all kinds of questions as well.
"When's your next episode airing?"
"You've got an accent! Where are you from?"
"Do you have a girlfriend? Do you want one?"
After a few minutes of talking and signing, I heard a loud wave of screaming coming from behind the queue. It sounded frantic, as if a fight was breaking out. Two goofy looking kids pushed through my fans and managed to avoid my security while doing it. They dragged another person behind them and stood in front of me with equally weird smiles when they faced me. My security was tempted to kick them all together, but I stopped them to avoid making a scene. The quicker I serviced them, the quicker they could leave.
"WE ARE HUGE FANS!" The taller of the two told me.
"YEAH! BIG, BIG FANS!" The shorter chimed in. "WE SENT YOU LETTERS EVERY WEEK!" They were both wearing what looked like suits made of spandex. It was...disturbing. It was hard fighting the look of disgust that wanted to appear on my face. I choked down a rude comment.
"O-oh. Thank you very much..." In my peripheral vision, I noticed the third person seemed to be hiding behind the tall one. A gasp escaped me when I'd spotted him though, and my eyes grew when they met with the eyes of Kyle the Conjurer.
"Kyle? Is that you?"
He looked up at me with a nervous, yet knowing grin. It was unmistakable.
"Oh, well, hello there." He chuckled nervously. This was extremely awkward. He was the last person on Earth that I wanted to see. The weird boys nearly knocked merchandise on the booth over to turn back to Kyle.
"YOU REALLY DO KNOW HIM?" The taller one asked. "You guys really are friends?!" Kyle hesitantly nodded.
"I told you already, we were roommates at my old school, Milkweed. He's not my friend..."
"Definitely not friends." I agreed, crossing my arms. "Not even close." Kyle seemed irritated with my statement. He clenched his fists at his sides.
"I made that very clear already!" He argued. "I don't want to be friends with you!"
"Wunderbar!"
"Fantastic!"
"Whoa..." The purple costumed weirdo muttered, looking between us. I caught myself. I shouldn't be arguing in front of my fans. This stop on the pre-tour was important and I wouldn't allow Kyle to ruin that for me.
I searched my pocket and pulled out four tickets to my next live magic show.
"I was going to raffle these off later today." I explained. "But since you seem to be in such a bad mood, I'll make your day. You can have them!" I handed Kyle the tickets, who scoffed at them. "By the way, those were the last of them for tonight's show. My show is sold out! Oh, and lucky you, FRONT ROW SEATS!"
My fans rushed to Kyle's side without second though, all begging to get a ticket from him. I covered my mouth and held in laughs, watching Kyle push people away from his personal space. I stood up from my seat and watched the mayhem.
"Ugh! I don't need these!" Kyle shouted over the crowd, stumbling forward in my direction as he broke away. "I have more important things to do tonight!"
"Like what?"
"Like...open all my birthday gifts that are ten times better than these useless tickets! A-and study, that's what!" I laughed in his face, an action that made his head lower in embarrassment.
"What exactly are you studying for, Kyle?"
"I-I need to practice my magic..." He mumbled. "Regardless of my exit from Milkweed Academy, I'm still very much in training." Again, I let out another loud laugh that made my fans shriek with excitement. The taller, weird kid stood between us and placed a sticky, gloved hand on my shoulder.
"You've gotta excuse my buddy here." He told me. "He thinks he's a wizard..." I held my stomach as I laughed harder. Kyle's face flushed. He hadn't even been able to convince the kids in his new town that he actually knew magic.
"Oh! Oh gosh!" I cried out in laughter. "Please! Hahaha! Give me a moment!"
The tall kid smiled at me as I wiped tears from my eyes. I took in a deep sigh of air and calmed myself down before speaking again.
"Pathetic. Come see my show tonight. Bring your friends. You might actually learn something new!"
"I'd rather eat my trainers..." He muttered, turning away from me. I smiled to myself as he walked off with his friends trailing behind him. I knew he'd be there later for sure. He was desperate enough.
I continued to sign autographs and then proceeded into the store, which actually looked like it catered more to comic books than magic. I stood for pictures with the shop owner, which was far from enjoyable. He smelled really weird, like a salted ham. And his mother, an elderly woman who joined in later for photos, smelled like very cheap and strong perfume. It was hard to breathe at that moment and I was getting a little light headed.
I was finally able to leave the store after the pictures and joined Steven out back and into the luxury van once more. I waved goodbye to the fans as we passed by the store and sighed with relief when we turned the corner, leaning back into my seat.
"Tired already?" Steven chuckled. I stared at him and narrowed my eyes in his direction.
"Tired? No, I'm way passed that." I sighed again. He laughed at me. I didn't laugh with him. I was serious about that statement.
"We'll get you to your hotel for some well deserved rest. Then you'll be out again later tonight for your show." I stopped listening at the word "rest".
—
"Right this way, sir. This is your trailer for tonight."
"Danke."
"Your hairstylist will be here in fifteen minutes."
"Sure thing."
I sat down in the spacious trailer, energy drink in hand. We'd returned to the magic shop from earlier. That "rest" Steven had promised me was more like a cat nap. I was tired. Really, really tired. There was a knock on the trailer door that pulled me out of my spaced out lag. I stood up and opened the door to Steven himself. He bought another person along, who came in behind him with a can of hairspray in one hand and a comb in the other. I groaned and sat at the mirror.
"Hair time!" Steven smiled. "After this, you've got a private autograph session here in the trailer."
"A private what?" I gasped, spinning around in my seat. "You never told me I would have to—!"
"Listen, I promise you'll be able to rest after tonight." Steven interrupted. I faced away from him and crossed my arms. "You don't have any other shows lined up this weekend. And you only have a couple meet and greets later this month."
"You swear?"
"I promise!"
I sighed and watched in the mirror as Steven exited the trailer when his phone rang. I chugged my energy drink and crushed the tall can when it was finished. I leaned back in my chair when the stylist went from my hair to my makeup and quickly pointed out my eyes.
"Make sure you cover these very well." I told her, pointing to the dark circles that had formed under my eyes. She laughed, but did as I asked anyways.
In the back of my mind, I knew this was all part of it. Part of the fame and the success. I couldn't help but feel annoyed though. I felt like I was being slightly overworked. Even worse was the fact that I had run into Kyle earlier in the day. Of all people, it just had to be him. I wondered why he was here, in this random dump of a town. Recalling the look on his face when I'd seen him earlier made me laugh in the chair. My makeup artist giggled with me.
"What's so funny?" She asked. I shook my head and sat up when she finished. Steven popped his head into the trailer just as we finished retouching my hair styling and I instantly felt annoyed again.
"Your VIPs will be here in fifteen minutes, so get dressed please!" He told me, closing the door behind my makeup artist, who waved on the way out.
I rolled my eyes and turned to the clothing rack in the trailer. Taking off the bath robe I'd had on before, I changed into my outfit for the night and turned to one of the many mirrors in the room. As I adjusted my clothing, I smiled slightly at the rhinestones on my jacket. When I lifted my arms and saw the fringe they'd added to the sleeves, I smiled a little brighter. I didn't like pageantry in my performance, but I definitely had a thing for it in my wardrobe. They'd given me a deep purple, velvet vest to wear and I couldn't stop running my fingers over the fabric. The clothing was the best part of my job.
There was a knock at the trailer door and I glanced at it with the millionth sigh of the day. I knew it had to be the fans and that meant it was showtime. I looked at myself in the mirror one last time and gave myself a nod before I opened the door with magic. Outside the door was a line of fans that stood behind my security guard. They waved frantically from their spots in line and I shot them a smile from inside the trailer. My security guard stepped in, bringing a photographer behind them. The photographer smiled at me and set up a backdrop against the wall of the trailer before the first group of VIPs was allowed inside.
"Oh my gosh! I'm such a huge fan of your work!" A boy around my age smiled when he was let into the trailer. He handed me his skateboard, then a poster and I conjured my pen to sign both.
"Thank you. That means a lot!" I replied, handing him his poster back warmly. We posed for a picture and he was given another piece of merchandise before we parted ways. "See you at the show!" I smiled. A young girl walked in afterwards, but went frozen at the doorway. My security guard tapped her shoulder.
"C'mon, you've gotta keep it moving." He told her, rather harshly. I shook my head at the guard.
"No, it's alright. She's nervous." I turned my attention back to the little girl, who hid behind her poster. "Can I be honest? I'm nervous too. This is my first show here."
"Is it, really?" The girl asked, finally walking over to me. I nodded and took her poster from her when she handed it to me. I got down on one knee so she'd be able to see me sign it. She giggled, taking my attention from the poster to her blushing face. It actually lifted my spirits, completely. I held the poster out to her and she took it carefully.
"How's that?" I asked her. She nodded happily. I set an arm on her shoulder for the picture, but she went in for a full on hug as the camera flashed. I thought she was precious. I waved to her when she made her way to the exit and she waved back at me. "See you at the show!" The next group of VIPs caught me off guard.
"HURRY UP, CHUM CHUM!"
"I'M COMING, FANBOY! KYLE'S SLOWING ME DOWN!"
When I caught a glimpse of the two weirdos from earlier, I couldn't help but laugh. They fumbled up the stairs into the trailer and ended up tripping up over each other, falling onto the floor. The trailer rocked a little when they fell and it only made me laugh harder. The taller, green one looked up from the floor and smiled at me.
"You love to laugh, don't you? You always seem to laugh when I see you!" I guess he didn't realize it was because I was laughing at his odd appearance more than anything else going on. I shrugged.
"I guess I do." I lied. "What are your names anyways? I don't think I caught them before."
"Fanboy!" The tall one responded, holding his gloved hand out to mine for a shake. Looking down at his hand, I grimaced. There were stains on his gloves that I really didn't want to touch. I offered a smile instead.
"And I'm Chum Chum!" The shorter introduced. What kinds of names were those? What was with the costumes? And why were these Kyle's friends? It was all terribly out of character for him and I was honestly puzzled by it all.
I waited for one of them to hand me something to sign, but I quickly noticed they came in without any of my merchandise. I really wanted to get this whole meeting over with, especially since it seemed like Kyle wouldn't enter the trailer. I knew he was probably waiting outside.
"Did you guys want me to sign anything for you?" I asked. Fanboy was more interested in the clothes I was wearing.
"WHOA! Where can I get a jacket like this?"
"You can't. These are made and tailored specially for me." He lifted my arm suddenly and rather forcefully, which caught me off guard. The shorter of the two pulled at the fringe on the jacket, just as rough.
"THIS IS SO NIFTY!"
"W-would you mind?!" I choked.
"Mind a coat like this for myself? Not at all!" Fanboy grinned. I felt violated and I was getting pretty frustrated, fast. I eyed my security guard who quickly took the hint and grabbed them both. The boys glanced at each other before laughing. "Hey! Where ya taking us?"
"He'll bring you to your seats in the venue for the show!" I assured them. "Please, go with him!"
They were actually oblivious to the fact that I was kicking them out and I was thankful for that, because I was far too tired to get into it with anyone. Once they were out of the trailer, I took a minute to breathe before the last person on line came in.
"What's with all the diamonds?"
I looked over my shoulder and my eyes fell on the red head. Kyle stood at the doorway with his arms folded and a grimace on his face. I twirled, teasingly for him.
"Like them?" I asked, knowingly. Kyle scoffed.
"You look like a circus monkey."
"But you're here to see the circus, so?"
"I'm only here because I finished studying earlier than I thought..."
I took a seat and waved the photographer away, who quickly let themselves out. Leaning back on the loveseat in the trailer, I pulled my phone out and checked the schedule for tonight's show.
"Why do you even bother lying?" I asked Kyle. He pouted when my attention was switched to my phone and not him.
"I'm not!" He argued. "And I'm only here to let you know how distasteful I thought it was of you to keep me from sending in my re-entry forms to Milkweed!" I moved the phone away from my face and eyed him sharply. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to start this argument with me right here and now.
"You told me you didn't want any help, remember? You had a trip to take that was more important, remember?"
"You've been making things harder for me than they need to be!"
"You made it hard on yourself!"
"You're trying to ruin my life! You don't know what I'm dealing with!"
"You ruined your own life and now you're ruining mine!"
"Now you're stalking me by having this show here! Of all places, Galaxy Hills? Really?"
"Oh, don't flatter yourself! My management set this up, not me!" I stood up from the sofa and crossed my arms. "Are we finished here? I want you out! NOW!"
"Of course you do, COWARD!"
As Kyle turned away to leave, I felt a pang in my chest for a moment. It really had been a lucky coincidence. I didn't think I was ever gonna see Kyle again and deep down somewhere, I was relieved to see a familiar face through all the rushing I'd been doing the past couple of weeks. Especially since I hadn't been able to vent to Erin the way I usually would when I worked. It wasn't Kyle that gave me the comfort, it was the familiarity.
"H-hold on..."
"What?!" He spat. I sighed. I wasn't sure if I had any right to ask, but I felt the need.
"...see you at the show?" Kyle raised a brow and pouted in thought. He was still so easy to read.
"I mean, I'm already here, so I might as well see what type of train wreck you put on."
He left the trailer after that comment and I smiled to myself. I couldn't stand Kyle and we weren't seeing eye to eye right now, but I'd perform for him. Our paths had crossed again, so I'd perform.
I finished preparing for the show afterwards and was escorted from the trailer to another luxury car that took me to the venue for the show. I'd be performing in the town's baseball stadium. A stage was built for me to perform on and when I looked it over during the soundcheck, I realized it was one of the biggest I'd ever entertained on. I knew this would be one of many ahead and I was positive this wouldn't be the biggest.
Soundcheck went by quickly and as showtime was approaching, I was set with a microphone, ear pieces and given one more swipe of makeup. Backstage, I stretched and loosened up. This was the second pre-show to the start of my touring season and also the most important to me.
As I entered the stage to a roaring arena with my arms outstretched, I searched for Kyle in the VIP section. To my surprise, I'd only seen his idiotic friends and the owner of the comic book shop in the row, all of them waving frantically. I felt my smile drop for a moment, but quickly turned my persona back on.
He hadn't shown up to see the show.