Magic

"Whoo!"

"Yeah, sweet!"

"Holy moly, that was awesome."

I hear the kids – though they are no longer kids – cheering for the acrobats. There are ten of them, all men, all strong and very flexible. Seems they are actually a big hit. Robbie and I have taken residence on the far left bleachers where we are not very noticeable to anyone else. I'm a little disappointed none of my friends came to see who we were yet. On the other hand, they could be avoiding us like the plague if they know who Robert the Great is beneath the disguise.

"Aw, this is boring," Robbie exclaims. "I can't stand acts like this. Wow, you flipped upside down on your head. Well, I can do better. I once fell asleep with my feet on the bed and head on the floor. It was pretty comfortable."

My laughter echoes in the breezy air. This is the Robbie I love.

"Heh." He looks at me and states, "I'm not used to having company. I am very bitter, if you can tell. Don't let me bother you."

"You're not." My attention is grabbed as the acrobats stop performing. Applause erupts from the gang, Uncle, and Bessie. I turn back to face Robbie and swallow a lump in my throat. "It's now or never," I say. "We have to beat the Old Woman to her own game before she ruins – I mean, so we can ruin their night."

"You do realize that we will be the most horrible act in magician history?" Robbie sounds proud of this. "They will be so underwhelmed they will have to go home."

I grin. "Oh, I know, Robbie. That was the plan. Let's go."

We stand up and immediately feel stares on us. Robbie takes my hand again and helps me off of the bleachers. I thank him. He then drops my hand like a bomb. Putting him on the spot must make him nervous. As we go out on the field, I can see Lorna Luna glaring at us. She is standing with clenched fists.

Oh, sorry we took your place, Fortune Teller of Doom.

"What's up with Little Bunny Foo Foo?" Trixie whines. "You aren't in the program. Get off of the field."

"Now, now, Trixie," Uncle Milford begins, "Don't be rude. Maybe it's a surprise act."

Robbie leans into my ear and mumbles, "Where's Sportacus? Shouldn't he be here?"

As if he heard his name, Sportacus runs towards the field from town. He does his usual flippity-triple-spin in the air and jaunts over to the others. It is like him to sense when I am around. His blue specs find me and focus hard, especially on my attire. I must have been blind before to not notice how he eye-groped me every summer.

The sexy, accented voice of Robbie whispers in my ear again, "Guess he is fashionably late, then? Let's do this, Pinky. I believe in you."

I melt. This is no time for romance, but he is making it so hard for me. I think of my future. I think of The Forest and Wastelands and almost getting killed by the ones in front of me. And I look to Lorna, who is cackling beneath her breath. She knows who we are, of course, but does she sense I am from the future?

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Robbie bellows, "I am Robert the Great. This is my assistant, Stunning Stephanie. She has temporarily taken the place of my missing assistant for right now. We are about to put on the most amazing magic show ever recorded in history. Are you ready to rumble?"

"Uh, that's a wrestling reference," I say with a smirk.

The audience laughs at this. Robbie ignores the response. He starts off with a standard trick where colored scarves come out of his hand. I already hear Ziggy yawn. After this, he pulls his hat off, says a few nonsense words, and pulls a stuffed rabbit out of his hat. I try so hard not to laugh. I see Sportacus roll his eyes.

"Not to interrupt you two," Bessie says, "but is there anything else you can do? Are you seriously going to stand up there and do magic tricks a two year old can do?"

"Perfect," I say to Robbie. "They are becoming restless."

"My final trick, since you are becoming so impatient." Robbie winks at me. "I shall need an audience member. How about you, blue fellow?"

Sportacus' eyebrows rise. He comes over to us and stops in front of me. "Really, Stephanie, you came back and couldn't even say hi to me? Love the outfit." He flashes his sparkling white teeth at me and adds, "You should come visit me tomorrow."

"My final trick," Robbie pushes, "Sir, if you could cooperate."

Sportacus shakes his head and says, "Give me a break, Robbie. I know it's you. But if you must continue, please do. I was only trying to compliment Stephanie. No idea why she's with the likes of you tonight, but I guess she was only trying to help a lost cause."

In my peripheral vision I see the Fortune Teller slowly walking towards us. Looking back at the two men, all I see is friction.