Charlie Velazquest, he was six. He wore pink cutaway tails, a top hat, and an pink bow around his neck. He carried a walking stick and looked for all the world like he was going to break out into the Charleston at any moment. Charlie was a good kid, like his other half Larry, but you see, Charlie had this thing about being the center of attention: He loved it. He lived for the spotlight and loved, loved, loved all eyes being on him.
Then one day he found his calling, he went on a field trip to a magic show.
The Amazing Brailster was the magician he saw, "And for my next trick, I'll need a bold audience member willing to be," He pulls out a saw, "sawed in half." Everyone cheers, "How 'bout you, young man?"
A spotlight dawns on Charlie, who gaps.
Charlie walks onto the stage. The crowd cheer and applaud.
The Amazing Brailster bows to Charlie, "Since you're my assistant, you should wear the hat." He takes the hat off his head and gives it to Charlie, but when he tries to put it on, water spills out of it, all over him, everyone laughs at this. As Charlie wipes it off, The Brailster offers him a hanky from his sleeve, "Handkerchief?"
Charlie yanked on the hankies like a total pro, and then–bam!–he stumbled upon his own shirt! The whole room burst into laughter, and Charlie was just standing there with his shirt in hand, stars practically sparkling in his eyes.
"Whoa, how did you even pull that off?" he exclaimed, slipping into his shirt, totally blown away.
Brailster smiled and pated Charlie's head, "A magician never reveals his secrets."
After that day he learned to do magic tricks. Oftentimes, they were clumsy and poorly executed. Charlie loved card tricks but could never "pick" your card. If you had an ace of spades, he'd say you had a queen of hearts. However as time passed he got better and learned more advanced tricks.
XXXXX
Breakfast time at the Velazquest House! Johnny, armed with a spatula like it's a sword, flips pancakes like he's auditioning for a circus act. He winks at Sammy, who's staring at the stack of deliciousness as if it's the next best thing slice bread!
"Hey, Sammy! Time to level up your morning with some fluffy circles of joy!" Johnny quips, drenching one of the many stacks of pancakes in syrup like it's a superhero's cape.
Leo can't help but smirk, "Little bro, if you keep this up, I might just declare you my breakfast overlord."
And just like that, the mundane becomes extraordinary because, let's be real, nothing says 'start your day' like pancakes served with a side of sass!
Luis plopped himself down and gazed morosely at the pancakes, his dark mood thick enough to cut with a knife. "Save some for me… if you can bear to keep them from meeting their demise," he said, his voice dripping with the weight of a thousand unfulfilled desires.
Delilah's eyes lit up like twinkling stars, "Yum yum yum! Hold up! I'm claiming the one that looks like Sammy!" She snatched up the Sammy-shaped pancake with a grin.
Larry huffed, crossing his arms, "Oh, come on! That's totally not fair! I was really hoping for the Sammy one!"
Sammy looks annoyed, "Why I outta!"
Delilah laughs and eats the Sammy-shaped pancake.
David takes the rest of the pancakes totally pumped, "Yeah time to protein up!
Out of nowhere, Charlie pops up next to him in a big whoosh of smoke! He's all dramatic and covers the pancakes with a cloth, saying, "Now you see them…" Then he whips the cloth off, and bam! The pancakes have vanished! "Now you don't! Shazam!"
David just stares, all wide-eyed, "Thanks! That was delicious!"
As David hops out of his chair, humming a happy tune, Charlie's eyes go wide. Charlie reveals he had actually taken the pancakes while David wasn't looking.
Charlie jumps up, waving his arms, "David! Hold up, man! I wasn't even finished with my act yet!"
David scratches his chin, confused, "But why am I still hungry?"
Charlie tossed a smoke bomb in front of David, grinning wide. "Hey, check out my magic skills! With all this practice, I'll be headlining in Las Vegas before you know it!"
He launched another smoke bomb. As the smoke cleared, he vanished into thin air! David's jaw dropped in total shock.
Meanwhile, back at the table, Charlie reached in and pulled out an egg from Luis's hair. "Ta-da! Amazing, right?"
Luis exclaimed, "A gasp of despair and astonishment!"
Leo laughed, pointing at the empty plate, "Yo, Houdini! What happened to the pancakes?"
Charlie scratched his head, looking all confused. "Pancakes? I thought I put them back... where did they go?"
A sudden thud shakes the table. They look under the table and find Sammy, Frankie and Larry eating the pancakes.
Frankie smiled slyly and remarked, "It seems Charlie isn't the only one with the remarkable ability to make things vanish."
Sammy burped.
Suddenly a loud thud is heard, causing everyone to yelp in shock. A dove has rammed herself into the window, carrying a piece of paper, and slides down as she lands on the ground.
Charlie tilted his head, "Whoa, is that a dove holding a note?"
Just then, a knock echoed through the room.
Charlie swung the door open, and the dazed dove flapped inside, dropped the note right into Charlie's hands, and then plopped down on his head like a feathered hat.
He unfurled the paper, and a cloud of dust burst out. "Dude, it's for me!" he exclaimed, reading, "No way! I've been chosen to be the Amazing Brailster's new junior illusionist!? But wait, do I need to audition?"
Milton nervously added, "Um, I-I guess he sort of liked your audition tape, right? I mean, I-I hope it didn't 'tape' you off guard or anything! Eek, that pun probably wasn't too great. I-I'm just worried I'll mess it up! Please forgive me!"
Charlie blinked, looking totally bewildered, "Uh, we made an audition tape?"
Milton's face turned a shade of crimson as he stammered, "I-I'm so sorry! I had videos of you doing magic so I sent one to the Illusion Chateau. I just thought, you know, it might be 'spell-binding' to share some of your magic! Eek, I hope that's not too 'tricky'! I didn't want to 'disappear' from your good graces or anything. P-Please forgive me if I overstepped; I get so 'magically' nervous sometimes!"
Charlie beamed and pulled Milton into a tight hug, "Milton, you're the best! I'm finally gonna learn all the Brailster's epic tricks and perform at the Illusion Chateau!
Delilah strolled over to her brothers, hands on her hips, and said, "So, it's like this super-secret hangout where all the dopest magicians do their thing, huh?"
Charlie nodded with excitement, "Exactly! And now, I'm gonna be part of it!"
XXXXX
After Charlie found when he was supposed to go to the Illusion Chateau grabbed his things put them in his backpack and went out into the hall. Charlie found his other half Larry. Larry the older twin by (10 seconds) liked cowboy movies, so he liked to dress like one. Today, he was wearing chaps, a western style vest, and a cowboy hat and boots. Delilah and the others mocked and made fun of him quite a lot for the way he dressed. They had all sorts of nicknames for him. The Crybaby Kid; The Lame Ranger; Sheriff Woody; and Charlie's favorite - The Black Buckaroo.
He couldn't help himself, the moment he saw Larry standing there, he had to dive in and pick on him.
"Howdy, pardner!" Charlie said with a goofy grin, tipping his hat way too dramatically.
Larry shot a pointed look at his younger twin, crossing his arms, "Come on, Charlie, I don't talk like that!" he said, leveling a colder vibe at his brother. It was like he was trying to remind him who was older of the two!
"I reckon you don't." Charlie replied, chuckling a bit, "You better saddle up your horse and get on down to the saloon. It's almost chow!"
In a flash, Larry kicked Charlie right in the shin. The tip of his boot crashed into Charlie's bone and sent a shockwave of pain through him. Ouch! The impact was like a lightning bolt shooting through him, making Charlie yelp and grab his leg, hopping on one foot like a crazed chicken. With a frustrated growl, he swiped at Larry, but by then, Larry was already hightailing it out of there. "Yeah, that's right!" Charlie shouted after him, "Go on and get!"
After the pain went away Charlie made himself down stairs and was to open the door when Tommy came in.
Tommy spotted his little bro, the magic-loving maestro, and grinned wide like the sun breaking through clouds, "Hey, my little magic rockstar! The princess said, 'Tell him it's all about that bass!'" He stretched out his arm dramatically, and there it was—a small white envelope with pink frills, like a sweet melody bursting to be heard. "Open it up, buddy! Let's see what this great adventure's about! 'Cause every little thing is gonna be alright!"
The magician boy snagged the fancy envelope and flipped it around, his eyes lighting up at the name. "Charlie," it read, all dressed up in a super stylish script and drenched in glitter. He couldn't resist; deftly tore open the flap with his teeth like a kid with a cookie and extracted a large piece of stationary from its innards.
"Dearest Charlie," it said, in elegant, flowing script. "You have been invited to the Empress' annual gala. Please arrive at 11:00 sharp, with peanut butter sandwiches and snickerdoodles." The letter was signed, "Empress Lola" in far more flowing, and far more elegant handwriting, with the name taking up over a quarter of the page.
Charlie's eyes tuned to stars, "Sweet! Lola's throwing a party, but I've gotta trek over to the Illusion Chateau. Ugh, I really wanna hang with Lola, though! What am I gonna do?!"
Tommy threw his arms wide, a grin plastered on his face. "Hey man, just like the Rolling Stones said, 'You can't always get what you want!' But it's all good! Hit up Lola, jam out, and tell your girl, 'I'm gonna bounce, but love is all you need!' Just make sure you drop some sweet lines—she'll be singing your song in no time! Life's a stage, bro! So go on, turn the music up and let her know she's the melody in your heart!"
Charlie was deep in thought, replaying what Tommy had told him. He had some solid points, and honestly, he figured he could manage both. Plus, he didn't wanna let Lola down—after all, they were technically married now.
One day, Lola stood in front of him, her eyes sparkling like she was in her own love story. "Charlie, I've decided that my love for you can't wait until I'm older, so we're getting married—like, right now!" she declared.
But Charlie wasn't so sure about marriage. He was still in the "play the field" phase, and he wanted to enjoy it until at least his early 30s.
"You're going to marry me," Lola said, her voice fierce as a lioness protecting her cubs. "And then you're going to help me become a mommy, and for the next 70 years, you'll do what I say, when I say it! Got it, Charlie?"
He just blinked at her, trying to process that. But then, her fiery expression shifted to a sad one, and Charlie felt a pang of sympathy.
"Lola, it's okay," he said gently. "I get it. You just want to marry me because your mom says love means you get hitched, huh?"
Lola nodded, looking downcast. "Yeah… I just want to be with you."
Charlie softened, his heart melting a bit. "Maybe being married won't be so bad after all."
"Really!?" Lola's face lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Yeah, but promise me you won't dump me and take half my stuff," he joked, grinning.
"Please, I'm gonna be glued to you forever, my prince!" she laughed.
That's when she pulled out a Ring Pop—a dazzling swirl of blue and pink. "Charlie, take this as a token of my love and my commitment to being your princess forever!"
He accepted the sugary ring, and she held out her hand, all excited. Charlie slipped it on, feeling a mix of joy and worry.
"You're the best boyfriend ever!" Lola exclaimed, her cheeks turning pink. "Now that we're married, can I get a kiss? You know—just a little one on my lips?"
Charlie felt his cheeks heat up. Kissing Lola Loud? Panting thoughts raced through his mind. But he figured a little kiss wouldn't hurt anyone.
"All right, my princess. Close your eyes."
Lola did so, and Charlie leaned in, giving her a soft kiss on the lips. It wasn't too long, but definitely more than just a peck.
After they pulled apart, Lola looked at him with a spark in her eyes. "Charlie, I'm so happy!" she squealed, jumping into his arms and hugging him tightly.
Feeling inspired by Tommy's advice, Charlie thought, "You know what? I'll hit up Lola first, then swing by the Illusion Chateau."
XXXXX
Later, Charlie made it to The Loud House and bounced into Lana & Lola's room. As he walked in, he spotted the adorable pink walls, the light puce carpeting, and that one cute window dressed with lilac curtains. The room was divided into two fabulous sections: on Lana's side, there were all these awesome hats hanging on the wall, a pile of super dirty clothes, a nightstand featuring her terrarium filled with frogs and reptiles, and a cozy brown wooden bed decked out with a dark green blanket and bedsheets. Then, over on Lola's side, she had her play kitchen all set up, a tea set ready for guests, and a collection of stuffed animals that looked totally ready for a party. There was even a small round table and her fancy pink bed with a draped canopy—so chic! Oh, and let's not forget their closet that was just bursting with fabulous outfits!
"Chhhhharrrrrlieeeee!"
Lola was sitting at her table, all set up for their hangout, and with a flick of her hair, she said, "Hey~" with those adorable batting eyelashes. She was totally ready to have some fun!
Charlie bowed dramatically and said, "Hello, my fabulous lady! What an honor it is to grace your castle with my fabulous invention!"
Lola bounced on her toes, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "I just wanted to hang out with my prince! We can play games, chat about all the latest drama, and of course, have some yummy snacks!" She proudly displayed a plate of peanut butter sandwiches and a stack of snickerdoodles, grinning ear to ear. Then she twirled around with a flourish, revealing a colorful box. "And look what I brought just for you! Ta-da! Butterfingers! Your favorite!" She giggled, clearly ready for a fun-filled day.
The Velazquest siblings loved Butterfingers. Like, seriously, yo, those things were the best. So crunchy. So chocolatey. Butterfingers were a man's treat. They weren't all soft and soggy like the stuff his future white-haired brother in law Lincoln ate. Lincoln went for stuff like gummy worms.
Charlie loved Butterfingers because they were awesome just like him, is what I'm saying. Sometimes in the afternoon on the way home from school, Johnny treated the younger siblings to junk food and loaded up on snacks at Flip's. The siblings went right to the Butterfingers. Flip's was one of the only games in town that had the Super Ultra King Size Butterfingers. They bought as many as they could and Charlie always kept one in his hat for when he was hungry on the go. Strutting through the halls of Royal County Elementary. With a Butterfinger sticking out of his mouth like a fat cigar, he was the top of the heap, the King of Kool, the Sultan of Swell, and every one of his subjects bowed before him in awe and reverence in Charlie's epic presence.
Butterfingers were a food of the gods and he made sure to have a huge stash at any given time. He kept it in a box under his mini fridge.
Charlie practically Jumped into a seat after Lola presented the box full of Butterfingers.
"So, Charlie, do you have any super fun plans this week besides hanging out with yours truly?" Lola asked, a playful grin spreading across her face.
"Hey, so like, I'm totally heading to the Illusion Chateau, which means I need to bail a bit early. Is that cool with you?" Charlie inquired, looking a little nervous.
Lola giggled, tossing her hair back. "Oh please, Charlie! I'm not your boss! You can do whatever you want! But I do want to spend some time with you. When do you have to skedaddle?"
Charlie let out a dramatic sigh of relief, "Ugh, I seriously thought things were about to go downhill! But, like, I only need to swing by 1:00, so there's totally enough time for a quick hangout with you and then I can dash to my event. Talk about a total win-win!"
Lola clapped her hands excitedly. "Yay! That means we get TWO whole hours of fun together!" She took a bite of her snickerdoodle and then her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, Charlie! I wanted to ask you something super important! Will you come to my special Cream Puffs pageant after school on Friday?"
Charlie swallowed his Butterfinger and flashed a bright smile, giving a playful nod. "Of course, Princess! I wouldn't miss your pageant for your pageant for all the candy in the universe!"
Charlie and Lola then spent the next 2 hours spending time together, they chatted while dining on snacks, they went to Lola's closet and Lola asked for Charlie the opinion on her new dresses, they even drove around and Lola's princess Jeep, when was close to Charlie's time to leave Lola offered to drive him to the Illusion Chateau.
XXXXX
Later, Lola and Charlie cruise over to the Illusion Chateau, and it's like, super exciting!
Charlie bounces out of Lola's Jeep dramatically, "Alright, here's my stop, princess! Thanks for the epic lift! Can't wait to tell everyone how you're the best driver ever!"
Lola flashed her signature grin, "No problem, Chip! Go out there and knock 'em dead! You've got this!"
With a confident wave, she hopped into her car and zoomed off, leaving Charlie waving goodbye with a mix of excitement and pride.
At the Illusion Chateau, Charlie is like totally checking out the scenery while he climbs up the stairs to this super fancy front door. He takes a big breath and swings the door open—only to be greeted by a wooden barn door. "Wait, what?" he mutters, eyebrows raised.
Trying to wrap his head around it, Charlie gives it another go and pulls open the door again, but this time it's a steel prison door. "Seriously?! What is this place?" He pushes it aside only to find—get this—a brick wall! He snaps it shut, feeling a bit frustrated. "Maybe there's a secret password or some button I'm missing."
Just when he's about to give up, Charlie peers around one of those shiny golden statues, and in a puff of smoke—bam! The Amazing Brailster pops out. Charlie jumps back, eyes wide. "Whoa! Okay, didn't see that coming!"
Brailster takes a bow, "Tada. Welcome junior illusionist… uh…" He looks at an index card, "Charlie Velazquest."
Charlie gasp, "Oh my gosh, it's you! Mr. The Amazing Brailster! No way you work here! You have to teach me how you pulled that off! Seriously, that was so cool!"
Brailster laughs, "All in good time." He snaps his finger and the door opens, revealing the hallway. Charlie gasps and enters, the Brailster follows.
They stroll into the grand hallway, and Charlie's jaw drops like it's a cartoon!
"Whoa! This place is epic!" Charlie beams, his eyes sparkling like glittering stars.
Brailster rose his hands, "Welcome, Charlie, to the Illusion Chateau."
Charlie bounces on his feet, eyes glimmering as he checks out the hall decked out with awesome magician pictures, cool props, and even a stand-up bass that plays all by itself. He scopes out a crystal ball, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Whoa! This is Madame Mystery's crystal globe!" he exclaims, reaching out to touch it. Peering deeper, he spots a display case right across the hall that's filled with playing cards and a picture of a super cool female magician. "And check it out! Those are The Great Colajulo's Cards of Chaos! How epic is that?"
Charlie can hardly contain his enthusiasm—this place is like a magic lover's dream!
Brailster takes the crystal ball, "Please don't touch anything." The Brailster puts it back, "The chateau is full of trap doors. Rumor has it there are magicians who have gone missing in the chateau and have never been found."
Charlie chuckled, "I've heard of disappearing acts, but wow, that's taking things to a whole new level!"
The Brailster shot him a playful smirk, like he just knew something wild was about to go down.
XXXXX
Later, in the prop room, the Brailster opens a pet carrier, "And behold… Trixie the Magic Mongoose!" A mongoose pops out of the carrier, she jumps off Charlie's head, much to his amusement, and crawls up the Brailster's shoulders, "I met Trixie when I was just a young aspiring magician like yourself." He opens his sleeve for Trixie to enter, "You see, the pet store was all out of rabbits, but mongooses are definitely just as magical." He takes off his hat, revealing Trixie inside. She jumps back into the hat, "Oh, she's my best friend I couldn't perform without her." He lets Trixie back into her cage, "And now to begin your training."
Charlie bounced on his heels, excitement radiating off him. "Alright, here we go! I, Charlie the Magnificent, am totally ready to dazzle! So, what's the first spectacular trick we're doing?" In a blink, he found himself next to a washing machine, a bulging hamper in his arms. "Wait, we're doing laundry?! Seriously?" His enthusiasm was instantaneously replaced with confusion.
Brailster nodded, "Before you can become a great magician you must familiarize yourself with the tools of the trade." He waves his wand and a bottle of detergent emerges from the hamper, Charlie is amazed, mostly, "Make sure to run the gentle cycle."
Brailster snaps his fingers and poof! He's gone, just like that! Charlie rolls his eyes and says, "Well, guess it's laundry time!" He whips out his wand and points it at the gloves in the hamper. Suddenly, those gloves spring to life, grabbing the detergent and pouring it into the machine. They even start tossing clothes in there! But then, uh-oh! The endless handkerchief chain gets all tangled up. Classic! The gloves yank on it, finally getting it free, and Charlie slams the door shut.
With a mischievous grin, he sets it to a gentle cycle and chuckles to himself, "Who knew learning laundry at home would actually come in handy?!"
XXXXX
Later on, in the Brailster's office, he's busy feeding Trixie when—boom!—Charlie pops back in, all dramatic like in a cloud of smoke.
He tips his hat with flair, "Laundry's done, finally! Now that we're free from the laundry monster, how about we pull off some tricks together? It's time for some epic teamwork!"
Brailster waved him off, "Charlie, you're not ready to perform tricks, you're still in training." He snaps his fingers and Trixie dives into the hat and pops up with a rolled-up paper, which she gives to Charlie who gets excited, "These are the things you must master first."
Charlie unrolls the scroll, eyes wide with excitement, but then his face falls. "Aw, come on! This is just a list of chores!"
Brailster wiggled his fingers, "Magic chores."
Charlie opens his mouth to argue but then thinks better of it. Seriously, who knows what kind of "magic" he's talking about?
Later, Charlie was tackling those magic chores, starting with cleaning the doves' cages. He was about to whip out the old broom, but instead, he just draped a cloth over the cage, and voilà! It was instantly spotless—talk about a magic shortcut!
After that, he was busy polishing one of three shiny cups when a ping pong ball decided to make a surprise appearance. He picked it up, all set to toss it into his hat, when an idea hit him like a ton of bricks! He grabbed all three cups, dropped them into the hat along with the ball, plopped the hat on his head, and boom! He pulled out all three cups, each one sparkling clean with the ping pong ball right there.
Then, it was snack time for the three doves. Charlie whipped off his hat, and you wouldn't believe it—the thing spilled enough seeds to fill the entire room! Seed party, anyone?
Next up, Charlie was polishing inside this crazy magic box with three doors marked '1', '2', and '3.' Out of nowhere, the doors slammed shut! Then they started spinning like some wild carnival ride and stopped in the order 2, 1, 3. When they opened, it was a total head-scratcher: Charlie's head was up top, his chest in the middle, and his legs at the bottom. The doors closed, spun again, and popped open revealing his legs at the top and his head at the bottom. Talk about a wacky transformation! Finally, they spun once more, landing in the right spots, but then boxes 1 and 2 toppled off. Just when you thought it was all over, Charlie popped out from behind box 3, got up, and burst into laughter!
Later, Charlie found himself back with the Brailster, feeling pretty proud of his magical mess. He sighed and said, "Hey, everything's polished, scrubbed, and wrangled. How about tomorrow we actually do some real magic together? Please?"
Brailster shook his head, "Sorry, Charlie. Tomorrow I'm going to need your help with more tasks." Charlie is bummed out. "Trust me, there's a reason for all this. Now, see what's inside my hat." He taps it with his wand. Charlie frowned, but decided to reach in to find… a plunger. "There's a clog in the confetti cannon."
XXXXX
The next day back at the chateau, Charlie is stacking hats in the prop room when the Brailster walks in.
Brailster touches his moustache, "Alright, I need to get my moustache groomed before tomorrow's show. No one likes a magician with moustache frizz. Now just clean out Trixie's cage and you're done for the day."
Charlie gives a thumbs up, and poof! The Brailster disappears in a cloud of smoke, leaving Charlie coughing and waving his hand in front of his face.
"Whoa! Man, those smoke balls hit hard!" he says, still trying to catch his breath. He struts over to Trixie's cage, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "Hey, Trixie! You know, I was really looking forward to pulling off some cool tricks with Brailster, but I think I get what he's up to."
He opens the cage, and Trixie the mongoose clambers onto his shoulder, giving him a little nudge. "I swear, Brailster is totally going full Mr. Miyagi on me!" Charlie laughs as he starts cleaning out Trixie's cage, getting a little carried away with the story. "So, my fam and I watched this epic flick called The Karate Kid, right? There's this old dude named Miyagi who trains this kid, Daniel, but instead of just teaching him karate straight up, he makes him do a bunch of boring chores. Daniel wants to bail, but then he realizes those chores were actually teaching him skills!"
Once he finishes up with the cage, Charlie gently lets Trixie back in, looking super proud of himself. He closes the cage with a snap and grins, "That's right! Brailster's my Mr. Miyagi, and I'm totally his Daniel!"
Suddenly, the amazing Brailster burst onto the scene with his signature flair, right before Charlie's eyes!
With a wide grin, Brailster clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "Bravo, my boy Charlie! You've pulled it off! I knew you had it in you!" He twirled dramatically, throwing his cape behind him. "Now, let's see what other incredible feats you can achieve!"
Charlie jumped up, eyes wide, and said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you talking about?!"
Brailster knelt down to Charlie's height, a twinkle in his eye, "You know, when I first started as a magician, I was all about those flashy tricks too. But my mentor, oh man, he drilled the basics into me! If I hadn't mastered those… well, I'd never be able to pull off... THIS!"
With a flourish, Brailster whipped off his hat and revealed a shimmering certificate. "Ta-da! This is for you, Charlie! A little something to remind you that every great magician starts from the ground up!"
Charlie snatched the paper with wide eyes, "No way! I'm ranked higher now?!"
Brailster just nodded, a grin on his face, "I've been keeping an eye on you, and you've got some serious skills! Charlie, I'm gonna help you become an absolute legend of a magician."
Charlie bounced on his feet, his excitement bursting, "Awesome! I can't wait to learn from you!"
Brailster rose, "Splendid. Now I shall get my moustache groomed!" He takes out a smoke bomb and disappears again, only for the smoke alarm to go off. The Brailster returns to fan it out, "These things really know how to ruin an exit."
XXXXX
The night of the show arrives. The Brailster is looking out at the stage when he turns and sees his junior illusionist, "Ah, Charlie, it's almost showtime. Do you have my…"
Charlie cut him off with a cheeky grin and raised a finger, "Balls and cups? Polished and organized, just like you like!"
"Well what about my…" Brailster started before he got interrupted again.
"Handkerchiefs? Fluffed and folded! Got you covered!" Charlie was already digging in the drawer, totally on top of things.
"Okay, okay, but I'll also need my…" Brailster tried again, but guess what? Interrupted again!
Charlie pulled out two gleaming straight jackets, "Ironed and bleached! Lookin' sharp, right?"
"Exceptional. And don't worry, you'll be up on that stage someday. Maybe even sooner than you think!" Brailster flashed a grin, but poor Charlie was just left scratching his head like, "Wait, what?"
On stage, The Brailster and Trixie are in the straight jackets, upside down.
"And now for a daring escape." In a puff of smoke he and Trixie are right-side up and the jackets are gone, the audience cheers and throws roses. Brailster and Trixie bow, "Thank you. Thank you. You've been a brilliant audience. But I couldn't have performed this show without my junior illusionist, Charlie Velazquest." Out of nowhere, Charlie pops up on stage in a puff of smoke, looking just as surprised as everyone else but still managing to take a bow. "A thank you. Thank you!" he says, trying to keep his chill.
Brailster pointed theatrically at Charlie, a gleam in his eye. "Look at this promising young magician! He's got the spark of a true magician! Just wait until you see him perform his own tricks!" With that, Charlie flourished and pulled out a smoke ball, a mischievous grin on his face. In an instant, he puffed into a cloud of smoke and vanished, his voice echoing, "Just like that!" Brailster chuckled, "That's the magic of showbiz, folks!"
As Lola was getting ready to slay it in her Cream Puffs pageant, she noticed that Charlie was missing from the seat she saved just for him. That made her feel all glum, but then she remembered the show must go on! With a deep breath, she started her dance, and as she twirled, poof! Out of nowhere, Charlie appeared, waving at her like a total superstar!
Lola's heart did a happy flip! She knew she could count on Charlie not to break his promise. When she finished her dazzling routine, the audience erupted in cheers and applause. It was like the best moment ever! When Lola was crowned the winner, she couldn't contain her excitement as she and Charlie strolled backstage, ready to celebrate.
"I knew you'd make it, Charlie! I'm over the moon that you came!" Lola exclaimed, hugging her trophy like it was the most precious thing in the world.
"I'm not about to let you down, princess! Good thing I've been working on my disappearing trick!" Charlie said, a wicked grin on his face.
Lola giggled and said, "So, Charlie the Great, do you have any super awesome magic tricks you can teach me? I bet I could totally use some of that magic for my next pageant!"
"Sorry, princess! But a magician never reveals his secrets!" Charlie exclaimed, smirking as he whipped off his hat and pulled out Lola's shiny trophy. It was like he was saying, "Ta-da! Check out this magic!"
Lola grew confused and noticed that her hands were empty. Lola crossed her arms, a frown on her face as she realized her trophy was gone, "Hey! Give that back, you big meanie!"
Charlie laughed, giving a playful smirk before dashing away. "C'mon, princess! Why don't you try and snag it from me princess!"
Lola shot him a determined look, huffing as she bolted after him. "Oh, just you wait, Charlie! I'm going to make you disappear! Get back here!"
Even though she was hot on his heels, Lola couldn't help but giggle a little. Chasing Charlie was just as fun as winning that trophy!
The End.