A Magician Never Tells His Secrets

The two of hearts. I shivered all over, comprehending the stranger’s odd actions. He wanted to slip me this. But what did it mean? Who was that guy? Why did he give this to me?
“What do you think it is?” Tori asked, turning over the playing card. I shrugged.
“I guess you could call it a hand written invitation,” a voice said from behind me. Sick of people just popping up behind my back, I turned around with a glare. It was the red and gold dressed guy with the glitter. He smiled, inclining his head.
“Who’s it from?” I asked curtly.
“Tsk, tsk, manners now Meg,” he sighed.
My heart seemed to stop beating.
“Wha – how do you know my name?” I spluttered.
He winked at me, showing a gold covered eyelid.
“So it’s an invitation,” Tori prompted, putting her hands on her hips and tossing her head impatiently. “To what, exactly?”
The young man jumped, pretending to stumble backwards, and clutched at his chest.
“Be still, my beating heart,” he stammered. I rolled my eyes as Tori smiled.
“Get on with it,” I growled. “Answer my questions!”
“You know, you have an awful lot of questions,” the man said, picking at his fingernails. “‘Who’s it from?’ ‘How do you know my name?’ ‘What’s the invitation to?’ How can I answer them all at once?”
My glare must have been answer enough for him, for he threw his hands up in the air in mock surrender. “It’s to the magic show, okay. It’s invitation only. The magician hands them out to a select few people.”
“And we were invited?!” Tori exclaimed happily.
The gold and red dressed guy made a loud noise, like a game show buzzer. “No, I believe only Meg was invited.”
“What?” We both said at once.
“That’s right, it’s only a select few, and didn’t I say this already?” He said, rolling his heavily made-up eyes.
“So where is this magic show?” I asked, peering back at the two of hearts.
“Right down the end of the carnival,” he said, pointing to the darker side of the fairground. The glittering white fairy lights were replaced with small red lanterns, giving the whole place an ominous feel.
“You shouldn’t go by yourself,” Tori interjected. “They have to let us both in.”
“They won’t let you in unless you have a card,” the boy said, smiling smugly at Tori. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she growled at him.
“Well they’re going to have to,” I said, knowing how stubborn my best friend was. The guy just rolled his eyes again and we turned away from him, marching down the dimly lit path. Now I knew what the card was for the situation seemed less scary. I’d been so terrified at the time, though the whole point of that scenario was to make me scared, make me curious, and make me want to go to his show. It had worked, I thought as we manoeuvred around a group of stumbling clowns. This guy was good at his job, I’ll give him that.
One stall was more like a cabin from the outside, and had a wide, dark skinned man standing at the entrance, looking protective and scary next to the little door, which was engraved with a picture of a rabbit poking its head of out a hat, surrounded by a circle of spread out cards.
“One card per person,” he said curtly as I opened my mouth.
“You can’t be serious,” Tori exploded.
“As a heart attack sweets,” the bouncer said, crossing his arms. Tori was fuming, furious.
Suddenly, the door burst open from the inside, and a girl dressed in a structured leotard and a feathery bustle stormed out.
“YOU FREAK!” She screeched. “I QUIT!”
We watched in awe as she gave a wild sob, threw her comb of head feathers on the ground as dashed into the night.
“Anton, what happened?” The bouncer asked twisting back to the doorway after seeing the girl turn a corner.
Standing against the frame was a young man. A handsome young man. My bottom lip lost purchase against my top one as I stared at him. He wore a pair of tight-fitted suit pants, a tuxedo shirt and a bowtie. His eyes were downcast, surveying the cards he was shuffling.
“These things occur,” he said in a dreamy, subdued voice, which hinted European origins. “She was a silly girl. Not up to the standard I expect in my shows. I need a talented assistant, not just a pretty one.”
This was the guy who had given me the card. I knew that much instantly. While I gaped at him his eyes darted up to mine, and he smiled, lips closed.
“I believe I’m missing a two of hearts,” he said, confirming my suspicions. I handed it to him mutely, closing my wide mouth.
“Thankyou Miss Woodville,” he said, continuing to look at me while he inserted the card into his deck and started shuffling again. With a flick of his wrist the cards vanished and he smoothed down his shirt and stood up straight.
“Tell the guests the show won’t go ahead tonight. I can’t do my magic without an assistant,” he said to the bouncer matter-of-factly, walking back the way he came.
“But – Anton,” the big man began, stretching out a hand to stop the mysterious boy.
Suddenly my mind seemed to catch fire. An idea swept through it like a flaming torch and I turned to Tori excitedly.
“I just thought of the perfect summer job.”