Kirk smiled to himself. The brown-haired teenager watched the act before his from backstage with smug cockiness. On the stage a young girl, Kirk guessed 14, with long silver hair manipulated a deck of cards in front of a judge.
“Card tricks,” Kirk chuckled and wiggled his fingers at his side. Tiny arcs of electricity ran through his fingers. “Wait till they see real magic.” After another minute the girl bowed to the crowd.
“Emily the Entertainer! Give her a hand!” The announcer said while the girl walked off the stage in Kirk’s direction. She saw the wiry teenager pacing back and forth by the heavy red velvet curtain.
“You’re next? Good luck!” She smiled and gave him a thumbs up gesture. Kirk looked at the thumb, then into the girl’s crisp blue eyes.
“I don’t need luck, I’ve got magic,” he said flatly. Emily rolled her eyes in a playful way and her smile grew.
“Yeah, we all do but a bit of luck doesn’t hurt. You got lucky that I went before you,” she gave him a gentle punch on the shoulder. “I already warmed them up for you. Everyone’s here to have fun.” Kirk continued to stare while he heard the announcer begin his introduction.
“Come out, Kirk!” the announcer finished the introduction. Kirk smirked at Emily.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have a competition to win,” he shoulder checked the young girl as he stepped out onto the stage. He formed the practiced smile on his face and waved to the crowd. There were more people than he expected, all the seats in the large auditorium were filled.
“Ladies and gentlemen you’ve seen some quaint tricks in the competition so far.” Kirk stretched his arms outward and electricity began to arc between his hands and the floor. “But I’m going to show you real magic!” Twin lightning bolts shot from the sky to strike each of his hands. Stray sparks set the nearby curtain aflame. The audience gasped and retreated away from the stage as the fire ate its way up the curtain. Kirk stared at the flame in disbelief, unsure what to do next.
“PUT IT OUT!” The announcer yelled through the sound system. He wished he could. Kirk only studied offensive spells like lightning and fire, neither of which would help him at the moment. He felt moisture on his shoulder and looked up. A large stream of water drenched the curtain and put out the fire. Emily smiled at him while aiming a beam of water out of her hand at the curtain.
“I don’t think you’re gonna win,” she said with a sincere tone. “Maybe next year!” She dropped her hand when the flame was quenched. Kirk stared at her with his mouth agape.
“You can use magic??” Emily nodded and shrugged.
“Yeah. I told you we all do.”
“Then why isn’t anyone using it? All I see are silly illusions and stupid card tricks.”
“I told you that too,” Emily said. She turned to walk off the stage again. Kirk hurriedly followed her while the crowd re-filled the seats to wait for the next act. Once she was off the stage she turned and looked at Kirk. She lifted her hand and launched a stream of playing cards at his face “We’re here to have fun.”
Magic Spark
