CHaPTeR III - THe MaGiC MaN

Septembris (September) one month later

The streets were bustling in the town centre. From young families to elderly people, hundreds of visitors were out and about, enjoying the clear warm day at the market. On one street, Alex stood at an ice-cream stall, serving customers. She had found a part time job at the beginning of the week and started working at an ice-cream parlour. The stall was for temporary use outside of the shop. For the market day, Alex helped her supervisor with the sales.

Alex finished serving the young couple in front of her with two chocolate ice-creams. "Bye now! Thanks so much, have a nice day!"

With serving so many people throughout the day, Alex was in autopilot mode and kept on going without even looking at who the next customers were. "Next please! Hi, what can I get for you..." her voice trailed off.

"Hey Alex!" Jennifer greeted, standing right in front of her. "Can I get the dairy free strawberry?"

"Mint choc-chip for me too please!" Rachael chimed in, standing beside her. She wasn't wearing her glasses as she most likely had her contact lenses in.

The cogs in Alex's mind creaked and grinded, trying to process the confusion. Her eyes went wide and the only sound to come out of her mouth was, "AAAAH!" Alex then gasped and covered her mouth, whipping around quickly to turn towards her supervisor. "I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to yell like that!"

Her supervisor, shocked by the outburst just laughed, "Not to worry, Alex. Why don't you finish ten minutes early? Go enjoy the market with your friends?"

"Really?" Alex's eyes lit up.

"Of course! We'll be in touch on Moonsday about your next shift!"

"Amazing! Thanks so much! Looking forward to it!"

Alex took off her gloves and apron and turned on her heel. She dodged around the market stall, her arms open wide to hug her friends, tears in her eyes, "Oh my...you guys, I've missed you so much! What are you even doing here?!"

Jennifer squeezed Alex back, "Missed you too! We got off our flight an hour ago."

"Yeah we came to see you of course!" Rachael choked, being squished between them. "Don't cry though, okay? You'll make me cry!"

"Yea-heh!" Alex whimpered, barely holding onto her tears.

"Your parents wanted to surprise you," Jennifer explained. "So here we are! We were so excited when they asked us!"

Alex let out a cry and a laugh at the same time, "Oh my goodness, you guys. This is awesome! Oh, b-but wait, where are you staying?"

"Your house of course, dummy!" Rachael laughed. "Stuck with us for three nights!"

"Huh...but what about..." Alex pondered, trying to figure out if any rooms in their house were even ready for guests. She waved her thoughts to the side, "Oh whatever! You're here for three nights! Ee-heeeee! This is gonna be epic!" She squealed.

Alex then looked down at herself, still wearing her uniform of trousers, an apron and a white buttoned-down shirt, "Oh! Um, I'm gonna go get changed. Don't wanna be in uniform the rest of the day."

"Sure thing!" Jennifer replied. "We were actually gonna get ice-cream. Want us to get you any?"

"Oh that's ok! I've not long had food. Thanks, though. You guys go ahead and I'll meet you by the bench over there."

"No problem!" Jennifer grinned, "See you in a bit!"

Shortly after getting changed in the restroom, Alex met up with Jennifer and Rachael at the bench near the street corner. They had already finished eating their ice-creams. Alex wore her blue skinny jeans with black high ankle canvas shoes. Her thin sweater was cream coloured and her blazer jacket was made of black leather. Her dark brown shoulder bag hung by her side and she had let down her hair again from being in a ponytail. In her ears Alex wore simple blue studs in the shape of rabbit heads and a zigzag shaped choker necklace. Now that she had also taken off her rubber gloves from working, her blue painted fingernails were now visible too. Alex had also applied a thin layer of black eyeliner around the edges of her eyes. On the left side of her face her fringe hung to the side just past her eyebrow. On the right side of her face her hair was tucked behind her ear with two hair clips. On the top of her head in the centre was a strand of hair that always stuck up no matter how much she brushed it, always drooping in a small arch. "Hey guys! Alex greeted eagerly, "I'm all done!"

"Heya!" Jennifer smiled, "Cool! Wanna explore the market?"

"Of course!"

"Yes!" Rachael fist pumped, "Let's go!"

Throughout the afternoon they found a vast array of activities to do. Being the most competitive amongst the friend group, Jennifer had a go at the coconut shy. She removed her patchwork hoodie, wearing a white "Paris" inspired t-shirt underneath. Within two shots she scored by knocking one of the coconuts off it's stand. After winning, she instantly chose a large owl cuddly toy which happened to be her favourite animal.

After this they explored the clothing stalls. Alex found and chose a navy coloured beanie with a small orange octopus on it for Rachael, her being a fan of everything ocean related. It went perfectly with her light blue cropped hoodie that had a simple symbol of a fish on it reading FEESH. They continued to wander the market, perusing over music record stalls, a photobooth and buying a cup of bubble tea each. "I've missed this," Alex sighed, sipping from her bubble tea cup.

"Yeah," Rachael looped her arm through hers. "It was so cool doing stuff like this after school and on the weekends. What have you been up to by the way? You got a job which is great! How long have you been working as an ice-cream lady?"

"Is that an actual job description?" Jennifer wondered.

"Well I dunno what else to call it!" Rachael replied with a chuckle.

Alex giggled, "Yeah everything is...it's been better than I thought. I started working at the local ice-cream parlour on Tyrsday. So not long."

Jennifer balanced along the curb of the street as they walked, "That's cool! That mean you get free ice-cream?"

"At a discount," Alex corrected, a little disappointment hidden in her voice.

"Ah I dunno about that then," Rachael sucked her teeth. "Think I might quit if they didn't give it to me free."

Alex laughed again, "Oh yeah?"

"Oh absolutely!"

After a short pause Jennifer turned towards Alex, "Ooh, what about any crazy dreams? You've always got a new one to tell us every time we see you."

Alex's brows furrowed, her smile wavering. "Y-yeah. Kind of...well I dunno. I haven't really had any since being here. Only the one I had ages ago that felt...so surreal. It was so clear though. Almost like someone shared a HD video with me rather than just a jumbled mess about-"

"Overland?" Rachael guessed.

"Yeah," Alex hesitate, losing her train of thought. Sudden images rushed through her head at that moment. Flashes of previous dreams sparked up in her mind again. Strange moments of creatures, animals and voices without faces.

"And...I never though to ask but, do you reckon your epilepsy makes you have all these weird dreams?" Jennifer asked.

"Maybe?" Alex replied. "I dunno. The doctors have always said I'm one of a kind. The most unique form of epilepsy they've ever seen. Cool right?"

"Cool," Rachael repeated with a smirk, "I mean it is cooler than all the other epilepsy variations you can get."

"Yep. Though the seizures and the fainting part of it suck," Alex grumbled.

"Mmm, I guess it comes with the package," Rachael sighed.

"So turning the conversation positive..." a wide grin slowly formed on Jennifer's face, "bumped into anyone with British accents?"

Alex turned her head slowly towards Jennifer, her eyes narrowed. "You mean other than my dad's? No. And I know what your asking. The answer is also no."

"Awww, come on," Jennifer almost stomped her foot. "You mean no potential suitors?"

"Zero!" Alex confirmed immediately.

"You're no fun," Jennifer stuck out her bottom lip.

"She's waiting for that someone special," Rachael explain, her tone was deadpan.

"Exactly," Alex said, "If it'll ever happen."

"Someone who has no sense of smell," Rachael added cheekily.

"Huh?!" Alex had to double take.

"With extremely low standards..."

"Excuse me?!" Alex shoved Rachael away by her face, struggling to hold in laughter.

Rachael didn't stop there, "Oh, also tall, dark hair and handsome."

"Uh, ok," Alex raised an eyebrow, gripping her bubble tea cup, "Bit specific..."

"And wearing a purple top hat with a feather in it, black gloves, long brown tailcoat and a red flower shirt?" Rachael added in rapid fire succession.

"What in the..." Alex knitted her eyebrows, thinking Rachael had lost the plot.

"SORRY TO KEEP YOU ALL WAITNG!" a voice from one of the stalls shouted. "Gather round! Gather round! If ya wish to be amazed, this is the very place!"

All three friends looked through the crowd to see a tall young man stood on a small stage. The backdrop behind him was dark blue with red curtains. Next to him was a table with a box and an empty hamster cage. He was exactly what Rachael had described. From where they stood, the main thing that stood out other than the hat was his eyes. They were an unnatural bright green, like he was wearing contact lenses. His scruffy, curly black hair stuck out from underneath his hat with a longer black curl in the centre of his forehead. Patchy hair was also attached to his chin and upper lip, indicating that he may have not managed to grow full facial hair yet.

Jennifer nudged Rachael with her elbow. When Rachael turned her head towards her, Jennifer nodded at Alex who was fixated on the magician.

In the corner of her eye, Alex saw Rachael and Jennifer both looking her way. She blinked then turned to see them both staring at her with narrow eyes, their hands covering their mouths. Her cheeks turned pink and she raised her eyebrows, "Don't."

After the magician had finished his introduction, he followed up with preparing his first trick. He stood on the stage with a hand on his hip, lifting his index finger with a wink. "Now I hear most magicians like to pull small animals out of hats? For instance..."

He took his hat from his head and slowly swept it from one side to the other, showing the entire audience the inside of his hat. "As you can see ladies and gentlemen, my hat is completely empty! Nothing to be seen!" He then position his hat under his arm and stuck his arm inside, "Oh but what's this? There does seem to be something inside! Maybe not a rabbit, but possibly...a weasel?"

As he yanked his hand back out, he showed that he was grasping a real live weasel in his hand, holding it around the middle. The animal was so tiny that it was probably no longer than an adult handspan. It's front paws and blank face stuck out from the top of his fist.

Alex suddenly freaked out and squeezed Rachael, wrapping both arms around her shoulders, "Oh my goodness!" she grunted aggressively through gritted teeth, "That thing is so adorable, I'm gonna die!"

"I know, it's so cute!" Rachael agreed. "Why does it look so annoyed, though?"

"Now this little scamp is Brian!" the magician introduced as he let the weasel hop onto his shoulder. It turned round to face the audience and sat there quietly. "This is the world's only fully trained and domesticated weasel! He also happens to be my glamorous assistant!"

The magician then placed both his hands behind his back, "So Brian will be helping me with my magic tricks today, but for this next trick I'll actually also need a volunteer from the audience! A show of hands if you please!"

Quite a few people from the audience raised their hands. A lot of them excitedly whispering to each other. However the magician scanned the crowd until his green eyes landed on Alex. He lifted a hand towards her, "Excellent! Thank you, let's have the young lady with the blonde hair in the middle there!"

Alex's heart skipped a beat from the shock, "W-what...me?" her voice squeaked with the last word. She looked to her right and saw that Rachael was lifting her arm for her. "Huh, hey!" Alex snarled at her.

"You know you want to," Jennifer whispered.

Alex snatched her arm away and sighed under her breath, "fine. Here, hold my bag...and my drink."

"Okay!" Rachael grinned, taking both from her a bit too eagerly.

Alex shot her friends a look that could kill, "But I will have my revenge."

"Oh suuuure, course ya will." Rachael jeered, sarcastically. Jennifer was just fighting back laughter.

As the people in the crowd parted to let Alex through, she mumbled and grumbled under her breath. When her eyes lifted towards the magician, everything seemed to go silent. The way he was standing, both hands still behind his back, staring at her with a small smile across his lips. There was something about his expression that almost made her feel like he knew her.

Alex slowly walked up to the stage as the magician flicked his tailcoat to the side and curtsied charismatically, extending his arm towards her, "Wonderful! Thanks for volunteering! Can I ask your name?"

"U-um it's Alex," she replied gingerly, looking up into his big green eyes.

"Lovely to meet you!" he grinned as Alex slowly took his black leather gloved hand. "Felix the magician, at your service! Get on up here!"

As soon as Alex put her foot on the stage to lift herself up, she went into a daze and a heavy glaze went over her eyes. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she heard a disembodied voice in her ear, Trust this man with your life. Stay close to him. We will talk soon.

Alex jumped and turned, whipping her head around to find no one there. But somehow in her brief split second episode, it felt like she had teleported. She was already stood on the stage standing next to Felix. She blinked rapidly and looked over the crowd, Jennifer and Rachael confusedly staring back at her. Slight concern started to crop up on their faces.

"Are you alright?" Felix asked.

Alex snapped her head back towards him, "Uh yeah, Sorry. Go ahead." Alex shook her head gently, trying to get her bearings again.

"Can I have my hand back?" Felix asked.

Alex stared at him, then looked down. Her hand was still gripping his. She quickly whipped her hand away, clearing her throat in a fluster. "S-sorry."

Rachael turned to Jennifer, "We didn't go too far did we? She's alright...right?"

"I-I think so," Jennifer whispered. "She should be fine. Maybe keep an eye on her..."

Felix clapped his hands together and gave them a rub, "Fantastic! Now then! Let's get on with the show!" The magician extended his right arm and opened the top of the hamster cage on the table. "So to start with I will begin with the teleporting weasel! As you are about to see, Brian will be locked inside the cage, with no way to get out-"

Alex found herself staring at his tall purple top hat. It had a black ribbon wrapped around the rim and dangling off the side. Sticking out of the ribbon and against the main body of the hat was a pheasant's feather, a small charm of beads with a coin and 7 of clubs and Ace of hearts playing cards.

Felix let out a short sigh, "I said...Brian will now be locked inside the cage."

The weasel just stared blankly at him sitting on his shoulder on its hind legs, its front paws hanging in the air. It waited another moment then simply opened its mouth as wide as it would go. The corner of Alex's mouth quivered, finding the situation amusing, as well as the crowd.

Felix balled his other fist and almost bit it, "You..." he stopped himself then put his other hand inside the chest of his coat. He pulled out half a chocolate chip cookie and shoved it into the weasel's mouth. Content with the gift, the weasel obediently carried the cookie in its mouth as it ran down his arm and into the hamster cage. "Get in there," Felix hissed under his breath, closing the lid behind the tiny mammal.

Alex tried to hide her smirk, her shoulders shaking.

Felix put chains around the cage with a padlock. Brian sat inside the cage happily chowing down on his cookie without a care in the world.

Felix turned back to the audience, "There we go! As you can all see, these bars are way too thin even for a weasel to fit through! Just to make sure, the locks and chains are keeping this lid on." He emphasised the last two words patting the top of the cage with his hand. "No way he's going anywhere...right?"

Felix took his hat from his head again and miraculously pulled out a large bath towel, completely stunning the audience. "If you would be so kind to place this towel over the cage?" he asked Alex.

"Um, okay," Alex slowly took the towel and draped it over the hamster cage, blocking the few of the weasel inside.

"Lovely, jubbly," Felix said as she completed the task, "That's right, don't worry he doesn't bite...I hope." He added the last bit quietly to Alex's concern.

Felix took a step back and thrust his hand towards the cage, "Now witness the power of a magician! On the count of three, Alex will remove the towel to see that this cage is empty!"

Alex looked at him and he gave her a nod. She got ready by holding a corner of the towel. "On the count of one...two...three!" Felix announced.

It could have been the sunlight but Alex would have sworn she saw Felix's eyes glow when he said three. Despite that, she did as she was ordered and peeled the towel off of the cage. The inside of the cage was weasel free. The chains and bars all remained in tact.

"He's gone!" Felix spread his arms out towards the audience as they clapped. Alex clapped along with them.

Suddenly, the front of Felix's hat lifted and a weasel's face popped out from underneath. The audience clapped even more. He took Alex's hand and lifted her arm, aiding her in bowing with him as he lifted the hat from his head with his other hand.

Brian who was stood on his head, jumped onto Felix's shoulder again.

"Well done!" Felix clapped and offered for Alex to go back to the crowd, "A round of applause for Alex too! Thanks for your help! Now let's get another volunteer!"

D

A little later on that same day, Shaun and Julianna also explored the market together whilst Alex and her friends had fun. Julianna had her arm through her husband's as they strolled down a narrow street of market stalls.

"I never expected it to be this big," Shaun noticed as they had been walking for a while. "Didn't even realise the town went on for this long."

"I know right!" Julianna replied, inspecting the collectibles and handmade jewellery on the stands they walked by. "I imagine Alex's probably spent all her money."

"Hmm, I wonder who she takes after."

Julianna elbowed him, "Careful now."

He winced at the jab, "Yes dear."

As they rounded the corner, they came out onto a wider street with some street food vendors. Across the road was a grassy area with picnic benches at the side of the park. Sat on the benches was Alex, Rachael, Jennifer and a young man that Shaun and Julianna had never seen before.

The couple both paused in their tracks, stunned that the three girls were chatting to the complete stranger as if they knew him, laughing like one of them had told a joke. Alex and Rachael sat on one side of the bench whilst Jennifer and the young man with the top hat were sat on the other side.

"Who...is that?" Julianna asked, a puzzled look on her face.

After Shaun's silence, Julianna looked over to see that he had his phone in hand, typing something into the search engine, his face was as straight and pale as a sheet. "What are you doing?" Julianna asked him.

"Nothing...just researching Canadian gun laws," Shaun replied quietly.

"Shaun!" Julianna exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Just kidding," Shaun smiled at her, his teeth gritting and his eyes hidden behind the shine of his glasses.

"Are you, though?"

Shaun put his phone back in his pocket and turned towards the picnic table, "I'm gonna go over and talk to them."

Julianna's eyes widened, "You will do no such thing! Not when you're like this."

"Like what?" Shaun demanded bluntly.

His wife tried to think of the right words, "Like...this. All challenging and...you know you'd only embarrass her and she'll hate you for a month."

"It's a stranger!" Shaun grumbled. "What if-"

"It's nothing!" Julianna interrupted. "What if it's nothing? Yes? Look at them. They're having fun. No signs of awkward hostility to me. Just, take a breath and calm yourself, ok?"

Shaun breathed through his nose, glaring in Alex's direction.

"Okay?" Julianna repeated, holding him by both the arms.

Shaun sighed and eventually nodded, "okay. Yes. Sorry I...you know-"

"I know," Julianna chuckled gently. "Now let's both go over and see who her new friend is, alright?"

"Alright, yes you're right. Let's go."

At the table, Felix finished explaining how to do a card trick. He then felt a sudden shadow loom above him. Alex looked past Felix and her eyes widened, "DAD!"

Felix cocked his head then turned in his seat. The aura that was radiating behind him seemed to disappear instantaneously as Shaun forced a smile with his eyes closed.

"Ah!" Felix mustered a sound.

Alex swallowed, "Um...dad we made a new friend! This is Felix. He had a magic show at the market today." Jennifer and Rachael locked eyes with each other, very sly smiles on both their faces.

"A magician?" Julianna gasped, coming out from behind Shaun. She squeezed his hand. "That's so cool! Wish we could have seen the show!"

"Ah I see! Sir...Milady." Felix tipped his hat in turn to each of them. He then turned so that one leg was either side of the bench so he could actually face Shaun and Julianna better. "So you're Alex's parents. She mentioned you moved into town recently. So do you like magic too?" Felix fanned out a deck of cards in his hand.

Shaun blinked and his expression lightened. "Oh! Your accent. Are you British too?"

Alex slowly put her head in her hands. "End my suffering," she mumbled under her breath.

Felix paused before answering Shaun. He then said, "Yes?" with a look of desperation on his face.

"Nice!" Shaun exclaimed. "What part of the UK are you from? Bristol?"

"Yes. That one."

"So you guys never told me Jenny and Ray were coming over!" Alex interrupted, desperate to change the subject. "What was that all about?"

"Well we didn't want to ruin the surprise," her mother answered. "Were you guys finished for the day? Or did you wanna stay out a little longer?"

"Well..." Rachael and Jennifer started to stay.

"Home!" Alex insisted. "It's been a long day. Just feeling a little tired and all."

Shaun sighed with nod, "Alright. If you're ready to go then let's go."

"Wait," Jennifer looked to Felix, "Did you have any contact details or anything? In case you um...we wanna see you do any other magic shows?"

Felix shook his head, "Nothing I'm afraid. No number, no nothing."

Jennifer sighed softly, "Really? Nothing? Not even a business card?"

Felix thought for a moment. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a playing card, "I've got this? Maybe you'll find me again this way."

Jennifer took the card and grinned, "Awesome, thanks! Wanna go, Alex? Rayray?"

"Yep," Alex briskly stood and got out from the bench, Rachael closely following her.

"Safe journey home," Felix tipped his hat. "Twas a pleasure."

"Th-thanks," Alex said quietly.

"Nice to meet you!" Jennifer waved back at him as they all left.

Felix watched as they all left, his smile slowly lowering. The hat on his head suddenly shook and he gave it an annoyed slap, "Shush. I know...I think my suspicions were right. We have our champion."

Jennifer turned to Alex and handed her the business card.

"What..." Alex stumbled as they walked. "You're giving it to me?"

Jennifer just quickly winked at her and carried on walking.

Alex sighed and smiled, shaking her head gently, looking down at the card. The business card seemed to be an ordinary playing card. Though instead of having an image containing something from Ace to King or a Joker, there was just an image of a chocolate chip cookie. Confused, Alex knitted her eyebrows. She turned the card from back to front. There was nothing else on the card, no information or anything. She turned around on her heel to look back at the magician on the bench. But he had vanished into thin air.