Lara got ready at Nathan’s command, even though she didn’t want to practice any further. She was tired from practicing all day and wanted to rest and relax a bit. Although, she didn’t know why she expected to get any sleep.
“How many?” Nathan asked.
“Three…four…five,” Lara counted.
“Seven…Eight! Eight! White! A white phone case!”
“Okay. We’ll do cards now,” Nathan said. “You get the I and J books out.”
Lara nodded reluctantly and held her right hand out. She saw that her hand instinctively contracted in a position that perfectly hid the infinitesimal, silver transmission device in the palm of her hand. She walked over to the closet and took out a small, blue notebook hidden behind her clothes and walked back over to the bed.
Nathan came back with a black book in his left hand and a cigarette lighter and some playing cards in another hand. The cigarette lighter was an example of how committed Nathan was. Neither of them smoked, but they still used lighters because Nathan believed that it was a common object many people had on them.
“Alright,” Nathan said, sitting down. “Turn around.”
Lara complied, making sure that she couldn’t see Nathan or his hands at all. She sat there are waited for a while, and nothing happened. She wondered whether Nathan had sent the signal and was about to ask him when he interrupted her thoughts.
“Well? You’d better be spot on! You took your sweet time this round.”
“I…I don’t know,” Lara said fearfully, turning around to face Nathan. “I didn’t get any signals.”
“Are you serious?” Nathan cried. “Get your act together and focus!”
“I’m trying…” Lara started, tears forming in her eyes. Nathan grabbed her shoulders and looked directly at her.
“Look! Our next gig is really important! We’ve already gained great fame, but knocking it out of the park this time is gonna establish our career fully. Don’t you want that for us? Imagine the money, the fame, the respect and admiration! We’ll be rich and famous, but that won’t happen if you are distracted, don’t practice hard enough, and ruin the whole show!”
Lara lowered her eyes and finally decided to speak her mind. She still feared Nathan, but she was already living worthless life that she had no control over. Maybe speaking her mind this once would increase her self esteem a bit.
“What’s the point?” she asked. “I don’t think that mere tricks can make someone rich and famous. We’re not doing badly right now and you’re still unsatisfied with what you have. Even if we do become the best magicians in the world, you’ll still want more and more.”
Lara stopped and looked at Nathan’s scowling face. She knew that expression. He would shake her and shout at her and criticize her for being an absent-minded good for nothing. She would then cry and acquiesce to practicing for the night. She didn’t care anymore. She was just happy that she spoke her mind.
But none of that happened. Instead, Nathan just sat silently and fixed his expression.
“I understand,” he said in a soft voice, a voice that Lara had never heard before. “You’re tired. I’m tired as well.”
Nathan smiled a bit and let go of Lara’s shoulders.
“I’ll go get some coffee for us to calm down a bit. You just relax. We’ll practice later.”
Lara stared with surprise as Nathan got up and walked out of the door. He had never acted like that before. He never cared for her and disregarded her feelings. This was a whole new Nathan altogether. But, unfortunately, one night of kindness couldn’t make up for the six years of sadness and mental torture. Lara took the lighter that Nathan had left on the bed and began burning the H, I, and J books. She opened her closet and found all of the code books, papers, and other objects that were flammable and associated with her years of “magic practice.” She also took the transmitter on her palm off, stretched out her hands, and lit the pile of papers and objects on fire as Nathan walked in with two mugs of dark, brown coffee.
blakekathryn
ellievsbear
titsay
snowghoul