The Young Magicians and the 24-Hour Telepathy Plot

by Nick Mohammed

  ‘Well, I do love it here, Jonny. Just the thought of performing for you all at the Magic Circle – it’s gonna be such an honour. So all you guys super-dig mentalism, right?’

  Sophie felt her throat go dry.

  It was Zack who piped up first. ‘Well … no one performs mental magic in our group better than Sophie.’ Alex and Jonny nodded emphatically, glad – for once, in Jonny’s case – for someone else to steal the limelight.

  Cheers, Zack, thought Sophie, both flattered by the compliment and terrified by what might come next.

  ‘Awesome! I thought I caught that special glint in your eye,’ said Belinda, twinkling and pulling up a chair. They all slowly sat back down together. ‘So you gonna show me something or what?’

  Oh no! thought Sophie. Surely Belinda wasn’t asking for a demonstration – this lady knew every trick in the book. There’d be no fooling her!

  Eric Diva rubbed his hands together like an overexcited child, dragging his seat closer to the table – too close, Jonny thought – as Sophie toyed with her paper napkin, her face uncharacteristically pale.

  ‘Well … I don’t really have anything prepared, so this might not work, but …’

  Sophie caught herself, suddenly conscious that this was a classic line enjoyed by many mentalists, used to deliberately wrong-foot the audience member into thinking there was a chance this could go wrong, that this wasn’t fully tried and tested, when in fact the performer was in complete control and had even planned to say this very line. But of course this audience member knew the real truth all too well. Hell, even someone like Jonny knew about this sneaky verbal set-up before performing a trick!

  (No offence, Jonny!)

  (None taken, Sophie!)

  Sophie took a deep breath as Belinda gave her a slight nod of encouragement, smiling at her knowingly. Come on, Sophie thought to herself, these opportunities don’t present themselves every day – it’s worth a go.

  ‘OK, what I’d like you to do is think of a drawing … something that I couldn’t guess, but nothing too complicated either. Do you mind drawing it while I look away?’

  Sophie handed Belinda the napkin, then fished out a pen from her pocket and slid it over to her.

  ‘You can show it to the others if you’d like. Or not!’ continued Sophie, her nerves starting to dilute a little as she got into her stride. And why not? After all, she practised this stuff almost every day. There was no point pretending this was new to her. And, from Belinda’s little secret smile, she sensed that the older woman knew it too. Come on, Sophie, you can do this!

  Zack, Alex and Jonny drew closer, both excited about what Sophie might be about to do and nervous on her behalf. Screwing up in front of your idol would be a major bummer.

  Belinda thought for a while, staring at the napkin before drawing. ‘OK, done,’ she said, snapping the lid of the pen shut. She flashed the drawing at the others, making a point to check there was no way Sophie could see, that there was no reflection or anything else that might help her out.

  Zack looked at the sketch quizzically: a set of false teeth, which Belinda had clearly and boldly underlined several times. Interesting choice!

  ‘And please make sure it stays hidden from view so that I can’t see it,’ said Sophie.

  Belinda neatly folded the drawing and hid it under one of Jonny’s dinner plates.

  ‘OK, all hidden away,’ she said, clearly enjoying herself.

  Sophie turned fully back round and stared into Belinda’s large, bewitching eyes.

  How on earth is she going to do this? thought Alex. Surely this was … impossible? But then wasn’t that the point?! It would be a waste of time demonstrating something Belinda had seen a million times over. If Sophie got this right, wasn’t that basically proof that mind-reading existed!

  Sophie cleared her throat. ‘So I’m getting a sense that … Are you thinking of … a face, or a mouth maybe?’

  Sophie paused as they all stared at her, trying not to give anything away. But this was undoubtedly along the right lines …

  How did she know?

  ‘Yes, I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of … a set of false teeth?’

  It was Jonny who erupted first, causing a couple of neighbouring diners to almost choke on their Arctic roll as he and Alex and Zack jumped up from their seats as if several billion volts of electricity had just hurtled up their bums.

  ‘What? No way. NO WAY!’ he screamed as the others gasped, wide-eyed, patting Sophie on the back and laughing incredulously.

  And none laughed more than Belinda Vine. ‘That, my girl, was pretty darn impressive – well done!’

  Sophie was speechless, not least because she’d managed to pull off something so bold that the others would probably de-friend her if they knew how it worked! (No chance of either of those things happening any time soon – don’t worry, Sophie!) But she couldn’t have hoped for a better reaction, for it confirmed a lot of what Sophie knew about Belinda – that not only did the lady love seeing this kind of reaction from audiences, but that she and Sophie were going to get on very well indeed!

  ‘I mean, I mean … How?’ stuttered Eric Diva, his mouth still agog. He had remained uncharacteristically quiet throughout the performance, his brain clearly working overtime trying to catch Sophie out. ‘I am honestly … speechless,’ he said conclusively, with perhaps just a hint of jealousy, his eyes turning to Belinda.

  Not that speechless! thought Zack.

  ‘Well … didn’t I say they were a clever bunch!’ he added, as proud as punch again and dabbing his mouth with a serviette. (Completely unnecessary when all you’ve consumed is a salad, Eric!) ‘Well, I’d best check that everything is in place in the Dealers’ Hall – the demonstrations will be starting shortly.’

  The four clocked each other knowingly. If he wanted a progress report on the Dealers’ Hall, then all he needed to do was ask!

  ‘See you shortly, bunnies!’ He sprang up from the table like a catapult, causing the same two neighbouring diners to have another cataclysmic collision.

  Belinda rose from the table as gracefully as a swan before looking back down at them, her beaming smile radiating warmth. ‘I look forward to seeing you all around. And congrats again, Sophie, that was awesome … and bold!’ Belinda winked as she spun away from the table, causing the very same unfortunate couple to have yet another near-fatal incident, this time involving one of their spoons and all four of their eye sockets. Plus, chunks of now-unidentifiable Arctic roll.

  Sophie sat back in her seat and turned her face to the ceiling, sighing with happiness.

  Right then, Sophie, how in the name of Dunningerfn1 did you do that?

  7

  2 P.M.

  Zack, Sophie, Jonny and Alex headed out of the Montpellier Room, leaving behind all of its peculiar smells, and back down two levels towards the Dealers’ Hall. They wanted to browse the place legitimately this time, maybe even spend a few hundred pennies, and that meant they had to enter the proper way.

  The friends squatted down next to the wall to take the weight off their feet as they joined the queue. Alex absently produced his pack of cards again and Zack was curious to see him go through the same sequence of moves – apparently trying a simple deal but obviously getting something wrong along the way, whatever it was.

  Deanna suddenly appeared behind the four friends, firing out questions like a bubble machine before any of them had time to respond. ‘How did you get to eat in there? What did you have to eat? Was it nice? How do you know that American lady? Can I walk round the Dealers’ Hall with you?’

  ‘Sure!’ said Sophie, who had a newly acquired bounce in her step following her brilliant display of talent in front of Belinda Vine.

  ‘Oh!’ answered Deanna, who, it seemed, had grown accustomed to being constantly rebuffed by Sophie. She paused for a second, trying to work out how to react before finally shouting, ‘AMAZING!’ at the top of her voice. A few of the greying members ahead scowled at her in annoyance
as the queue began to move forward.

  Scowl all you like, thought Sophie – this was turning out to be a cracker of a weekend! (Plus, if Deanna’s atypically upbeat outburst was cause for a scowl, then who knew what expression these grouchy fellows reserved for when she really kicked off! Now that would be a sight to see!)

  The four friends smiled in delight once more as they entered the Dealers’ Hall, now brimming with life, the tables even more densely laden with goods than before as the members gathered in every nook and cranny available to marvel at the various magical wares on display, squeezing themselves between the tables like hungry cattle on market day.

  ‘I am going to spend so much money in here!’ Deanna exclaimed with a dreamy look in her eye. And with that she disappeared into the throng.

  ‘Whereas we,’ said Jonny, rubbing his hands together and itching to get a closer look at some of the more extravagant props, ‘are here to get the best price going and to have bags of fun – what are we waiting for?!’

  ‘Him apparently,’ answered Zack, spotting Eric Diva leaping up on to the raised platform much like he had done earlier that morning one floor above in the ballroom.

  ‘OK, brilliant, great stuff!’ Eric said wheezily, making a play of pretending to count all those in the room that he milked for way too long. ‘Perfect – I think that’s everyone accounted for! So we’re delighted to welcome dealers from all over the world this year. Do try and support them if you can. They are after all – like me – failed performers and need every penny they can get!’

  The joke hung in the air like mouldy dung.

  ‘Well then! Come on, dealers, get to it!’

  He flapped the backs of his hands towards them as the members began to jostle between the various stands, their fingers twitching hungrily, many keen to catch a glimpse of the latest magical gizmo or whatnot that soon every magician on the planet would own but likely never use – the gadget destined for some back drawer or other where it would sit and disintegrate over the next hundred years, an entirely different kind of vanishing act.

  ‘Which stand do you want to visit first?’ said Jonny excitedly.

  ‘Guess,’ Zack said grimly, and they trooped over to the rip-off Young Magicians merchandise stall they had spied earlier. The woman they had seen before was sitting in a chair, reading a magazine. She glanced up casually at first, then bolt upright as she clocked who they were.

  ‘Well, this is a nice surprise!’ She pushed a pile of T-shirts and magic markers forward. ‘Any chance you could sign these?’

  ‘No,’ Zack said bluntly. ‘Who gave you the right to use our faces?’

  ‘Faces?’ The woman made a big show of studying the poster behind her, and the T-shirt designs. ‘Can’t make out any faces here … just silhouettes and shapes – could be anyone!’

  The Young Magicians stared at some of the other unlicensed goodies on display. Along the front of the table was a row of action figures. They came in four distinct styles, one clearly taller than the other three …

  As if in a dream, a horrified Zack reached down and picked up a fully – well, at least partially – poseable Zack Harrison.

  ‘This has a face!’ he said, scowling. The woman took it, inspected the little head and then peered into his own face.

  ‘No resemblance at all if you ask me!’

  ‘So why are you selling them?’ Alex asked. He handled the smallest figure cautiously. The glasses were way too big, like he was out of a cartoon …

  ‘Is there a law that says I can’t make my own figures and sell them?’

  ‘They’re us!’ Zack squeaked in frustration.

  ‘Says who?’

  ‘Says … us!’

  ‘Plus, they don’t do anything magical …’ Sophie added.

  ‘True …’ the woman acknowledged, clearly already plotting how she might adapt them.

  ‘So why are you selling them at a magic convention if they’re not us?’

  ‘Is there a law that says I can’t sell –?’

  ‘Oh, this is nuts!’ Zack snapped. Sophie put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

  ‘Come on, let’s not give her any extra publicity. People are here to buy magic, not … these.’

  Zack gave the woman a final glower as Sophie led him away, followed promptly by Alex, followed less promptly by Jonny, who lingered just long enough to ask in a quick whisper, ‘How much for the tall one?’

  ‘Five quid.’

  A note and a Jonny Haigh action figure quickly swapped hands. Jonny slipped it into his pocket.

  Across the room, Sophie saw Belinda Vine waft gracefully into the room, as elegant as a scented breeze. She caught Sophie’s eye and gave a distinctly friendly wave that Sophie gladly returned. She continued to watch as Belinda turned towards Eric Diva, giving him the briefest of nods before continuing her journey into the thick of the Dealers’ Hall, members parting before her like the Red Sea. Hmm, was it Sophie’s imagination or did she catch something in that small look to Eric Diva that hinted at something more than just an email acquaintance? Those two knew each other already, she was sure of it. But why would they pretend never to have met?

  Jonny had caught them up.

  ‘OK,’ he announced optimistically, ‘I want to get three laps of this entire place under our belts before the hour is out! Shall we start at Davenport’s?’

  The four of them headed over towards the Davenport’s Magic Studio stand, carving out a pathway through the wash of suits, Jonny’s head sticking up above the crowd like a curious and beaming buoyancy aid.

  ‘Hey, Alton!’ said Zack loudly as they approached.

  Alton rolled his eyes, so much so that for a split second all Alex could see were the white bits, causing him to look even more inhuman than he already did. He let out a prolonged, nostril-inflating huff.

  ‘If you’re not here to spend any money – and let’s say at least thirty quid – then you’re going to have to move on. Sorry, goodbye.’

  ‘Oh, now, that seems a little steep, Alton,’ said Zack, smiling warmly. ‘We just want to check out your latest tricks.’ Zack knew how to wind up Alton impeccably. In fact, he and Jonny almost regarded it as a light sport, getting the greedy man to demonstrate effects – always hugely overpriced, and always way above Alton’s skill set – just to watch him fall at the first hurdle.

  ‘This looks interesting,’ said Jonny, picking up a small blue box.

  ‘Linking ropes: thirty pounds,’ said Alton in a heartbeat and not taking his eyes off Jonny. ‘You either pay now or put it down. I don’t care if you’re famous.’

  ‘Neither do we!’ said Jonny, pretending to think about it, but evidently with no intention of spending such vast amounts of his well-earned pocket money (and not least because he didn’t have even close to that amount on him). ‘Perhaps if you were to demonstrate the effect for me, I’d be more inclined to buy it.’

  Alton blew his cheeks out once more, like life was just one massive inconvenience.

  ‘And you’re definitely going to buy it?’ Alton asked, his little tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth like a Chihuahua.

  ‘Sorry, but isn’t that missing the point?’ enquired Sophie, a little bemused by the man’s tiresome attitude. ‘Isn’t the whole reason for a dealer demonstration at a convention like this that you – the dealer – demonstrate the goods and then we – the customer – decide whether or not to buy them?’

  For whatever reason, whether it was out of irritation or boredom, Alton didn’t respond. Instead, he snatched the small box out of Jonny’s hand, and began opening it recklessly, all podgy fingers and thumbs, as bits of rope and several tiny disc-shaped magnets fell out of the base and on to the floor. Alton stooped to retrieve them, cursing loudly, as several rolled away behind someone else’s stall.

  ‘No prizes for guessing how this trick works then!’ said Zack quietly.

  Alex couldn’t help but grin. Wasn’t the Davenport’s Magic brand meant to be one of the most highly regarded in
the country?

  ‘OK, just give me a minute.’ Alton pored over the instructions, fiddling with the ends of the orange rope, trying to surreptitiously fix the magnets into place without the four noticing (FAT chance of that happening now, Alton!). Finally, after a lot of grunting and sweating, he was ready to begin. He gave them a strange waspish smile, like he’d read somewhere that this was what you were meant to do when about to perform a magic trick.

  ‘OK, so here I have two completely ordinary loops of bright orange rope.’

  ‘Perfectly, perfectly ordinary,’ repeated Jonny, trying not to laugh. Alton made a weird shaking move with his left hand, about as subtle as a velociraptor attack.

  ‘However,’ he continued, ‘if I jiggle them about a bit …’ He accidentally dropped one of the pieces of rope on the floor, cursing even more loudly as he crouched to pick it up again. ‘You’ll see they are now linked together.’ The four Young Magicians stared at Alton as his shoulders sagged. Alton, it would seem, despite coming from a rich family of magicians, cared as much about performing good magic as he did about his unwashed, greasy hair.

  ‘Is … that it?’ offered Alex quietly. He wasn’t prone to sounding sarcastic, but then it was rather difficult not to, given what they’d just witnessed.

  ‘Yes, of course that’s it!’ snapped Alton. ‘Thirty quid.’ He held out a grubby hand presumptuously.

  ‘But it’s just a piece of rope with magnets on the end!’ said Jonny.

  ‘Who said it uses magnets?’ the man scoffed back, narrowing his eyes at the four of them.

  ‘But we just saw you screw them on, Alton,’ said Zack, growing increasingly bewildered and wondering whether Alton might be finally losing it from having spent too much time underground and out of direct sunlight.

  ‘Well, this one comes with free tuition,’ Alton huffed, thinking this was enough to explain the inflated price tag. He extended his hand even further, rubbing his fingers together, exasperated.

  ‘Tuition? By you?’ asked Sophie, hardly believing her eyes and ears.