I skidded across the marble floor screaming in my parent’s ears
“Magic show! Magic show! Magic show!”
I was on a cruise in the middle of nowhere between Korea and Japan.. My family and I are going on a trip to Korea and Japan on a cruise! Today my mom and dad and I are going to go watch a magic show. You’re probably wondering why my brother isn’t coming with us to watch the magic show. He’s too busy playing basketball outside on the cruise.
My mom quickly hushed me to be quiet. How can I be quiet? We’re going to watch a real magic show that isn’t only street magic! Finally! For all these years I have only watched street magic. I’m sick of it! But I’m going to watch a real LIFE magic show! I couldn’t miss it or be late!
“Mom! Dad! Hurry up! We’re going to be late!” I shouted at them while jumping around in circles.
We finally made it to the theatre with my snail parents.
“I told you we weren’t going to be late!” My mom said while we treaded inside the theatre.
“But we’re almost late!” I said trying not to show that she was right.
There are only a few people here; in fact, I think we are the only one here! I quickly sat down in the soft and smooth chair. 5 minutes later a mammoth of people came storming in and sitting in their seats. They were talking so loud that I thought North America could hear them.
Once they finally settled down in the seats, the show began.
The magician was called John Taylor. He had a kind of a Swiss accent and was really funny. He was a typical magician with a lot of confidence. Everything was great but suddenly…
“I need a volunteer!”
I quickly scooted my butt off the chair like Usain Bolt so the magician won’t be able to see me. Thankfully he didn’t choose me, but he chose a Chinese boy who was foreign to English.
After the boy was walking off the stage, the magician gave him a signed DVD. I was starting to get jealous and upset about that. I want that signed DVD. I want a signed DVD.
After we departed from the theater. I mentioned to my parents,
“I want a signed DVD from the magician. What should I do?”
“There is another magic show in the afternoon? It’s the same as we just watched. You could go to the afternoon show and volunteer?” my parents replied.
“Never mind. Can I just buy a DVD?” I suddenly regretted my question.
I hated volunteering for things on stage in front of thousands of people. Not even one person. I would start shaking in the middle and nothing would come out of my mouth.
“No! If you want to get a signed DVD you must earn it and you must take a risk.” My mom said sternly.
“Fine. I’ll do it.” I said with a frantic expression.
The magic show started.
“Volunteer! Thousands of people! Volunteer! Thousands of people!” Those words stayed in my mind for the whole show, except for when it was time to volunteer. I was nervous. Really nervous. What if they laugh at me?
“I need a volunteer!” The magician screamed out loud again.
Those words are starting to annoy me now. Now I hated those words. The magician started to pick people from the other side.
“What if he doesn’t choose me?” I thought.
I raised my hand a little. He was searching for little kids like me, but nobody wanted to. I raised my hand a little higher. He spotted me in a flash. Maybe he has super eyes that can spot things in a flash or I raised my hand too high. Either way, I still got spotted. I regretted it for a second but my parents told me to go. They were all smiley smiley to me. So I had no time to regret it and found myself strolling up the stairs to the stage. I wish I sat in the balcony, and then he won’t be able to choose me. I wish. I finally made it up to the stage. I could just see all 2000 pairs of beady little eyes staring at me. It was like I was watching a horror movie! I think I was shaking. I could smell the salty sea and can almost taste it from on the stage. Half and half.
He asked me “What is your name?”
I forced myself to say my name, even though it was shaky and very quiet. “Grace.”
“Where are you from Grace?” He asked me again without shaking like me.
I forced myself to speak with a shaky voice again “Vancouver.”
Then he started the magic. He was funny and made me laugh a lot. I wasn’t really nervous anymore. I liked his attitude and he wasn’t rough on me. I shuffled a deck of cards even though I was horrible at it. Then he told me to pick a card, show it to the audience and memorise it. Without letting him see the cards. What if I forget the card that I chose? Thankfully I didn’t forget the card I chose. Then I shuffled it again. He took the cards. Then a bright silver long thing was suddenly in his hand. It was a real sword. Then I heard a ratter of card while it was thrown in the air and
“Zssss!”
The sword stuck through the card I chose. Wow! He showed the card to me if he got it correct. It was 100% correct! My expression was like I had just won the lottery or something when he showed me the card. If someone took a video of my expression and started to laugh at it, I wouldn’t blame them. Then he gave me a signed DVD. A roar of applause suddenly started like it was played on an audio recording with the loudest sound. I was so excited! Wish come true!
“And I present you… Grace!” The magician shouted in my ear while his hands pointed at me respectively.
It was like I was a real magician! But was I? When I went back to my seat my parents kept patting my leg and saying “well done” and “I told you, you could it!” but then I found other people staring at me and whispering to the person beside them and then continue watching show. It went round and round.. It was like a cycle. Stare at me—-Whisper to neighbour—-Continue to watch the show.
After the show, people crowded around me like I was the most famous magician ever. I felt the popular. People started asking me questions like they were interviewing me. The funniest question that they asked me was if I was from Mongolia. I made a face and said,
“I’m not from Mongolia! I’m Canadian. Mongolia and Canada are not close at all!”
Maybe volunteering in front of thousands of people isn’t so bad. You just got to take a risk at one point. No matter what goes wrong, you got to take a risk. By the way, everybody makes mistakes too. Not only you.