Kylie the Magnificent

  “Nooooo!” he yelled.

  The audience was loving every minute.

  “Then shall we get started?” I asked. “Audience, give me a countdown from three…two…”

  “One!” the crowd roared.

  Behind me, Min hopped around inside the giant mailbag. I took my time mixing up the colors on the cube. Yawned. Then I mixed it up some more. The audience howled as I checked my watch.

  “Ow, ow, ow!” Min shouted from inside the sack. “I think I broke my arm.”

  Dana looked across the stage at me, her eyes wide with panic. “Something’s wrong!” she said.

  “What? Min! Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Help me open the mailbag, Kylie!” Dana shouted as she stepped behind Min.

  I reached up to the top of the sack as it stretched out and blocked the audience’s view of Dana. I worked at trying to undo the knot at the top, but it wasn’t budging. I turned to the audience.

  “Nothing to worry about,” I said, my voice wobbling. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

  The audience fell silent. I tried again to undo the knot.

  “Dana! Can you get it on your side?” I asked frantically.

  Suddenly the mailbag fell to the floor. I stepped back to reveal that Min was free and Dana was now the one completely tied up in ropes and chains. Her wrists were cuffed in front of her.

  The audience burst into applause. Min stepped to the front of the stage and enjoyed his “wow” moment. We had created the perfect blend of comedy and magic. The audience roared.

  Min and I took our bows and ran off the stage.

  “Uh…guys…hello?” Dana said. “I’m still here.”

  The audience laughed.

  Min and I rushed back onstage. We lifted the sack over Dana for a second, then dropped it. She stepped out, completely free of the ropes and chains. The audience jumped to their feet and applauded so loudly I couldn’t even hear Min thanking everyone.

  The three of us grabbed hands and took our final bow. Offstage, Peter raised his eyebrows, impressed.

  We walked toward him.

  He looked from Min to me to Dana. “That was incredible,” he said, shaking his head. He reached out a hand to Min. “Well, Min, let me congratulate you on a fantastic and highly entertaining magic trick.”

  “Thanks,” Min said, waving off Peter’s hand and pointing at me. “But it was all Kylie’s idea.” That surprised me. It had been his idea for us all to have our “wow” moment. And then we had all worked together to make it happen. But it was worth taking the credit just to see Peter’s face.

  His mouth dropped open. “You? How did you come up with such a great idea?”

  I glanced at my partners before turning to Peter.

  “You know the old saying. A magician never reveals their secrets.”

  Acknowledgments

  This book would not have been possible without the happy meeting of an incredibly talented (and “just normal”) actor who went on to become a fantastic magician. Thank you, Billy Kidd, for showing us that the world of magic doesn’t have to be an old boys’ club. Also, thank you to Michelle Chan and Wei Wong, for helping me close my windows and end with clean hands.

  Marty Chan is an award-winning author of dozens of books for kids, including Kung Fu Master and Haunted Hospital in the Orca Currents line and the award-winning Marty Chan Mystery series. He tours schools and libraries across Canada, using storytelling, stage magic and improv to ignite a passion in kids for reading. He lives in Edmonton.

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