Alastair went up to the first target for his new trick, smiling at the familiar upperclassmen from his Psychology class. “Pick a card,” he said, unable to hold back his excitement.
Focusing on his trick, he missed the look the girl gave him, which was full of wariness and apathy. He merely saw how she picked a card near the middle of the deck, and as she lifted it closer to herself, he continued his explanation. “Don’t show me the card! Look at it and memorize it. Once you’re ready, you can put it back in the deck.”
The girl did not speak but complied with the request, staring at her card for a moment before putting it back. Alastair grinned as he shuffled the deck theatrically, whistling under his breath. Once it was properly shuffled, he worked his magic and pulled the girl’s card back out. He held it out to her: the four of hearts.
Much like the card’s visual representation, Alastair felt his red heart skip a beat, waiting for the girl to show her amazement.
It took the girl several seconds, a brief pause that almost had Alastair worried, until she reacted, a joyful grin stretching upon her face. “How did you do that?!” she exclaimed. “Wow, Alastair, you are so cool.”
“A magician never shares his secrets,” Alastair said humbly, bowing. In his mind, his cape wrapped around him to create a sense of intrigue. “Thank you for enjoying the work of the amazing Al!”
He took this time to retreat, thinking only of the next fellow he would share a trick with. He barely registered the girl laughing behind his back.
Alastair shared this trick with two other classmates, to similar results. He would pick out the right card, and they would show some type of enthusiasm, one of them even shouting in delight, “Oh, Alastair, I wish I was as clever and talented as you think you are!”
“You can be!” Alastair responded sincerely.
It was only until the fourth individual when he realized something that made him look back at those past interactions differently. This individual, a shorter guy that Alastair often remembered to be completely swallowed up by various hoodies, did not seem to take him seriously, laughing before Alastair had even held the deck out to him.
“Nice work with the theme,” the man complimented. “A lot of effort for just one day!”
“One day?” Alastair questioned, tilting his head.
“You know, April Fool’s Day,” the man said. “Surely you didn’t forget?”
In that moment, Alastair understood why the man seemed puzzled by him. Alastair, completely decked out in a magician’s attire, going around showing everyone tricks. Suddenly, he felt foolish, as if nobody had taken him seriously.
And thinking back to the last interactions, he realized that he had missed their disinterest, the way they did not sincerely enjoy his performance and the trick. Perhaps the only fool was himself.
What was the point for him to practice so hard, try to be a good performer and entertainer, when he couldn’t even remember the significance of the date? How could he continue when he knew he was a failure?
“Oh,” Alastair said, dropping the deck of his cards into his pockets. “I’m sorry. I won’t bother you anymore… Jim?”
“James,” the man corrected. “But you weren’t a bother!”
“Really?” Alastair asked. “It seems the other people I showed this card trick to did not enjoy it, and they even decided to make fun of me.”
James seemed to understand, frowning with pity for him. “I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe they misunderstood what you were doing?”
Alastair, however, felt too melancholic to accept this explanation. “Maybe,” he said.
“How about we celebrate April Fools’ Day by playing some pranks together?” James offered. “That way, the joke’s no longer on you!”
Alastair smiled, grateful for the very generous offer from an individual he did not know very well. James, to him, seemed to be a good companion who truly hoped to raise his mood up with no ulterior motive.
Alastair would find out that James was a good companion indeed as the two schemed together for prank ideas. James was rather innovative and witty, suggesting ideas that Alastair could never have thought of.
The two spent hours together, executing a couple of pranks that were received well. None consisted of the magic that Alastair was used to, but he found simple joy in the humor of it. His favorite was when he and James went up to a classmate and asked them if their refrigerator was running. Alastair had never even thought of such an occurrence happening, but James was such a good actor that he wondered if it was possible.
Maybe before today, Alastair would have viewed their actions perhaps distastefully, similar to the actions of a clown.
But there was value in humor, and as he laughed away with his new friend, Alastair had one final idea.
“You never chose your card,” he said, bringing his deck of cards out to show James.
Perhaps it was their newly developed bond that led James to take it seriously, only letting out a quick laugh before picking out his card with theatric deliberation.
Or, perhaps, it was his skill with magic tricks that led to the reaction James gave when Alastair picked out and showed him his card correctly. “You really are good!” James exclaimed.
But Alastair did know one thing: James was sincere, and this was no April Fools’ prank after all.
A magician must find the proper audience, and Alastair found his.
