I'd had a great summer. Practicing with Lillian and training with Janine was better by far than schlepping away at some minimum-wage job, or sitting in a classroom. The only fly in the ointment, I suppose, was that I hadn't spent much time with my Mom and Bill.
September arrived, and I had to sign up for college. I took Bill's advice (and Janine's), and signed up for Business Studies.
"It'll give you lots of career options." said Bill. "It worked out great for me."
"It's the easiest program." said Janine. "You barely need a brain to pass it."
The truth might have lain somewhere between those two points of view. Or maybe they were both right. It didn't really matter what I took, though. I wasn't going to be there much.
I went to the first classes. Once I had a copy of the syllabus, and the due dates of the assignments, I was good to go. And go I did. I rarely went back - except for mid-terms and final exams.
Missing minor assignments and surprise quizzes would cut down my marks, but I wasn't aiming for summa cum laude. I cheated on the tests, while Janine found classmates of mine who would share their work on important projects and assignment because she flirted with them. Feminine wiles - and just a little magic - ensured that I never had to worry about school.
Sammy didn't approve. I think that part of his annoyance was based on the fact that I was never on campus. I didn't hang out with him during the day (when I was with Lillian), or at night (when I was with Janine). I tried to squeeze my best friend in on Saturdays or Sundays, or on weeknights when Janine cancelled on me.
He could see the difference, and he didn't care for it. But he also came down on me for ditching classes.
"Pete - this is whacked. You
paid
for these classes - and you never go?"
There was a little part of me, like a voice in the back of my head, that agreed with him. But I just couldn't explain to Sammy that I was going to be rich and famous
without
school. I was also trying hard to keep up with Janine - like on the night that she welcomed me to her apartment wearing only earrings and a bracelet...
I knew that my thinking was off. But it was in a good cause, right? The long-term goal justified the short-term expedients. Or something like that.
I did feel bad when I occasionally reached out and read my Mom's mind. She and Bill were back on track, so to speak. But she worried about me. She never saw me doing homework, or studying.
Some nights I didn't come home at all, because Janine had challenged me to ring her bells, or because I was too exhausted to find my way home. I was so totally, so crazily into her...
Janine didn't just continue my multi-faceted training. She also found me a couple of gigs for my magic show. I was still a work in progress, but she thought I should gain some experience.
She got me a booking at a small dinner theatre, as a warm-up act, and then at a frat party at the University.
"Remember," she said, "don't call them tricks. Say they're 'illusions', if you have to. Better yet, don't call them anything - just do them."
I didn't 'kill' at the dinner theatre. I was still finding my footing, so my routine stuttered a bit (like someone learning to drive with a clutch for the first time). Still, it had to qualify as a partial success. People gasped when I correctly identified the cards my volunteers had chosen.
One woman double-clutched - that is, she chose a card, and then changed her mind halfway through my act. I nearly blew her mind when I correctly identified both cards - in the correct order.
The university gig, on the other hand, nearly killed
me
. Those students didn't want to see a magic show; they were there to get wasted. Absolutely shit-faced. The clever drunks constantly interrupted my routine, trying to be funny. The asshole drunks tried to throw me off, just to be dicks.
The combination made it virtually impossible for me to work. I got out of there alive - that's about the only positive thing I can say about
that
experience.
It was only afterwards that I remembered something that I should have never forgotten.
I'd read a bit about Penn and Teller, the famous magician/comedian duo. Penn Jillette did
all
of the talking - a task he was supremely well-equipped for. Teller almost never spoke. It was their shtick - part of their routines.
The reason why Teller never spoke, apparently, was because he'd done shows for college crowds. He realized that they were less likely to heckle, or to throw beer
if he never spoke a word.
The smart asses had nothing to comment about, to play off. They were just more attentive to his show.
Shin Lim never spoke, either. He was born in Singapore, of Chinese parents. But he was raised in Canada, and never learned to speak Chinese. When he toured China, he had no choice but
not
to speak. It became part of his routine.
Penn and Teller were funny; Shin Lim made silly card tricks look ultra-serious - like high art (plus he was really cool). I was neither funny, nor cool.
But I could do something neither of those guys could: real magic. All I needed was an appealing routine to go with it.
"Maybe I shouldn't talk." I suggested, to Lillian and Janine.
"What are you talking about?" snapped Janine. "You have to talk!"
"I know. I have to speak
sometimes.
But what if I had a partner? They could do most of the setup. You know - the patter."
"Like who? Your friend Sammy?"
That wasn't a terrible idea. But I already had someone in mind; someone more photogenic, and more appealing by far.
"No, Janine. I was thinking of... you."
"What?"
"
That's a brilliant idea
." said Lillian. "Janine can do sleight of hand and PK when the focus is on you. You provide the distraction... Janine, can't you see it? They'll never suspect that it's you. And you can set up the mentalist bits - they'll think that
you're
the distraction, when he actually doesn't need any. It's brilliant!"
Janine came around to seeing the advantages. She would certainly enjoy being the center of attention.
"Pete still needs a persona." she said.
We ended up talking about what I wasn't: cool. Clever. Witty. Good-looking. Suave.
"Maybe we should concentrate on what Pete
is
." said Lillian.
Silence.
"Klutzy?" I suggested.
"Forgetful." said Janine.
"Absent-minded sounds better." said Lillian. "What if we made those things part of the act?"
It took us a while, but eventually, the basic shape of our act began to emerge.
Janine would be my 'beautiful assistant'. All eyes would be on her - that much was certain - especially if we found her some flattering costumes. People would be staring at her while they thought that I was doing some magic tricks.
That was the beauty of it. I didn't
need
her to distract anyone. Audiences would wonder why I was simply standing around, grinning, or looking distracted; professional magicians would be flummoxed.
I could act confused, while pretending to be clumsy; I could drop props, muff a shuffle and spray the cards across the floor - generally, I could make myself look completely inept.
My 'faux pas' would provide a distraction for Janine, while she picked pockets and relieved our volunteers of key items, or whatever she could get her hands on. Then she could transfer those things to me in a late pass, so that I could later drop them, or awkwardly produce them while 'trying' to perform other stunts.
I could also 'produce' some of Janine's items, like a ring or a bracelet, giving her the opportunity to slap my arm, or remonstrate with me. And all the while, as Janine monopolized people's attention with her looks and her charm, I could read minds - the foundation of our routine.
"I love it." said Lillian. "I can already see it. It'll be great."
Janine came around to really liking the idea, too. She could imagine herself becoming a star, right along with me.
We celebrated with a bottle of wine, and then Lillian remembered something she needed to do. The moment her mother had gone, Janine took me to bed and fucked me into unconsciousness.
* * * * *
I didn't go to school, but I studied and practiced every day. Lillian was never harsh, but she was demanding. She definitely kept my nose to the grindstone. The beauty of it was that I could feel myself improving.
My concentration was getting better. I could focus on a person and read their mind in a couple of seconds. I even felt as though I could hear them more clearly.
Janine kept me busy, too, but I was never quite as certain that I was making progress. She surprised me, at the end of October, when she made love to me on a Wednesday night, then called me back the following evening, and fucked me like a madwoman. Then she knelt on a chair, and had me take her a second time, from behind.
To my amazement, she called me again on Friday night. She was insatiable; I must have brought her off five or six times.
Saturday night was Halloween. Janine went to a costume party - without me. I'd been expecting her to invite me along, especially after sex three nights in a row just before it. Instead, I ended up at home, handing out candy to the neighbourhood kids.
I didn't see her again until the following Tuesday.
She also began to do (or say) things that I wasn't all that crazy about.
To show me the value of distraction, she took me into a convenience store, where she bedazzled the clerk with her smile and some pretty obvious displays of cleavage. When he handed her change for a $10 bill, she insisted that she'd given him a twenty. The poor bugger had forgotten to keep her $10 out of the till until he'd finished the transaction.
"Cool, right?" she said, as we exited the store.
"That guy is going to have pay the difference out of his own pocket." I said.
"It's only ten bucks." she said.
I felt bad, though. I went back the next day, and gave the clerk 10 bucks.
* * * * *
Janine was rude to waiters and waitresses. She was quick to complain if the service wasn't perfect. I sat there a few times, cringing, while she berated somebody who couldn't answer back.
She also took pleasure in making cutting remarks about other people. Hair, clothing, physical appearance... anything could set her off. No, I didn't join in, but I didn't stop her, either. The reason for that was simple: I was getting laid - regularly.
It took me a while to figure out. But even when I did, I excused her behaviour. She was assertive. She stood up for herself. I should have done the same, but... I was 3/4 in love with her. She was beautiful. I loved her quarter smiles and half smiles, and all the rest of her facial expressions.
I loved her hair, her striking eyes, her nose, her lips, her wonderful boobs (boy, did I love them), her trim body... Janine was my first. Is it so surprising that I was in awe and in love at the same time?
She was advancing my magical and sexual education (my double major). She also taught me patience, by promising to rock my world later than evening, and then keeping me waiting.
