Chapter 5: The magic of science

Few weeks had passed; my life goes on without a hitch as a four year old.  Today, an unexpected guest has come. “All right class, let’s all greet Mr. Arnold who came especially today to show us magic!” to Miss Lissa remark, the whole class cheered while I on the other hand couldn’t help but scowled.

            When I heard a magician was coming today, I won’t lie that I was excited what kind of person he was. He came in wearing a black coat and white shirt underneath; he wore a black cape, a long black hat, and a white mask.

            I tried not to think his choice of outfit, which I don’t know why, was deemed as a magician’s attribute. He had performed ten tricks. There was the classic ‘out of the hat’ where a rabbit ‘comes’ out from it, he borrowed Miss Lissa’s watch and performed a disappear and reappear trick, there was the vanishing cup trick, and the chick that came out of a popping balloon trick. Those were the few tricks he performed, the fact I got excited from the word magic cause a great disappointment inside of me. They were barely could be called tricks if the kids weren’t so gullible enough to follow his instruction without knowing it was part of the trick.

            However, there were tricks that got me interested as well. The first was a trick where a jug of water was poured a ‘mysterious’ powder which he then closes then he asked one of us to come up and poured the water at the four candles he prepared, but before the water could even touch it, the flame was extinguished. The second trick, was how he made two needles past through a balloon yet it didn’t pop. Other than that, there was turning water into wine (which by the way I could do as well with real magic), and my favorite was creating a large white goey foam pillar from two liquid, how did he do that?

            Before I knew it, I had the same face as the other kids.

            After that it was break time, while the other kids play I went and followed the so-called magician to the staff rest room. He took a drink from his container and turned to look at me who was peeping from the outside. He smiled at me and ask me to come inside if I had anything to ask with a gentleman tone, so I got straight to the point, “Tell me how you did that magic trick!”

            The man laughed as if he had expected what I was going to ask, “Sorry, I can’t tell you that” he said. I asked why not which he answered with a wink, "A magician never tells his secrets.”

            Somehow, I was annoyed from his secretive tone and smug look. I instinctively pouted at him and said, “You’re not even a real magician Alan!”

            Alan seemed surprised I knew his identity behind the mask; he made a forced laugh and convincing me that I got the wrong person. “It’s fine, you’re not really good at lying Alan.” He had a slight dejected look in his face, probably because he couldn’t even deceive a four year old girl and took of his mask, cape, coat, and hat. “This stuff is making me stuffy anyway.”

            Alan Walker is—an idler. He is a good friend of Miss Lissa and likes to come and visit the preschool from time to time, enough to make you wander if he has anything better to do.

 “How did you know it was me?”

 “Because you kept eyeing at Miss Lissa from time to time as if asking to be praise each time you made a trick.”

            Alan’s smile became a lot more forced than before, “Eh~ what are you talking about Claudia?”

            Hoho, so you’re trying to feign ignorance are you? “Alan, it’s no use hiding you like her you know, I’m amazed Miss Lissa hasn’t notice since you’ve been diligently coming to see her.”

            Alan was stoned when I said it, he drop his bottle container and deep flushed spread on his face, "A—aren’t y—you misunderst—standing Claudia, I just love see—seeing kids that’s all, hahahaha.”

            That’s a half-assed lie you just made, was the four year old me thought. Even so, I kept on an innocent smile in front of him, “then it’s okay if I happened to say what I think before to Miss Lissa right?”

            I turned and ran toward the exit, but Alan had already held on to my shoulder, pinning me in place. “Claudia would you like Brother Alan to teach you magic trick?” although I smiled at him, there was no mistaking my smile look portentous to him. “I’m so happy Brother Alan is so nice~”

#

I sat next to Alan and ate the kumquat he had offered me, Alan seem to have lost his dignity as he hung his head. He has a curly brown hair, slanted blue eyes, a pointed chin and angular cheekbones. For a third person, he is said to have a refreshing good looking, looking at him now I can say I do find him cute.  If only he wasn’t so easily threaten by a preschooler, I might not have the look of pity right now.

            First, he thought me the balloon trick, it was the first time I’ve seen a balloon up close and touched one, my cheeks was flushed when I touched the smooth surface and felt how light it was.  He told me if the needles went through the top of the balloon toward the knot or pass through a surface where he had put a cellophane tape it won’t explode. The fire-extinguishing trick was to mix water with baking powder, you closed the jug after it subsided and the carbon dioxide it made could extinguish the fire.

            Then I ask about the pillar of foam he made which he called, the Elephant Toothpaste trick. He only explained he only needed to mix some chemicals that’s hard to name even if I listen to him. After I quietly listen to him, there was a nostalgic feeling burning in my chest. How to say it—the feeling itself was still vague for me, but I do remember I had it around the time I started to learn magic.

            Once he finished exposing his trick, there were still a lot of question in my mind. Why does the balloon not pop when poke from the top, what kind of air is carbon dioxide and why can it extinguish fire, how does two liquid could make large foam in less than second. When I bombarded him with questions, I thought this must be how a child feels when they asked why the sky is blue.

            Alan looked half troubled and half annoyed at my questions, so I thought a loud how I was going to see Miss Lissa when beg me to wait afterward. “I only do what the instructions says so I can’t really explain it easily for you to understand,”  he rummaged  his backpack and took out two books from it and gave it to me, “I don’t really need so if you’re that interested., you can have it, other than instruction it also explain they know-how so it should satisfy you.”

            I read the title of those two books, one was [Simple Magic: Beginners] and [Easy Science Experiment at Home]. For me books are treasure, as someone from the 17^th century there were no such thing as books, only hornbook, but you can’t really call a thin wood with printed paper on it as a book. So being born in an era where books of different kind are easily bought and accessed can be seen nothing more than bliss.

            I hug Alan from over joy, though because of the size difference I was only able to hug his knees, his muscle is much sturdier than he looks. The bell rings and Alan had to pull me away so I could get back to class. 

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