9: The Magician: George Grows Up
405 Words
The middle child between two brothers and two sisters, crammed with their parents into a ramshackle two-bedroom one-bathroom house, he practiced his magical power. While everybody else shouted to be heard above the others, George became quieter and more indistinguishable from the furniture. Instead of yelling, he disappeared into a dream about being a secret agent or an uncatchable jewel thief, someone who disappeared before everyone's eyes.
When his family finally paused for air, they realized that George once again disappeared. Panicked, they searched under the beds, behind the couch, under the rug, and between the washer and dryer. Most often, they found George asleep and dreaming in his bed.
George perfected the art of disappearing. He learned to dress so that his clothes matched the color of the walls. His ordinary looks allowed him to blend in, a face not handsome or ugly, hair not too dark or light or curly or straight, and a build not heavy or thin. George was so good at disappearing, his mother sometimes forgot his name. His family sometimes forgot his birthday, and they often forgot to buy him Christmas presents. He was so good at disappearing, nobody knew who he was.
George was an unremarkable student at school. He never called attention to himself. He wasn't flamboyant enough to be noticed, he wasn't a troublemaker, and he wasn't stupid enough to be held back. He simply disappeared into the next grade. If his teachers didn't carefully mark his name on the seating chart and in the roll book, they would never know he existed.
The other students barely knew George came to school. He didn't join the drama club. He didn't join the track team or the basketball team or the football team. He didn't show up at school dances. He was so good at disappearing, the bullies walked right by him to harass other kids. He was so good at disappearing, none of the kids remembered to invite him to play dates or parties.
But George was smarter than anyone realized. He understood that he had to follow all the rules so perfectly that everyone would leave him alone and allow him to disappear into his dreams. In his dreams, he was a special agent stealing secrets from a foreign country, or a thief stealing the crown jewels. In his dreams, he was handsome and mysterious, the desire of beautiful women and the envy of men.
- Writer
