Extreme Magic Vignette: Ann at the Lake

Ann enjoyed working at the Café in the Park; the atmosphere was a lot less frenetic than the other diners she had worked at. During the summer she worked the terrace area, which did not get too hot, because of the breeze from the nearby lake. She also liked her colleagues.

The slight down-side was that at least once a week a magician turned up; she could tell they were magicians by their attire. Worse still, they always seemed that sit at her tables, so she had to serve them. One small ray of sunshine was they had come to eat after busking on the other side of the lake and did not try any magic at all; not even the coin from behind the ear for a tip that most people expect from magicians.

Today she knew was going to be trying; her boss told her that some young magician was going to be about, doing tricks for unsuspecting customers at their tables. She nearly quit on the spot, because she thought she knew the likely outcome, but she remembered that the busking magicians had been polite and non-magical around her, so decided that maybe she would give him a chance, especially after her experience after Kyle's birthday bash. She hoped that he would be working in areas she had little to do with, but was told he would be working the terrace, because the light and space would be better for the cameraman who would be recording this magician's feats; that meant he would be working her tables.

The magician arrived with his cameraman mid-morning. He went to see Ann's boss, who brought him out meet Ann, as the waitress at the tables he would be doing his thing at. Having been introduced to Ann as Terry and the cameraman as Gordon, Terry assured her that she would not know they were there.

This assurance turned out to be false. She had to take some detours to avoid Gordon, who seemed to take a lot of space around a table, when Terry was doing his small magic tricks, and even more when he was patrolling while Terry was looking for his next audience. This was manageable, because she would take the opportunity of the round-about routes across the terrace to make sure that her other tables were happy.

The worst part was the debris he left after his table top magic.

He pushed someone's mobile phone into a glass bottle and then smashed the bottle to get it back out. Who had to deal with the broken glass? Ann did. And this happened four times.

He poured salt from the shaker into his fist, showed his palm to be empty and then poured the salt back out of his fist into a pile on the table. Who had to clear up the pile of salt? Ann did. Who had to refill the shaker? Ann did. She lost count of the number of times he pulled this stunt. And he did it with the pepper and the sugar too.

The ripped and restored napkins routines would not have been so bad if he had not been encouraging the diners to perform the actions with him and failing to restore their napkins; many additional napkins were needed.

Ann consoled herself with the thought that he would be gone soon, or failing that her shift would end and she could get away. In the end her shift finished first.

As she returned from putting her apron, name badge and order pad away and retrieving her handbag from her locker in the cubbyhole that got called the Staff Room, her boss said that the magician wanted to say thank you to her.

She found him waiting at the edge of the terrace. She nearly walked straight passed, but he said, "Excuse me, miss, erm, Ann, I wanted say thank you. You've been a trooper." She paused to allow him to catch up and then continued walking, so he had to walk with her if he was going to continue talking to her. "I know we disrupted your usual routine and made more work for you clearing up after us, but it wouldn't look right if a magician fussed about tidying up; it would look like we were trying to hide something. It's all part of the image and image is very important in magic; it's important that the last thing they remember about me is that I poured salt or sugar from your empty fist, rather than that I tidied it up. So you were an indispensable part of the performance and I wanted to express my gratitude."

Ann felt she might have been happier with the situation if she had been told in advance. "So?"

"I wanted to make it up to you; in fact, we wanted to make it up to you."

Ann picked up on the change of pronoun. "Who's 'We'?" she asked.

"I can't tell you that as things stand, but I represent a group of responsible magicians who are trying to encourage the ethical treatment of assistants and volunteers. And trying to recompense those wronged by unethical magicians."

Ann stopped and took a closer look at the young man. He wore a plain black T-shirt, black shorts, black trainers and black socks. He had a small rucksack hanging from one shoulder.  "You look rather young to be representing anyone."

"Actually, I'm twenty-six, but that's beside the point. I didn't say I was a ranking person in my organisation. I represent my organisation in the same way the man who comes to fix your boiler represents the gas company. I'm just the person who was sent to fix the problem."

"And your people think I'm a problem to be fixed?" asked Ann.

"No, not at all. The problem is entirely on our side. You've had the misfortune to encounter several magicians who abused you. I am here to show you that magicians aren't all bad," assured Terry.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Ann asked, dreading that there might be magic involved; the majority of her experience of magic was that it hurt like hell and led to embarrassing public nudity, neither of which she was into.

"We thought you might like a jet-ski ride after a hard day's work."

How did he, or was it they, know she was saving up for the chance to hire one of the jet-skis on the lake and kept being frustrated by little emergencies that seemed to consume her savings just as the pot became large enough. "Are you serious?" she asked. "There won't be any magic involved?" she added, suspicious of the magician's motives.

"Yes and maybe, perhaps even probably." Sensing Ann's confusion at his answer, he attempted to clarify. "Yes, I am totally serious about you having a ride on a jet-ski. And 'probably' there will be some magic involved, but you will be allowed to say 'No'. But look at it from my point of view; I'm trying to put together enough magic for a short series of magic shows and every opportunity to get some magic on tape is less filler in the resulting programs."

"I had wondered why Gordon was following us if you were finished for the day. So you're that Terry." It was the magician's turn to look confused. "I've got a couple of friends, Lisa and Quinn, who are mad magic fans; they're going to your studio recording next Thursday and won't shut up about it. They seem to think that they might get a chance to volunteer."

"Yes, I have promised Gordon that there will be some magic to record; he even has a camera drone in his back pack, because I told him he would need it. Your friends sound like people I'd like to meet; it's always easier with a willing volunteer. How nuts are they?"

"Quinn is a total fruit cake when it comes to magic. A couple of weeks ago, after another friend's birthday, when I met her, she was naked in a five part cabinet, one part of which was in a box with Lisa, which was impaled with lots of flaming spikes. Quinn is THE Quinn that got burnt alive on the Late Night Sexy Show a couple of months back; she didn't have a clue what she was volunteering for, she just volunteered to be magician's assistant and says she enjoyed it."

Ann paused for breath, "Lisa isn't such a magic fan-girl as Quinn, but I reckon she is heading that way. She said she chose to be in that spike filled box, but I reckon Fred psyched her into it."

"Now I know who you mean," said Terry. Ann was puzzled. "I got the job of fixing Arthur's mismade cabinet (A magician starting out has to have a day job). When I asked how the damage had happened, he showed me the video; someone had pixelated most of the nudity and the face of the third girl, who got jig sawed and guillotined. He said that the damage had been done when he lent some of his gear to his nephew, Fred. I referred their names to our investigation committee."

"Fred may be a bit of a manipulative jerk sometimes, but he wouldn't do anything to anyone without their consent, even if it was obtained by devious means. Even I allowed him to do the jigsaw and guillotine on me." It was Terry's turn to be puzzled. "I did the pixilation, because Fred had been filming covertly, at least from my point of view, so I took the only copy and edited it, before returning it."

"I thought there was something familiar about you. I must say you looked a lot sexier in that handkerchief top, than you do in your waitress outfit; not that you don't look great in that," he added before Ann had time to take offense.

At this point, Ann noticed that they had missed a branch in the path. "Why are we going this way, when the way to the jet-ski hire place was the last right?" she asked.

"Because I've already hired the jet-ski and parked it on this side of the lake."

Accepting this answer for the time being, Ann asked, "So what magic were you planning to do with me? Or is that to me?"

"The main one was walking on water, which I'll be doing even if you don't want to do it with me; that's why Gordon is tagging along. I thought you might allow me to do you a quick change into a wetsuit."

Before Terry could utter another syllable, Ann was telling him that he was not going to have her clothes tampered with by magic; she had ended up in too many embarrassing situations, because magicians had done things with her clothes. Her short rant ended with, "So I'm not getting out of these clothes until I get home or I'm in a proper changing room with Gordon nowhere near the building."

"Alright!" said Terry, "I get the message. Keep the hands and the magic off your clothes."

"Too right!" Ann confirmed. "And don't you forget it!"

They walked in silence for nearly a minute. Ann wondering whether she should just break this off and go home and Terry thinking he may have a fight on his hands to get this reluctant assistant/volunteer to co-operate.

Terry decided he had to be up-front about his intentions. That way if Ann refused to go along with it, he could let her go home and send her some jet-ski hire vouchers in the post, before looking for someone more willing to participate in the big illusion he had planned.

"Before I strayed, unintentionally, into your 'No-go' area of magic, I was about to tell what else I had planned."

Ann thought, 'this is a novelty; honesty from a magician.' She waited for him to continue.

"I was going to ask if you would mind taking part in the 'Portal of Peril' illusion."

"What's that?" queried Ann.

"How about I explain it as we walk across the water to jet-ski I hired."

Ann looked up and saw that they had arrived at a place where the path was separated from the edge of the lake by a few metres of sloping grass. Across the water was a small ramp that some foolhardy souls used for stunts with their jet-skis and moored to this ramp was a jet-ski, bobbing slightly as the breeze rippled the water.

"So you expect me to walk on water to get my compensation for being abused by magicians? Do you know how deep the lake is?"

"Well, I'm told that in this area the deepest is about ten feet. Granted that's plenty to drown in, but, then again, no risk of sharks," he said with a smile. "I assume you can swim."

"Ok, so what do I have to do? Bearing in mind that if this goes wrong you'll owe me a lot more than a jet-ski ride."

"Well, you'll have to trust me and do as I say, that's all. But then again, I suggest you take off your shoes and hose, because your feet will most definitely get wet and I don't suppose you want to go home in wet shoes." Terry sat on the grass and began removing his trainers and socks.

Terry turned to look at Gordon, the cameraman, and said, "Can we have a little privacy, Ann, here, doesn't want to be watched while she is changing. Besides it's time for you to unpack your drone and get your waders on."

The cameraman withdraw to a respectful distance and began rummaging is his backpack. Terry had unslung his and was putting his shoes and socks away. "You can stow your stuff in here too, if you like," he offered.

Asking herself why she was doing this, she tucked her knee-length skirt under her and sat on the grass. It was the work of moments to unbuckle and slip off her shoes. She was about to start removing her stockings. When she looked at the young magician; she saw him pointedly avert his eyes. It was quite awkward trying to take her stockings off without exposing too much to the world, but she took her time and was pleased that her modesty had been maintained.

Ann tucked her stockings into the toes of her shoes before handing them to Terry, who put them into his backpack, closed it up and put it on his back. He offered his hand, to help get up from the grass. Once vertical, Ann patted her bottom to dislodge any stray blades that may have stuck there.

They waited until Gordon returned. He was wearing chest-high wading trousers and had black thing with lots of propellers on it under his arm and a remote controller hanging round his neck.

"You ready," Terry asked Gordon.

Gordon nodded; he seemed a man of few words.

"Well, you know what I plan to do. Are there any shots you particularly want to capture?"

"Of course, to make it work for the edit I need the actual walk from land to water and then I needed a drone shot, or two, of me filming you with me up to my waist. Other than that you can do your own thing, like you usually do, and I'll just follow you with the drone and from the shore." This was the most Ann had heard Gordon say all day, beyond 'Excuse me' and 'Thank you'. The cameraman turned his attention to Ann and just said, "Good luck."

Gordon went down to the water's edge and stood with one foot in the water and the other on the bank. "I'm ready." He called. "If you could start your walk from a couple of metres in front of me. If that doesn't suit, I can move."

Terry gave his cameraman a thumbs up and put his hand out to Ann. "I'll need you to hold my hand, at least to begin with. I might be able to let you go a bit later, but to start it is necessary."

Ann placed her hand in his and he closed his hand round hers. She found her hand was being gently held rather than gripped. Guided by the magician they walked towards the edge of the lake.

"Ok, this is the moment of truth. We will walk in until our toes are covered then the next step will be onto the water."

Cautiously, Ann took a step into the water and felt the mud beneath her feet; a little bit squidged between her toes. "I can feel my feet getting muddy," she said.

"That shouldn't be a problem; it'll wash off when we get over deeper water," assured the magician.

They took another step forward and the water covered their toes. "When I say 'Go!' take another step forward, but intend to step onto the water, because otherwise you'll end up shin-deep and could slip and end up sitting in it." Ann increased her grip on the magician's hand. "You don't to hold on so tightly," he commented. "I need to concentrate and you holding on too tight doesn't help. Relax a bit! This is supposed to be enjoyable."

Ann consciously slackened her hold and heard him say "Go!" Taking her courage on the other hand, she took a step forward, half expecting to sink and was surprised to discover that her feet were no deeper than before. She started to look down, but Terry squeezed her hand and said, "Don't look down just yet, get used to standing on the surface."

Concentrating, Ann refrained from looking down and tried to discover what standing on water felt like. In the next few moments she concluded that it was like standing barefoot on ice, without the cold; slightly slippery, but not as much as it she had been on skates. She increased her hold on the magician, until she felt she had the hang of standing there.

"Very good," Terry whispered, "You're a natural. Now we need to take a couple more steps, so that Gordon can get his next few shots, then we can go over to the ski-ramp to pick-up the jet-ski. Guided by his hand, Ann took to three small steps forward, while Terry took two more confident, but somehow considered steps. "Gordon, Is here ok?"

Gordon answered with a thumbs up and then turned his attention to the remote round his neck. Almost instantly the drone, which he had left a metre above the water-line, whirred into life and leapt into the sky. After a little manoeuvring, it seemed to find the right place to hover. Gordon returned his attention to the camera he was carrying and began to wade in their direction.

It took Gordon a while reach them, as he was wading in waist-deep water. He took footage of their feet barely covered in water as he walked round them. Just after the cameraman had passed them on the lakeward side, Terry and a guided Ann took another step forward onto the patch of water that had just been waded through; to Ann it did not feel any different from the bit she had been standing on before.

"I think we're clear to walk over to the ramp now," said the magician and set off at a slow pace. Ann followed still a little unsure of her footing, which she now thought of being like a highly polished floor in new shoes.

Ann had and spoke a thought. "Isn't walking on water just a fancy kind of levitation; maybe a bit easier, because water is thicker than air? Erm I mean denser."

"Well, yes and no," acknowledged the magician. "It's sort of like a levitation, but it takes more control, because you need to maintain the exact right height, otherwise you're sinking or floating above the water. That's why we are just short of ankle-deep; so that the ripples don't go under our feet and introduce air. I saw a documentary once about Mount St Helens. The scientists needed helicopters to get up to where the wanted to take samples, but the surface on the exploded volcano was too delicate for the helicopter to land, but the people could walk on it. The point is that the helicopter pilots had to do a thing they called 'Hovering at zero altitude', which takes great skill. Walking on water is a magician's equivalent of 'Hovering at zero altitude'. And since when have you seen a levitation that moved as far as we have." He indicated the distance back to the shoreline. "Except, possibly, in a really big theatre, where they have the technology and the wires."

"David Copperfield flying over the Grand Canyon," Ann pointed out.

"Good point, but he has resources beyond us mere magicians."

There seemed to be a bit of a commotion on the shore. Several people had gathered and Gordon was getting reactions, between swooping the drone round them.

"Ann, are you in a hurry? To get home, I mean."

"Not really, I set the video to record the programs I want to watch, because the buses don't always run on time. Why?"

"Because I'd like to give those folks on the bank something to talk about and that may mean taking a little longer than I originally intended. By the way do you dance?" he asked.

"What?" asked Ann, before answering, "Not much, a bit of jigging about when us girls have a night out, but nothing like 'Strictly'."

"What about a slow dance, like a waltz or something?"

"In the middle of a lake?" she questioned.

"Why not? There's no-one to bump into. I'll signal Gordon and then we can give it a go. "

After a pause, the tone of the ever-present drone, dipped. This, evidently, was the signal that Gordon was ready to watch something happen."

"Right," Terry said, facing her, "when you're ready." They took a ballroom hold and he sang, "One, two, three, one, two three." Then they danced for a bit; twirling until Ann complained that she was feeling a bit dizzy. They heard the small crowd that had gathered on the shore applaud. Terry let go of Ann's hand, stepped back and bowed. Ann getting into the spirit made an attempt at a curtsey.

Then Ann realised that she was standing on the water not holding the magician's hand. "Is it ok that I'm not holding your hand?" she asked.

"Yeah, perfectly fine," he assured her. "I only really needed to hold you until I was sure that your footing was ok."

"Can I go anywhere?"

"Not far," he told her. "Basically, I need to be able to see your feet, so don't wander off. Besides we were heading to the ramp to collect the jet-ski."

"You were talking about doing something when we get there."

"Yes," confirmed the magician. "The Portal of Peril."

"What's that?" asked Ann. "I'm curious now. It doesn't involve chopping me into bits or inferring with my clothes, does it?"

"No, neither of those. I'll tell you the rest when we get there."

It took them a few more minutes walking to get the ramp. The ramp was a few sheets of heavy duty plywood supported at a low angle on some scaffolding. The surface was made a little slippery by the stuff that seemed to be growing there.

"Ok. We're here. Now what?" Ann's curiosity was getting the better of her. "You said you were going tell me about this 'Portal of Peril' illusion. So what is it? I don't see anything here at all. Just a jet-ski."

"That's the peril," stated the magician.

"Not very perilous then," remarked Ann.

"You'd say something different if it was heading straight for you at forty miles an hour."

"I'd dodge," said Ann dismissively. "So that's your peril? What about the portal part?"

"Give us a chance. I brought it with me. Will you help me put it together?"

"If you like. So where are the bits?"

Terry unslung his backpack. "In here," he said as he opened it up. The magician reached and pull out a scaffold pole and handed the end to Ann who finished extracting it from the two foot tall bag, until it was six feet long.

"I hope that didn't scuff my shoes." Ann was trying not to be phased by the fact that she had just help pull a very solid and inflexible pole from a container a third of its length. "I've got it; what do I do with it?"

"You'll find a couple of socket holes near the top of the ramp. Stick it in one of those, so it stands upright! I'll get the other one." Soon they were both fitting six foot rigid poles into some holes about four feet apart. Terry reach back into his bag and pulled out some fittings which Ann watched him clamp to the poles.

Ann looked at the new items, which consisted of a carabiner on the inside and a couple of hooks outwards. "What are those for?"

"You'll find out in good time. We've got to finish building the portal. I'll get the top-piece." The thing he tugged from is backpack was just over four feet long and about a foot wide, with a socket at each end and what appeared to be a roller-blind mounted on each of the long edges. Between them Ann and Terry attached this to the top of the uprights.

"You've got your portal and you've got your peril. It doesn't seem very magical to me."

"You'd be right, if you hadn't forgotten the other essential of an illusion; the person in peril."

"You want me to ride the jet-ski?" asked Ann.

"No, no!" said the magician. "I think you've got the wrong end of the stick. I want you in the portal; where the peril happens."

At this point a sense of 'what have I got myself into' seeped into Ann's mind. Despite the instincts that told to say 'No', she decided to brazen it out. "Like I said earlier; I'd dodge."

"That's where these come in." The backpack supplied four Velcro and buckle straps each with a 'D'-ring attached. "You wouldn't mind putting these on?"

Ann took one of the straps and inspected it. It consisted of a padded inner strap with Velcro on the ends so that it could be adjusted to fit any wrist; outside side was a leather strap that buckled over the Velcro join, making it so that the Velcro was kept in place; and finally attached to the outer strap was the 'D' shaped metal ring that might readily accommodate some sort of clip, like a carabiner. One of the other ones matched this one and the other two were the same general construction, but a bit bigger.

Against the cautious part of her brain's better judgement, she laid the strap across her wrist and using the remaining hand put the Velcro ends together. It felt quite comfortable.

"You'll need it tighter than that," said Terry as he reached forward. Part of Ann's instinct told her to pull her hand back, because she was facing a magician who planned to do some magic on her, or with her or to her. This was overridden by the part that was curious about what that plan was and believed he did not plan on cutting her up or causing her public embarrassment. Over the rip of Velcro, He said, "It needs to tight enough stay in place, otherwise if you pull against it too hard it'll chafe."

For a moment, Ann thought, 'That's considerate.' A more cynical part of her mind replied, 'like a mugger offering you a choice of where he stabs you.' During this introspection, he had made the inner strap snugger and fastened the buckle; she wondered if she could undo it one-handed. She also noticed that the 'D'-ring was on the back of her wrist.

"Would you like me to fit the other one?" the magician offered.

Her adventurous spirit thrust forward her other hand, while her more timid side kept her from saying 'yes'. The strap was fitted with efficiency, while the sides of Ann's mind squabbled. The optimist thought, 'nothing bad has happened'. Her inner cynic added, 'yet'.

"Now you know how tight they have to be, I'm sure you'd prefer to fit these two yourself." Terry offered her one of the larger straps.

"Why? Where is it supposed to go? I assumed it would be my ankles, but, come to think of it, they look a bit big for that."

"They'll go round your upper calves, a little below the knee, with the 'D'-ring on the outside."

Ann took one of the straps and said, "You can do the other one, as long as you don't get fresh."

Ann leant down and fitted one strap, while Terry knelt down and fitted the other, being cautious not to touch Ann's calf or the hem of her skirt.

"So, you've got straps on me. Now what?" asked Ann. Internally she was thinking, 'If I'm going to do it, let's do it and get the embarrassment over with, then I can run away." Her cynical, or practical side asked, 'Where to?'

"You stand in the 'Portal of Peril'." He guided her to stand in the archway they had erected. "And I attach you to it." He raised her left wrist to shoulder height and clipped it onto the carabiner.

The crowd that had gathered around the shore of the lake made a collective gasp. It was the first time that Ann had noticed the build-up of people watching. 'This is the biggest number of people I've ever been in front of. If this goes sour, it'll be the most embarrassing situation ever,' she thought. 'Not that I can do anything about it now.'

While Ann pondered the audience that had accumulated on the lakes edge, the magician had attached her right wrist to the other upright. "Now I need you to kneel down," Terry said, applying gentle pressure to her shoulder. Obediently she knelt. "That's great, now spread your knees a bit."

Ann spread her knees to nearly shoulder-width apart, "I can't go any wider," she protested, thinking that the magician meant to hook her calves directly to the bases of the poles.

"That's where these short lengths of chain come in." He briefly showed Ann a length of chain with a clip on one end and links large enough to fit the carabiner. She heard some chinking and some clicks and soon discovered that she could not bring her calves closer together.

"So, you've got me where you want me. What next? The only impossible thing so far, is you got me here and chained to this." Ann gave a pull on her upraised wrists, but they did not move any further than the attachment point allowed.

"The next part is between you, me and the jet-ski," said the magician.

Ann thought, 'He's going to do what I thought he was going to do all along. How did I let myself get into this situation?'

"So, I'm going to draw the blinds," Terry continued. Pulling the first blind was a bit tricky, because the arch had been constructed so close to the top of the ramp that Terry had to reach round Ann to pull it down. Soon it was down and the hooked in place. The blind seemed to be made of thick paper. Before he pulled the second blind down he hooked a couple of small square boxes to the chains between her calves and the bases of the poles.

"What are those for?" queried Ann, feeling even less certain that she was going to enjoy this.

"They're for stage two. Don't worry they're harmless."

With the second blind hooked in place, Ann could not see anything that was going on, but she heard the drone circle the ramp to take in her predicament.

From the point of view of the eye in the sky Ann was sandwiched between two paper blinds at the top of a small ramp in the middle of a lake. It could see her shadow on the up-ramp side and her lower legs extending from the down-ramp side.

"You're alright there, Ann?" asked the magician.

"Yeah, peachy," replied Ann with as much sarcasm as she could load into her voice.

Ignoring the tone, Terry said, "Great. I'll be back on a couple of minutes."

Ann heard him take a few steps down the ramp and a quiet splosh as he stepped onto the jet-ski. Next she heard the jet-ski start and the noise of it driving away.

'What have I got myself into? Tied up on a mini island in the middle of a lake and abandoned. How could I be so stupid?' Then another internal voice reminded her what she thought the magician had planned, altering her disbelief at being abandoned, to the terror at his probable return.

For a moment, the jet-ski fell silent then she heard it power forward towards her. It grew louder and louder. Then there was a thud of it grounding at the foot of the ramp about eight feet behind her. This was followed by a sputter and a skidding noise as its momentum carried it and its rider toward her. A fraction of a second later there was the double thud and rip as it hit the paper blinds. Ann had little time to tense, expecting to be hit in the back by 700 pounds of jet-ski and rider travelling at about thirty to forty miles an hour. She did not really know what it might feel like or what the result might be.

Her pessimistic side told her the best she could hope for was unconsciousness, followed by a quick death, but it might only result in extreme pain and several months in hospital. The optimist told her that Terry was, quite obviously, a competent magician, so this might turn out to be a positive experience, or at worst some pain, but how could it be more painful than being chainsawed lengthwise.

What she felt was ecstatic as the water-craft passed through her, but then it was gone and the jet-ski with Terry on it land on the water in front of her and sped away. This was accompanied by a loud "Ooo!" from the spectators around the lake and then a louder cheer. The drone flew a circle around the portal seeing that Ann was still restrained in a kneeling position with her hands above her head and she seemed to be smiling.

Ann thought, 'That felt good in the moment, but it was terrifying. At least he'll be back soon to release me.'

She was alerted to the fact she was wrong by the crowd beginning to cheer and 'Ooo' again. Ann heard the jet-ski making another run-up. 'He can't planning to do it again; without the screens.'

All of a sudden, she was surrounded by showers of sparks that obscured her vision and the vision of the observers. Moments later, thud, sputter and skid. This time there was no rip of paper screen or moment of ecstasy as the jet-ski penetrated. She heard a whirr then silence.

The on-lookers saw Ann hidden by a shower of sparkles just before the jet-ski and black-clad rider drove through the arch once more. This time the jet-ski folded down and dived under the water. The sparks immediately ceased and instead of the young woman in her white blouse and knee-length black skirt shackled in place between the uprights, there was the young man in his black T-shirt and shorts.

The question of where had the young woman gone was soon answered when the jet-ski bobbed back to the surface with Ann on-board. Fortunately Ann had held her breath as she braced for the impact, otherwise she would probably have breathed in a large gulp of lake before returning to the surface. Looking dazed, she took in her change of position and then took control of the jet-ski. She did a quick circuit of the ramp to be sure she had control the craft and that she was not going to faint. Then she returned to the scene of the drama.

She called to Terry, "Do you need a lift to the shore?" She could see that he did not need releasing from the arch, because he had already released his hands and was working on his calves.

"No thanks," replied the magician. "You go and have some fun and I'll see you back at the hire place in half an hour or so."

Ann neither saw nor cared how the magician got off the ramp in the middle of the lake, because she was exhilarated by piloting the jet-ski; it even eclipsed the fact she was soaking wet.

About forty minutes later, she slowly puttered into the area of the hire place and stepped off the jet-ski onto the jetty steadied by a hand offered by Terry, with Gordon in attendance.

"How was that, for you?" he asked.

"That was the most excitement I've had in a while. Jet-skiing is just as much fun as I remember from the first I tried it." Ann smiled.

"That's great, but actually I meant the magic."

"Possibly the best experience of my life, but too short and too terrifying."

"Well you're soaking wet, so I put some dry clothes in the changing room for you and here's a towel. Oh and some vouchers for a couple more Jet-ski rides for the future."

Ann suddenly realised how wet and cold she was feeling and grabbed the towel and vouchers and with a curt 'thank you' went to find the changing room.

When Ann was out of ear-shot, Gordon said to Terry, "This will take some careful editing, because her wet clothes were clinging to her figure in a most provocative way."

"Then edit it most carefully," said Terry as he left.