Distraction
It was all about distraction.
That was the lure of her magic show. Kiddies would get to see proof that magic was real. The parents would get a few minutes of peace and maybe a laugh or two. She would get enough money to get the hell out of this bumpkin village.
It was a win-win situation. All she needed to do was keep their attention. Not a problem. Even with the crowd being smaller than she'd like, it would still be a good take, it always was. She glanced across the park, saw the length of the line for a spiritualist monkey with a whiteboard and wondered if she should just break down and buy a rabbit. Weren't magicians supposed to have rabbits? It would be a bitch to run with though...
With a final flourish, she finished pulling the scarves from the hat and paused, waiting through the applause. Her eyes swept over the audience, taking in the enraptured faces and spying a few drifters wandering away. She smiled to herself. Same as every other show.
Cards were always her finale. She'd approach one of the papas, arch an eyebrow and ask if he believed in mind-reading. He'd shake his head, grab a card and pretend to look at it while eyeing the cleavage she revealed while hunching at the edge of the little stage. Then, into her hat went the entire deck. The audience would wait, expecting her to pull his card out, to prove him wrong.
What they didn't expect though, was for her to stumble, to 'accidentally' spill the cards across the stage. This 'mistake' worked better to keep them from noticing the hands in their pockets. The cuts to their purses.
The beautiful magician's perfectly practiced 'error' was the best distraction for her team of thieves.
art and flair courtesy of @PegasusPhysics
Nice twist! Here’s the next prompt: https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-224-5-minute-freewrite-thursday-prompt-40-off
Thanks Wordymouth! I hope that you have a great weekend!