Obsessed (9781617732393) by Gibson Jo

Author:Gibson, Jo [Gibson, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2014-04-16T16:00:00+00:00

“I’m here, Carla.” Andy came up behind Carla, and sat down on a stool. “When Phil comes on stage, you bring up the baby spots. Got it?”

“I think so.”

Carla waited until Phil MacMahon, the club magician, had positioned himself on stage. Then she brought up the spotlights and crossed her fingers for luck.

“Relax, Carla.” Andy grinned at her. “Just leave the spots on until Phil asks for volunteers from the audience. Then turn on the houselights and wait until they get up on stage.”

Carla followed Andy’s instructions carefully. When the three volunteers took their places on the stage, she looked to him for her next cue.

“Go back to the spots now. When Phil pulls the flowers out of his hat, hit them with the magenta filter.”

“Okay.” Carla nodded, and then she turned to Andy. “You should be doing this. You know much more about it than I do.”

“Wrong. I just know about Phil’s act. I watch it every night from the kitchen. Get ready, Carla . . . he’s going to pull out the flowers . . . now!”

Carla flicked the proper switch, and the flowers gleamed with a rosy light. She began to smile as the audience applauded. So far, so good.

“Okay . . . cut the magenta and go back to the spots. He’s going to do a card trick next.”

“Got it.” Carla nodded, and breathed a deep sigh of relief. Everyone had been very cooperative when Mr. Calloway had explained their problem. Almost all of the performers watched the other acts, and they’d all agreed to help. Phil had helped her when Linda O‘Keefe had sung her ballads, and Linda had helped with Rob Crawford’s comedy routine. Berto had put down his apron and tray, and rushed behind the curtain to help with Tim Bradley’s act, and The Alway Brothers, all three of them, had prompted her on Jerry Maxwell’s jazz set. Vera Rozhinski had cued her for The Alway Brothers’ juggling act, and Mr. Calloway had given her instructions for Greg and Gina Carlson’s dance routine.

With Andy’s help, Carla managed to light Phil’s magic act without any major mistakes. She brought up the houselights for the intermission, and grabbed the handkerchief Andy provided to wipe the nervous perspiration from her forehead.

“I never knew this job was so hard. And I’ve still got three acts to go!”

“Relax, kid.” Andy gave her a little hug. “Everybody’s getting their own props, and that helps a lot. The Hot Rocks are up next, and you only have to change their lighting between numbers. And then there’s Nicole Powell. All she needs is a spot on her guitar. The finale’s easy. Just fade to black when Tim sings the last line of ‘Sweet Night,’ and you’re through.”

Carla nodded, but she wasn’t convinced. She kept thinking of all the things that could go wrong. She could hit the wrong switch and plunge the stage into darkness, or the finicky old light board could burst into flames if she brought the lights up too fast.

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