2019 Sketch Archive - A Magician's Intern (Patreon)

Having a life long dream of studying under a real magician, Ryan had been overwhelmed with excitement. Finally, he was going to see it, a REAL magic show. His legs thumped in place as the car finally pulled up to the Bay Theater parking lot. This would be his chance, to meet with and ask tips from a real magician.

"I'll come back and pick you up later tonight at about 9pm, right at this spot, if you're not here you're paying for your own cab!" Ryan's mother shouted as she backed out of the lot. Shoveling his hand around in his pocket, he confirmed he had his spare change for the cab fare. He probably wouldn't need it, but he was expected to be more responsible, seeing as this magic show was his early 18th birthday gift from his parents.

After using his ticket to get inside, the hall quickly began to fill, several older people had crowded around the closer seats. Wanting to be right up close to the action, Ryan quickly sped toward the front and managed to get in the third seat in from the front left row. The place was already packed and the lights were dimmed.

"INTRODUCING..." The fanfare began, Ryan excitedly thumped his legs as the curtains rose.

"THE SPELLBINDING SIR ROBERT"

The applause drowned out all other sounds in the building, Ryan stared in awe as the show began, smoke filling the room. Assistants dressed in fancy clothing coming out to be sawed in multiple pieces, a monkey escaping a cage high in the air covered with a cloth, only to appear in the back row from under a woman's seat. Between the laughs, shock and awe, Ryan watched with the utmost concentration. He had to meet Sir Robert. All he needed was to get his attention somehow.

As the final act began, Sir Robert approached the edge of the stage, asking volunteers to raise their hands. Without hesitation, Ryan's hand shot up. As Sir Robert's eyes scanned the crowd, he grinned.

"I'll be needing, 2 volunteers this time. So I will require the aid of you, miss...?" Sir Robert beckoned to a slightly younger girl in the back row. "My name's Amanda!" she gleefully ran up the stage. "And for my second..." Ryan closed his eyes, as if he could beg fate to let him be picked.

"This very blind young man in the front left should do. Care to open your eyes, Mr...?" 

Ryan blinked as the crowd stared at him laughing. He was actually picked. This was his chance! "Ryan, sir!" He threw himself out of his seat and was guided up onto the stage, the bright light gleaming.

"Now please, introduce yourselves to the crowd!" Sir Robert exclaimed, handing the mic to Amanda first. "My name is Amanda B. and someday I'd like to study birds. My brother dragged me here, though, and I haven't seen any birds yet mister 'magician'."

Robert chuckled aloud. "I guess I know just the trick for that then! And let's hear from you next, kiddo."

Ryan gripped the microphone and nervously stuttered into it, "w-well actually my dream is to be a m-magician, like yourself. So maybe one day I can b-be your assistant? Maybe teach me how to master some t-tricks? I've always wanted to study under a real magician, oh and I am Ryan. Today's my 18th birthday actually."

Sir Robert took the microphone from Ryan's hand, and with a gleam in his eye and a quiet whisper "I'll be happy to teach you a really neat trick backstage, if you wait after the show until 9:30pm." Sir Robert winked and turned to face the crowd. "Let's give our volunteers a hand. For these two, I'd like to do some classics!"

Ryan was beckoned to stand aside as he watched Amanda, she was made to sit inside a giant empty prop hat that was pushed out onto the stage. After covering it with a thin sheet, chanting a spell and tapping it with a wand. A confused flamingo bounced out of the hat and ran around on stage. Ryan had caught a glimpse of a girl similar in build to Amanda, but with different coloured hair being led to the backstage by a stage hand. He wondered what sort of trap door was used. He planned to ask Sir Robert later.

For Ryan's trick, Sir Robert simply had him hold a carrot, when asked, he placed the carrot in Robert's hat, which was seemingly normal. Sir Robert then placed the hat on his head, removing it immediately to show the carrot hadn't fallen out. He then asked Ryan to pull the carrot out of the hat instead. But to Ryan's surprise, he gripped a pair of fuzzy ears. Ah! How? When did he switch it out with a rabbit?!

Sir Robert thanked Ryan, "I've been looking all over for him for weeks, he NEVER seems to want to show up for work anymore!" The crowd chortled in response. For his finale, he placed a large black bed sheet over the brown rabbit. Ryan watched up close in amazement as it rose, revealing a grumpy teenager about Ryan's age. The stagehands quickly bowed and led him backstage as he started shouting Sir Robert's name angrily. 

"And that's it for our show!" Sir Robert quickly motioned for the crowd to stand and the applause drowned out the boy's words. Ryan stared in his direction as another stagehand beckoned him to come backstage to wait.

As the time quietly passed, Ryan grew a little impatient. He had been sitting backstage outside of the star's room, but Sir Robert had still been cleaning up backstage for what seemed like an hour. Having already missed his mom's ride, Ryan grew worried that he'd been forgotten by the magician. But something else felt off ever since the show ended. He just couldn't figure out what, as he sat there thumping his leg repeatedly.

"There's my future star!" Sir Robert had turned the corner, beaming as he waved Ryan over to come back to the stage. "I want to show you something. You'll love it!" Ryan leapt out of his seat to follow. "Right behind you Sir Robert!" The magician flashed a comforting smile, "You can just call me Robert, my rookie magician!" Ryan nodded as he caught up with the master magician. He could hardly contain his excitement!

The stage was dimly lit, and eerily quiet. All the crew had gone home it seemed. All but himself and Robert. Ryan had been a little intimidated, but just as he opened his mouth to ask a question, Robert interrupted him. "So, you'd like to assist me? Help out with the show? I'd just like to confirm you were serious about it."

Ryan without thinking nodded immediately. This sudden interest in him joining the team caught him completely off guard.

"PERFECT! You see, our previous intern just quit, he wasn't really getting along with any of the other stagehands, and he kept complaining about the living conditions, he just really wasn't cut out for it. But I think you're a natural. I wouldn't mind keeping you on stage with me at all times!"

Ryan's mind wandered, picturing himself on stage actually doing tricks with Robert, doing live shows. He unconsciously thumped his leg on the spot as he envisioned it. 

"There is one trick I'll need to show you though, but once we're done we can head out on the road!" Robert began to pull out his wand and the carrot from his hat.

Blinking awake, Ryan realized what he said "H-head on the road? But I don't have any of my stuff? Don't I have to sign something? What should I tell my mom?!" Ryan remembered the cab fare in his pocket, "A-actually about that, I need to call a cab so I can head home after you show me your trick! Do you know where I can borrow a phone?"

Robert glanced up with an exhausted look, "Look, kid, you don't even have cab fair. So either you're coming with me, or you're stuck walking home."

Ryan stuffed his hand into his pocket. Robert was right. His money was gone! Was he mugged? When did.. wait, could it have been Robert?! When he wasn't looking during the show?

Ryan opened his mouth to protest just as the tip of Robert's magic wand prop poked him square on the nose with a little gleam. Ryan twitched his nose and blinked, "What did you-"

His sentence was cut off by the shock of seeing his own nose pulling away from his face. Robert spoke some incoherent magic words, something something hare something. Ryan completely missed it while he'd been daydreaming. And now he was actually being changed! This couldn't be real magic could it?! He must have fallen asleep at the show somehow!

Ryan felt the whiskers poke out of his face, he could feel the slightest touch of them against his shirt. He quickly pulled it off to see what other changes were occurring.

His gaze was met with a chest full of snow white fur, he brought a hand up to feel how soft it was. This was fur, HIS FUR. He couldn't fathom it as his mind raced, "I'm becoming a-"

"Rabbit, yes" Robert cut him off. "That little brat from before kept biting my hair during the show in protest. I'm hoping you'll be more behaved than he was," Robert smirked as he waved a carrot in Ryan's direction. You seem to act the part anyway, I saw you thumping those legs during the show.

Ryan had fallen forward, while he wasn't paying attention,  the changes had sped up and his trousers had fallen around his ankles revealing his poof of a rabbit tail. His back leg had begun unconsciously thumping again. But no matter where he looked, from the waist down, his body had been covered in a thick fluff of white fur, his thumping foot resembling a rabbit's paw more than a foot.

Twisting his gaze back to face Robert, Ryan looked at him with concern. He wasn't quite sure this was just a dream anymore. "But I didn't want to be a rabbit! I thought you wanted me to be your student!" The fur squirmed up the side of his cheeks as his ears grew long and pointed. His fingers changing one by one as he pointed  them directly at the "spellbinding" Sir Robert.

"You did this during the show...! T-to that girl!" Ryan pointed accusingly at Robert. Robert rolled his eyes. "We do admittedly, have a side gig going on here. Using my magic, I can do a simple little swap. If I change a random animal into a human's form, I can change any human into the expensive exotic creature our client needs. It's like a give and take thing. And once you're finished becoming my new rabbit. I'll have to go find a stray cat or something and turn it into a whiny 18 year old to send off home to replace you."

Robert sighed, "Kid, we don't all get to start at the top. Some of my stagehands wanted the same as you and sure, I taught them a few tricks here and there. But until I plan to retire, I don't need more competition. So if you're a good intern, hey, maybe you can even be my understudy someday. But right now I need you to be a good rabbit. Eat this carrot, do a hop here or there. And get pulled out of this hat." He gestured to his signature magician hat.

Ryan started to panic, the whole room began to shrink around him. His small pink nose twitching rapidly as his eyes slowly became dark and beady. Feeling a warm hand grasp his ears, his entire body was lifted off the floor as he helplessly watched his clothing lay there. 

He wasn't human anymore. He'd been completely changed into a white rabbit. As Robert lifted a small blanket off a rabbit cage laying in the corner, he placed Ryan inside and left him the carrot to nibble on as he shut the door. "Oh by the way, Happy Birthday buddy." Robert quipped as he scratched Ryan's fuzzy head.

As the tour bus sped down the highway, Ryan nibbled on his carrot in Robert's lap, as the magician softly stroked his fingers across his fur. He enjoyed the tour bus rides, playing cards, learning tricks. Ryan basically got to see all the magic he wanted for free now. He was honestly starting to enjoy it a little. Sure only eating rabbit feed, oats and the occasional carrot may get a bit old sometimes, But if his feet were lucky enough, one day he might just learn how to change back.

Ryan glanced over at the confused flamingo in a cage labeled "Amanda" in the back of the bus. As for the other exotic animals. The ones Robert had been turning his volunteers into to sell to high profile clients as pets... 

They may not be as lucky as he was~

-FIN-

EDIT: Adjusted some story stuff and tweaked a little near the end.