Read Tales of the Ragoon, Kate's Movie Star Online

Authors: Stan Morris

Tags: #young adult, #science fiction

Tales of the Ragoon, Kate's Movie Star (13 page)

BOOK: Tales of the Ragoon, Kate's Movie Star
8.97Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Runyon was nervous about the production. He
explained that Luke, Britney and Ashley were going to be the main
feature. Kate was skeptical when she heard that. What was big
chested, vacant headed Britney going to do other that shake her
body at the audience, Kate asked Runyon. The movie star gave her an
exasperated look.

Kate knew that Runyon was also nervous
because Kurt Santini was going to be in the audience. She was glad
that Runyon had invited Kurt without being prompted by her.
Gradually, Runyon was warming to his former stepfather.

The talent show was held on a Saturday in mid
May. Runyon left the house about noon to go to Livingston High
School. Kate knew that Runyon was anxious about the performances,
and as she waited for the early evening to arrive, she realized
that she was almost as anxious.

Kurt Santini stopped by the house, so Kate
decided to go with him. The rest of her family squeezed into her
father’s old Malibu. Even Matt came. Kate’s family used the south
side parking lot, but Dr. Santini decided to use the valet parking
on the west side of the high school. They met up at the entrance to
the school auditorium.

A lot of people had already arrived. Kate had
nagged Runyon and the teacher into reserving seats for her family
and Dr. Santini in the center of the auditorium several tiers from
the stage. It was good positioning to see the performances, because
the closer seats were filled with kids who had helped with the
production, but who were not going to be on stage.

To her left, Kate saw a dais where Runyon
hovered nervously. Occasionally, she noticed someone come from
behind the curtain and whisper something to Runyon. He would say
something and the person would disappear behind the curtain
again.

Last minute instructions, she decided.

Meanwhile the crowd in the auditorium grew
amid a lot of excited noise. Kate was surprised to recognize a few
actors and actresses from southern California. Then she saw Jane
Laurence. Thankfully, there was no sign of the Ragoon.

Finally, the audience quieted down. Runyon
stepped to the dais and cleared his throat.

“Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the annual
talent show at Livingston High School,” he began. “We are very
pleased that you could join us this evening. My name is Runyon
Silverstar, and…”

He had to pause here for a tremendous wave of
applause broke out.

“And I will be your emcee this evening.”

And so the show began.

The baton twirlers came first, followed by
the cheerleading squad. Then the band played. Now the program
switched to the individual talents. A couple did a choreographed
dance, and then a boy came out and break danced. There was a
singer, and then a pair that played violins.

As the evening progressed, Kate noted how
professional the production seemed. Runyon was a natural in his
role as emcee. Between every act, he had some joke or humorous
story to tell. During the acts, he would disappear backstage to
ready and steady the next performers.

The evening was drawing to a close when
Ashley, Britney and Luke came onto the stage. Ashley and Britney
stood side by side, dressed in skimpy although acceptable costumes.
Next to the two girls, Luke was dressed in a tuxedo. He clearly
seemed nervous. The audience caught on to this, and they wondered
what the young boy was doing here in this high school
production.

“Why don’t you introduce yourselves,”
suggested Runyon.

“My name is Ashley,” said Ashley as she
smiled at the audience.

“I’m Luke,” moaned Luke that brought out a
light titter from the audience.

“Hi, I’m Britney,” said Britney in a high
girlish voice while grinning and rocking back and forth on her
heels.

She bounced up and down. This caused a
noticeable jiggle in the region of her chest, resulting in snorts
of laughter breaking out from some of the audience.

“And what are you going to do for us
tonight?” asked Runyon.

“Luke is our next door neighbor,” began
Ashley. “And he is going to do magic, and Britney and I are going
to be his assistants.”

“They’re making me do this!” exclaimed
Luke.

More laughter came from the audience.

“Now, now,” said Ashley in a soothing voice.
“Don’t be nervous, Luke. Just imagine everyone in their
underwear.”

“Imagine everyone in their underwear?”
replied Luke in a bemused tone of voice.

He looked to his left and began a slow
perusal of the audience. Ashley and Britney smiled and looked
straight ahead. Luke finished his scan of the audience, and then he
looked to his right at the two girls. He looked them up and down.
Suddenly his nervous expression changed to a huge grin. Britney
giggled.

Ashley’s jaw dropped and she gasped.

Indignantly she roared, “Not us!” while
smacking Luke on his shoulder. The audience exploded with
laughter.

“Humph,” said Ashley. “Let’s start the
show.”

Immediately, Britney and Luke moved to the
rear of the stage. The lights dimmed and a spotlight suddenly shone
on Ashley who had not moved from her spot. Music began. Ashley
began to sing.

The song she sang was an old song from the
previous century. It was a song titled, “Do you Believe in Magic?”
It was a song written by John Sebastian and recorded by The Lovin’
Spoonful. The song explained now music could free the heart of a
young girl, and how it did not matter what genre of music was
playing, but of course the tune was mainly about rock and roll.

Kate was surprised at the quality of Ashley’s
voice. It was a soft contralto, and the girl’s voice had a rich and
deep timbre. She sang from deep in her lungs, and the song easily
carried to the farthest part of the auditorium.

As the audience applauded at the end of her
song, the spotlight went out and the stage lights were lit. Ashley
turned and walked back to her companions who were standing by a
large rectangular box that stood upright. The box had a door on the
front.

Near the front of the door was a pedestal
with a hat and some other odds and ends, including a magician’s
wand. For a few minutes, Luke did magic tricks involving playing
cards, never ending handkerchiefs, and plastic flowers. The
audience politely applauded his efforts.

Then he announced, “I’m going to pull a
rabbit out of a hat.”

Next to Kate, Kurt Santini muttered, “Moose
and squirrel.”

“What?” asked Kate, but her father shushed
her.

Luke suddenly ripped off one arm of his
tuxedo.

“Nothing up my sleeve,” he noted.

The audience laughed.

“Presto,” Luke cried.

He reached into the hat on the pedestal and
pulled his arm up. To the audience’s astonishment a huge real live
lion’s head appeared in Luke’s grasp. The lion looked angry, and it
gave out a roar that shook the speakers placed around the
auditorium. As one, the audience gasped and shrank back in their
seats.

Quickly, Luke pushed the lions head down into
the hat and then pulled his empty hand back out. He turned to look
at the audience.

“Wrong hat!” he cried.

There was a moment’s hesitation, and then the
audience broke into loud and sustained applause.

“How did he do that?” Kate hissed her
demand.

“Some kind of holotech,” muttered Juan.
“Ragoon stuff.”

Luke and the girls bowed, and then they began
their final act. It was an old chestnut that many magicians have
used. Luke hung a curtain, Britney stepped behind it, and when Luke
dropped the curtain, Britney had disappeared. The audience
applauded politely.

Then Luke walked over to the big box. The
audience knew what was coming. Sure enough, Luke opened the box and
out stepped Britney. But before the audience could give it’s polite
approval, a deep musical note rang out, and Britney began to
sing.

The song was another old one, this time from
1956 by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. It was, ‘I Put a Spell on You,” and
from her first note, the audience was stunned into silence.

Where Ashley’s voice had been sweet, gentle
and vibrant, Britney’s voice was rough, defiant and dangerous.
Ashley’s voice had reached the back of the auditorium. Britney’s
voice shook the rafters. The girl, who had seemed to be the epitome
of the blonde vacant bimbo, was now exposed as a woman of power and
of substance. Her song was both a promise and a warning.

As she listened, Kate sat spellbound, and
then the cleverness of Runyon’s plan came to her. The Magic Man,
while good, was actually an act of misdirection. The real show was
the singing of the two girls. While she listened to Britney, Kate
looked toward the side. There Runyon stood in the shadows. His face
was a study in satisfied pride.

And Kate’s heart was filled with pride and
with love. He’s a lot more talented that he knew, she thought. He
can do more and be more that he ever thought was possible.

At that moment, she understood for the first
time that being in love meant being capable of feeling joy and
sorrow at the same time. Her heart was filled with the joy of being
in love with him, but she knew that he could go places that she
never would. Her common sense told her that she was destined to
lose him, and yet she was determined to rejoice in the brief year
that they had spent together.

Silently, she applauded even as two tears
fell sadly down her cheeks.

Then suddenly, to her surprise, Kurt Santini
slipped his arm around her shoulders, bent down, and whispered,
“Everything will work out, Kate.”

Startled, she looked up at him, but he had
already turned to face forward again.

Britney ended her song with a powerful and
threatening note, and the exuberant crowd rose as they applauded.
The stage lights came on, as the three entertainers came together
and bowed to the crowd, while the applause rose to a crescendo. The
three kids bowed again and again. Pre-arranged flowers were thrown
onto the stage.

Gradually, the noise quieted. Luke, Britney
and Ashley left the stage.

Runyon had returned to the dais. He thanked
the crowd, and then all of the night’s entertainers returned to the
stage so that they could take a bow together. Runyon encouraged
everyone to drive home safely, and the evening ended.

Kate rode to her house in Dr. Santini’s car.
Runyon stayed behind to help clear the stage and to make sure that
all of the participants were picked up by their parents.

Kate was surprised at the celebratory mood in
the house when she and Dr. Santini walked in. Clearly, the members
of the Garcia household accepted Runyon’s success as their own. The
boys talked continuously about Luke’s trick with the holographic
lion. Some of their friends were at the house. Matt had stopped and
purchased a large supply of chips, dip and soda. Shortly, Runyon
arrived. To Kate’s surprise, Ashley, Britney and Luke followed
him.

“Juan. Pete,” said Runyon. “I thought that
you might like to meet Luke.”

“Hi,” said Luke shyly to the older boys.

Juan and Pete greeted Luke enthusiastically,
grabbed a bag a of chips and some soda, and all of the boys
disappeared into the teenagers' room. Soon the loud noise of their
television blared.

“Sorry to intrude,” said Ashley to Kate. “But
Runyon insisted.”

“I’m glad that he did,” replied Kate smiling.
“I wanted to tell you how great you were.”

Ashley laughed. “Thanks. I’m okay. Britney is
the real talent.” She smiled fondly at her half sister. Britney
giggled.

“Are you going to be a professional singer,
Britney?” asked Kate.

“No, I’m going to be a marine biologist,”
answered Britney. “My boyfriend and I both got accepted to the
University of Hawaii at Manoa.”

“Oh,” replied Kate weakly, while rapidly
reevaluating her image of Britney.

“She’s so smart,” said Ashley proudly. “Of
course, she’s still just a child. Not an adult like me.”

Britney snorted. “She says that just because
she’s already eighteen, and I won’t be eighteen until August.” She
stuck her tongue out at her sister.

“It’s going to be so good to be an adult,”
sighed Kate. “I can’t wait.”

“Yeah,” agreed Ashley. “Just think. We’ve
almost graduated. Only two more weeks. No more school. Yay!”

“You’re going to college, too, Ashley,”
Britney reminded her.

“College is totally different,” insisted
Ashley. “Are you going to college, Kate?”

Kate shrugged. “I think that I might take
some classes at Merced Community College.”

“That’s cool,” said Britney. “Just be sure
that your credits can transfer to UCLA.”

“Northridge might be closer,” objected
Ashley.

Puzzled, Kate asked, “Why should I care.”

“Well, those are the state universities that
are closest to where Runyon lives,” explained Ashley.

“Oh. Oh!” responded Kate. “Yeah. Right.”

“Well, my mom’s expecting us,” said Ashley.
“So we have to be going. Britney, find Luke. Tell him we’re
leaving.”

The two girls and the boy said their good
byes to everyone and left, much to the distress of Matt.

“I never got a chance to talk to them,” he
said in dismay. “You hogged the conversation.”

“I have to admit that you acted very mature
around them,” responded Kate.

“What do you mean?” replied Matt.

“Just that you kept your eyes above Britney’s
neck almost three quarters of the time,” said Kate. The younger
boys hooted their laughter.

“Ha, ha,” her oldest brother replied. “For
your information, Ashley is the one that I’m interested in.”

Later that night, Kate and Runyon sat side by
side on his bed.

“That was a great show tonight,” offered Kate
quietly. “I’m really proud of you.”

Runyon lay back on his bed, put his hands
behind his head and stared at the ceiling. “It was good,” he
agreed. “I have to admit that I amazed myself. I was really good at
this, Kate. Maybe I have other talents than just being a third rate
actor.”

BOOK: Tales of the Ragoon, Kate's Movie Star
8.97Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Dark Defender by Morgan, Alexis
Some Were In Time by Robyn Peterman
Juego mortal by David Walton
Corpse Whisperer by Chris Redding
Berrr's Vow by Laurann Dohner
Quake by Carman,Patrick