Wildmagic_warrior wrote:

Marcus Wingman - John Foster
It started with a carnival and two cups of coffee.
Apparently, a lot of you like the way I write, so here's a story.
Marcus."Laaaaaadies and gentleman! May I present the astounding, the astonishing, the amazing! Magician, Marcus Wingmaaaan!"
The crowd cheered and clapped; they had waited to see this part of the show all night. They had been worked up by the little acts, the lion tamer, the woman who rode a zebra, but this was
it. This was the big show, the one they had paid for. Marcus checked to make sure that all of his tricks were up his sleeves, then stepped into the bright, white, spotlit circle.
John."Foster! Get your skinny butt
over here and mind the grill!" John Foster flinched and stuffed his book up underneath his bulky gray sweater, hoping that his boss hadn't seen him reading on the job. "Right away, Mr. Leeman," he said, scrambling to his feet and looking around frantically for an excuse. He grabbed a case of hotdog buns and came marching out of the back room, carrying them proudly. "Found 'em, Mr. Leeman," he said to the man in charge, holding up the case as if he had been told to fetch it. "Good man," said his boss, gesturing towards the counter. "Set 'em there, and keep an eye on the grill. I'm going to let Missy off of the register so she can see the magic show with her nieces." John nodded, and waited until his boss left the back room to sit down and pull the book out again. He flipped to the page he had been at and kept reading, entranced by the words.
Marcus.The magician took his bow and twirled his top hat, producing a bouquet of roses that he presented to a woman who was sitting on the edge of the ring. She blushed and took them with a smile, but all Marcus got in return was an angry glare from the man sitting next to her. Turning, the magician made his way to the center of the ring and let a small plastic baggie of red powder drop from his sleeve into his hand. Whirling around, he threw it at the floor and the little dragonsnap firecrackers inside went off with a bang, throwing powder into the air. It the light and confusion of the crowd, Marcus ducked behind the curtain and was out of sight. The perfect disappearing act. Making his way to the dressing room, the magician changed into everyday clothes and left the circus tent. He was done for the night, and right now all he wanted was a hot dog with ketchup, mustard, and pickles. Oh, and maybe some of that celery salt. Marcus searched the fairgrounds until he found a little stand that sold the kind of food he was looking for. Going up to the counter, the magician rang the little silver bell.
John. Dinggg. John looked up from his book as the bell rang, and waited for a few moments to see if his boss would answer it. He must have gone off to do something else, though, because he wasn't there. The young man stood up and put his book down, then went to the front of the stand and smiled in a friendly manner at the customer. He recognized him- it was the magician, Marcus what's-his-name. The one who performed in the circus. "Hello-" he began, glancing down at John's shirt for a moment and reading his name tag, "-John. How's it going?" John shrugged, and replied, "Pretty well-" he glanced at the magician's suit jacket, even though there was no tag there, "-Marcus." The magician laughed, and said, "Point taken. Can I have a hot dog with ketchup, mustard, and pickle slices, please?"
Marcus.The man nodded and turned to get the order, placing it all in a little paper boat and handing it off. "That's $2.75," he said. Marcus took his hot dog and fished in his pockets, but came up empty. Sheepishly, he looked up at John and said, "I haven't got my wallet on me, sorry- can I buy you a cup of coffee instead? Maybe tomorrow morning, before my first show?"
John.Coffee? That was a strange way to pay for food. John wasn't doing anything that early, though, and a break from his summer job would be a huge relief. As soon as it was fall he'd be back teaching at the local high school, but as a newly hired wet-behind-the-ears young teacher, he was greatly underpaid. "Sure," he finally answered. "Why not?" The magician grinned, and told him, "How about the little coffee shop next to the supermarket on Grayling? The one that has a bookstore upstairs." "The leep?" supplied John. He knew the shop well- he went there for most of his books, and the occasional cup of coffee. All of the regulars called it 'the leep'- it was a nickname picked up through the years. The sign above the door was weathered, and although it had used to say "Eat Sleep Read", most of the letters were gone now and it read more like 'E-t -leep --ed'. "Yeah, that's the one," answered Marcus. "Seven in the morning, if that's okay with you." "It's fine." "Alright, see you there!" The magician walked off with his hot dog and John watched him go, wondering if his boss would understand that the Marcus was paying him in coffee. Probably not.