Alex Rider: Deception

Sarah- Chapter 5

Sarah hauled the trunk up the stairs, grunting with the effort. Jack whistled cheerfully behind her, dragging up his own trunk. Their performance today had been a tremendous success, and they had made over two hundred and fifty dollars.

Sarah had to admit it was a good business. The first time Jack had proposed the idea to her, she had still been skeptical. But then Jack began teaching her small hand and card tricks, and she found herself mesmerized by the simplicity and ingenuity of each slight of the hand. It didn't take long for Sarah to commit, and she was glad she did.

She had a friend, a job, clothes, food, luxuries, but no memory. Two months into their friendship, Sarah cried her eyes out to Jack, and admitted her amnesia. Jack had sat there and consoled her, very much astonished by the confession, but he promised to help her, and Sarah was eternally grateful. They had searched every missing-persons list, every police log and database, but to no avail. Sarah cried again, dried her eyes, and moved on. She wouldn't let her lack of memories prevent her from making new ones.

Today had been their first real performance. They had done some card tricks and other small hand tricks, and had largely gotten by on pick-pocketed money. They had practiced their finale for weeks, and Sarah found she had a taste for the adrenaline rush that comes from a fall. Not to mention the wild applause from the crowd after they realized she was fine. Jack was the mastermind, but Sarah was quickly catching up. She taught him what martial arts she could remember, and together they built off of it, figuring out ways to add special tricks to make their style of fighting nearly unbeatable. They decided they might have a fighting show, or go to martial arts competitions to earn money. Jack was as fit as any other young man, but Sarah's small size allowed her to gain speed he couldn't, thus making her harder to beat. Jack became like an older brother to Sarah, and they were constantly bickering with each other. At the same time, they would come up with brilliant ideas by building off of one another. In short, they made a great team.

For a while now, they had been saving their pennies to buy a small apartment on the outskirts of the Golden Gate Park, where they figured they would perform the most shows. It was a run-down, two bedroom apartment four blocks from Golden Gate Park. The living room and kitchen were combined, and it was in desperate need of a renovation.

Sarah and Jack were moving in their few belongings now, which mainly consisted of trunks for their magic equipment, and a suitcase of clothes apiece. They had been hopping around from motel to motel, and they sometimes squatted in warehouses. Sarah was glad to have a place to call home after all those long months. The temperature was dropping too, and every night became a little colder.

Sarah let her bags fall to the ground in front of apartment 374, and pulled a key out from the folds of her jacket. Her hands trembling from excitement, she inserted and turned it quickly. The door creaked open quietly, revealing a crumbling room veiled in dust. Without hesitating, Sarah picked up her bags and rushed in, spinning around the room in her eagerness to absorb every detail.

"It's amazing, Jack, don't you just love it!" She let her bags drop and ran to pull the covers off the furniture. "Look! There's a couch, and an armchair, and even a breakfast bar in the kitchen!" she squealed. Jack stood mutely in the center of the room, slowly taking in the space. A small smile flickered across his face. "And there's plenty of space to set up our stuff, and to draw up plans for new tricks," he added quietly. But Sarah didn't here him. She was already scoping out the two tiny bedrooms. Each bedroom held just enough space to fit a bed and a small dresser, and each had a three by one and a half foot closet. The only bathroom led off the living room, but Sarah didn't care. She could fix it up any way she wanted, and already her head was spinning with the possibilities. Maybe they could build a sort of secret compartment in the floor to store their best ideas, or disguise everything as something else.