The Hat Trick

*Hello friends! Thank you for reading my story; I am trying to perfect the art of writing in my own way, and any feedback and/or likes is very much appreciated*

"For my final trick," the magician flaunted, pulling the cuffs at his wrists, "I shall perform a crowd favorite." The crowd cheered and clapped as he bent behind a matte black table and pulled a bright white hare from behind it, the creature squirming and kicking as he placed it upon the table. It was shaking slightly. "I shall make this rabbit disappear!"

The crowd laughed and clapped along. They had all seen this trick before; indeed, most of the crowd for the infamous Francis Flourish were returning customers. He waved a hand to silence the applause. The theater grew quiet with abated breath.

    A trickle of anxiety pricked the Fantastic Flourish as he pulled his magician's hat from his head. He was always slightly nervous performing even his most staple tricks. He believed in perfection above all else for his craft. He ran his hand across his hat; it had a thin brim and an elongated black top, cut with a white horizontal strip where the lip met the hat. Classic.

    First, the music, he thought. He flicked his wrist and the orchestra behind the curtains began playing a rising crescendo. Next, the lights. He flicked his other wrist, his arms now stretched out wide to form a Y shape with his body as the bright white lights flashed around the theater in a continual moving motion. The lights were an important part of the trick. The white blinded the human vision for a couple of seconds, just enough time to trick the brain into not seeing anything as the Hare falls through the hat and into a trap door. The drums began playing a crescendo, an exciting build to the finale.

    The ultimate reveal! The highest stakes! Flourish thought, excitement bubbling inside. 

    He stepped back and took hold of his rabbit. "Let's put on a good show, eh Roger?" he announced to the audience. Roger squealed and was as eager to disappear into the hat as ever, squirming in his grip. He threw his hat in the air, letting it flip a couple of times before expertly catching it upside down in his hand. In his other, he dangled Roger over the opening and waited for the lights. They slowly became brighter, brighter, brighter...FLASH! Immediately as the light peaked and the drums boomed their final beat he dropped Roger down through his hat, letting the rabbit fall through the false bottom. He smiled, glancing a fraction of a second down to watch the rabbit land—

    What?

The Fantastic Flourish paused for a split second, staring at the secret compartment beneath his feet. Roger wasn't there. He glanced inside the hat as the audience broke out in applause at the disappearing rabbit. He wasn't there either. A slight look of confusion played on his features before he composed himself and threw the hat in the air to show that it was empty. He caught it again, almost dropping it from his excited nerves, and took a long bow as the lights played across the cheering audience, illuminating their faces. With a final flourish, the curtains closed to clapping and he straightened himself out. He heard but did not see the members murmuring their approval and discussing theories about how he made a rabbit disappear, and about where he actually went. He ignored the discussions, lifting the hat up and staring into it. He flipped it over and examined it, then knelt on the floor. He opened the trap door and looked around the secret compartment. The rabbit was gone.

Where did he go? Flourish bit his lip and stroked his elegant black goatee. He looked all around the stage itself. Roger the Rabbit was nowhere to be found.

"DAMIAN!" he shouted. His assistant ran around the corner, his blonde hair a mess on his head, almost tripping on the prop table used to saw people in half. The saw itself shook from the impact and Damian said, "Y-yes Mr. Fantastic Flourish? Great show! I loved—"