Ty went to a dressing room, locked the door, doffed his hat, and pulled out the kitten and rabbit. He waved his wand, and threy transformed back into Lisa and Dustin. "Great job!" he told them.
Lisa kissed Ty. "You did pretty well, too!"
Dustin said, "My part was easy. All I had to do was sleep. If we ever do this again, can I do more?"
"Sure, Dustin!" Ty replied. "You were the star of part one, but I'm sorry you didn't get a more active role. It was hard to cram even this much into the ten minutes they gave us. We never could have pulled it off in the usual six minutes."
Ty waved his wand again,and their costumes changed back into their normal clothing. "You don't have to keep using the wand," Lisa said.
"No," agreed Ty, "but I kind of like it. I think I should use it when I perform 'magic' in front of your parents, until they're in on the secret."
"Yes, that makes sense," said Lisa.
"Let's go out and watch the remaining acts," said Dustin. "though we'll have to sit in the back." They joined the audience.
After all of the acts were completed, the emcee told a few jokes to kill time, until he was handed an envelope. He announced the award winners, starting with the runners-up, for several categories. The last category was Best of Show, and after the runners-up, he announced, "And the winner of the Best of Show category is...", with an exaggerated pause, "Eisenheim the Illusionist!" The audience applauded heartily.
"You know," Ty said, "I didn't even think about winning anything. The important part was performing."
"I suspected we would likely win in some category," Lisa said. "It really was a very good act, and thanks to the rehearsals, we performed it flawlessly."
"I didn't even realize there would be awards," said Dustin.
As the audience started to disperse, they found their parents. "Congratulations, all three of you!" Mark said.
"Your performance was excellent," said June.
"I couldn't agree more," said Diego. "Congratulations on winning! You almost had me believing in magic!"
Lisa winked at Ty. Ty said, grinning, "Only almost? I guess I'll have to work harder at it!" Everyone laughed.
Maria said, "I agree, but I didn't like it when you berated my daughter."
"Mom!" exclaimed Lisa, "That's just part of the act. We scripted that together! Everone knew it was a joke!"
"I know," said Maria, hugging Lisa, "but I still don't like it."
Mark said, "June and I would like to take you all out to dinner, if you don't have other plans."
Diego said, "I was about to make the same offer to you."
"I guess you two will have to fight it out," Lisa said, smiling.