“People will remember me,” Jerry said as he gathered the things he needed and put them in the trunk of his car.  “When I become famous, people will talk about me and remember what I did today.”  He was a model son, student, and neighbor, and always did everything that others expected of him.  No one could have seen this coming.

Jerry was a senior at Jimmy Carter High and would be graduating next month, at the top of his class.  All of his teachers would remember him as a good student, and wish they had more like him.  He participated in class discussions, always turned in his assignments on time, and did exceptionally well on tests. He didn’t have a lot of friends at school, but he wasn’t considered a loner.  He was always helpful and regularly took part in after school activities.  People would never imagine him as the kind of person that would do something like this.

While driving to the mall, Jerry thought about his plan.  He’d gone over every detail and knew what he had to do to.  No one would be expecting this, and that would give him the element of surprise.  He gathered his equipment from the trunk of his car and walked towards the mall.  This was a crucial moment.  If someone got suspicious and stopped him before he was ready, his plan would fail.  But, fate was on his side, and he entered the mall without being stopped. 

He headed to the food court, as he had done a million times in his head. It was Saturday, and the crowd of people was exactly what he had hoped for.  Stopping at the spot that he had wisely chosen because of the central location, he set his case on the floor and opened it.  He had chosen his tools carefully, and had practiced assembling them quickly.  The people nearby began to notice, and as he removed the last item from his case, they began to understand what was about to happen.  But it was too late, they were frozen in place.  They stood and watched as Jerry began performing his first magic trick.