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Authors: Paddy O'Reilly
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he tried to follow the mantras of the media trainer. Think positive! A winning smile! Everyone loves you! His self-help books had said the same things with the same exclamation marks. Fake it till you make it! I say YES to life!
When the close-up of the hole in his chest flashed up on the large screen behind the host, the studio audience screamed as one. Even Leon, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, was aghast at the woody topography of his scarred flesh with its new âhealthyâ tan magnified five hundred times. It could have been a gnarly medieval forest or the carved relief of an Egyptian battle. Only when the shot pulled away to reveal firstly hisheart, tiny, snug and gleaming in its place, then his human torso, and lastly his strained face, did any of it seem real.
His heart, steady as it was, no longer told him he was afraid. It kept pushing through blood at the same regular pace without regard to his emotional state. Other parts of his body made up for the heartâs equanimity. The adrenaline zinging through his bloodstream stung his fingertips and face in prickles of fear. He was dizzy and disoriented. His eyes watered, and his eyelids fluttered under the glare of white light.
âSettle down, ladies and gentlemen.â Matt Karvos, the showâs host, gestured for Leon to join Kathryn and Christos, who had already endured their own scream reaction, on a couch facing the audience.
As rehearsed earlier, Leon pulled on a loose shirt that a hand passed to him from behind the curtain. At last he could sit down. He stumbled across the studio floor snaked with gaffer-taped cables and leads, and sat down beside Christos and Kathryn on the couch. At the far end Kathryn lounged on the fat cushions with her legs crossed and her cape wrapped loosely around her body. She appeared relaxed, nonchalant, but Leon could feel the vibrations of the couch caused by her left foot, under the cape, jigging madly against the floor.
Medical examinations had been documented to validate the Wondersâ authenticity before they were invited on the show, so the producers were happy. Rhona was happy because she had managed to keep tight control over the whole appearance. Hap was handling security. Kyle had negotiated the deal and coached them and checked and confirmed every detail until he was convinced nothing could go wrong. Kathryn and Leon were still wary. It was Leonâs first time on television. Kathryn had appeared on television before, but only in guerrilla footage shot as she tried to run away or push shut the front door while a burlycameraman thrust a lens at her and a reporter tried to muscle his way inside. Christos was the only one with real camera experience. He had appeared on various shows in the past talking about his art. He had warned the others to be aware that the camera might shift focus to any one of them at any time.
âYou think you are finished because someone else is talking and you let your face relax? Pow, they turn the lens on you and you come across to millions of people as a miserable party pooper.â
âThanks for the advice, Christos. I feel so much better now. Absolutely spiffing.â
âNo, Kathryn, I am not joking. It happened to me on the most important art show in New York. I watched the recording and there I am, thinking my part is over, rolling my eyes at something stupid I had said. But no one realized that. They believed I was rolling my eyes at what someone else had said. They never asked me back.â
The regular guests of this program, a comedian and a âcrazy newsâ reporter who entertained with offbeat anecdotes from the news or interjected sexual innuendo into othersâ stories, were relegated to a couch at the far side of the stage for this special Wonders edition of the show. Leon had met them in the greenroom, where they smiled like hyenas. âDo you do anything?â the comedian asked through his handlebar mustache. âOr
When the close-up of the hole in his chest flashed up on the large screen behind the host, the studio audience screamed as one. Even Leon, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, was aghast at the woody topography of his scarred flesh with its new âhealthyâ tan magnified five hundred times. It could have been a gnarly medieval forest or the carved relief of an Egyptian battle. Only when the shot pulled away to reveal firstly hisheart, tiny, snug and gleaming in its place, then his human torso, and lastly his strained face, did any of it seem real.
His heart, steady as it was, no longer told him he was afraid. It kept pushing through blood at the same regular pace without regard to his emotional state. Other parts of his body made up for the heartâs equanimity. The adrenaline zinging through his bloodstream stung his fingertips and face in prickles of fear. He was dizzy and disoriented. His eyes watered, and his eyelids fluttered under the glare of white light.
âSettle down, ladies and gentlemen.â Matt Karvos, the showâs host, gestured for Leon to join Kathryn and Christos, who had already endured their own scream reaction, on a couch facing the audience.
As rehearsed earlier, Leon pulled on a loose shirt that a hand passed to him from behind the curtain. At last he could sit down. He stumbled across the studio floor snaked with gaffer-taped cables and leads, and sat down beside Christos and Kathryn on the couch. At the far end Kathryn lounged on the fat cushions with her legs crossed and her cape wrapped loosely around her body. She appeared relaxed, nonchalant, but Leon could feel the vibrations of the couch caused by her left foot, under the cape, jigging madly against the floor.
Medical examinations had been documented to validate the Wondersâ authenticity before they were invited on the show, so the producers were happy. Rhona was happy because she had managed to keep tight control over the whole appearance. Hap was handling security. Kyle had negotiated the deal and coached them and checked and confirmed every detail until he was convinced nothing could go wrong. Kathryn and Leon were still wary. It was Leonâs first time on television. Kathryn had appeared on television before, but only in guerrilla footage shot as she tried to run away or push shut the front door while a burlycameraman thrust a lens at her and a reporter tried to muscle his way inside. Christos was the only one with real camera experience. He had appeared on various shows in the past talking about his art. He had warned the others to be aware that the camera might shift focus to any one of them at any time.
âYou think you are finished because someone else is talking and you let your face relax? Pow, they turn the lens on you and you come across to millions of people as a miserable party pooper.â
âThanks for the advice, Christos. I feel so much better now. Absolutely spiffing.â
âNo, Kathryn, I am not joking. It happened to me on the most important art show in New York. I watched the recording and there I am, thinking my part is over, rolling my eyes at something stupid I had said. But no one realized that. They believed I was rolling my eyes at what someone else had said. They never asked me back.â
The regular guests of this program, a comedian and a âcrazy newsâ reporter who entertained with offbeat anecdotes from the news or interjected sexual innuendo into othersâ stories, were relegated to a couch at the far side of the stage for this special Wonders edition of the show. Leon had met them in the greenroom, where they smiled like hyenas. âDo you do anything?â the comedian asked through his handlebar mustache. âOr
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