Episode begins at Sensei Brantley's house. Marco walks toward the house with a birthday present. | |
Marco Diaz | Hurry up, Star. I don't want us to miss the cake. |
Star walks on-screen carrying a large present with horns and a tail sticking out of the gift wrapping. | |
Star Butterfly | I wonder what flavor it is. I hope it's ogg-berry. |
Marco | That's not a thing on Earth. |
Star | Seriously? Oh, man, you guys are really missing out. |
In the backyard, Star sets her present down on a nearby table. | |
Marco | You know, I think I'll hold on to my gift until I see Sensei. |
Star | Don't worry, Marco. [takes Marco's gift] There's some room left right... there. |
Something on the table shatters like glass when Star sets Marco's gift down on it. | |
Star | Ooh, Sensei can really throw a par-tay! |
Numerous people occupy Sensei's backyard, including party guests, a Hispanic man selling ice cream, a tattoo artist, a man at a grill, Janna, and StarFan13. | |
Star | Come on, I wanna give him his birthday punches. |
Marco | Be careful. He knows Tang Soo Do... sort of. |
Cut to the grill man grilling burgers and hot dogs. | |
Griller | Hot meat! |
He flips a cooked beef patty into the air, and it lands on a bun on one of the party guests' plate. | |
Male guest 1 | I... I caught it! |
Male guest 2 | [holding up a plate] Me next! |
A steak flies into the second guest's plate, knocking him over. He holds up the steak. | |
Party guest 2 | Got it! |
Cut to Sensei's mom getting a tattoo of Sensei's name on her left arm while the tattoo artist is on his cellphone. | |
Sensei's mom | Uh, this is a henna tattoo, right? |
Tattoo artist | Yeah, Henna, Jenna – I can do whatever name you want. |
Sensei rides his bike onto a halfpipe and does tricks for the other guests. | |
Star | Oh, hey, Sensei. |
Guests | [cheering] |
Star | Sick moves, birthday master! |
Marco | Yeah, you're "Sensei-tional"! |
Marco laughs at his own joke, and Star laughs awkwardly. Sensei rides past them up the ramp and does a handstand. | |
Sensei Brantley | Thanks, guys, but you ain't seen nothin' yet. The great Preston Change-O is performing! |
One of the guests, Blaine, slaps a hot dog out of the hands of another guest, Claudia. | |
Blaine | (in foreign language) Put down that wiener Claudia. Preston Change-O is coming! |
Claudia | [squealing happily] |
Marco tugs on his hoodie's tightening cords with excitement. | |
Star | You didn't tell me there were magic users in this dimension. That's something you want to let a sister know. |
Marco | Oh, Preston's not a magic user. He's an entertainer. He does magic tricks. |
There's an explosion off-screen, and meat flies past Star and Marco as some of the guests scream. | |
Sensei | Trouble at my party? |
The grill is on fire. Sensei flips next to the grill and blows out the fire with his hands. | |
Sensei | Ah-no-burn-chicken! |
Guests | [cheering] |
Sensei | Party on! |
The grill starts to vibrate. Sensei prepares to put out another fire, but the griller stops him. | |
Griller | Whoa-whoa-whoa. The meat speaks. |
Sensei and the griller look at the grill. | |
Star | What...? |
Other guests all stare at the grill. A single hot dog floats over the flames. | |
Sensei | [gasps] He has arrived...! |
In a burst of fire, Preston Change-O appears standing on the grill. | |
Sensei | [awestruck gasps] |
Preston Change-O | [throwing confetti] Preston Change-O! |
Guests | [cheering] |
Marco | Whoa-ho! |
Star | Whoaaaa... |
Preston removes Sensei's headband, puts it on top of his head, and covers it with his top hat. | |
Preston | [indistinct muttering] |
Sensei | [excited gasping] |
Preston | Why don't you stick your head in my armpit there? |
Sensei places his head under Preston's arm, and Preston covers Sensei's head with his cloak. When Preston removes his cloak, Sensei's headband is back on his head. | |
Preston | Preston Change-O! |
Preston hiccups, and yellow energy flows out of Sensei's mouth and into Preston's. Sensei sheds a tear, and Preston takes a bow. | |
Guests | [cheering] |
Marco | Neat! Let's get closer. |
Star | Hold your mole, Marco. That little guy is using magic. |
Preston entertains with more magic tricks. He holds a red ring in his right hand and a blue ring in his left hand. | |
Preston | All right, everybody, watch the rings. |
Preston interlocks the two rings, and Jeremy Birnbaum walks up. | |
Jeremy Birnbaum | [blowing raspberry] That's not magic! There's a gap in one of those rings! I saw it on TV. |
Preston | Oh, you do magic, do you? You don't wash behind your ears. |
Preston pulls a large silver coin out from behind Jeremy's ears. | |
Preston | [giggling] Preston Change-O! |
Preston hiccups and sucks more yellow energy from nearby guests. Those whose energy he sucks shed tears, and his top hat gets a little longer. | |
Jeremy | Ear money... |
Preston | [walks away] Tell your mom I said hi. |
Jeremy | ...Hi, Mom. |
Preston | [walks up to little girl] Oh, what do we have here? More dirty ears! |
Preston pulls a pencil out from behind the girl's ears. | |
Preston | Just kidding. It's a pencil! |
Little girl | Oh, to write with. |
Preston | Preston Change-O! |
Preston hiccups and sucks some yellow energy from the little girl, causing her to shed tears, and his top hat even longer. | |
Star | [gasps] What just happened? Did your hat just get bigger? You are magic. |
Preston | Yes, my dear, that's the nature of being a magician. [walks away] And a good day to you. |
Star | Marco, Preston's a real magician. He said so himself. |
Marco | It's a part of his act. |
Star | This wasn't an act. |
Star grabs Marco's face and points it in Preston's direction. | |
Star | Look at his hat. Don't you see? It's taller! |
Marco | Look, Star, I get it. The first time I saw a party magician, I was pretty emotional, too. Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go enjoy some birthday magic. [walks up to Preston] Mr. Preston! Would you do a magic trick for me? |
Preston | Of course I can, Jennifer. First, I'll need an ordinary five-dollar bill. |
Marco | Sure! |
Marco pats his pockets looking for his wallet. | |
Marco | Hey, uh... where's my wallet? |
Preston | Are... you... looking... for... this? |
Marco's security wallet appears in Preston's left hand. | |
Preston | It's your wallet. |
Marco's wallet opens to reveal photos of the laser puppies, Jackie Lynn Thomas, Marco's parents, and himself and Star. | |
Marco | Whoa! No way. |
Preston | Preston Change-O! |
Preston hiccups and sucks more yellow energy from Marco. | |
Marco | [tearing up] That... was... |
Star | Hey, hey, hey! What was that? Why is Marco sad? Marco, why are you sad? |
Marco | I'm not sad. |
Preston | I merely performed a bit of sleight-of-hand, my dear. |
Star | No way. You're a real magic user. Takes one to know one. |
Preston | I already told you, I'm a magician. |
Sensei hears Star and Preston arguing. After doing an upside-down spinning kick, he gets between them with a karate chop. | |
Sensei | What's happening? |
Star | He's... [sputtering] He did... He did a trick! And these lights came out! And... Hat! Hat... His big hat! |
Sensei | Star, my mom hired Preston to entertain us. He's just doing his job. |
Preston | I'm beginning to sense that my magic act isn't welcome here. |
Sensei | Oh, no-no-no-no-no-no! We love it. Let's just bring your act over here. [guides Preston away from Star] |
Marco | Star, it's not real. The point of Earth magic is to allow yourself to be entertained by pretending that it's real. Just like love. |
Cut to Sensei's mom at the cake table with several guests. The cake is pink with a red ribbon wrapped around it and a yin-yang symbol on one side. | |
Sensei's mom | Who wants cake? Where's the birthday boy? |
Star | I'll go look for him. |
Star runs to the house's front lawn. | |
Star | Sensei! [sees Jeremy] Hey, Jeremy, have you seen Sensei? |
Jeremy | [sad] Sensei? Who cares? Nothing matters anymore. |
Jeremy tosses his big silver coin away, and Star picks it up. | |
Preston | (o.s.) Preston Change-O! [hiccups] |
Star goes to the garage and hides behind a car. | |
Star | [gasps] |
In the garage, Preston sucks a lot of yellow energy from Sensei. Star covers her mouth in horror. | |
Preston | Hey! Wakey-wake, it's time for cake. |
Sensei picks his head up, and he's crying a lot of tears. | |
Sensei | Wait... No more magic...? |
Preston | Not until after the cake. Then there'll be magic for everyone! |
Sensei | Yaaaay...! |
Sensei runs back to the backyard in tears and a smile. | |
Star | [gasps] Stop right there, Preston! [points wand at Preston] This is the end of the line, mister! Fess up! You're doing something to these folks. Now tell me what it is. |
Preston | All right, okay, okay, you caught me. Look, look, I'm not human, all right? I-I'm a joy sucker. |
Star | A what?! |
Preston | A joy sucker. Sadly, I can't create my own joy. So I suck a bit of the joy from others when I perform my tricks. Think of it as, you know, taking their empties. |
Star | You took a lot more than a little from Sensei just now! |
Preston | Yeah, but that dude really loves magic. Heh. He had a lot to spare. [winks and clicks tongue] |
Star | ...You gotta go. |
Star pulls Preston by his coattails toward the front lawn. | |
Preston | But I have a party to entertain. |
Star | [points wand at Preston, menacingly] You want the wand? |
Preston | Sensei's been on my wait list since he was a little boy. At least let him have the satisfaction of seeing my grand finale. I mean, his mom paid for me to be here. I... I kinda owe it to him. |
Star | You're just gonna suck all their joy. |
Preston | Come on, look. [lifts his top hat] My hat's full. I don't even have room for any more of their joy. You don't want to ruin a guy's birthday, do ya? |
Star | ...All right, fine. Do your finale. But I'm watching you, little man. You start to suck joy, you get the wand. |
Preston | Deal! |
Preston walks back to the backyard. | |
Star | Promise. No joy sucking. Say it! |
Preston | (o.s.) I promise! |
In the backyard, Star spies on Preston from behind a tree. | |
Star | Be cool, Star. Do it for Sensei. Just... stay.. cool. |
Star pulls a piece of bark off the tree and gnaws on it. Marco walks up with a plate of cake. | |
Marco | Hey, isn't this fun? |
Star | Yeah, that's one word for it. |
Marco | [holds fork up to Star] Ahhh. Here comes the cake stick. |
Star slaps the fork out of Marco's hand. Sensei stands on a stage with a microphone. | |
Sensei | [amplified through microphone] Hey, everyone! I just wanna thank you all for showing up to my 38th birthday bash, especially the very great Preston Change-O! Because without him, this party would be totally lame. ...Preston Change-O, everybody! |
Audience | [cheering] |
Preston walks onto the stage and turns on a boombox, and it starts playing electronic magic performance music. After a bit of performance flair, he makes a bird appear out of his cloak. | |
Audience | Ooh... |
A magic wand appears in Preston's hands. | |
Marco | Whoo-hoo-hoo! |
Sensei's mom | Shhh! |
Preston pulls out a sawing-in-half box out from behind the curtains. | |
Sensei | Ohhhh! No! Mama, he brought the box! |
Preston | How about a little girl from the audience, please? |
Sensei | [squealing] Take me, take me! |
Sensei runs out onto the stage and jumps into the box. | |
Sensei | My body is your body. |
As Sensei goes to get his magic blades behind the curtains, Star appears. | |
Star | I got my eye on you. |
Preston | [to Star] Get lost. [to audience] This thing is sharp! |
Preston sticks a blade into the lower section of the box. | |
Marco | Yeah! |
Preston separates the lower section of the box from the top two sections. | |
Audience | [cheering] |
As Preston goes to get another blade, Star tugs on his coattails from under the box. She sticks her fingers under her eyes as if to say "I'm watching you". | |
Preston | [sighs] Whatever. |
Preston uses a second blade to separate the top section of the box from the middle section. | |
Audience | [cheering] |
Preston jumps on top of the box's middle section and... | |
Preston | Flibbity-boop! |
...magically rejoins the three sections of the box together. He bows as the audience keeps applauding. Under his top hat, he gives a sinister expression. | |
Preston | Preston... Change-O! |
Preston starts sucking a lot of joy from the audience, causing his top hat to grow even longer. From off-screen, Star blasts him with her wand. | |
Audience | [murmuring] |
Sensei | What are you doing?! |
Star | [to Sensei] Sorry, Sensei, I tried to be nice. [to Preston] Tell 'em, Preston! Tell 'em the truth about your magic! |
Preston | All right, all right, okay, fine! It's true! I don't do real magic. All my tricks are just that – tricks. I did keep my cards up my sleeve. |
Cards fly out of Preston's left sleeve. | |
Audience | [disappointed groaning] |
Preston | [pulls out a rabbit] The rabbit I pull out of my hat? Paper. |
Preston crumples up the rabbit like paper. | |
Marco | Aw, man, spoiler alert! |
Preston | These blades aren't even sharp. |
Preston bends one of the box blades like rubber. | |
Sensei | What?! I knew I didn't feel dismembered! |
Sensei punches a hole in the box and rolls out. | |
Star | Not that! The joy-sucking thing! |
Preston | Oh, yeah, right. Well, I suck a little bit of joy from your heads every time I do my tricks. It's harmless, really. |
Star | No! No, it's not! I think you broke Jeremy! |
Cut to Jeremy still sitting on the front lawn, crying. | |
Preston | Aw, come on. That kid had no joy in him to begin with. |
Star | You still shouldn't take their joy. It's theirs. |
Preston | [sighs] You're right. I... I-I'm sorry. It's what I do. I can't help myself. |
Chelsea McNelsey | Oh, who cares?! That girl just ruined our magic show! |
Star | Wait, what? Me? But he was the one stealing your joy and making you sad! |
Chelsea | You just stole my joy forever by making him explain how his tricks are done. [growling] |
Sensei | [amplified through microphone] I'll never see a magic show again. [drops microphone] |
Preston | Happy now? [walks away] |
Audience | Awww... |
Male guest 3 | I'm a happy guy. He can have my joy. |
The party guests start to leave, angry at Star. | |
Star | Wait, no! But I helped! Wait, w-w-w-wait, guys, guys, guys! Is all you want a magic show? |
Male guest 4 | [mimicking Star] "Is all you guys want a magic show?" Yeah, that's what we wanted! [crying, walks off-screen right, then walks off-screen left] |
Star | I'm not sure it was worth ruining Sensei's birthday just to be right. |
Marco | What? No, you weren't right, Star. Preston's birthday magic was fake. |
Star | Yeah, but I was right that Preston was magically sucking people's joy. |
Sensei | Ugh, stop arguing, both of you! |
Sensei sits in a stripped-down muscle car eating birthday cake. | |
Sensei | You did ruin my birthday magic show, okay? But you were right. That little guy was a creep. I don't want nobody stealing my joy. By my next birthday, I'll forget any of this ever happened, and magic will be real again. But for now, I'm just gonna be bummed out, and it's okay. Glad I didn't get all my joy sucked, you know? |
Star | Where is Preston anyway? |
Preston | Oh, yeah, I put him in the trunk. |
Star | What? |
Preston | (o.s.) Weirdo. |
Star opens the car's trunk. | |
Star | [gasps] |
Inside the trunk is Preston's top hat. | |
Star | (o.s.) No way... |
Sensei | (o.s.) Disappeared... |
Star | I was right all along. |
Marco | [groans] |
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Trickstar/Transcript
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