Part 5
Cassandra smiled at him. "Well, what I was thinking is that I would go out in front of a live studio audience, pre recorded of course, and answer questions they have."
Devin looked her up and down. "I see. Simple enough. You think that will retain viewers?" he asked.
"I think they'll be impressed and want to see more, try to figure me out," she said.
"Hmmm. I guess then it's just the matter of testing out your psychic ability then, right? What can you tell me about my future?" he said.
"Well, um, let's see, what exactly would you like to know?" Cassandra asked.
Devin just shrugged.
"Alright, well, here are some things that might interest you. Your second daughter, Brandi, she is planning on breaking it off with her current boyfriend, Mark. Apparently they've been drifting apart and she's loosing interest in him," she said.
Devin didn't say anything, he just kept looking at Cassandra.
Cassandra was starting to get nervous. Anton said she would get the audition, not necessarily get the show. "Um, also, the ski trip you're planning will go just as planned. No real problems and Tyson will really enjoy it."
Devin let out a sigh.
"Are you sure that there's nothing specific that you want to know? I can see your whole life but it's hard for me to know exactly what you're interested in knowing," Cassandra said.
Devin sighed again. "I don't think there's anything exactly that I want to know."
What am I supposed to do about this? Of course he won't be interested in a show that provides answers if he doesn't have any questions, Cassandra thought to herself. "Well," she said to him. "I know your having chicken parm for dinner tonight. And, um, you'll finish the financial reports you've been working on by tomorrow."
"I already knew that," Devin said.
Although, she had been trying to be polite Cassandra couldn't help but huff. "The point is I know it," she said emphasizing the word I.
"What am I thinking about right now?" he asked her.
"Sir," she said sharply. "I'm not a mind reader. I'm a psychic. I can tell you things about your future. Give you answers to live's mysteries. I foresee the unknown making it less scary."
"Interesting. So you don't do magic tricks then?" he asked.
"What? No," she said. "Listen, maybe, we should let some of your staff ask me questions. That way I can show you what I can do."
While they had been talking quite a few people had shuffled in. Devin turned to face them. "Alright," he said.
Lizzie hadn't come in yet so Cassandra decided to start with a mousey college girl with large black framed glasses. "You. What question would you like to ask Cassandra the All Knowing?"
She looked surprised for a few seconds but then she said, "My internship here is almost up and I was wondering about what happens after this. Where do I get a job?"
Cassandra sighed, this was not a good start. "To be honest with you, my dear, the road you are heading down is tough and almost impossible at times. The connections, job experience, and abilities you have will not be enough to land you a job in show business. Instead you will get a job as a secretary in security company. This will be very tough for you. I'm sorry it's not good news but I must be honest."
The girl looked worried. "Is there anything I can do to make sure that doesn't happen?"
Cassandra thought for a few seconds. "I'm not entirely sure. The spirits show me things as they are now on the current path but if you were to stray to a different path that is still unknown to me. Perhaps you could work on building more connections, go into job counseling, try for jobs in show business that don't necessarily focus on what you're interested in."
"Okay," the girl said. "I'll look into it."
"I have a question," said an older man in the back. "When do I die?"
Cassandra studied him for a few minutes. "Do you really want to know this? Instead of enjoying your life and going on as normal you'll be trying to prolong your life and feeling anxious in anticipation." Cassandra wasn't entirely sure if this was true or not but predicting death dates was a bit morbid for what she was trying to achieve.
"Maybe I'd be worried if I actually thought you could tell the future," he said smuggly.
"January eighth, forty-seven years from now. You'll die of a heart attack brought on by complications from Alzheimer's disease, I'm so sorry," she said. And she was sorry, Alzheimer's was a terrible disease to live with.
He looked impressed. "That actually sounds realistic. Like it could actually happen," he said.
By this point Lizzie had walked in. "I promised Lizzie that she would be able to ask me about her future in the film industry," Cassandra said turning to Lizzie.
Lizzie bounced on the balls of her feet in anticipation. She was a believer. "I was wondering if I ever become a famous TV writer for a television show," she said.
"TV writers aren't really famous. But I see a future where you are a writer for a show. You're quite talented. Stay on the path that you are currently on, don't get a big head, don't be afraid to do smaller jobs for a while and you'll eventually get a job writing," Cassandra said.
"I wanted to ask a question as well," Jason said. "You said you would tell me about how my audition goes."
"Yes, you will get a call back and you will get the part as one of the twelve angry men," Cassandra said to him.
"You sound so sure. That's great for retaining viewers but what if Jason goes to his audition and doesn't get the part or if another viewer doesn't get what you predicted. What if you're wrong," Devin said studying Cassandra.
"I won't be," Cassandra said back matter-of-factly.
"I'm not so sure," Devin said.
"How about a more immediate demonstration? Follow me outside," she said standing up.
Devin sighed loudly but he stood up. The rest of the staff followed as well. Cassandra stood at the two metal doors that led outside and prevented them from going outside. She had to time this exactly. She decided to wait about a minute so she would have long enough to explain what was going to happen. "Eastbound; silver car, white van, red car, blue car, white car. Westbound; blue SUV, while later white car. The blue car parks in front of the blinds store. Woman with sunglasses on wearing yoga clothes gets out. The white cars cross at the same time. Got it?" she said out of time. She pushed open the doors and everyone spilled out.
Just as they did so a beautiful silver car zoomed pass followed very closely by a white van. A blue SUV then crossed on the other side of the road. Nothing happened for a few seconds until a red car drove by. Another few seconds passed but a blue car pulled up and parked across the street in front of a store that sold blinds. A larger woman wearing yoga pants, a bright pink sweatshirt, and large sunglassed stepped out. She looked at the blinds store and then headed in. While she was walking towards the store two white cars, different makes and models, crossed each other right in front of the TV studio.
"Oh my gosh," Lizzie said.
"That was incredible," someone else said.
"I can't believe it," the man who asked the death question said. Most of the other staff mumbled their approval.
"I told you," Cassandra said turning to Devin. "I'm never wrong."
"Color me impressed," he said smiling at her. "I think this could sell. You've got yourself a TV show. Let's talk dates to film our first episode."
Part 7
