Chapter 5
Vance awoke early that same Saturday morning. Wearing just a white T-shirt, navy blue boxer briefs, and his dark-rimmed glasses, he trudged downstairs, poured himself a bowl of Cocoa Puffs with milk, and headed into the living room. He placed his bowl atop the coffee table, drew back the curtains, and opened the blinds allowing the subdued light to fill the room. His view of the street outside was unobstructed. He proceeded to pass the morning hours playing video games from the comfort of the couch. He pawed at the video controller with the skill of a crane operator; each finger given a specific job to execute, pausing at brief intervals to inhale his cereal. He heard his parents upstairs moving about.
He was in the magical world of Harry Potter, trying to unlock the many hidden secrets of Hogwarts. He dashed along dark corridors and through thick forests, yielding his wand and casting spells; his four eyes catching the minutest of movements. He flinched each time Master Voldemort’s minions mounted a surprise attack upon his character and fought them with the courage of a master wizard.
Within the chaos surrounding his character, he happened to glance up. He spotted Adam walking down the street. I wonder where he’s going. For the most part, Adam was back to his normal self, but lately his attitude seemed to be slipping again. It was also a little troubling that it looked like it was about to rain and he was outside. Usually, they all stayed in the house when it threatened to rain.
As more questions about Adam’s actions popped into his head, a haunting and familiar sound emanated from the flat-screen television in front of him. He looked over just in time to see his character being levitated and shaken violently. His destruction was near. He fought his heart out trying to keep his character alive, but the spell was overpowering and his game ended right there. Thoroughly disappointed, he almost threw the controller to the floor. He had been on a very nice run, ducking, dodging, and defeating anything that got in his way, and with that slight lapse in concentration, it was all over. Now he had to replay that entire section again, to his great disdain, and it left a very bitter taste in his mouth. So bitter that he tossed the controller across the couch and stormed into the kitchen to get himself a glass of milk.
Milk dripped from the sides of his mouth as he gulped it down a little too hard and too fast. He paused to allow himself to calm down. His mind drifted away from resuming his quest back to Adam. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen Adam acting a little funny. Although his insults had stopped weeks ago, Vance recalled when Adam paid him a couple of awkward visits which he couldn’t remember later on.
The first one was a few weeks ago, early on a Sunday morning. Vance heard a knock at the front door, interrupting his game once again. He wasn’t even dressed yet, wearing only his T-shirt and underwear. Annoyed, Vance left the couch and peeked through the front blinds to see who it was. What does Adam want this early in the morning? He opened the door partially, leaving the screen door closed as not to expose his skinny frame to the neighborhood.
“Hey Adam. What are you doing here so early?” Adam’s bike lay in the driveway.
“Nothing. I was out and thought I would stop by.
“Stop by for what?”
“When we ride our bikes to the school, we pass all those businesses across from the cemetery. Do you know the ones I mean?”
“Yep.”
“Do you know if any of them are open on Sunday?”
“On Sunday? Why do you want to know that? We never go in those places. We don’t have any money to go into those stores. Their stuff costs way too much.”
“I just want to know. I never paid much attention to them before, but I think some of the people who sat on Brian Kinkaid’s jury go there. Remember that really bad guy Kyle told us about? You remember, the one they executed not too long ago? I’m gonna write a paper for school on that guy.”
“You’re gonna what?” Vance couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Why him?”
“It was his tombstone I slammed into, and I guess I’m curious about him now.”
“I don’t understand. Why do you want to know more about him? My parents told me that guy was really, really bad. He was crazy!”
“You’ll never understand. I just want to write it. All I want to know from you is if those stores are open on Sunday?”
“I…I…I think so. I’ve seen cars parked over there before on Sundays.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure. Thanks Vance. I’ll see ya later.”
“Where ya goin’?”
“I don’t know. I think I’ll ride around for a while.”
“By yourself?”
“Yeah. See ya.”
“See ya,” Vance said. He watched Adam take off down the driveway then closed the door, leaning against it shaking his head.
It was the strangest conversation he’d ever had with Adam. Writing a paper on Brian Kinkaid was creepy…especially for Adam. And the questions about the shops across the street from the cemetery and people visiting them…on a Sunday, no less. Very strange.
The second occurrence was more baffling. It happened the following Saturday, in the afternoon. Vance rode his bike down to Kyle’s house to see if he wanted to hang out at the school. Kyle agreed, and they both took off towards Adam’s house to see if he wanted to join them. They knocked on Adam’s door, and he answered it.
“Hey Adam. Do you want to ride to the school with us? We’re going there now,” Kyle asked.
“Hi guys. I’m making some big plans. I’m going to get as many as I can.”
Kyle turned and looked at Vance, then said, “What are you talking about?”
“I know some of them go there.”
Vance asked, “Go where? Man, do you want to ride with us or not?”
“I gotta finish these plans. I’m gonna get em’,” Adam said in a voice neither boy had heard before. Kyle turned to Vance once more and could see fear on his face.
“Never mind, man. We’re leaving,” Kyle said as he turned his bike around. “Come on Vance. Let’s get outta here.”
Vance had already taken off like he didn’t want anything to do with Adam. When they arrived at the school, they rode to their usual spot by the entrance doors and talked everything over. It was during this conversation that they agreed to let each other know whenever Adam acted weird, especially if he didn’t remember what happened. Both hated what was happening to Adam, but they didn’t know what to do. First, and foremost, neither of them wanted to tell their parents anything because they both caught hell just for being at the scene of Adam’s accident. They bumped fists as a sign of cooperation. Not wanting to let the earlier events spoil their fun, they continued riding their bikes around the neighborhood.