The Dream

CHAPTER 6

The warm breeze in my face felt amazing, as if I was soaring through the air. Gabe's Mustang purred as we stopped at a red light. A Camaro pulled up next to us and Gabe revved his engine. The older gentleman beside us looked over and smiled. His eyes were shielded behind dark shades. He too made his engine roar. At the turn of the light we shot off. At 600 HP, he didn't stand a chance. I looked back in the side mirror to see his hands flare up in surrender. We sped along for twenty minutes, the rush of the wind, the roar of the engine, and the soft black leather latched onto my back, until we pulled up into a drive way.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"I need to pick something up," Gabe said. "I'll be back in a sec."

"Want me to come with you?"

He waved his hands and jumped out of the car.

"Want me to turn the engine off?"

"No! I'll be right back," he yelled as he ran up the driveway and around the corner of the house. He unlatched the gate and went through.

My arm was still hanging out of the window and I could feel a cool breeze bristle up against my elbow. I looked up into the sky. Clouds were gathering. I wondered if a storm was coming in. I didn't recognize the neighborhood we had come in. I wasn't paying attention to where we were going while Gabe drove. I had my eyes closed most of the time. My head was killing me. I reached into the back seat and tugged my backpack to my lap. I unzipped the upper pouch and pulled out a white bottle of Tylenol. I popped two in my mouth and tossed the bag into the backseat. As I waited for the medicine to take affect, my eyes lingered on the contours of the house. It looked like a castle from the outside with a Juliette looking perch on the right, and white stone wrapping around the whole front. Large oak trees stretched high into the sky and shadowed the entire house in shade. I saw a shadow in one of the upper windows. The curtain moved as if someone had been staring down at me. It made me feel uneasy. I looked around the street and there weren't any cars. The driveways had cars, but the streets were silent otherwise. Where were all the kids? All the people? My body jolted when the car door opened and Gabe jumped in.

"Sorry man. I had to get something."

 "Where are we?" I asked.

"This is my buddy Carl's house. You know Carl, right?"

I shook my head.

"Yeah, I introduced you to him that one time after the game. He was wearing the red hat and gold chain."

I tried to remember what he was talking about, but no luck.

"Nope. I'm pretty sure I've never met him."

"Ah, man. I thought I introduced you. He's cool. Carl and I go way back."

He backed out of the driveway and accelerated down the street. I thought I saw a face at the same window as we drove off.  I had that uneasy feeling until we were on the main road and out of the neighborhood. That was weird.

I looked at my watch: 6:07. The party started at 7:00.

"Do you know where Jennifer lives?" I asked.

"Yeah. She lives over by Don, I think. I'm sure Roger or Tony will know."

"We picking them up?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

"You hungry?"

"Not really." My head was still pounding. The last thing on my mind was food.

Gabe pulled into a burger joint.

"Welcome to Burger King. May I take your order?" a girl said over the intercom.