The Disciple

Chapter Five

I received a Facebook message from my penpal Andi stating that she had arrived here in Chicago. Today, was a tiresome day. After James and I had saved the couple, I arrived at my house at around nine o'clock at night. My parents and sister were still up watching the Miss Universe pageant and as for me, I had went straight to bed. My phone buzzes as James texts me.

"Hey did you watch the Miss Universe Pageant?" James asks

"No. I heard about it though. I did get a picture of Miss Universe." I answer.

"Oh, really?" James asks.

"Yeah here." I reply.

. Seconds later, my phone buzzes and James quickly texts back.

"I asked you if you took a picture of Miss Universe and you said yes." James says with a laughing emoji.

"I did." I reply looking at the text confused.

"Then why did you sent me a picture of you?" James asks.

"What?!" I exclaim.

Confusingly I scroll down through our conversation. Finally reaching the last text, I see the picture I had sent him. It turns out it was a picture of me. I started laughing really hard until I couldn't breath anymore. I'm also pretty sure James was laughing on the other end of his phone replaying our conversation over and over again. My phone buzzes again as James quickly texts back.

"Hello Miss Universe. Hahaha"

"Calm down. lol"

"Are we Exercising today?"

"Yes. At our usual time at 8pm."

Ending the conversation, we say our goodbyes when someone randomly knocks on my condo door. Confused, I open and before me stands a guy who was about my age, mid-twenties. He extends his hand as though we've met before. He was built like a martial artist; tall and blonde. He had a watch that was made from gold and was dressed in a nice business suit. Putting my hand out for a handshake, I stare at the random stranger very suspiciously wondering why he was at my door.

"Hi...Who are you?" I ask him.

"I'm Adam. I'm a friend of Andi's. I saw that you were one of her friends on Facebook." He answers.

"Oh okay. So what can I do for you?" I ask.

"I prefer you stop talking to her." He replies.

"And why would I do that? It's not like you and her are dating." I ask.

"Well let's just say we wouldn't want to start off on the wrong foot. Now would we?" He answers.

"No." I say.

Suddenly his eyes glows red as he looks back at me. Slamming the door I twist lock as he takes the elevator and heads out of the complex. His eyes glowed the same way the cop's did back at Walgreens. Running toward the window I see Adam head to his car and drive away. I pull out my phone to take a picture of him, but instead I get a picture of him snapping his fingers as a lightning strike a garbage can, catching on fire. I text James asking what time he was available and in a quick response he answers.

"I am available now. I can meet you at the clubhouse in twenty minutes." James says.

"Okay cool. I'll see you in twenty minutes." I reply back.

Twenty minutes passed and James meets me at the clubhouse. Perspiration starts dripping down my face as I look behind me not knowing if Adam is going to show up and kill me. James glances at me and notices that something is wrong entering the clubhouse.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"No, because the guy that was in Andi's Facebook profile showed up to my house." I reply.

"You keep talking about Andi. You like her." James says.

"I don't like her, like her. I like her as a friend. She's like a sister to me." I tell him. "Besides I'm already talking to a girl named Ann."

"You must really like girls that start with the letter"A" Tristan." James says and laughs.

We do our usual routine of exercising; going on the treadmill for 10 minutes, bicep curls, shoulder press, bench press, seated rows, leg extensions. Pulling out my phone, I decided to show James the picture of Adam I took of him earlier today. There was something eerie about him that I couldn't place my finger on. Over the next couple minutes we had a conversation about how his eyes turned red just like the cop at Walgreens. James looks at me and smirks.

"If you don't like Andi, then why do you get jealous with a guy like him?" He asks.

"I'm not jealous. It's because I feel he just wants to sleep with her plus she is my friend. I reply.

We finish exercising and it's five in the evening. Unfortunately, James had to pick up his brother from the high school. Being the good friend that I am, I decide to accompany him and head toward his car. James starts the car engine, and backs out of the clubhouse parking lot. The car ride took us about three minutes. Looking at James my starts stomach rumbling as I haven't eaten the whole day. I glance at James hoping he would want to risk the drive to the filipino restaurant called Isla.

"Hey so I was wondering, if you want to make the drive to Lawrence in Chicago?" I ask him crossing my fingers.

"Why?" James asks.

"I'm just hungry and haven't eaten all day." I answer

"Okay. Where do you want to eat?" James asks as his brother enters the car taking out his gameboy as he starts to play his video game.

"Isla Pilipina Restaurant." I answer.

"Okay." James agrees.

"We should invite Andi too just for a little get together." I say.

"Okay we can do that." James says.

James's exits the school parking lot as his brother begin waving goodbye to his friends. I turn to K-Love which is a Christian radio station that starts playing. The volume was at half length and neither of us could hear the music. James's brother starts fidgeting in the back.

"Tristan???" James's brother says in an eerie voice. "Tristan????" His brother says out of the blue.

James and I burst out laughing. My stomach started to cramp as the laughter wouldn't stop. The car ride took us four minutes as we had reached James's house. His brother exits the car as the two of us continues to laugh. Pulling out my phone, I text Andi the address of the restaurant. My stomach continued rumbling, as I figure out what I plan to order at the place. Heading to our destination James backs out of his driveway. Curiously, I start to think that Adam and Andi's relationship is more than just friends. When he showed up to my condo I could tell right away that his intentions with Andi weren't so good.

We were already on the highway speeding east on I-94 towards Cicero Ave as starts grumbling again as I start to howl in pain. In the lane next us we see a teenager staring at James and I. My face cringes as the teenager starts speeding next to us. Up ahead, we see a cop as the teenager speeds ahead laughing at us giving James and I the middle finger. James slows down as the cop turns his sirens on. The teenager pulls over as the cop parks behind him. As we pass by, we see the teenager receive a ticket for speeding. James and I begin to laugh as we exit the highway. After thirty minutes, we turn left on Lawrence where the restaurant is. Their parking lot was small located in a small spaced plaza next to a Little Caesars. Waiting by the lobby, there was no sign of Andi . Looking around I see no one but James who was on his phone looking up news on ESPN. A car then pulls up next to James's. It was a nice silver bugatti with shiny rims. The car stops and the engine turns off. Much to my dismay, Adam gets out of his car along with Andi. Walking towards us Adam and I stare each other down as if we were about to fight.

"Don't even think about it." James says as he pulls me away from Adam.