Bride In The Voyage

Chapter IV: Idiosyncracy

9:35PM. I laid comfortably in my bed, catching a tennis ball that I was throwing against the wall. I was on the phone to Ronnie who was discussing about the latest drama currently going on in his life. The entire household was quiet; Momma was in her bedroom, possibly sleeping, and Simone dozed off on the couch.

"So I was walking down the street right, minding my own business, then some random-ass girl came up to me and said hey, you have something on your chin. No, the 3rd one down."

I tried to bottle up my laughter, snickering sneakily in the process.

"Then what did you say?"

"I was like, you should try eating some makeup so you can be pretty on the inside."

"Damn bro, you can't be saying shit like that. People get offended easily these days." 

I got an incoming call from another number. It was private.

"Hold up Ronnie, I got someone else ringing my line. I'll call you back."

"Aight." Replied Ronnie.

I hung up the voice call with Ronnie and accepted the request from the private number. There was a moment of silence. 

"Hello?" I spoke in a deeper voice than usual.

"Watch... Yourself." The voice was even deeper, engulfed in a coat of evil and darkness.  

"Hello? Who is this? Hello!" The line went dead. The absence of the voice resulted in a dead tone.  Who was this? What is this thing? Many thoughts went through my head. I decided to call back Ronnie to talk about it.

"Yo Ronnie," spoken with trepidation, "I think someone's out for me."

"I mean who wouldn't, you fished for Harriet and got your prize."

"No I'm serious. Someone or something called me and told me to 'Watch Myself'."

"Someone probably got your number and is tryna scare you. C'mon man, stop being a baby." Ronnie chuckled.

"Yeah. Yeah you is probably right, it might just be a prank call. Imma catch some sleep now. I'll see you tomorrow." 

"Speak to you later bro. And try to relax." Ronnie hung up the phone.

I put my phone down on the my bed and stared at my ceiling. My lamp was still on and the entire house was silent. There were distant chimes of police sirens going off in the background. I took a deep breath, took off the lamp and slowly closed my eyes. The sound of my heartbeat drove me to comfort.

6:00AM. I woke up early to get ready for my morning run before school. Firstly, I stretched, making my body as loose as possible. Afterwards, I went over to my wardrobe, which obtained my running gear. One by one I snatched each piece of my clothing away from it, slowly putting it on to not make a lot of noise since it was early in the morning. My Reebok shoes slid onto my feet.

I put on my pulse rate watch and wireless headphones; setting a timer for 30mins on my phone in case I'd finished early. I opened the front door and awaited to run 5km. I got outside and received a bite from the frosty weather. It was quiet yet active, with cars passing by every now and then.

"Damn." I muttered to myself. I closed the door behind me and went on my way to Ashland Station. 10 minutes had passed by, and thoughts about the call I received popped up. I wondered, was it a prank or a threat? What do I do? The topic bombarded my mind. Gleaming yellow suns of light shined at me, followed by a angry howl, which came closer and closer; louder and louder. I sped up and managed to get out of the street before it came close enough to me. It was fairly dim that time in the morning but I recognized the car model, It was a F-150.

Zoning back down into Earth and realizing how close I came to shaking the Grim Reaper's hand, I continued my journey to the station, trying to keep a clear mind; yet I couldn't, as Harriet and that sentimental night popped up into my head. I sprinted harder, faster and longer than I ever had before, tackling the renowned Pimmit Hill with ease. I made it to the station in a record time of 27 minutes and 30 seconds. Using the time I had to spare to recover, I leaned against a stop sign, and watched as the hot air that came from my mouth slowly dissipated into the air, into nothingness.

"Excuse me."

A guy tapped the right side of my shoulder.

"Do you know how to get to Ashland Avenue? I just came from Georgia and I'm new here."

He was of Asian descent, and quite stocky. He looked about 5'10 and was wearing a blue winter jacket along with grey tracksuit bottoms that had reflective strips of material going down both sides. He too was wearing the same sneakers I was wearing.

"Sure," panting heavily with each word, "you go down this hill, keep on the straight road for about 2 miles then turn left on Ashland Park. Once you get there, continue on that road for about 700 yards then you're there. It's quite a long walk though."

"It's fine, I'm being picked up. In fact, my ride should be here right about... now."

Out of nowhere, the F-150 that tried to flatten me popped up again, this time going slower than before. It kept on going slower before it stopped to a halt.

"Thanks." The guy shouted.

He opened the rear door of the pickup truck and closed it behind him. The car then sped off in the direction I told him to go through.

"What a random guy." I thought in my head. I jogged back, this time jogging more leniently than before. "I didn't see any for sale signs. Maybe he's moving in with someone?"  That question stayed on my mind until I got back home. Getting back 2 minutes later than I expected, I rushed back into my house, but before I could, curiosity pinched my brain. I went to the side of the street and scanned for the matte black F-150 that wanted to get to the Ashland Avenue; nowhere to be found.

"Maybe they're lost." I shrugged and went up the steps of my house, entered the key in the door and prepared for school, awaiting a day of laughter and love. The only problem was, will it all play out that way?