When I woke up the next day, I felt so refreshed. The first thing I did was to take a shower because my body felt warmer than usual. It was as if I was going to explode from some sort of force within me. My breath felt lighter, and my senses felt a lot sharper. And the first person that entered my mind was none other than Peter Jenkins.
"So, this is what having a spider-sense feels like." I mumbled by myself.
I went down to the kitchen and ate the breakfast mom probably had left for me. It was beside a note stating that she went off to buy some groceries. Then there was another note from dad saying that he was meeting some business partners in another town. He had left even before mom. I texted Celine asking where she was. A few minutes later, she replied that she had to babysit someone a few blocks away.
When I checked the time, it was an hour before noon. I figured that I had slept for more than 12 hours. Which was weird because I don't usually sleep that long. I texted Jaden if he had already thought of something to do. A few seconds later, my phone started ringing.
[Hey.] Jaden spoke. His voice was kind of husky over the phone, and it really sounded different. It caught me off guard, and I didn't respond to his first word. [Let's just go to the park or something. I'm sure one of the gang would be there. Or, if not, I'll go ask them out. If they won't say yes, then I will force them to say yes.]
[Fine.] I replied. And he didn't say a word either. It was awkward, so I had to say at least something. [No one is home anyway, so it would really be best if I don't die of boredom here.]
[Sure, just go here as soon as you can.] Then Jaden hung up. He seemed to be in a hurry, so I shrugged it off. As soon as I put down the phone, I decided to dress up. Otherwise, he would be calling me again and would start whining about how slow I get ready to go out of the house.
When I passed by the mirror with my shirt off, I noticed something a bit different. I wasn't entirely sure, but it seemed that my body was more slightly toned than before. The curve on my triceps and my chest were a bit firmer than when I saw it yesterday.
And it made me question how much exercise do I get. Sure, I play soccer every once in a while, but not so much that it would start to tone my upper body. With that in mind, I went on and ignored it altogether. I just assumed that I might be getting thin, which is why I looked a bit more toned. With that checked out, I left the house.
Since Jaden lives only a few blocks away, it wasn't really much of a hassle to go there whenever I want to. And that is also a factor why we have been close since we were kids. Mom wouldn't worry much if I went out for a couple of hours. She was pretty sure that I was with Jaden.
But when I passed by the house next door, I felt something weird. A soft whisper of air danced on my skin, and it slowly crawled up my arm. When I looked at the house, there was a black car right in front of it. Next to the car was a huge truck. Based on what I could see, it was indeed some sort of moving truck. The first thing I could think of was that we would have a new set of neighbors. I felt a thump in my chest when the thought came to mind. Typically, new people don't excite me. In fact, I feel a bit nervous if ever I had to talk to them. Usually, Jaden did all the talking whenever we had to talk to people we don't know.
Anyway, I simply shrugged it off and went on my way. When I knocked at Jaden's door, I was greeted by Trish. Her blonde hair draped over her shoulders as if she just took a warm bath. She smiled at me with the same mischief you could sense in Jaden. For me, it wasn't much of a surprise because she is his mother. It's probably something he inherited–the weird magical charm that can mind-control anyone.
"Hey." She chirped. Then she put her hands on her waist as if she was taunting me to say something stupid. "He's upstairs. I think he's almost done taking a shower. You know, boys normally don't take long showers."
"Well, you know he always tries to woo people." I just replied simply with a smile. "Of course, he would always want to smell in his best. Putting off people is not Jaden's thing."
"You're right." She admitted and scratched her head. "Get in. And tell him to put his dirty clothes where they should. I am tired of picking up dirty underwear all over his room. He needs to grow up!"
"Sure, Trish." I went inside the house. It wasn't really spacious since there were only two of them. His home was a simple bungalow house since it was what they could only afford. Plus, they don't really need abundant space. Trish had always wanted to keep things simple for both of them. "Thank you for always being there."
"Woah there. Where did that drama come from? You sounded like you are not yet really awake." She said with a bit of a mocking tone. Then she ruffled my hair like she would always do as I walked past her. "Just kidding. You're almost my son, Chance. Of course, you are welcome here anytime."
That statement simply made me smile. There was a warm feeling in my chest after she acknowledged me that way. I was blessed with my own family, of course, don't get me wrong. And I loved them very dearly. But for someone that I don't have blood ties with considered me to be family, that had hit me differently.
When I got into the room, Jaden was nowhere to be found. Most likely, he was still taking a shower. I sat by his bed and took out my phone to send a text message to Caitlyn and the others. If we were going out of the house, we might as well invite the whole gang along. Although it's not really dull if you were stuck with Jaden. He almost always had something to say.
Suddenly, Jaden went inside his room with a towel around his waist. He just looked at me and stared at me for a few seconds. His eyes narrowed as if he was trying to convey some sort of secret message. I just frowned at him, trying to guess what was in his mind.
"You know, you could turn your back on me anytime now." He started, then crossed his arms. Then he walked by the drawer and pulled out some clothes. "You may be my best friend, but I am not about to drop down my towel and show you my jewels."
"Oh, sorry. I was thinking of something else, my bad." I apologized. Then I turned my back on him. I could hear Jaden putting on his shirt. "We have new neighbors, by the way. I'm sure you want to meet them later. But I can't tell if they have someone from our age group, though."
"I don't know, Chance." Jaden replied. His voice was awfully unsure and frail. "I don't feel like meeting them right now. It's too early for that. Let them get out of the house first before we barge in their lives. That would be too rude of us."
"Wow, I can't believe I would hear something like that from you!" I admonished. He laughed at my comment because we both knew that wasn't like him at all. Jaden was a people person, and everyone knows that. "Anyway, if you have nothing else to do, we might as well go to the park."
"Yeah, Caitlyn sent me a text message." Jaden informed me. He held up his phone to make a point. "She said she is already on her way here. And she's with a new friend."
"Really now?" I gawked at him. "That's something unusual."
"I was going to ask her for a few more details, but she didn't reply." He stated. "It's something she's doesn't often do. I guess we can go ask her once she gets here."
I was about to make a remark, but the doorbell suddenly rang. "Well, speaking of the devil, huh?"
"Yeah." Jaden agreed with a sly smile. From the looks of it, he's going to have fun picking on this new kid. "Looks like they're here. Come on, let's go meet this new friend of hers."
The two of us went down the stairs and saw Trish busy doing something in the kitchen. She looked at us playfully as if she was daring us to do something stupid. But of course, it would most likely be Jaden he would do such.
"Well, surely that has got to be one of your friends." Trish remarked.
"Yeah." I nodded. Then I flashed her my usual grin. "Caitlyn was coming over. Last-minute change of plans, Trish. I am very sorry if there was no warning. But don't worry, we won't last more than a few minutes!"
"Sure, no worries!" She joyfully chirped. "Wait, you mean, Caitlyn? Jaden, isn't that the girl you have liked since you were in elementary school?"
"Mom!" Jaden almost shrieked. I tried not to laugh because Jaden almost cracked his voice. I guess puberty is going to hit us whether we like it or not. "You better shut it! I don't think that's fair. Plus, that was years ago!"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Trish snickered. But Jaden was blushing all over.
With that, we went to the front door. After opening it, Caitlyn was in front just as how we were expecting her. Behind the girl was another boy our age who had golden blonde hair and blue eyes as deep as the sea.
"Hey, guys!" Caitlyn greeted us. "I'd like you to meet our new friend, Trevor."