-Chapter 1: I Dream About The Lakers and a Locker-
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If you're listening to this, then there's one thing that you MUST know. What we're about to tell you is not some made up fantasy that we're making out of boredom. It's all true, and if you don't want to be a part of it, then throw this recording away. However, if you do want to be a part of it, then listen to the whole story and follow the instructions given at the end. After that, your life will change. Trust me, once you've listened to this story, your life won't ever be the same again. I guess I'll start with the day I had the dream that brought me here.
I was standing in the middle of the Los Angeles Lakers Arena in the Staples Center. It was completely empty, the score board was off, and the retired jerseys that usually hung above were missing. I tried to walk out of the arena, but my legs refused to work. I tried to call out to see if anyone was there, but no sound came out of my mouth. A few seconds later, three Lakers jerseys appeared in front of me out of no where. In order from to left to right was Chamberlain, Johnson, and Abdul-Jabbar. 13/32/33. At the time, I figured it was just another one of my common basketball fantasies, but later it would turn out to be a lot more important than that. I blinked and the scene changed. I was standing in the eighth grade hallway of my school, Eagle Ridge Middle School. There were two kids at my locker, which was locker 24. [Yeah Carter, I know that's Kobe Bryant's number.] There was an african-american boy talking to a light skinned girl with caramel hair.
They were talking, but I could only hear bits and pieces of what they were saying.
"Are...sure...this?" The boy said.
The...partially...Duat...store...amulet...person... opens it," the girl replied.
"But...djed...hands.
My strange dream was cut short by my alarm clock going off. I groaned and started to get ready for the first day back from the break. I wasn't looking forward to it at all. Looking back on it, could I have avoided what happened next if I had just decided to brush my dream off as a strange coincidence? I guess I'll never know.
I started off my day the way I do every single day. I took a hot shower to wake me up. After that, I pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Then I sat down at the dinner table and had a bowl of reeses puffs. I was always the first one out of bed, and I was always the first one out of the house. I went outside to the bus stop.
"Hey man," I heard a guy say.
I turned to see my friend Ricky Owens standing behind me.
"Hey," I replied. "First day back. You tired?"
"Very," he said. "I stayed up to watch the Knicks game, and it went into triple over time."
"Knicks?" I said. "Dude, the Knicks are pretty terrible this season."
"Whatever," he shot back. "You only like the Lakers because they have Kobe."
"Oh, bull crap. You know I'm from Los Angeles!"
"Yeah well-"
"Are you two getting on or what?" We heard an annoyed voice say.
I turned to see that the bus had pulled up without us noticing.
We both got onto the bus, hearing snickers from a few kids. We found a seat at the back of the bus, trying to avoid the stares other kids were giving us. As if it was the strangest thing in the world for two teenaged boys to be talking about basketball. After the whole thing had subsided, we continued talking.
"I bet if the Knicks had Kobe, then the Lakers would suck," Ricky said.
"Dude, just drop it. I don't want to waste my time telling you how wrong that statement is."
"Alright Chris, whatever you say."
-Eagle Ridge Middle School-
Ricky and I walked into homeroom about five minutes before the bell. The classroom was pretty dead, as about half the class stayed up to watch the Knicks game, and the other half stayed up texting or playing around on their facebook or myspace profile. It looked like I was the only one that had enough sense to go to bed at a time that wouldn't make me dead-dog tired.
"Hi Chris," came a girl's voice next to me.
I turned my head to the left to see a girl with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes smiling at me.
I smiled back. "Hey Kelly."
Kelly Granger was one of the prettiest girls in the school. And on top of that, she wasn't vicious or stuck up like most of the other girls. She was probably one of the nicest girls on the whole freakin' planet. [Oh shut up Sadie, I'm not exaggarating. Yes she's nicer than you!] I didn't know why she spent a lot of her time around me. Did she like me? Did she think of us as friends? Did she feel sorry for me? (Okay, probably not the third one.) We talked for a few minutes about a whole bunch of random things like food, TV shows, and who would make it to the NBA finals. Yeah, on top of her looks and attitude, Kelly was also a big sports fan, cool coincidence huh? The bad thing was that she was a Celtics fan, and I was a Lakers fan,(A/N: Lakers 2010 NBA champs!) which equaled the biggest rivalry in sports, even bigger than the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry. About a minute before the bell rang, one of the front of the front office workers came over the intercom.
"Excuse me, but I need Chris Riker in the office for one moment to pick something up."
"Yes ma'am," Mr. King, my homeroom teacher said. "Chris, I'd hurry up if I were you, class is about to start."
"Yes sir," I said as I got out of my chair.
Ricky was at the pencil sharperner, which was located next to the door.
"Hey, did you forget something at home?" He asked as I opened the door.
"I've got no idea," I replied. "But I'm about to find out."
I walked down the eighth grade hall and found the entrance to the office. I walked in to see a cardboard box sitting on a worker's desk.
"Excuse me," I said to the worker.
She looked up. "Oh, Are you Chris Riker?"
"Yes ma'am," I replied. "Do you have something for me?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do."
She stood up and grabbed the package off of her desk.
"This was left on my desk with your name on it. We don't know who brought it here, but it says it's for you."
She handed me the package. Dang, it was heavy!
"Um, could you hold this for me until the end of school?" i asked.
"Alright," the worker replied. "Just make sure it's picked up before 4:00."
"Yes ma'am."
-After School-
I started pulling the books I would need for homework out of my locker. All I had been thinking about all day was getting home and opening that package. I shut my locker and turned around, nearly bumping into Kelly.
"Didn't mean to startle you," she said.
"Oh, it's fine," I said.
I could feel my heart starting to race when I noticed how close I was to her.
"I was wondering if you wanted to study for the test on Friday."
Normally, I would have jumped at the chance to be with Kelly, but I wanted to see what was in the package. I had to think of something fast.
"Ok uh, why don't you come over around 5:30?"
"Okay, I'll see you then."
She smiled and winked before turning around and walking towards the front exit. I sighed and went to get the package from the office, then went to catch my bus.
-The Rikers' Home-
I put my backpack on the floor in my room and took the heavey package out of it. I looked at my digital watch to see that it was 3:15. I had a little over two hours before Kelly showed up. I just hoped to God she wouldn't be early. I opened the package, and took out what looked to be a tape player. On the front of it was a sticky note that read: Press play. -CK. I figured I had at least an hour before my parents showed up. I put the player on my bed, then I sat down next to it. I pressed play and heard a boy's voice come from the player.
"We Only have a few hours, so listen carefully..."
Revies are appreciated! Maybe some pairings later on.
