The Biker Brothers And The Golden Baby 53 Visiting The Healer

"Jamie was so ill yesterday when we visited him," he murmured in his bed. "He looked so bad and down, and we believe that as his friends, we should be there by his side no matter what...."

Once he was done practicing for like a hundred times, he went out of his room, brushed his teeth, and sat on his chair by the kitchen table. His favorites were served for breakfast.

"Wow, these are so delicious!" he exclaimed with a huge smile on his lips and a bright sparkle in his eyes. He needed to appear adorable.

Last night, the Biker Brothers agreed on two things. First was that they would visit the school's isolation camp. Dr. Alvarado was the center of all the crisis and they believed that he would be in the camp once it became operational. He had to oversee things to make sure his plans went smoothly. So the boys had to confront him about their suspicions. To conceal their ident.i.ties, they decided to wear black pants, black top, and black bonnets if they would raid the camp. They could not afford to commit the same mistake they did last time. Plus, the mandatory face mask would entirely make them anonymous.

Their second agreement took so long to settle. Against Jamie's will at the beginning, the three believed that Loduvico would be able to heal Jamie. Bogart and Kiko, being the recipient of the man's first miracles, strongly proposed the idea. They continuously convinced Jamie, saying that when the prophet touched them, they felt power flowed through them until the pain they felt disappeared. They swore they were not lying, so after almost an hour of pestering, Jamie surrendered. Hence, their Friday itinerary was to see Loduvico first before going to the campus.

Bogart did not tell his mother about their plan; it was a secret anyway. He simply said that Jamie needed some company so he would not feel so lonely and bored. And because they were the Biker Bothers and they were his friends, Bogart's mother finally gave the go signal.

Kiko was not in similar situation. His parents were already out for work so it was only with his older brother Jackson that he sought approval, and it was easy. His brothers had no qualms about the things he did as long as he promised to be careful and responsible. As agreed, Bogart would be coming to his house and together, they would meet their friends near the marketplace entrance.

For Tonton, asking for permission was also quite challenging as it was always his friends who fetched him and not the other way around. He fumbled on his words but when he finally said them right, his mother approved easily. It was for Jamie and she had no issues about it, provided they would just stay within one of their houses and did not roam around crowded places.

"Why do you have large backpacks?" she asked when she noticed the bulky bag he carried as he were leaving.

"Just some stuffs," he answered hesitantly. "Well, we can't decide what we really want to do until we are all gathered. So I bring most of my stuffs along."

His mother gave him a knowing look but after he returned her stare with a shy smile, she waved her hands for him to go. Hurriedly, Tonton scampered before she changed her mind. He rode his bike and went next door.

Jamie's heart leapt upon seeing his friend through the windows of their living room. For him, it took longer than he expected for him to convince his parents.

"You may infect your friends," his father had reminded him.

"You are not really well, yet," his mother had argued.

However, Jamie had already prepared answers to all possible arguments so that he answered them all flawlessly.

"They are chickenpox survivors. They had now immunity to this sickness."

"I may not be perfectly well yet but just staying at home, without adequate sunlight, air, and body movements, I may only become more sick."

So after reb.u.t.ting his parents' worries, he was finally permitted to go outside. Upon seeing Tonton's bike parked at their gate, he quickly s.n.a.t.c.hed his heavy bag, bade farewell, ran up to his bike, and rode away with Tonton.

"We must hurry," Jamie said while catching his breath.

Tonton laughed, realizing the amount of effort his friend exerted just to convince his parents. They rode noisily as they chatted along the way. With face mask on, they could not talk normally, and for them to hear each other, they raised their voices each time they spoke.

After a while, they saw Kiko and Bogart waiting for them by the entrance towards the marketplace area. They were panting when they arrived.

"Good morning, guys," Kiko greeted them. "You are both out of breath."

"We had to hurry up," Tonton explained.

"Plus this sickness and this mask made it a lot harder for me," Jamie complained. "My lungs would explode any minute now."

"Have a sip of this," Bogart said and offered his bottle of blue drinks.

"What's that?" Jamie asked.

"An energy drink. We need loads of energy for today."

"Is it safe for us?" Tonton asked.

"Of course, it is the kid's version. I bought it at the pharmacy."

The boys chuckled. They made a quick rundown of their plan and what were inside their bags. After everyone were satisfied with the accounting, they went inside the marketplace. They proceeded to where they last saw Loduvico. To their gratefulness, he sat by his usual spot; the only difference was that there were more people now. It seemed his relentless sermons in the marketplace paid off.

Slowly, the boys approached him. Loduvico was busy preaching to the crowd, but when he saw them, he gave them a warm smile. He was not wearing any mask.

"Come here," he said. "I have been waiting for you."