The Voices
Jamal Johnson didn’t start hearing the voices until he was seventeen years old. He remembered the very day, because it was on that day that he went to see a car that was for sale. He had just gotten his licence during summer vacation, but his dad had insisted on him driving with the family for a while before getting behind the wheel of his own car. Now it was time to look for his very own vehicle and he began searching the newspapers every day. His dad had told him two years before, that when it was time to buy, he would match whatever Jamal saved,. Jamal envied some of the seniors in his high school that owned cars and desperately wanted to be one of them. His mom had always dropped him off at school and Jamal thought it was high time to get himself there on his own.
Jamal had to admit that impressing girls was right up there as one of the main reasons. Heck, he thought it ‘was’ the main reason. Jamal had loved Cynthia Barton all his life, not counting the years before kindergarten, and she was the one he wanted to impress the most.
He and Cynthia had grown up together and were chums since they met, but lately, she had taken to dating the guys who had cars. Not that she was fickle, but he knew that girls felt that dating someone with wheels was better than dating a walker or a push-pedal biker.
Jamal saw some great used cars, but one in particular caught his fancy. The price was right, and he asked his dad if they could go and check it out. They made an appointment for the following day. Jamal couldn’t contain his excitement, as they pulled up to the used car lot. Jamal spotted the car immediately and he and his dad headed for it as soon as they parked. Jamal stood admiring the vehicle as his dad walked toward the office to speak to the salesman. As he walked around the car, he heard a man’s voice say, “Don’t buy this car, son; it’s not the one you want.” Jamal looked around, but there was no one there. Strange, he thought.
He opened the driver’s door and distinctly heard a woman’s voice say, “This car is not for you, look around for another one.” Jamal looked around again but saw no one there. Somebody’s playing a joke on me he thought and ignoring the voice, sat in the driver’s seat and closed the door.
“If you buy this car, you’ll die!” both voices screamed in his ears. He opened the door and jumped out almost falling to his knees.
He got to his feet quickly as his dad and the salesman walked out of the office. Jamal looked around shaken, but still he saw no one around him.
As his father and the salesmen approached, he said to his dad, “I don’t think I like this one, let’s look around some more.”
They looked at several other cars, but Jamal had lost his zeal, and he and his dad decided to look elsewhere.
Jamal felt a strange feeling of relief as they pulled away from the car lot and headed for home.
He couldn’t get the strange occurrence out of his mind. A few days later After school, he noticed the very same car parked at the curb. He knew it was the same car because there was a slight discoloration on the right front fender. He had noticed it at the used auto lot when he was checking it out.
As he approached the car, Johnny Pepper, one of his classmates passed him and opened the driver’s door. “Hey, Jamal, how do you like my new ride?” he asked.
“Very nice, Johnny,” he replied, wondering if he should warn Johnny. What would he say without soundi
