Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I lied to my mother. I told him that we were looking for a ring that your mother had forgotten with a cousin in the Gaspe." I barely listened to her, busy hiding my concern. The anti-aging of my parents was an incredible phenomenon. Who were these people following us? Were they friends or enemies? When the black car changed course before Pierre-Laporte Bridge, I felt like a fool. Why is it that I invent threats and dangers where there was none? My mother did not believe that a museum visit could be the cause of anti-aging. In fact, she found this idea absurd. The problem is that there was no other explanation. Was Hugo's idea really so stupid? How could he not make a connection between the anti-aging and the attraction called the anti-aging machine? That was not all. The phenomenon began after my parents were out of the hotel. We could therefore assume a relationship of cause and effect. There were also these free tickets that the manager had given them.

Does Leo Lepitre wanted to lure them into a trap?Orléans Islands appeared on our left, like a huge boat. From there, I was interested in names on the signs: Saint-Vallier, Montmagny, La Pocatiere, Kamouraska ... The St. Lawrence River widened. Forests and grasslands were on each side of the highway. The sky was blue and cloudless. After Rivière-du-Loup, we drove down Highway 132, when I noticed the helicopter. It was flying high, but a few hundred meters behind us. In Saint-Fabien, he still seemed to be following us. At about 4:00pm, Dad stopped at a rest stop.

"You're an interesting specimen, she said in a strangely neutral tone. "I continually study humans. Their behavior fascinates me."

"You think you are in an alien?" asked Josie.

"I am a scientific genius. As for you, your IQ is clearly below average." A man appeared just as caught my friend from striking.

"You're here, my dear? Oh, are you making friends?"

"Negative, Dad. These are specimens that I study. The boy is interesting. On the contrary, the girl uses her aggressive impulses to hide the emptiness of her personality."

"You, the fairy of stars," said Josie, "you didn't look at yourself?"

"Henri-François of Estragon," the father presented us his hand. "And this is Luce, the light of my life. We're going on holiday to Percé. Do you travel for the pleasure? "

"Uh ... yes," I said, eyes searching for the helicopter.

"That boy lied," said the girl. "He blushed and looked away. Such signs are unmistakable."

"Sorry," I said, "bored." I was moving away when I collided with someone who was a woman by the waist. Papa now had the air of a man of twenty years. He seemed extraordinarily happy. Beside him, Mom laughed at all her teeth.

"Hi!" said my father. "We are the parents of Marc-André."

"The parents ...?" said the father of Luce. "You ... you're kidding, right?"

"Given your age," said his daughter, "your statement is absurd. And if you wanted to make us laugh, I would have noticed."

"We're leaving," I said dragging my parents. Back in the car, I talked to them.

"You look like people who are less than forty years old! You don't seem to realize it! If you really want to make us be noticed, continue to shout from the rooftops that you are my father and my mother."

"I don't know what happened," said mom, confused, "but I forgot ..."

"Me too," said Dad. "I just remember we have a problem involving age and we must go to Percé." Surprised, I said to my friend: "Jo, you know what? Because they are twenty years old, they don't remember what happened to them when they were forty or thirty years old. Anti-aging affected both their minds and their bodies." When we left, I saw the helicopter fly again. I had no doubt: these people were following us.

"You noticed this helicopter?" I asked my parents. "It followed us from Rivière-du-Loup!"

"Are you sure you didn't imagine it?" said Hugo. "We are not in a James Bond movie!"

"We took notice," Sophie replied wryly. "If a laser beam attacks us, we'll know where it came from." Jo and I exchanged a discouraged look. When we passed Rimouski, Sophie turned on the radio. Immediately, a tidal wave of rock music invaded the car. Electric guitars, drums, and the cries of the singer hurt our ears.

"Would you turn down the volume?" I protested.

"What?" Hugo shouted.

"There is loud music," said Sophie.

"If he does not like it, he should cover his ears!"

My father banged on the steering wheel to the beat. Mom danced on her seat. My parents looked at each other from time to time and laughed as if there was nothing more comical.

"Hugo" I begged. "Could you watch the road? "

"Calm down, I take no orders from you." As we neared Sainte-Flavie, he exclaimed:

"There is a red dot flashing on the dashboard ..." My father turned right when he saw a gas station. He drove to the gas pumps without slowing down. Then he braked so fast that my seatbelt choked me.

"I've never seen such crazy parents. Were they also this stupid at twenty years old?"

"Impossible to know; I wasn't born yet. But look at them: they are now seventeen years old, no more." While the attendant filled the tank, the lovers kissing left in the shade of a maple tree.

"Will they do this all day?" Jo said, shocked. As a sound of an engine approached, I looked up. The helicopter flew in circles above us. But what did they want? I imagined all sorts of explanations. What if these strangers had caused the anti-aging? If this was the case, they were also powerful and dangerous. It was absolutely necessary to escape. Or ask for help. Yes, but to whom? The police? What police officer would believe our story? When I looked back down, Hugo and Sophie had disappeared.

"They hid in the little woods there," said Jo.

"Oh no! Do you think ...?"

"At their age, especially when you're in love, it seems that you cannot help but embrace." The voice of the attendant interrupted these dark thoughts.

"Your big brother, do you think he will pay me one of these days?" I was about to answer that the clown was not a part of my family when laughter erupted nearby. We took our seats in the back seat of the car. Hugo came out of the store with a carton of beer under his arm.

"Hey, are you kidding me?!" I exploded. "No question of drinking and driving!"

"I'm thirsty!" he responded innocently. "Have you taken into consideration the heat?"

"And you, do you know what will happen if the police finds you in a state of intoxication?"

"In a state of intoxication!' Did you hear that, Sophie? What a vocabulary!"  Boiling with anger, I decided to take the bull by the horns. I left the car and I opened my father's door.

"Get rid of these bottles!"

"This is serious, my word! I do not know what keeps me from just giving up here!"

"Do you remember how old you are?" cried Jo. "Do you at least remember that Marc-André is your son?"

"Our son?" Hugo said, laughing. As if he needed confirmation, he turned to his wife. Mom started to cry. She looked like a teenager with a broken heartache.

"It's true," she admitted between sighs. "Marc-André is our son and we are forty years old. Hugo, lose the pedals!" My father got out of the car. He disposed  the carton of beer on the floor. Then he stood still, shameful, staring at his shoes.  Greasy hair, cheeks covered with acne, long skinny arms ... Soon, I have a good chance of looking like him!

The village of Percé is located on the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula. From Quebec, we had to drive for more than 700 kilometers. A long journey! Hugo drove in a tense mood. Lost in a sad reverie, Mom watched the landscape. She wore a red summer dress I had never seen. Josie was speaking to me when I realized that the black car was following us.

"Looks like Romeo and Juliet, said Josie. "If we were closer, we probably hear words of love." Hand in hand, as Hugo and Sophie walked as if they were on clouds. The helicopter flew over us in what could be described as large circles. He was also black, as the car with tinted windows.

"It follows us, huh?" My friend was concerned. "Who can they be?"

"They belong to the same band as the people of the black car. But what are they exactly?" We passed a white caravan parked at the rest stop. An amazing character came out. She was a girl of about 15 years. Except for her hands, her body was completely covered by her clothes. An incredible mass of black hair hid her face.

"But you saw the vehicle, yes or no?"