Barney started setting up parties for his friends. Of course, Jacob was the first to be invited but he was usually busy in the evenings and couldn’t let himself partying. And the level of these parties would go higher and higher as Barney didn’t spare any efforts to conquer the hearts. He finally found a way to get ahead of his friend’s popularity and also he took Synthetic and now he was boasting whenever possible his sporty body that one could use to study the muscles.
Once when he was coming home from work, Jacob saw Barney accompanying Nicole to her porch. It didn’t seem surprising: Jacob wasn’t with them that evening and it was already late. Jacob wanted to call for his friends but at that very moment he saw Barney taking the girl by her shoulders and kissing her and she didn’t resist. Jacob waited for them to part and when Barney went towards the place he was standing at, he quickly hid in the bushes between the houses.
That night Jacob couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. This must be the way the adult life begins when you are quickly skinned of all your childhood and its illusions. And betrayal is one of the toughest experiences in a life and Jacob had to pass it.
Out of all hobbies the boys from the street used to share was still left the «weight room» – that was how they called the gym that owned old bodybuilder Sylvester. Once he was famous all over the West Coast. He was well-known in the Hollywood as well and he even had parts in some episodes of popular films of those times. There were his photos with the «stars» on the walls of the gym. Jacob was flattered by the friendship of the old coach, and for everybody else he was someone like Master Edo, that was how they secretly called him.
But the time passed and one by one the boys started leaving old coach. The commercial for Synthetic was rattling from everywhere and there were few of those who wanted to waste precious time in the «weight room», sweating in the dusty gym when one could simply take a course of Synthetic and get a body you will never get with physical exercise. One way or another everybody found money and soon the promotional advertisements and special offers were hanging in every gym like autumn leaves, and then came the notices about gyms closing and being sold.