American Idiot: The Story, chapter 7
I was just walking around the hangout and I really wasn't paying attention to where I was going because I had just finished a joint and I was pretty stoned, so I bumped into someone.
"Oh, sorry. Wasn't paying to attention to where I was going."
"That's okay, neither was I."
I looked up at saw it was a girl. But not just any girl. She was the prettiest one I had ever seen. She had long, dark hair, blue eyes and she was about average height and pretty slim. I just sort of stared at her.
"Um...are you okay?" she asked me.
"What? Oh, uh...yeah...sorry."
"Hey...aren't you Jesus Of Suburbia?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm Jesus."
"Cool. I'm W..." But I never really heard her name. Someone had yelled and a fight had broken out. Tunny went running over to try and stop it.
"So, what are you doing now Jesus?"
"Nothing. I'm going out for a walk now."
"Mind if I come with you?"
"Um...yeah sure, you can come."
We walked out of the hangout and went down the streets. I kept looking at her, amazed at how beautiful she was. Her hair kept flowing in the wind and her deep blue eyes seemed to pop out. She noticed me staring at her so she said...
"What?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering, how come you come to the hangout?"
"Well, my father was a drunk and he used to beat my mother. When I was eighteen, my mother left without saying a word so my father started to pick on me. Thank God I was old enough to leave. I lived with my friend for a while, and she's the one who told me about 'The Hangout.' I started to go with her."
"How come I've never seen you around?"
"I don't live there. I have my own, small apartment."
"Oh."
"So, why do you go there?"
"My dad died when I was ten and then my mother remarried this asshole named Brad. I hate his guts. He didn't deserve her and I told her to break up with him, but she didn't. Sometimes they fight and it's terrible. They yell so loud. He treats her like shit. But for some reason she still loves him. I couldn't take it anymore, so I left. Then I found 'The Hangout' and now I live there."
"Wow. There's so many people with so many problems. I'm glad Tunny made that place. It's like we all go there and make friends who have the same problems."
"Yeah. You're right."
"So Jesus. Do you have a job?"
"Yeah, I uh...I sell the drugs for Tunny. But don't tell anyone."
"Don't worry, I won't. I work as a waitress at a fancy restaurant. I'm trying to get enough money to go to college. I want a real job. I hate carrying trays around."
"I guess I should go to college too. But it's like, I'm having so much fun in my life. I don't want to leave it."
"It's the same for me. Well, I'm sure we can still go one day."
"Yeah..."
We walked and talked for about an hour, until we decided to go back to the hangout. I brought her up to my room, to show her what it was like. She said it was the best room she ever saw. I had put posters of my favorite bands up. I bought a TV. I had a radio, a few CDs, and I had my own stash of drugs. We sat on the bed and talked some more. It was amazing that we had so much to talk about. She seemed so interested in me. That was the first time ever someone actually listened to me before my dad died. She was the most wonderful person I had ever met. She told me about her interests. I learned she loves the color black and always wears it, she loves to swim, and she knows how to play the guitar and the piano. She said she was thinking of putting red or blue streaks in her hair.She told me she never listened to anyone and did whatever she wanted. But, I still hadn't gotten her name. I just knew it started with a W. It was about 8:30 when she told me she had to go. I didn't want her to, but I was getting tired. I said goodbye and closed my bedroom door after she left. I then walked towards the mirror and looked at myself.
"Jesus. You really like that girl?" asked Jimmy.
"Yes. I really like her," I said.
"You do?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I dunno. Something about her bugs me."
"Like what?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well, I love her. I'm gonna ask her out tomorrow."
"Okay Jesus, it's your life."
"I'm gonna tell her about you."
"What?!"
"If she's gonna be my girlfriend, she's gonna have to know I have an alter-ego."
"But won't she..."
"She'll understand and she won't tell anybody. Don't worry."
"You don't even know her name."
"Yeah, so? She's still great."
Jimmy sighed. I fell in love with Whatsername. She was the most beautiful and interesting girl I had ever met. I loved her, even though I just met her. I plopped down on my bed and closed my eyes. All night long I thought about her. I couldn't get her off my mind. I felt confident about asking her out. I just hoped she would say yes, even though we just met. I didn't know what I would do if I couldn't have her.
From Chicago,
To Toronto,
She's the one they call old Whatsername.
She's the symbol,
Of resistance,
And she's holding on my heart like a hand grenade.
She sings of revolution,
The dawning of our lives.
She brings this liberation,
That I just can't define...
Nothing comes to mind.
She's a rebel,
She's a saint,
She's the salt of earth and she's dangerous.
She's a rebel,
Vigilante,
Missing link on the brink of destruction.
The next morning I got up at 8:30. I was so excited. As soon as I finished washing up, I went downstairs and looked around for her. I couldn't find her anywhere so I asked Tunny.
"Have you seen the girl with long, dark hair, blue eyes, wears black all the time?"
"Oh, her. She comes at 9:00 usually. Why?"
"I'm gonna ask her out."
"Woah!"
"She doesn't have a boyfriend, does she?"
"No, I'm just surprised, that's all."
"How come?"
"I dunno. It's hard to explain. Good luck anyway"
"Tunny, can I have the day off?"
"Uh...Sure. I'll get someone else to take over."
"Thanks. I went up to my room feeling extremley anxious. How was I supposed to wait a half hour? I loved Whatsername. I decided to listen to some music to calm myself down. I put on this great song that I found really helped me calm down. It was called 'Basketcase.' When it was 8:55, I went downstairs. I walked around a bit, smoking a cigarette. Just then I saw the door open and in walked Whatsername. I felt myself get excited and I threw my cigarette out. I popped a mint in my mouth and walked over to her.
"Hey," I said.
"Oh, hi Jesus."
"Hey, uh...I was wondering...I know we just met and all, but would you...would you like to go out with me?" I asked her. My heart was beating super fast and my plams were all sweaty. I wiped them on my jeans and waited.
"Sure, Jesus! I would love to go out with you!"
"Really? Okay, uh...when are you free?"
"How about now?"
"Now? Sure, now's great"
We walked out of the hangout and as I passed Tunny, I saw him wink at me. I turned away. I already felt pretty stupid. I practiced how I would ask Whatsername out, and it was pretty smooth in my room, but it came out so dumb when I actually said it.
"So, where are we going?" she asked.
"Breakfast place. What do you like to eat?"
"Everything," She laughed. She had such perfect, straight, white teeth.
"Great then, we won't have a problem."
We found this breakfast place that was pretty cheap so we went in there. I ordered bacon and eggs and she took waffles. I looked at her while she drank some of her coffee.
"What?" she asked me, smiling.
"Nothing. It's just amazing, how beautiful you are."
"Oh my God, don't tell me you're one of those guys who just compliment their girlfriends all day," She laughed.
"No, I just do that to you."
She smiled at me and drank some more of her coffee. Finally our orders came and I noticed she didn't act so polite while eating. Not that she ate like a complete savage, but I've had girlfriends who eat so proper it get's so annoying. But she was different. When we finished eating we got the bill and it was $12.99.
"You know, these people are ripping us off," She told me. "The food wasn't that great."
"Well, there's not much we can do." I said.
"Yes there is. We're gonna give them $9.00, like the meal should cost."
"We are?" She took the money out of my hands, took $9.00 out and put it on the table. She got up and told me to do the same. I quickly got up and we left the restaurant.
"We just can never show our faces around there again," she laughed.
"Can't believe you did that." I said smiling.
"Hey, they were ripping us off."
"I guess. You wanna go to the park and just walk?"
"Sure."
We walked to the park and walked around a kiddie playground. Whatsername lit up a cigarette and we saw some parents getting annoyed. Just then a police officer came up to us.
"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to take out that cigarette. You're in an area full of children."
"Ya, and?"
"And, it's not healthy for them."
"Neither is candy, but they eat it all the time."
"Miss, please take out your cigarette."
"Sir, please go fuck off."
"I'm going to have to take action if you don't"
"Whatever." She threw the cigarette on the floor and stepped on it. She scowled at the police officer and walked away. I followed her and we sat down at a bench.
"Don't you hate the police? I find they ruin everything." She said and lit up another cigarette.
"Yeah. They do ruin everything."
"So Jesus. What are we going to do next?"
"Actually, I was hoping we could talk."
"Sure. What about?"
"Uh...okay, I don't know how to explain it. You're probably gonna think I'm crazy, but this is 100% true. Please don't leave me after you hear this."
"Okay, Jesus, what is it?"
"Well, before I came to the hangout, I was living life out on the streets. At one point, after many weeks passed by, I got so tired and I didn't think I could do it anymore. I needed help and fast. So one day, I got it. But not just anyone saved me. The person that saved me was myself."
"Yourself?"
"Well. St. Jimmy, actually. You see, I was really confused about it too. St. Jimmy is basically me. He's my alter-ego. He's like me, but so much tougher. He's the one that brought me to the hangout, he introduced me to drugs, and he's the one that taught me how to live."
"An alter-ego?"
"Yeah, you must think I'm crazy."
"Actually, I don't. If St. Jimmy helped you out, then that's great."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"You're so amazing. You're the only one who understands me."
"You too. You're the only one who understands me."
Just then I leaned in for a kiss. Her kisses were so soft. After we pulled away, she just smiled at me. We got up and started walking. She took my hand and held it gently. I loved her so much, and I didn't know what I would do without her. I never understood why Jimmy didn't like her.
She sees the mirror of herself,
An image she wants to sell,
To anyone willing to buy.
He steals the image in her kiss,
From her heart's apocalypse,
From the one called Whatsername
She's all alone again,
Wiping the tears from her eyes.
Some days she feels like dying,
Some days it's not worth trying,
Now that they both are finding,
She gets so sick of crying.
She's an extraordinary girl,
An extraordinary girl,
An extraordinary girl,
An extraordinary girl...
We walked back to the hangout and then Tunny cam running up to me.
"Hey Jesus. Congratulations," He said once he saw Whatsername. "Jesus, I know I told you you had the day off, but I really need you to take care of this customer."
"Alright." I looked at Whatsername. "But can she come too?"
"Um...I dunno..."
"Please Tunny, I promise I won't tell anybody about anything," said Whatsername.
"Oh, fine. But hurry. He's waiting for you inside the office."
"Okay." I walked up to the door and pulled out the key. I opened it and let Whatsername inside first. I sat down in my chair and she sat on the desk. The guy in front of me cleared his throat.
"I would like 5 joints and a whole bag of Hash, please."
"Okay, that's 2 dollars for every joint and one bag of Hash is $230. So your total is $240."
"$240? Isn't that a bit high? Could we maybe lower it to, $150?"
"$220"
"$180"
"Look, he said 220 fucking dollars. If you're not okay with that, then get the fuck outta here and don't ever come back," Whatsername said.
"Stay out of this," he said to her.
"Fuck off, man! I'll get into anything I want. Now give us the 220 dollars, you son of a bitch, or go fuck yourself!"
"Fine, fine!" he said and threw the money on the desk. I gave him the drugs and he quickly left the office. I looked at Whatsername and she smiled at me. She was amazing. I was so lucky to have her.
"Oh, sorry. Wasn't paying to attention to where I was going."
"That's okay, neither was I."
I looked up at saw it was a girl. But not just any girl. She was the prettiest one I had ever seen. She had long, dark hair, blue eyes and she was about average height and pretty slim. I just sort of stared at her.
"Um...are you okay?" she asked me.
"What? Oh, uh...yeah...sorry."
"Hey...aren't you Jesus Of Suburbia?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm Jesus."
"Cool. I'm W..." But I never really heard her name. Someone had yelled and a fight had broken out. Tunny went running over to try and stop it.
"So, what are you doing now Jesus?"
"Nothing. I'm going out for a walk now."
"Mind if I come with you?"
"Um...yeah sure, you can come."
We walked out of the hangout and went down the streets. I kept looking at her, amazed at how beautiful she was. Her hair kept flowing in the wind and her deep blue eyes seemed to pop out. She noticed me staring at her so she said...
"What?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering, how come you come to the hangout?"
"Well, my father was a drunk and he used to beat my mother. When I was eighteen, my mother left without saying a word so my father started to pick on me. Thank God I was old enough to leave. I lived with my friend for a while, and she's the one who told me about 'The Hangout.' I started to go with her."
"How come I've never seen you around?"
"I don't live there. I have my own, small apartment."
"Oh."
"So, why do you go there?"
"My dad died when I was ten and then my mother remarried this asshole named Brad. I hate his guts. He didn't deserve her and I told her to break up with him, but she didn't. Sometimes they fight and it's terrible. They yell so loud. He treats her like shit. But for some reason she still loves him. I couldn't take it anymore, so I left. Then I found 'The Hangout' and now I live there."
"Wow. There's so many people with so many problems. I'm glad Tunny made that place. It's like we all go there and make friends who have the same problems."
"Yeah. You're right."
"So Jesus. Do you have a job?"
"Yeah, I uh...I sell the drugs for Tunny. But don't tell anyone."
"Don't worry, I won't. I work as a waitress at a fancy restaurant. I'm trying to get enough money to go to college. I want a real job. I hate carrying trays around."
"I guess I should go to college too. But it's like, I'm having so much fun in my life. I don't want to leave it."
"It's the same for me. Well, I'm sure we can still go one day."
"Yeah..."
We walked and talked for about an hour, until we decided to go back to the hangout. I brought her up to my room, to show her what it was like. She said it was the best room she ever saw. I had put posters of my favorite bands up. I bought a TV. I had a radio, a few CDs, and I had my own stash of drugs. We sat on the bed and talked some more. It was amazing that we had so much to talk about. She seemed so interested in me. That was the first time ever someone actually listened to me before my dad died. She was the most wonderful person I had ever met. She told me about her interests. I learned she loves the color black and always wears it, she loves to swim, and she knows how to play the guitar and the piano. She said she was thinking of putting red or blue streaks in her hair.She told me she never listened to anyone and did whatever she wanted. But, I still hadn't gotten her name. I just knew it started with a W. It was about 8:30 when she told me she had to go. I didn't want her to, but I was getting tired. I said goodbye and closed my bedroom door after she left. I then walked towards the mirror and looked at myself.
"Jesus. You really like that girl?" asked Jimmy.
"Yes. I really like her," I said.
"You do?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I dunno. Something about her bugs me."
"Like what?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well, I love her. I'm gonna ask her out tomorrow."
"Okay Jesus, it's your life."
"I'm gonna tell her about you."
"What?!"
"If she's gonna be my girlfriend, she's gonna have to know I have an alter-ego."
"But won't she..."
"She'll understand and she won't tell anybody. Don't worry."
"You don't even know her name."
"Yeah, so? She's still great."
Jimmy sighed. I fell in love with Whatsername. She was the most beautiful and interesting girl I had ever met. I loved her, even though I just met her. I plopped down on my bed and closed my eyes. All night long I thought about her. I couldn't get her off my mind. I felt confident about asking her out. I just hoped she would say yes, even though we just met. I didn't know what I would do if I couldn't have her.
From Chicago,
To Toronto,
She's the one they call old Whatsername.
She's the symbol,
Of resistance,
And she's holding on my heart like a hand grenade.
She sings of revolution,
The dawning of our lives.
She brings this liberation,
That I just can't define...
Nothing comes to mind.
She's a rebel,
She's a saint,
She's the salt of earth and she's dangerous.
She's a rebel,
Vigilante,
Missing link on the brink of destruction.
The next morning I got up at 8:30. I was so excited. As soon as I finished washing up, I went downstairs and looked around for her. I couldn't find her anywhere so I asked Tunny.
"Have you seen the girl with long, dark hair, blue eyes, wears black all the time?"
"Oh, her. She comes at 9:00 usually. Why?"
"I'm gonna ask her out."
"Woah!"
"She doesn't have a boyfriend, does she?"
"No, I'm just surprised, that's all."
"How come?"
"I dunno. It's hard to explain. Good luck anyway"
"Tunny, can I have the day off?"
"Uh...Sure. I'll get someone else to take over."
"Thanks. I went up to my room feeling extremley anxious. How was I supposed to wait a half hour? I loved Whatsername. I decided to listen to some music to calm myself down. I put on this great song that I found really helped me calm down. It was called 'Basketcase.' When it was 8:55, I went downstairs. I walked around a bit, smoking a cigarette. Just then I saw the door open and in walked Whatsername. I felt myself get excited and I threw my cigarette out. I popped a mint in my mouth and walked over to her.
"Hey," I said.
"Oh, hi Jesus."
"Hey, uh...I was wondering...I know we just met and all, but would you...would you like to go out with me?" I asked her. My heart was beating super fast and my plams were all sweaty. I wiped them on my jeans and waited.
"Sure, Jesus! I would love to go out with you!"
"Really? Okay, uh...when are you free?"
"How about now?"
"Now? Sure, now's great"
We walked out of the hangout and as I passed Tunny, I saw him wink at me. I turned away. I already felt pretty stupid. I practiced how I would ask Whatsername out, and it was pretty smooth in my room, but it came out so dumb when I actually said it.
"So, where are we going?" she asked.
"Breakfast place. What do you like to eat?"
"Everything," She laughed. She had such perfect, straight, white teeth.
"Great then, we won't have a problem."
We found this breakfast place that was pretty cheap so we went in there. I ordered bacon and eggs and she took waffles. I looked at her while she drank some of her coffee.
"What?" she asked me, smiling.
"Nothing. It's just amazing, how beautiful you are."
"Oh my God, don't tell me you're one of those guys who just compliment their girlfriends all day," She laughed.
"No, I just do that to you."
She smiled at me and drank some more of her coffee. Finally our orders came and I noticed she didn't act so polite while eating. Not that she ate like a complete savage, but I've had girlfriends who eat so proper it get's so annoying. But she was different. When we finished eating we got the bill and it was $12.99.
"You know, these people are ripping us off," She told me. "The food wasn't that great."
"Well, there's not much we can do." I said.
"Yes there is. We're gonna give them $9.00, like the meal should cost."
"We are?" She took the money out of my hands, took $9.00 out and put it on the table. She got up and told me to do the same. I quickly got up and we left the restaurant.
"We just can never show our faces around there again," she laughed.
"Can't believe you did that." I said smiling.
"Hey, they were ripping us off."
"I guess. You wanna go to the park and just walk?"
"Sure."
We walked to the park and walked around a kiddie playground. Whatsername lit up a cigarette and we saw some parents getting annoyed. Just then a police officer came up to us.
"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to take out that cigarette. You're in an area full of children."
"Ya, and?"
"And, it's not healthy for them."
"Neither is candy, but they eat it all the time."
"Miss, please take out your cigarette."
"Sir, please go fuck off."
"I'm going to have to take action if you don't"
"Whatever." She threw the cigarette on the floor and stepped on it. She scowled at the police officer and walked away. I followed her and we sat down at a bench.
"Don't you hate the police? I find they ruin everything." She said and lit up another cigarette.
"Yeah. They do ruin everything."
"So Jesus. What are we going to do next?"
"Actually, I was hoping we could talk."
"Sure. What about?"
"Uh...okay, I don't know how to explain it. You're probably gonna think I'm crazy, but this is 100% true. Please don't leave me after you hear this."
"Okay, Jesus, what is it?"
"Well, before I came to the hangout, I was living life out on the streets. At one point, after many weeks passed by, I got so tired and I didn't think I could do it anymore. I needed help and fast. So one day, I got it. But not just anyone saved me. The person that saved me was myself."
"Yourself?"
"Well. St. Jimmy, actually. You see, I was really confused about it too. St. Jimmy is basically me. He's my alter-ego. He's like me, but so much tougher. He's the one that brought me to the hangout, he introduced me to drugs, and he's the one that taught me how to live."
"An alter-ego?"
"Yeah, you must think I'm crazy."
"Actually, I don't. If St. Jimmy helped you out, then that's great."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"You're so amazing. You're the only one who understands me."
"You too. You're the only one who understands me."
Just then I leaned in for a kiss. Her kisses were so soft. After we pulled away, she just smiled at me. We got up and started walking. She took my hand and held it gently. I loved her so much, and I didn't know what I would do without her. I never understood why Jimmy didn't like her.
She sees the mirror of herself,
An image she wants to sell,
To anyone willing to buy.
He steals the image in her kiss,
From her heart's apocalypse,
From the one called Whatsername
She's all alone again,
Wiping the tears from her eyes.
Some days she feels like dying,
Some days it's not worth trying,
Now that they both are finding,
She gets so sick of crying.
She's an extraordinary girl,
An extraordinary girl,
An extraordinary girl,
An extraordinary girl...
We walked back to the hangout and then Tunny cam running up to me.
"Hey Jesus. Congratulations," He said once he saw Whatsername. "Jesus, I know I told you you had the day off, but I really need you to take care of this customer."
"Alright." I looked at Whatsername. "But can she come too?"
"Um...I dunno..."
"Please Tunny, I promise I won't tell anybody about anything," said Whatsername.
"Oh, fine. But hurry. He's waiting for you inside the office."
"Okay." I walked up to the door and pulled out the key. I opened it and let Whatsername inside first. I sat down in my chair and she sat on the desk. The guy in front of me cleared his throat.
"I would like 5 joints and a whole bag of Hash, please."
"Okay, that's 2 dollars for every joint and one bag of Hash is $230. So your total is $240."
"$240? Isn't that a bit high? Could we maybe lower it to, $150?"
"$220"
"$180"
"Look, he said 220 fucking dollars. If you're not okay with that, then get the fuck outta here and don't ever come back," Whatsername said.
"Stay out of this," he said to her.
"Fuck off, man! I'll get into anything I want. Now give us the 220 dollars, you son of a bitch, or go fuck yourself!"
"Fine, fine!" he said and threw the money on the desk. I gave him the drugs and he quickly left the office. I looked at Whatsername and she smiled at me. She was amazing. I was so lucky to have her.
