80, chapter 3
Excuse the delay, my computer crashed at least four times in the last two days. My original version for part three was completely different, but I didn’t like it. So when my computer crashed, I took the chance and rewrote another version. If you have a story you’re doing, and you don’t like a part, change it so that you like it, not so others will like it.
“Well, so it is Christmas!� exclaimed Tre.
“What am I gonna tell the kids? They’re gonna be so sad. We still need to shop! They need Christmas. They can’t not...�
“80, calm down,� said Mike, “Now, how old are the kids?�
“Nine and six, you know that!�
“But, I was wondering if you realized that. Nine years old and six years old, oh no, Santa Claus didn’t come for Christmas!� Mike said sarcastically, “Do you think that they still believe in Santa Claus?�
Well, I never thought about that. Maybe? They seemed unsure last Christmas.� Adrienne was shocked that it never occurred to her that her two sons didn’t believe in Santa Claus. It had been a tradition that every Christmas, Adrienne would tell them the story about Rudolf and the other reindeer, and Santa and his elves. She then realized, they never seemed to be interested, at least not the last few Christmases. “Well, what do we do?�
“Adrienne, I understand that because of Billie Joe, you feel as if you have to try harder to try and be a normal family, but the truth is, you just have to be truthful.� said Tre. “Tell them the truth about Billie, and why he isn’t home too often. I mean they know that he is famous, but have you ever told them why, or what he does? Have you ever let them listen too Dookie or Nimrod? Once they know this, it may be hard for them to take, but at least they won’t hear it from another skeptical source. Then they’ll understand why you can’t have Christmas on time.�
Adrienne stared at Tre, astonished that this came out of the same guy who tried to milk a dog because there wasn’t any milk.
“You see,� Tre continued, “you’re finally together, you’ve always complained about not getting much family time, and Billie’s complained too. Well, not that you or I know much about family time, but it’s not just about watching your sons soccer game,� he nodded towards the living room where they could hear cheering. “It’s also about talking to each other, upfront, and telling each other the truth. And this isn’t just about Santa Claus, it’s about your lives. You can’t protect them forever.� Tre finished. “And also, do you have a beer somewhere?�
Adrienne went to go get a beer for Tre. There was a lot for her to take in from Tre’s speech. “Alright then, you guys better go home. Mike’s car is still here, the keys are over there on the counter. I have to do some family talking.�
“Good luck.� said Mike.
“Thanks you guys.� said 80.
Adrienne got them all together after they finished watching the soccer game. She looked at each of them, eating their breakfast and talking about the game. “Boys, listen, it’s Christmas today, and before we open presents, well, there are no presents.� She looked at the boys, all three of them looked disappointed. “Um, I’ve been busy, and so has Daddy. But I promise, we’ll go out to buy some presents. O.K.�
“Mommy, why have you and Daddy been busy?� asked Joey.
“Well, we work.� replied Billie Joe.
“What work, we had to write a report at school about our parents and their jobs, but I didn’t know what to write about. The teacher asked me if Billie Joe Armstrong was my father, and I said yes. Then she ignored me for the rest of the class.� said Joey. “I don’t think she likes you, Daddy, but why?�
“Billie Joe, we have to tell them what we do, see, you know that Daddy is a musician, and a famous one. He’s usually away because of his tours or performances. I work for a record company. We’re usually really busy and you may even hear about us in the news. But, remember, what ever they say, it’s not true unless you know it is or we tell you.�
“I know that, but why do people hate Daddy when they haven’t met him?�
“It’s because of what they hear about him.� said 80.
“Joey, see,� Billie paused to think about his words. “...when I was younger, in my career, people didn’t like what, um, the type of music I played. They thought I was insulting them. Why? I don’t know. And some people still do hate the music I play. They want to make me vulnerable, and it’s there job, so they make up stories in the news. Weird one’s too. Last year they said I was dead, and other stuff that,� he paused again. Adrienne knew he was thinking of the homosexual rumors, this was why she liked too see fan sites, too capture a glimpse of what fans saw in her husband and two best friends. “...that isn’t true. This is why you can’t watch the news sometimes, because it isn’t reliable and sometimes theirs just stuff you shouldn’t know.�
“O.K.?� asked 80. “I’ll talk to your teacher about this. Now, Let’s do, um, post-Christmas shopping.�
They, the Armstrongs, were finally for once doing things other, normal families did. Shopping. Most of the time, 80 would like to do her shopping online, but she decided to treat the kids because they never really experienced something like this.
They went to shops like Toys ‘R Us and Sport Check to get toys, baseball and soccer gear and clothes. They stopped by the food court where Joey and Jakob enjoyed the Chinese food they ordered. As they were eating, two boys and a girl came up uncertainly towards their table.
“Can I help you?� Adrienne asked even though she knew what they were going to ask for.
“You are Billie Joe Armstrong. Aren’t you.� asked one of the boys.
“Yeah,� said Billie Joe, turning around in his seat. “That’s me.�
Then came the excited squeals, and the fan talk. And then the signing which was done on a napkin with a pen from Adrienne’s purse.
The girl looked closely at Adrienne. “You are his wife?�
It was a question, but 80 sensed that she meant it as a statement. “Yeah, I’m Adrienne�
“Oh!� said the girl, who then gave 80 a cold look and didn’t look at her after that.
The group left and everyone eventually finished their food.
“I don’t think the girl liked you.� said Joey.
“Huh.� replied 80.
“Why?� asked Joey.
“Because...Well, Daddy is famous, and people want to be with him. They want to be me. But, they can’t�
“Oh, said Joey. Well, I don’t want anyone else as my mother.� said Joey.
“Me neither.� said Jakob.
“Or Me.� said Billie Joe.
They continued around the mall, until they walked past HMV.
“Oh, Daddy, that’s you! Look, you’re in that picture over there.�
“Not so loud, Joey. We don’t want people looking at us.�
“I want to go in there.� said Jakob.
“Umm, O.K. then, we can’t hide it from them forever can we Adrienne?� said Billie.
They went in, and Billie went with the kids to the section with the big sign saying “Punk/Country�. He showed them Green Day’s CD’s, and even gave them a little punk rock history lesson. He talked about the Clash, and Ramones, but decided to stay away from the Sex Pistols for now. He eventually finished talking about the different bands and they left the store. They returned home with a ton of bags from the result of their shopping, and Billie chose a few tracks from some CD’s to show Joey and Jakob. Out of the two, Jakob was the one who hadn’t heard as much Green Day as Joey, and after Billie Joe played some of Dookie for them, it was clear that “When I Come Around� was their favorite. Billie Joe decided to play American Idiot for them, when halfway through “American Idiot� Joey sat up.
“I know this song.� said Joey. “Not from when you were playing it with Uncle Mike and Tre, but from school, yeah, I heard it at school. It was playing on this guy’s CD. Wait, now I remember the other songs too. My friend was so excited that his parents got him a CD, and it had this song on it.�
“Which friend?� asked Billie Joe.
“Dave, he’s in seventh grade. He’s new. He said I looked familiar, and I told him my name, and we’ve been friends ever since.�
Billie Joe and Adrienne laughed quietly, clearly this kid was trying to be friends with Joey and then get tickets to a concert.
“Maybe you can invite him over sometime, but no one else.� said Adrienne.
“Yeah, Joey, does anyone in your grade know about Green Day?� asked Billie Joe.
“No, I don’t think so.� said Joey.
“I heard this girl in my class say her parents were once arrested or something because they were at a Green Day concert and they came on the stage and there was a lot of mud.� said Jakob.
“Really.� said Billie Joe and Adrienne, trying to keep straight faces.
“Interesting.� said 80. “Well, I’m going to have to make dinner. How about macaroni and cheese?�
“Sure.� all three boys replied in unison.
Adrienne went to the kitchen and started to cook, reflecting on the day. It was fun, but soon, Billie Joe would have to go on tour again. But at least when he did, the kids would understand why he was away.
“Well, so it is Christmas!� exclaimed Tre.
“What am I gonna tell the kids? They’re gonna be so sad. We still need to shop! They need Christmas. They can’t not...�
“80, calm down,� said Mike, “Now, how old are the kids?�
“Nine and six, you know that!�
“But, I was wondering if you realized that. Nine years old and six years old, oh no, Santa Claus didn’t come for Christmas!� Mike said sarcastically, “Do you think that they still believe in Santa Claus?�
Well, I never thought about that. Maybe? They seemed unsure last Christmas.� Adrienne was shocked that it never occurred to her that her two sons didn’t believe in Santa Claus. It had been a tradition that every Christmas, Adrienne would tell them the story about Rudolf and the other reindeer, and Santa and his elves. She then realized, they never seemed to be interested, at least not the last few Christmases. “Well, what do we do?�
“Adrienne, I understand that because of Billie Joe, you feel as if you have to try harder to try and be a normal family, but the truth is, you just have to be truthful.� said Tre. “Tell them the truth about Billie, and why he isn’t home too often. I mean they know that he is famous, but have you ever told them why, or what he does? Have you ever let them listen too Dookie or Nimrod? Once they know this, it may be hard for them to take, but at least they won’t hear it from another skeptical source. Then they’ll understand why you can’t have Christmas on time.�
Adrienne stared at Tre, astonished that this came out of the same guy who tried to milk a dog because there wasn’t any milk.
“You see,� Tre continued, “you’re finally together, you’ve always complained about not getting much family time, and Billie’s complained too. Well, not that you or I know much about family time, but it’s not just about watching your sons soccer game,� he nodded towards the living room where they could hear cheering. “It’s also about talking to each other, upfront, and telling each other the truth. And this isn’t just about Santa Claus, it’s about your lives. You can’t protect them forever.� Tre finished. “And also, do you have a beer somewhere?�
Adrienne went to go get a beer for Tre. There was a lot for her to take in from Tre’s speech. “Alright then, you guys better go home. Mike’s car is still here, the keys are over there on the counter. I have to do some family talking.�
“Good luck.� said Mike.
“Thanks you guys.� said 80.
Adrienne got them all together after they finished watching the soccer game. She looked at each of them, eating their breakfast and talking about the game. “Boys, listen, it’s Christmas today, and before we open presents, well, there are no presents.� She looked at the boys, all three of them looked disappointed. “Um, I’ve been busy, and so has Daddy. But I promise, we’ll go out to buy some presents. O.K.�
“Mommy, why have you and Daddy been busy?� asked Joey.
“Well, we work.� replied Billie Joe.
“What work, we had to write a report at school about our parents and their jobs, but I didn’t know what to write about. The teacher asked me if Billie Joe Armstrong was my father, and I said yes. Then she ignored me for the rest of the class.� said Joey. “I don’t think she likes you, Daddy, but why?�
“Billie Joe, we have to tell them what we do, see, you know that Daddy is a musician, and a famous one. He’s usually away because of his tours or performances. I work for a record company. We’re usually really busy and you may even hear about us in the news. But, remember, what ever they say, it’s not true unless you know it is or we tell you.�
“I know that, but why do people hate Daddy when they haven’t met him?�
“It’s because of what they hear about him.� said 80.
“Joey, see,� Billie paused to think about his words. “...when I was younger, in my career, people didn’t like what, um, the type of music I played. They thought I was insulting them. Why? I don’t know. And some people still do hate the music I play. They want to make me vulnerable, and it’s there job, so they make up stories in the news. Weird one’s too. Last year they said I was dead, and other stuff that,� he paused again. Adrienne knew he was thinking of the homosexual rumors, this was why she liked too see fan sites, too capture a glimpse of what fans saw in her husband and two best friends. “...that isn’t true. This is why you can’t watch the news sometimes, because it isn’t reliable and sometimes theirs just stuff you shouldn’t know.�
“O.K.?� asked 80. “I’ll talk to your teacher about this. Now, Let’s do, um, post-Christmas shopping.�
They, the Armstrongs, were finally for once doing things other, normal families did. Shopping. Most of the time, 80 would like to do her shopping online, but she decided to treat the kids because they never really experienced something like this.
They went to shops like Toys ‘R Us and Sport Check to get toys, baseball and soccer gear and clothes. They stopped by the food court where Joey and Jakob enjoyed the Chinese food they ordered. As they were eating, two boys and a girl came up uncertainly towards their table.
“Can I help you?� Adrienne asked even though she knew what they were going to ask for.
“You are Billie Joe Armstrong. Aren’t you.� asked one of the boys.
“Yeah,� said Billie Joe, turning around in his seat. “That’s me.�
Then came the excited squeals, and the fan talk. And then the signing which was done on a napkin with a pen from Adrienne’s purse.
The girl looked closely at Adrienne. “You are his wife?�
It was a question, but 80 sensed that she meant it as a statement. “Yeah, I’m Adrienne�
“Oh!� said the girl, who then gave 80 a cold look and didn’t look at her after that.
The group left and everyone eventually finished their food.
“I don’t think the girl liked you.� said Joey.
“Huh.� replied 80.
“Why?� asked Joey.
“Because...Well, Daddy is famous, and people want to be with him. They want to be me. But, they can’t�
“Oh, said Joey. Well, I don’t want anyone else as my mother.� said Joey.
“Me neither.� said Jakob.
“Or Me.� said Billie Joe.
They continued around the mall, until they walked past HMV.
“Oh, Daddy, that’s you! Look, you’re in that picture over there.�
“Not so loud, Joey. We don’t want people looking at us.�
“I want to go in there.� said Jakob.
“Umm, O.K. then, we can’t hide it from them forever can we Adrienne?� said Billie.
They went in, and Billie went with the kids to the section with the big sign saying “Punk/Country�. He showed them Green Day’s CD’s, and even gave them a little punk rock history lesson. He talked about the Clash, and Ramones, but decided to stay away from the Sex Pistols for now. He eventually finished talking about the different bands and they left the store. They returned home with a ton of bags from the result of their shopping, and Billie chose a few tracks from some CD’s to show Joey and Jakob. Out of the two, Jakob was the one who hadn’t heard as much Green Day as Joey, and after Billie Joe played some of Dookie for them, it was clear that “When I Come Around� was their favorite. Billie Joe decided to play American Idiot for them, when halfway through “American Idiot� Joey sat up.
“I know this song.� said Joey. “Not from when you were playing it with Uncle Mike and Tre, but from school, yeah, I heard it at school. It was playing on this guy’s CD. Wait, now I remember the other songs too. My friend was so excited that his parents got him a CD, and it had this song on it.�
“Which friend?� asked Billie Joe.
“Dave, he’s in seventh grade. He’s new. He said I looked familiar, and I told him my name, and we’ve been friends ever since.�
Billie Joe and Adrienne laughed quietly, clearly this kid was trying to be friends with Joey and then get tickets to a concert.
“Maybe you can invite him over sometime, but no one else.� said Adrienne.
“Yeah, Joey, does anyone in your grade know about Green Day?� asked Billie Joe.
“No, I don’t think so.� said Joey.
“I heard this girl in my class say her parents were once arrested or something because they were at a Green Day concert and they came on the stage and there was a lot of mud.� said Jakob.
“Really.� said Billie Joe and Adrienne, trying to keep straight faces.
“Interesting.� said 80. “Well, I’m going to have to make dinner. How about macaroni and cheese?�
“Sure.� all three boys replied in unison.
Adrienne went to the kitchen and started to cook, reflecting on the day. It was fun, but soon, Billie Joe would have to go on tour again. But at least when he did, the kids would understand why he was away.
