A Child's Hero, chapter 1
Billie Joe (32, not a kid) stood outside an elementary school's doors as he waited for his friend (one of the teachers) to come out and have lunch with him. After 10 minutes of waiting, Anne McClay (the teacher/friend) came out and joined Billie Joe.
"Hey, BJ," Anne said.
"Hey, you ready?" he said back.
"Yeah, where are we going?"
"Panera, a cheap little place but it has good food." Anne nodded.
"Let's go." she said.
After lunch, Anne went back to her classroom and Billie Joe went home. It was 12:00 and he made the stupid mistake of going to a bar and having a couple beers. He returned to the school at 3:00 to pick up his friend, wasted. I man, he could still stand up and talk normally, but if he drove, he'd kill anyone crazy enough to get in the same car as him, so Mike drove him, but let him in the school. Billie Joe waited outside the door.
As Billie Joe waited for his friend, he overheard a little boy's report he wrote. He said, "My heros are Green Day because they aren't afraid to express themselves and they rock harder than any other band. That little boy's speech knocked the drunken-ness right out of him and he stood there normally thinking about what that kid said. He eventually got sick of waiting and he left to go back out to the car.
By then, Billie Joe was close to crying.
"What?" Mike said. Billie Joe looked up at him and he pulled a bag out of the divider. It had, to Mike surprise, dope in it. Billie Joe ripped the bag open and trew it out the window, now he was crying.
"What's wrong?!" Mike was yelling now.
"There's a kid in there, in Anne's class," he struggled to say. "That says I'm his role model, his hero. And what am I doing? Fucking up my life with dope and booze!" he was screaming. Mike was staring at him.
"You better start undoing a couple things then and be his role model."
"Hey, BJ," Anne said.
"Hey, you ready?" he said back.
"Yeah, where are we going?"
"Panera, a cheap little place but it has good food." Anne nodded.
"Let's go." she said.
After lunch, Anne went back to her classroom and Billie Joe went home. It was 12:00 and he made the stupid mistake of going to a bar and having a couple beers. He returned to the school at 3:00 to pick up his friend, wasted. I man, he could still stand up and talk normally, but if he drove, he'd kill anyone crazy enough to get in the same car as him, so Mike drove him, but let him in the school. Billie Joe waited outside the door.
As Billie Joe waited for his friend, he overheard a little boy's report he wrote. He said, "My heros are Green Day because they aren't afraid to express themselves and they rock harder than any other band. That little boy's speech knocked the drunken-ness right out of him and he stood there normally thinking about what that kid said. He eventually got sick of waiting and he left to go back out to the car.
By then, Billie Joe was close to crying.
"What?" Mike said. Billie Joe looked up at him and he pulled a bag out of the divider. It had, to Mike surprise, dope in it. Billie Joe ripped the bag open and trew it out the window, now he was crying.
"What's wrong?!" Mike was yelling now.
"There's a kid in there, in Anne's class," he struggled to say. "That says I'm his role model, his hero. And what am I doing? Fucking up my life with dope and booze!" he was screaming. Mike was staring at him.
"You better start undoing a couple things then and be his role model."
