The Beginning Of A Long and Lonely Road, chapter 4
"Now Billie, you know by now how this will work, don't you?" Billie Joe's lawyer , Adam, asked.
"Could we go over it one more time? Please?" Billie Joe asked.
"Sure," his lawyer said with a sigh of boredom. "You will sit down on the stand and answer the questions The Wright family's lawyer will ask you with yes or no questions, or explinations if asked for any. But nothing else," Adam istructed him.
"Okay, cool. I think I got it now," Billie Joe said back to Alex
Fast forward a day into the future. The trial of the decade was starting that day here in Los Angeles. All the newspapers read "Family of Former Drummer Sues Lead Singer." The deaths of Mike Pritchard (aka Mike Dirnt) and Frank Edwin Wright III (aka Tre Cool), two members of the band Green Day, were a shock to the entire world. Just months after their deaths, most of their fans were still having trouble adjusting to the situation. An even bigger shock would come in the form of a lawsuit against Billie Joe Armstrong. Tre Cool's family felt that that Tre's death was uneccessary and was the cause of Billie Joe's neglagence. As Billie Joe entered the courtroom, jurors noticed the rock star look both sad and shocked, as well as hurt. Soon the trial began.
The Wright family's lawyer, Mr. Smith, started with his opening statement:
"Frank Wright, known as Tre Cool by his fans, brought joy and happiness to the world, and to many youths around it. Frank was plagued with not only a chemical inbalance, but also a hostile enviornment around him. Through this trial, I intend to prove that because of Mr. Wright's issues, his death was not a fault of his own, but the fault of a man who called himself Mr. Wright's friend. Because of the neglagence on the part of Mr. Billie Joe Armstrong."
Next, Alex made his own opening statement:
"Frank Wright was a great man with many, many issues. Life became to hard for him, so he ended it for himself. He did this by his own free will, and not because of anyone elses neglagence. I intend to prove my client did not lead Mr. Wright to kill himself in any way, and that my client is therefore innocent."
Next came the questioning phase of the trial:
"I would like to call to the stand, Claudia, Mr. Wright's ex wife," Mr. Smith said.
"Now Claudia," Mr. Smith asked her, "were you aware during your marriage that Frank was unstable?"
"Yes," Claudia answered
"And were Mr.Armstrong and Mr. Pritchard aware of this too?" Smith asked her.
"Yes, yes they were," Claudia answered
"Now how bad did your divorce have adverse effects on Frank's self esteem as well as his sanity?" Smith asked her.
"Our divorce devestated him, tore his heart in half," Claudia said defensively with tears starting to well up in her eyes.
"Was he capable of controlling his actions when he was like this? Was he trustable not to hurt himself in anyway?" Smith asked her.
"No, he wasn't," Claudia answered.
"Were Mr. Armstrong and Mr.Pritchard aware of this too?" Smith asked.
"Yes," Claudia said with a tear rolling down her cheek.
"I have no further questions your honor," Smith said to the judge.
Now Adam started his questioning of Claudia:
"Now Claudia, you said that Frank could not control his actions, yes?," Adam asked.
"Yes," Claudia answered.
"Now you also said he had a chemical imbalance. Was he on anti-depressants of any sort for that issue?" Adam asked her.
"No, he didn't believe in them," Claudia answered.
"So basically, Frank was already unstable. So any more unstibility might cause him to take his life?" Adam asked
"Yes, probably," She answered
"So your saying Frank was the only factor in his own death?" Adam asked her.
"Objection you honor! Leading the witness," Mr. Smith inturrupted.
"Sustained," the judge said.
"Let me refrase that," Adam said. "So Frank was highly likely to attempt suicide because of the chemical imbalance he already had, and was really responsable for doing so?" Adam asked her.
"I suppose so," she answered.
"I have no further questions for the witness, your honor," Adam said.
"You are free to step down now miss," the judge said to her.
"I would now like to call Billie Joe Armstrong to the stand," Mr.Smith announced.
"Now Mr. Armstrong, could you please tell the court what happened on the night of Mr. Wright's death?"
"Okay," Billie Joe started," On the night of Tre's death, he and Mike had been watching a lame scary movie. The two got in an arguement over Mike getting scared by it. I tried to break it up, but they just kept talking trash to one another, and then Mike made a comment on why Claudia divorced Tre. Tre got upset and drove off. I suggested Mike and I go after him, but Mike convinced me that Tre would be okay, and just go get drunk."
"But you knew that unstability was bad for him, and yet you didn't go to comfort him?" Mr. Smith asked.
"No, I thought he would be fine," Billie Joe said.
"You thought he would be fine," Mr. Smith repeated," you thought he would be fine. Now, Mr. Armstrong, it has been established that you knew that fine could go to real bad at the drop of a hat. Didn't you feel it was in his best interest to comfort him?
"No. I didn't," Billie Joe answered
"I believe that sounds like neglagence to me, your honor," Smith said." No further questions, your honor."
After the two lawyers gave their closing arguements, the jury went off to decide a verdict. I took four, long days to finally come to a verdict.
The anticipation was killing Billie Joe, ripping his insides to shreads, gnawing on his brain.
Finally, four days later, the court readjourned and the jury read their verdict:
"We the jury find in favor of the defendent, not guilty of all charges."
There was a huge sigh of relief from the courtroom, as well as Billie Joe
"We won Adam, we won. Oh god we won," Billie Joe said relieved.
And so ended the trial of the decade. A few days after that, Billie Joe went to Tre's grave:
"I'm sorry buddy. I'm sorry you died like this. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Billie Joe said with tears streaming down his face. "I'm really gonna miss you bud, I really will."
Then he went to Mike's grave:
"Dude, I did it. I won my trial. Man, I keep thinking your going to call me now to congradulate me, but in the back of my mind, I know it's not going to happen. I'm really gonna miss you Mike, I already miss you. I need you Mike, I need you here," Billie Joe said through his tears.
Soon, Billie Joe stopped crying. Where Mike was burried, you got a great view of the bay. It was sunset, a beautiful, red sunset you only see when there is a huge brush fire or something. At that serene momen, Billie Joe just looked out and thought. Thought about Mike and Tre, thought about life, thought about Adie and Joey and Jakob and everybody. At that moment, a call came through on his cell phone and began to ring. It said Adie was calling.
"Hey baby," Billie Joe said to his wife
"The Raider game is on in a half hour, sweety," Adie told her husband
"Okay, I'll be right there," Billie Joe said.
And off he walked to his car, got in, started his engine, and drove off into the sunset. His soul, as well as the rest of the universe, was finally at peace, if not for just this one moment, and Billie Joe could finally move on and live his life happily ever after
The End
"Could we go over it one more time? Please?" Billie Joe asked.
"Sure," his lawyer said with a sigh of boredom. "You will sit down on the stand and answer the questions The Wright family's lawyer will ask you with yes or no questions, or explinations if asked for any. But nothing else," Adam istructed him.
"Okay, cool. I think I got it now," Billie Joe said back to Alex
Fast forward a day into the future. The trial of the decade was starting that day here in Los Angeles. All the newspapers read "Family of Former Drummer Sues Lead Singer." The deaths of Mike Pritchard (aka Mike Dirnt) and Frank Edwin Wright III (aka Tre Cool), two members of the band Green Day, were a shock to the entire world. Just months after their deaths, most of their fans were still having trouble adjusting to the situation. An even bigger shock would come in the form of a lawsuit against Billie Joe Armstrong. Tre Cool's family felt that that Tre's death was uneccessary and was the cause of Billie Joe's neglagence. As Billie Joe entered the courtroom, jurors noticed the rock star look both sad and shocked, as well as hurt. Soon the trial began.
The Wright family's lawyer, Mr. Smith, started with his opening statement:
"Frank Wright, known as Tre Cool by his fans, brought joy and happiness to the world, and to many youths around it. Frank was plagued with not only a chemical inbalance, but also a hostile enviornment around him. Through this trial, I intend to prove that because of Mr. Wright's issues, his death was not a fault of his own, but the fault of a man who called himself Mr. Wright's friend. Because of the neglagence on the part of Mr. Billie Joe Armstrong."
Next, Alex made his own opening statement:
"Frank Wright was a great man with many, many issues. Life became to hard for him, so he ended it for himself. He did this by his own free will, and not because of anyone elses neglagence. I intend to prove my client did not lead Mr. Wright to kill himself in any way, and that my client is therefore innocent."
Next came the questioning phase of the trial:
"I would like to call to the stand, Claudia, Mr. Wright's ex wife," Mr. Smith said.
"Now Claudia," Mr. Smith asked her, "were you aware during your marriage that Frank was unstable?"
"Yes," Claudia answered
"And were Mr.Armstrong and Mr. Pritchard aware of this too?" Smith asked her.
"Yes, yes they were," Claudia answered
"Now how bad did your divorce have adverse effects on Frank's self esteem as well as his sanity?" Smith asked her.
"Our divorce devestated him, tore his heart in half," Claudia said defensively with tears starting to well up in her eyes.
"Was he capable of controlling his actions when he was like this? Was he trustable not to hurt himself in anyway?" Smith asked her.
"No, he wasn't," Claudia answered.
"Were Mr. Armstrong and Mr.Pritchard aware of this too?" Smith asked.
"Yes," Claudia said with a tear rolling down her cheek.
"I have no further questions your honor," Smith said to the judge.
Now Adam started his questioning of Claudia:
"Now Claudia, you said that Frank could not control his actions, yes?," Adam asked.
"Yes," Claudia answered.
"Now you also said he had a chemical imbalance. Was he on anti-depressants of any sort for that issue?" Adam asked her.
"No, he didn't believe in them," Claudia answered.
"So basically, Frank was already unstable. So any more unstibility might cause him to take his life?" Adam asked
"Yes, probably," She answered
"So your saying Frank was the only factor in his own death?" Adam asked her.
"Objection you honor! Leading the witness," Mr. Smith inturrupted.
"Sustained," the judge said.
"Let me refrase that," Adam said. "So Frank was highly likely to attempt suicide because of the chemical imbalance he already had, and was really responsable for doing so?" Adam asked her.
"I suppose so," she answered.
"I have no further questions for the witness, your honor," Adam said.
"You are free to step down now miss," the judge said to her.
"I would now like to call Billie Joe Armstrong to the stand," Mr.Smith announced.
"Now Mr. Armstrong, could you please tell the court what happened on the night of Mr. Wright's death?"
"Okay," Billie Joe started," On the night of Tre's death, he and Mike had been watching a lame scary movie. The two got in an arguement over Mike getting scared by it. I tried to break it up, but they just kept talking trash to one another, and then Mike made a comment on why Claudia divorced Tre. Tre got upset and drove off. I suggested Mike and I go after him, but Mike convinced me that Tre would be okay, and just go get drunk."
"But you knew that unstability was bad for him, and yet you didn't go to comfort him?" Mr. Smith asked.
"No, I thought he would be fine," Billie Joe said.
"You thought he would be fine," Mr. Smith repeated," you thought he would be fine. Now, Mr. Armstrong, it has been established that you knew that fine could go to real bad at the drop of a hat. Didn't you feel it was in his best interest to comfort him?
"No. I didn't," Billie Joe answered
"I believe that sounds like neglagence to me, your honor," Smith said." No further questions, your honor."
After the two lawyers gave their closing arguements, the jury went off to decide a verdict. I took four, long days to finally come to a verdict.
The anticipation was killing Billie Joe, ripping his insides to shreads, gnawing on his brain.
Finally, four days later, the court readjourned and the jury read their verdict:
"We the jury find in favor of the defendent, not guilty of all charges."
There was a huge sigh of relief from the courtroom, as well as Billie Joe
"We won Adam, we won. Oh god we won," Billie Joe said relieved.
And so ended the trial of the decade. A few days after that, Billie Joe went to Tre's grave:
"I'm sorry buddy. I'm sorry you died like this. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Billie Joe said with tears streaming down his face. "I'm really gonna miss you bud, I really will."
Then he went to Mike's grave:
"Dude, I did it. I won my trial. Man, I keep thinking your going to call me now to congradulate me, but in the back of my mind, I know it's not going to happen. I'm really gonna miss you Mike, I already miss you. I need you Mike, I need you here," Billie Joe said through his tears.
Soon, Billie Joe stopped crying. Where Mike was burried, you got a great view of the bay. It was sunset, a beautiful, red sunset you only see when there is a huge brush fire or something. At that serene momen, Billie Joe just looked out and thought. Thought about Mike and Tre, thought about life, thought about Adie and Joey and Jakob and everybody. At that moment, a call came through on his cell phone and began to ring. It said Adie was calling.
"Hey baby," Billie Joe said to his wife
"The Raider game is on in a half hour, sweety," Adie told her husband
"Okay, I'll be right there," Billie Joe said.
And off he walked to his car, got in, started his engine, and drove off into the sunset. His soul, as well as the rest of the universe, was finally at peace, if not for just this one moment, and Billie Joe could finally move on and live his life happily ever after
The End
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