My American Idiots, chapter 2
"Do you eat meat, Jess?" asked Ollie at dinner that night.
"No, actually," Jess replied. "I saw this documentary on meat processing, and the standards seemed pretty low, and a lot of health officials said so to, so not for awhile now, sorry."
"That's okay, I was just wondering, because most of us here are vegetarians, so we don't serve meat," replied Ollie, serving up a vegetarian lasagne and salad.
"So, Jess. What's it like living on a boat?" she asked after she sat down to eat.
"It's wonderful, no noisy neighbours unless your docked, you're nearly always on the move, you get to see all sorts of amazing places." She replied, feeling the tiniest bit homesick.
"Like where?" asked Trè, who had been allowed to stay for dinner.
"Well, we've been to Turkey, the Greek Isles, Spain, Italy," Jess grinned at the boys, who grinned back through mouthfuls of food. "Egypt, the coast of France and we just came from the Caribbean before I came here."
"How long have you been out there?" asked Billie Joe.
"Only for about a year now," Jess replied.
"Only a year, jeez, not very long then, eh?" Mike said with mock seriousness. She just gave him a 'very-funny' sort of smile. "I'm pretty lucky," she continued. "I almost had to leave my guitar in storage, but dad wheedled mum into letting me bring it along."
"You've got a guitar?" asked Billie Joe. "Have you got it here?"
She nodded because she had a mouthful of a very tasty lasagne. "Can you play?" queried Mike.
"Yeah, but not very well. Why?" Jess replied as Ollie excused herself for a moment.
"Are you in a band?" questioned Trè.
"What do you think, Trè? Honestly. I live on a boat, out in the middle of the ocean. Of course I'm in a band," Jess replied sarcastically.
"Well, I earned that one," he concurred.
"We've got a band," said Mike, casually.
"Do you wanna see us play after dinner?" asked Billie.
"Sure!" She replied enthusiastically, forking up some lettuce.
*~*~*~ After Dinner, In the Basement. ~*~*~*
"Welcome to our world," said Trè with an extravagant flourish.
"It's not much, but it's ours," said Mike. As Jess looked around a cosy basement, she thought she'd die from a mixed feeling of shock and excitement. There was a large drum kit with masses of cymbals sitting in one corner and a bass and a guitar case on a bed/couch occupying the other corner. The wall at the back was covered in posters of nearly every rock band to ever show its face. The Sex Pistols, the Ramones. If they had ever released an album, their face was on those walls. "Wow," Jess breathed. "Your mum must've done something to that lasagne, Billie Joe. Coz I think I've died and gone to heaven." Billie smiled proudly around his band's basement.
"This is Trè's drum kit," said Mike as he showed her around.
"Someone likes cymbals," Jess observed. Trè just smiled at her as he sat down and began to tap on each cymbal and drum, making sure that they were making just the right sound.
"My bass," said Mike as he picked it up and tuned it.
"And my guitar," said Billie, taking up his instrument.
"You guys have a great place to practice," Jess said. "Do the neighbours mind?"
"If they do, they don't say anything," Mike remarked.
"At least we don't hear them," Trè grinned, beginning to drum loudly. Mike and Billie Joe joined in; playing a song they had practiced heaps. They didn't sing the words, but it was a cool song none the less.
"Did you guys compose that?" Jess asked when they had finished.
"Yeah," said Trè. "Why?"
"Coz it was awesome." Jess replied.
"Thanks, it's a newer one. Billie wrote it" said Mike.
"You and Trè helped with the melody, dumbass" Billie reminded him.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot." Mike said vaguely. "Billie does most of the composing the lyrics, but we all muck about with the melody and stuff." He told Jess.
"Cool," Jess remarked.
"Wanna hear Billie sing?" asked Trè mischievously.
"Yeah, ok," Jess replied with a grin.
"No." Billie replied. "I'm not gonna sing tonight. I have a sore throat."
"Bullshit," replied Mike. "You were fine when you were yelling at me about six hours ago."
"That's what caused it," Billie Joe retorted calmly.
"Chicken," Trè coughed in to his hands. "Chicken."
Billie gave him a look of pure filth. "Do you wanna go home in one piece or lots?" he snapped at Trè.
"Hey, lay off guys. If he doesn't want to sing tonight, he doesn't have to," Jess interjected. Mike and Trè looked at her as if she had just gone insane.
"Thanks Jess," Billie replied looking smug.
"He can sing for me tomorrow," Jess replied giving him a cheeky smile.
"But, but..." Billie started as Trè and Mike stifled sniggers. "Women!" he said exasperated. "This is all Mom's fault."
"No its not. It's our fault for showin' her our band. Most people would actually like it if the lead vocalist sang, dude," Mike pointed out. Billie replied by corking him in the arm.
"He's right you know," Jess said. "Anyways, I'm gonna hear you sing sooner or later. You mums been telling me that you guys have a couple of gigs lined up at the local bar."
"Eighteen months," Billie groaned. "How am I gonna survive that long?"
Everyone, including Billie Joe started laughing quietly. When it died down, Trè looked at the clock near the stairs.
"Oh, shit! That's eight-forty-five! I gotta get home or dad's gonna go mental! See ya guys!" Trè said as he bolted up the stairs.
"Poor bastard got himself grounded," Billie explained to Jess with just a tiny hint of smugness on his face. "His mom caught him with a dirty magazine."
"Oh," said Jess with a surprised look on her face. "Poor bugger. How long is he grounded for?"
"About two months total. He's already served two weeks. He's s'posed to be home before eight-thirty, but his dad extended it to nine, coz my mom told his that you were coming today," Mike finished.
"Oh, lucky me," Jess said with a tiny bit of sarcasm. She then remarked, "I've never been grounded."
"What?!" Mike and Billie chorused.
"I've never been grounded, well, once when I was eight. I got busted coz my room was filthy. But that was only for less than two weeks, and I had to miss a Blue Light," she replied, making a face.
"You have never been seriously grounded?" Billie asked slowly.
"I just said that, didn't I?" Jess replied.
"Damn, I think your mom just brought the Miss Goody-Goody of the year home, dude," Mike said to Billie Joe. "By the sounds of things, this chick has never played up in ANY way."
"How do you know that I have never played up? What if its just coz I've never been caught?" Jess replied with a sly smile.
"Prove that you can play up. I wanna see it," Mike said.
"Nope," Jess replied. "If I do it just coz you tell me, then you'll know it was me, won't you?"
"Yeah, I guess," Billie said carefully.
"So maybe I will, maybe I won't prove it," Jess said smiling slyly. "Anyways, I gotta go for a shower. Your mum told me that the 'Lost' series is being condensed into three episodes, starting tonight. It's my fave show. See yas later." Jess jogged up the stairs and walked down the hall. Mike and Billie just sat in the basement, idly strumming away practicing their parts to Billie's song. "Wanna go watch 'Lost' then?" Billie asked. "Practice isn't the same without Trè."
"Yeah. Okay," Mike replied, loosening the strings on his bass and putting it away.
"No, actually," Jess replied. "I saw this documentary on meat processing, and the standards seemed pretty low, and a lot of health officials said so to, so not for awhile now, sorry."
"That's okay, I was just wondering, because most of us here are vegetarians, so we don't serve meat," replied Ollie, serving up a vegetarian lasagne and salad.
"So, Jess. What's it like living on a boat?" she asked after she sat down to eat.
"It's wonderful, no noisy neighbours unless your docked, you're nearly always on the move, you get to see all sorts of amazing places." She replied, feeling the tiniest bit homesick.
"Like where?" asked Trè, who had been allowed to stay for dinner.
"Well, we've been to Turkey, the Greek Isles, Spain, Italy," Jess grinned at the boys, who grinned back through mouthfuls of food. "Egypt, the coast of France and we just came from the Caribbean before I came here."
"How long have you been out there?" asked Billie Joe.
"Only for about a year now," Jess replied.
"Only a year, jeez, not very long then, eh?" Mike said with mock seriousness. She just gave him a 'very-funny' sort of smile. "I'm pretty lucky," she continued. "I almost had to leave my guitar in storage, but dad wheedled mum into letting me bring it along."
"You've got a guitar?" asked Billie Joe. "Have you got it here?"
She nodded because she had a mouthful of a very tasty lasagne. "Can you play?" queried Mike.
"Yeah, but not very well. Why?" Jess replied as Ollie excused herself for a moment.
"Are you in a band?" questioned Trè.
"What do you think, Trè? Honestly. I live on a boat, out in the middle of the ocean. Of course I'm in a band," Jess replied sarcastically.
"Well, I earned that one," he concurred.
"We've got a band," said Mike, casually.
"Do you wanna see us play after dinner?" asked Billie.
"Sure!" She replied enthusiastically, forking up some lettuce.
*~*~*~ After Dinner, In the Basement. ~*~*~*
"Welcome to our world," said Trè with an extravagant flourish.
"It's not much, but it's ours," said Mike. As Jess looked around a cosy basement, she thought she'd die from a mixed feeling of shock and excitement. There was a large drum kit with masses of cymbals sitting in one corner and a bass and a guitar case on a bed/couch occupying the other corner. The wall at the back was covered in posters of nearly every rock band to ever show its face. The Sex Pistols, the Ramones. If they had ever released an album, their face was on those walls. "Wow," Jess breathed. "Your mum must've done something to that lasagne, Billie Joe. Coz I think I've died and gone to heaven." Billie smiled proudly around his band's basement.
"This is Trè's drum kit," said Mike as he showed her around.
"Someone likes cymbals," Jess observed. Trè just smiled at her as he sat down and began to tap on each cymbal and drum, making sure that they were making just the right sound.
"My bass," said Mike as he picked it up and tuned it.
"And my guitar," said Billie, taking up his instrument.
"You guys have a great place to practice," Jess said. "Do the neighbours mind?"
"If they do, they don't say anything," Mike remarked.
"At least we don't hear them," Trè grinned, beginning to drum loudly. Mike and Billie Joe joined in; playing a song they had practiced heaps. They didn't sing the words, but it was a cool song none the less.
"Did you guys compose that?" Jess asked when they had finished.
"Yeah," said Trè. "Why?"
"Coz it was awesome." Jess replied.
"Thanks, it's a newer one. Billie wrote it" said Mike.
"You and Trè helped with the melody, dumbass" Billie reminded him.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot." Mike said vaguely. "Billie does most of the composing the lyrics, but we all muck about with the melody and stuff." He told Jess.
"Cool," Jess remarked.
"Wanna hear Billie sing?" asked Trè mischievously.
"Yeah, ok," Jess replied with a grin.
"No." Billie replied. "I'm not gonna sing tonight. I have a sore throat."
"Bullshit," replied Mike. "You were fine when you were yelling at me about six hours ago."
"That's what caused it," Billie Joe retorted calmly.
"Chicken," Trè coughed in to his hands. "Chicken."
Billie gave him a look of pure filth. "Do you wanna go home in one piece or lots?" he snapped at Trè.
"Hey, lay off guys. If he doesn't want to sing tonight, he doesn't have to," Jess interjected. Mike and Trè looked at her as if she had just gone insane.
"Thanks Jess," Billie replied looking smug.
"He can sing for me tomorrow," Jess replied giving him a cheeky smile.
"But, but..." Billie started as Trè and Mike stifled sniggers. "Women!" he said exasperated. "This is all Mom's fault."
"No its not. It's our fault for showin' her our band. Most people would actually like it if the lead vocalist sang, dude," Mike pointed out. Billie replied by corking him in the arm.
"He's right you know," Jess said. "Anyways, I'm gonna hear you sing sooner or later. You mums been telling me that you guys have a couple of gigs lined up at the local bar."
"Eighteen months," Billie groaned. "How am I gonna survive that long?"
Everyone, including Billie Joe started laughing quietly. When it died down, Trè looked at the clock near the stairs.
"Oh, shit! That's eight-forty-five! I gotta get home or dad's gonna go mental! See ya guys!" Trè said as he bolted up the stairs.
"Poor bastard got himself grounded," Billie explained to Jess with just a tiny hint of smugness on his face. "His mom caught him with a dirty magazine."
"Oh," said Jess with a surprised look on her face. "Poor bugger. How long is he grounded for?"
"About two months total. He's already served two weeks. He's s'posed to be home before eight-thirty, but his dad extended it to nine, coz my mom told his that you were coming today," Mike finished.
"Oh, lucky me," Jess said with a tiny bit of sarcasm. She then remarked, "I've never been grounded."
"What?!" Mike and Billie chorused.
"I've never been grounded, well, once when I was eight. I got busted coz my room was filthy. But that was only for less than two weeks, and I had to miss a Blue Light," she replied, making a face.
"You have never been seriously grounded?" Billie asked slowly.
"I just said that, didn't I?" Jess replied.
"Damn, I think your mom just brought the Miss Goody-Goody of the year home, dude," Mike said to Billie Joe. "By the sounds of things, this chick has never played up in ANY way."
"How do you know that I have never played up? What if its just coz I've never been caught?" Jess replied with a sly smile.
"Prove that you can play up. I wanna see it," Mike said.
"Nope," Jess replied. "If I do it just coz you tell me, then you'll know it was me, won't you?"
"Yeah, I guess," Billie said carefully.
"So maybe I will, maybe I won't prove it," Jess said smiling slyly. "Anyways, I gotta go for a shower. Your mum told me that the 'Lost' series is being condensed into three episodes, starting tonight. It's my fave show. See yas later." Jess jogged up the stairs and walked down the hall. Mike and Billie just sat in the basement, idly strumming away practicing their parts to Billie's song. "Wanna go watch 'Lost' then?" Billie asked. "Practice isn't the same without Trè."
"Yeah. Okay," Mike replied, loosening the strings on his bass and putting it away.
