16, chapter 11
Laughter rang through the room as I downed the last of my fifth drink of the night. Well my fifth whole drink, I had also been sipping from a large bottle of vodka occasionally too. I had been mixing it up a little bit, which probably wasn't the best idea but I hardly ever drink so I figure that I'm allowed to live a little occasionally. And it was really hard for me to be back at the apartment building where everything happened, so I guess you could say that I was trying to drown my sorrows.
That afternoon, Alex, James and I had continued to play for a while. Joey had even played a few songs with us. Then People had began to file out of the basement, until James, Joey, Alex and our friends Cate, Aska and Amber and I were the only ones left. Cate had rang her older sister, Courtney, and got her to bring by a variety of alcoholic beverages, which she had brougth by with a "Now don't get too drunk guys, cause that would just be silly." and then the afternoon really began.
Joey was sitting near me on an armchair; James, Alex and Cate were all on the couch and Amber and Aska were rolling around on the floor beside me laughing. I was sitting on the floor, leaning over the coffee table, my hand clutching a new bottle of Smirnoff.
I turned to look at Amber and Aska. "You know what?" I said. "I've missed you. And you!" I pointed at Cate before bringing the Smirnoff to my lips and throwing back my head as the other girls began to drunkenly chant "Skull! Skull! Skull!" I felt the liquid slide down my throat until the last drop in the bottle was gone, some down the front of my shirt, but gone none the less. I began to giggle uncontrollably as the others cheered.
"Pass me the vodka." I said to Alex who had been nursing the bottle for a while now.
She began to laugh again as she passed me the bottle and I took a few rather large sips. I placed the bottle on the table and felt my head spin.
"D-Dani." Cate said, sitting up with an excited grin and lots of arm movement. "I-I can speak Polish!"
I laughed and said "I know! Your from Poland you dick head!"
We collapsed into giggles and I lied down on my back. I began to pick at Joey's shoes as his feet were now near my head.
"Alex!" Aska suddenly screamed from where she was now lying under the clear glass coffee table.
"What?" Alex screamed back.
"Do you have lots of new friends at your new school?"
"I don't go to school."
I threw my hands up into the air. "I go to school! I go to school! Pick me. Pick me." I exclaimed.
"I pick you!" Amber said pointing at me and crawling over to where I lay, throwing her arms around me so we lay side my side hugging, in a position I would normally find rather suss but in the condition I was currently in, didn't think twice about.
"Ok Dani." Aska said. "Do you have many many new friendslies?"
"Nope, I have nooooooooooooo friends." I said, looking up at the ceiling. The mood in the room changed. Joey tensed up, being the most sober in the room, having had only one beer, he seemed to understand more and see where this conversation was going. "Everyone hates me." I continued. "This Cassie bitch had a go at me. She told me that I'd been having sex with my own father. Hahahaha now that's just silly. I mean seriously. My Dad had sex with my Mum. My Mum... she's not alive anymore... I miss her so fucking much. I feel like I have no one." I stopped talking and the room was silent.
No one else was as drunk as I was and they all seemed to have a better understanding of what I was saying. We all sat in silence for a moment or two until Joey spoke.
"Right... We should probably head back, it's an hour drive back so we're gonna get there late enough as it is."
"No!" Alex said. "I don't want to go!"
"Yeah," James said. "Are you sure you want to head off? You can stay the night here. We've all had quite a lot to drink and like you said, it is pretty late now.
"I can't stay the night here." I said bluntly, still affected by the alcohol and not completely knowing what I was saying. "It makes me sad about my Mum too much. And Mike won't know why we're not home."
"Well I've only had one beer; I'm alright to drive. Dani wants to go home, but Alex doesn't."
"I can drive her back tomorrow." James offered.
"Or we can." Amber added. "Someone will get Alex home."
"Yeah!" Aska yelled from where she still lay under the coffee table. "We'll have a road trip!"
I cheered at the idea of a road trip, not understanding that I wouldn't be included in said road trip.
"Alright, let's get you home." Joey said. He stood up and reached down to grab my hands and help me up. I giggled as I stumbled over my feet and fell forward into his chest, gripping onto his shoulders for support. The others stayed where they were sitting/lying.
"We won't get up; that could be dangerous." James said eyeing Aska who was now leaning against the couch to keep her head up while she drummed on the coffee table with an unbelievable amount of enthusiasm. "Have a safe drive etc."
Joey gathered up my things, handed them to me and I threw the strap of my bag over my shoulder. I waved to everyone, including Cate who had fallen asleep on the couch and surprisingly enough didn't respond with a "Bye" and a wave like everyone else. Joey and I made our way up the stairs and out of the Basement, me stumbling and laughing as we went.
15 minutes later and we were on the road, my head half in my hand and half being propped up by the cool window of the car. I was just drifting off to sleep when the Super Mario theme song began to play from my bag.
"Yay! I'm popular!" I said loudly, breaking from my almost-slumber. "Someone is ringing me." I grabbed my bag and managed to pull out my cell phone rather quickly. I looked at the caller ID. "It's Mike Dirnt. That's my father."
Joey snatched the phone out of my hands and said. "You are way to drunk to talk to your Dad right now."
He flipped the phone open and brought it to his ear.
"Hello?" he said.
...
"Nah its Joey, she's driving so she can't talk."
...
"We only left 5 minutes ago so we should be a while yet."
...
"Nah we're fine, don't wait up for us."
...
"We'll see you tomorrow."
...
"Yep."
...
"Bye Mike." He shut the phone and passed it to me. I put it back into my bag, threw my bag onto the seat behind me and leaned back against the car window.
We had been driving for another 15 minutes, I had once again felt myself begin to drift off, when Joey pulled the car into a kind of all night diner café thing.
"What are we doing?" I asked, unbuckling my seat belt as he did the same.
"I really need a coffee." We both got out of the car and I stumbled a little bit towards the entrance to the diner, which in my opinion was way too bright.
Joey led me over to a booth in the corner and we sat down. I leaned back and rested my head on the top of the seat. A minute later a waitress came over to us, her little waitress notebook in hand.
"What can I get for you?" she said and I had a sudden want for bacon... and eggs.
"I'll have a coffee; white and two sugars thanks."
The lady looked at me after she wrote down what Joey wanted as though waiting for me to give her my order. I smiled happily up at her until she walked away, a confused and rather frightened look on her face.
I turned to Joey and said. "I want bacon."
"What?" he asked.
"I want bacon." I repeated as though he was stupid. "And eggs. Bacon and eggs."
"Dani, they only serve bacon and eggs at breakfast."
"But I want bacon." I whined.
"They won't give it to you."
"Pleeeeeaaase?" I looked at him with the best puppy dog eyes I could manage in the stat I was in.
"Fine." He gave in. "I'll ask the waitress when she comes back."
"But I want some now!"
"Look, here she comes now." He gestured to the waitress now heading in our direction with Joey's coffee in her hands.
"Thanks." He said to her picking up the coffee as soon as she placed it on the table in front of him. "Hey, do you think that she could maybe get a bacon and egg burger?" He said gesturing to me.
She smiled and said "Sure hon. You want onions?" I shook my head when she looked at me questioningly. "Sauce?"
"Barbecue." I grinned at her.
"That shouldn't be too long." She walked away to the other end of the diner and disappeared behind the counter and out the back.
"Damn that bacon was good." I said, licking my fingers once more as we walked out into the cool night air and headed to the car to continue the drive back to Oakland.
Joey laughed and got in the drivers seat of the car. "Yes Dani, you sure ate that thing fast."
"Hey, I was hungry, leave me alone."
"Well at least you've sobered up a tad now."
For some reason I seemed to find that extremely hilarious and I was pissing myself laughing as we pulled out of the diner car park and back onto the main road.
"Did you like my friends?" I asked Joey when I had finished with my laughter and leant back against the car seat.
"Yeah" He said. "Your friends are great. James is an awesome guitarist."
"Did you have fun playing with us? Our band I mean."
"I loved playing with you guys."
"You should play with us more often. We need another guitarist."
"Ok, I take back what I said about you having sobered up a bit. Your nuts."
Needless to say, when he said that I was nuts, I had absolutely no idea what he was on about. Maybe he thought my idea was crazy, but I couldn't see why. So I came to the conclusion that he thought I had a packet of peanuts in my bag that he wanted.
"Sorry Joey." I said. "I don't have any peanuts. I'm going to sleep though, wake me when we get back to Mike's."
That afternoon, Alex, James and I had continued to play for a while. Joey had even played a few songs with us. Then People had began to file out of the basement, until James, Joey, Alex and our friends Cate, Aska and Amber and I were the only ones left. Cate had rang her older sister, Courtney, and got her to bring by a variety of alcoholic beverages, which she had brougth by with a "Now don't get too drunk guys, cause that would just be silly." and then the afternoon really began.
Joey was sitting near me on an armchair; James, Alex and Cate were all on the couch and Amber and Aska were rolling around on the floor beside me laughing. I was sitting on the floor, leaning over the coffee table, my hand clutching a new bottle of Smirnoff.
I turned to look at Amber and Aska. "You know what?" I said. "I've missed you. And you!" I pointed at Cate before bringing the Smirnoff to my lips and throwing back my head as the other girls began to drunkenly chant "Skull! Skull! Skull!" I felt the liquid slide down my throat until the last drop in the bottle was gone, some down the front of my shirt, but gone none the less. I began to giggle uncontrollably as the others cheered.
"Pass me the vodka." I said to Alex who had been nursing the bottle for a while now.
She began to laugh again as she passed me the bottle and I took a few rather large sips. I placed the bottle on the table and felt my head spin.
"D-Dani." Cate said, sitting up with an excited grin and lots of arm movement. "I-I can speak Polish!"
I laughed and said "I know! Your from Poland you dick head!"
We collapsed into giggles and I lied down on my back. I began to pick at Joey's shoes as his feet were now near my head.
"Alex!" Aska suddenly screamed from where she was now lying under the clear glass coffee table.
"What?" Alex screamed back.
"Do you have lots of new friends at your new school?"
"I don't go to school."
I threw my hands up into the air. "I go to school! I go to school! Pick me. Pick me." I exclaimed.
"I pick you!" Amber said pointing at me and crawling over to where I lay, throwing her arms around me so we lay side my side hugging, in a position I would normally find rather suss but in the condition I was currently in, didn't think twice about.
"Ok Dani." Aska said. "Do you have many many new friendslies?"
"Nope, I have nooooooooooooo friends." I said, looking up at the ceiling. The mood in the room changed. Joey tensed up, being the most sober in the room, having had only one beer, he seemed to understand more and see where this conversation was going. "Everyone hates me." I continued. "This Cassie bitch had a go at me. She told me that I'd been having sex with my own father. Hahahaha now that's just silly. I mean seriously. My Dad had sex with my Mum. My Mum... she's not alive anymore... I miss her so fucking much. I feel like I have no one." I stopped talking and the room was silent.
No one else was as drunk as I was and they all seemed to have a better understanding of what I was saying. We all sat in silence for a moment or two until Joey spoke.
"Right... We should probably head back, it's an hour drive back so we're gonna get there late enough as it is."
"No!" Alex said. "I don't want to go!"
"Yeah," James said. "Are you sure you want to head off? You can stay the night here. We've all had quite a lot to drink and like you said, it is pretty late now.
"I can't stay the night here." I said bluntly, still affected by the alcohol and not completely knowing what I was saying. "It makes me sad about my Mum too much. And Mike won't know why we're not home."
"Well I've only had one beer; I'm alright to drive. Dani wants to go home, but Alex doesn't."
"I can drive her back tomorrow." James offered.
"Or we can." Amber added. "Someone will get Alex home."
"Yeah!" Aska yelled from where she still lay under the coffee table. "We'll have a road trip!"
I cheered at the idea of a road trip, not understanding that I wouldn't be included in said road trip.
"Alright, let's get you home." Joey said. He stood up and reached down to grab my hands and help me up. I giggled as I stumbled over my feet and fell forward into his chest, gripping onto his shoulders for support. The others stayed where they were sitting/lying.
"We won't get up; that could be dangerous." James said eyeing Aska who was now leaning against the couch to keep her head up while she drummed on the coffee table with an unbelievable amount of enthusiasm. "Have a safe drive etc."
Joey gathered up my things, handed them to me and I threw the strap of my bag over my shoulder. I waved to everyone, including Cate who had fallen asleep on the couch and surprisingly enough didn't respond with a "Bye" and a wave like everyone else. Joey and I made our way up the stairs and out of the Basement, me stumbling and laughing as we went.
15 minutes later and we were on the road, my head half in my hand and half being propped up by the cool window of the car. I was just drifting off to sleep when the Super Mario theme song began to play from my bag.
"Yay! I'm popular!" I said loudly, breaking from my almost-slumber. "Someone is ringing me." I grabbed my bag and managed to pull out my cell phone rather quickly. I looked at the caller ID. "It's Mike Dirnt. That's my father."
Joey snatched the phone out of my hands and said. "You are way to drunk to talk to your Dad right now."
He flipped the phone open and brought it to his ear.
"Hello?" he said.
...
"Nah its Joey, she's driving so she can't talk."
...
"We only left 5 minutes ago so we should be a while yet."
...
"Nah we're fine, don't wait up for us."
...
"We'll see you tomorrow."
...
"Yep."
...
"Bye Mike." He shut the phone and passed it to me. I put it back into my bag, threw my bag onto the seat behind me and leaned back against the car window.
We had been driving for another 15 minutes, I had once again felt myself begin to drift off, when Joey pulled the car into a kind of all night diner café thing.
"What are we doing?" I asked, unbuckling my seat belt as he did the same.
"I really need a coffee." We both got out of the car and I stumbled a little bit towards the entrance to the diner, which in my opinion was way too bright.
Joey led me over to a booth in the corner and we sat down. I leaned back and rested my head on the top of the seat. A minute later a waitress came over to us, her little waitress notebook in hand.
"What can I get for you?" she said and I had a sudden want for bacon... and eggs.
"I'll have a coffee; white and two sugars thanks."
The lady looked at me after she wrote down what Joey wanted as though waiting for me to give her my order. I smiled happily up at her until she walked away, a confused and rather frightened look on her face.
I turned to Joey and said. "I want bacon."
"What?" he asked.
"I want bacon." I repeated as though he was stupid. "And eggs. Bacon and eggs."
"Dani, they only serve bacon and eggs at breakfast."
"But I want bacon." I whined.
"They won't give it to you."
"Pleeeeeaaase?" I looked at him with the best puppy dog eyes I could manage in the stat I was in.
"Fine." He gave in. "I'll ask the waitress when she comes back."
"But I want some now!"
"Look, here she comes now." He gestured to the waitress now heading in our direction with Joey's coffee in her hands.
"Thanks." He said to her picking up the coffee as soon as she placed it on the table in front of him. "Hey, do you think that she could maybe get a bacon and egg burger?" He said gesturing to me.
She smiled and said "Sure hon. You want onions?" I shook my head when she looked at me questioningly. "Sauce?"
"Barbecue." I grinned at her.
"That shouldn't be too long." She walked away to the other end of the diner and disappeared behind the counter and out the back.
"Damn that bacon was good." I said, licking my fingers once more as we walked out into the cool night air and headed to the car to continue the drive back to Oakland.
Joey laughed and got in the drivers seat of the car. "Yes Dani, you sure ate that thing fast."
"Hey, I was hungry, leave me alone."
"Well at least you've sobered up a tad now."
For some reason I seemed to find that extremely hilarious and I was pissing myself laughing as we pulled out of the diner car park and back onto the main road.
"Did you like my friends?" I asked Joey when I had finished with my laughter and leant back against the car seat.
"Yeah" He said. "Your friends are great. James is an awesome guitarist."
"Did you have fun playing with us? Our band I mean."
"I loved playing with you guys."
"You should play with us more often. We need another guitarist."
"Ok, I take back what I said about you having sobered up a bit. Your nuts."
Needless to say, when he said that I was nuts, I had absolutely no idea what he was on about. Maybe he thought my idea was crazy, but I couldn't see why. So I came to the conclusion that he thought I had a packet of peanuts in my bag that he wanted.
"Sorry Joey." I said. "I don't have any peanuts. I'm going to sleep though, wake me when we get back to Mike's."
