The Secret, chapter 4
**Seven months later**
A bitter day in November. The wind howled and the sky was light grey. Great, thought Billie Joe as he walked down the street. He was out just to walk and clean up his head. It was a mess.
Adie was in the late stages of pregnanty, and it was only one and a half hour after they had been fighting.
Adie was sick of Billie Joe "only caring about his fucking guitar" and Billie was sick of her big demands. And now he felt hanging upside down, everytime he got something out of his head, something new fell in.
His feet walked automatic. His body was empty, but his head was stuffed and overfilled. If only there weren't crowds of people everywhere, he would have screamed with sorrow and emptiness, he would break down and cry hysterically, he would...
"Billie! Billie!"
What was that? It could as well be an echo inside his head, but...
"Hey, Billie! Stop!"
Billie turned around.
Tré came running towards him, almost hopping like a second grade girl. He had something in his hand, looking like a paper, and he waved with it fervently. When he came up to Billie, he puffed and breathed heavily.
"Mate... You won't believe this... Look..."
He held up the paper one inch from Billie's surprised face.
"Tré, I'm not suffering from myopia", he said, taking the paper from Tré's trembling hands.
"What? I don't understand this... Is this a joke? I mean, have you done this yourself?" Billie asked.
"Obviously not!" yelled the beaming Tré. "Read it aloud!"
Billie shook his head. That couldn't be true.
"'We authorize your application of a contract, and.. ' Tré, hey, did you submit an application without asking us?"
Tré didn't nod, didn't shake his head. He just looked stupid and glad at the same time.
"Weirdo", stated Billie and shook his head again. "Tré--"
"No, by the way... They asked us."
"They asked us?!"
"Oh yes."
"And how do you explain I never heard about it? And, hey, why do they say that they approve our application?" cried Billie Joe, waving with the letter.
"They probably wanted to seem superior", sighed Tré. "Anyway, this means coffee."
Billie had almost forgotten his status against Adie when he saw Tré. They went to a café and ordered some coffee.
"Tré, now explain!" commanded Billie, taking a gulp out of his coffee mug.
Tré couldn't stop grin with arousing.
"I told you! We were offered a contract with Reprise Records, but only me and Mike were in the studio when we received it, and that's about the time you were... Uhrm weird, and we wanted to give you a surprise and forget all troubles... Hey, did this make you angry?"
"No, I'm not angry", said Billie Joe. "But I'm buffled you didn't tell me. Anyway, do you want to sign it?"
"Sign what?"
"The contract, silly." Billie rolled his eyes.
"Oh. I don't know. We need to compromise with Mike also, we can't decide without him."
Billie stirred the coffee, glaring at the cold world outside.
"Mate?" tried Tré without result.
Billie woke up from the torpor after about a half minute.
"I'm just... Thinking of my own life and... And how others make it", he said, with a gesture to the people walking on by outside. It was partly a lie, partly truth. He was lost in his own mind, that's all. Everything that happened to him at that point... It flood him over.
A bitter day in November. The wind howled and the sky was light grey. Great, thought Billie Joe as he walked down the street. He was out just to walk and clean up his head. It was a mess.
Adie was in the late stages of pregnanty, and it was only one and a half hour after they had been fighting.
Adie was sick of Billie Joe "only caring about his fucking guitar" and Billie was sick of her big demands. And now he felt hanging upside down, everytime he got something out of his head, something new fell in.
His feet walked automatic. His body was empty, but his head was stuffed and overfilled. If only there weren't crowds of people everywhere, he would have screamed with sorrow and emptiness, he would break down and cry hysterically, he would...
"Billie! Billie!"
What was that? It could as well be an echo inside his head, but...
"Hey, Billie! Stop!"
Billie turned around.
Tré came running towards him, almost hopping like a second grade girl. He had something in his hand, looking like a paper, and he waved with it fervently. When he came up to Billie, he puffed and breathed heavily.
"Mate... You won't believe this... Look..."
He held up the paper one inch from Billie's surprised face.
"Tré, I'm not suffering from myopia", he said, taking the paper from Tré's trembling hands.
"What? I don't understand this... Is this a joke? I mean, have you done this yourself?" Billie asked.
"Obviously not!" yelled the beaming Tré. "Read it aloud!"
Billie shook his head. That couldn't be true.
"'We authorize your application of a contract, and.. ' Tré, hey, did you submit an application without asking us?"
Tré didn't nod, didn't shake his head. He just looked stupid and glad at the same time.
"Weirdo", stated Billie and shook his head again. "Tré--"
"No, by the way... They asked us."
"They asked us?!"
"Oh yes."
"And how do you explain I never heard about it? And, hey, why do they say that they approve our application?" cried Billie Joe, waving with the letter.
"They probably wanted to seem superior", sighed Tré. "Anyway, this means coffee."
Billie had almost forgotten his status against Adie when he saw Tré. They went to a café and ordered some coffee.
"Tré, now explain!" commanded Billie, taking a gulp out of his coffee mug.
Tré couldn't stop grin with arousing.
"I told you! We were offered a contract with Reprise Records, but only me and Mike were in the studio when we received it, and that's about the time you were... Uhrm weird, and we wanted to give you a surprise and forget all troubles... Hey, did this make you angry?"
"No, I'm not angry", said Billie Joe. "But I'm buffled you didn't tell me. Anyway, do you want to sign it?"
"Sign what?"
"The contract, silly." Billie rolled his eyes.
"Oh. I don't know. We need to compromise with Mike also, we can't decide without him."
Billie stirred the coffee, glaring at the cold world outside.
"Mate?" tried Tré without result.
Billie woke up from the torpor after about a half minute.
"I'm just... Thinking of my own life and... And how others make it", he said, with a gesture to the people walking on by outside. It was partly a lie, partly truth. He was lost in his own mind, that's all. Everything that happened to him at that point... It flood him over.
