Living Life A Bit Differently, chapter 10
Three Weeks Later
"Who's that guy doing my job?" Billie asked, puzzled.
Deefer crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to make himself look tougher, "His name's Jack. Kit hired him after you left, he's best buds with Frank now...or should I say 'Tré'."
"Who's Tré?" Billie Joe asked, his brain addled.
Most of his hair had grown back by now, but he refused to take off his Elvis beanie, just incase his head looked wierd from the protruding scar coming from his hair line down to his temple.
"Frank. He told Jack to call him Tré for some reason, he won't answer to anything else but 'Tré'"
"Oh." Billie Joe looked down at the dirty floor, "Since Jack's doing my job, what am I supposed to do?"
"I dunno, ask Kit I guess." Deefer answered before going back behind the counter and flipping burger patties.
Billie Joe sighed and walked over to Kit, who was wiping down tables with a rag. Billie stood there and waited to be acknowledged.
"What do you want?" Kit asked, but when he turned he jumped slightly, not expecting to see Billie Joe standing there; "Bill! You're back! How long's it been? A month?"
Kit began to walk around to a different table, not even bothering to listen for his employee's answer, Billie Joe followed him; "It's only been three weeks. Can I have my job back?"
Kit huffed and spun around to meet Billie, "Jack's a real good janitor, Billie. But don't fret, I'll give you a different job, an even better one."
***
Billie breathed heavily as he balanced on his knees over the toilet bowl and scrubbed the inside of it with a thick rag. Even after only three weeks of non-stop learning he knew this was deffinately not a better job than the one he had had before.
When he finished cleaning that toilet, he pulled himself up, grabbed the bucket full of dirty water, overflowing with suds, and continued on the next stall.
An Hour Later
He dumped the filthy water into the now sparkling sink and left it there when he exited the mens' bathroom.
He found Kit arguing with a women, upon closer expection, he realized it was Jess.
"Hi, Jess." Billie greeted, happy to see his friend after so long.
She ignored him and continued to argue with her former manager. Before she left, she gave Billie an angry glance. If looks could kill.
"Why were you guys fightin'?" Billie asked.
"Nothing, petty stuff. But I saw the look Jess gave you on her way out, you guys on the outs?" Billie looked at the floor in sadness, and Kit took the hint and departed to the kitchen.
***
Once his shift was over, he walked out of the fast food parlor without saying good-bye to anyone, not really in the mood to talk to anyone but Jess. When he was half way down the street, he heard people shouting his name and he stopped dead and turned.
It was Tré and the new guy, Jack. Billie waited for them to catch up patiently. They did and stood in front of him smirking.
"What?" Billie asked, wanting to get home and study.
"Jack just had to tell you something." Tré answered, nudging his new friend.
Jack turned to Billie and spoke for the first time, "I just wanted to say how I'm real sorry for taking your job like that, no one told me I was replacin' anybody." he answered, patting his new co-worker on the back.
Billie Joe smiled, happy someone was being nice to him for once, and instead of making fun of him or pushing him around, they apologized. Before he could say his thanks, Tré and Jack turned and left in hushed silence.
He shrugged to himself and walked the rest of the way to his apartment. When he arrived, he unlocked the door, entered, and plopped down into a seat in the kitchen. On the table he was at, sat five books, one an american history text book, the next a dictionary, the second largest was a text book on chemistry, an english book, and the last was an algebra text book.
He picked up the history book and flipped to a marked page: The 1929 Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression. He began to read slowly, if he did not know the meaning of a word, he would take the dictionary and look it up.
***
The bright sunlight lit up the kitchen, and hit Billie's closed eyes, snapping him awake. He wiped the drool from the side of his mouth and tried his best to get it off the history book he had fallen asleep upon reading, but it left a small blotch.
He stood up and stretched, checking the digital clock on the counter top. Billie had an hour before Ms. Nesser was to arrive and test him on the things he had learned in the past week. He pulled off the jacket he had forgotten to wash and tossed it onto the couch in the tiny living room before entering the bathroom to take a shower.
When he finished, he got dressed and pulled the jacket back on, and sat down on the couch to wait for his teacher to come. Twenty minutes later, there was a loud knocking at the door; "Come in!" he shouted loud enough for the person on the other side to hear.
Ms. Nesser entered with a large backpack with all her teaching materials in it slung over her right shoulder. She walked into the living room knowingly and sat in the chair opposite her pupil.
"G'morning, Billie. Sleep well?" she asked sincerely.
Billie shook his head and yawned. "Aw, why not?" Billie shook his head again in response.
Ms. Nesser sighed, tired herself, "Did you read the assignment I gave you?"
Billie Joe nodded and rubbed his eyes with his hand. "Okay then...worst day in U.S. stock market history?"
"Black Tuesday," he sensed the next question Ms. Nesser was to ask and beat her to it: "because the market lost twelve percent."
"Very good!" Ms. Nesser clapped her hands two times, "Do you remember the exact date of Black Tuesday?"
"October...29th 1929...?" Billie answered with a question, not sure the day was correct.
"Correct! Well, this is a good sign, your memory is even getting better!" Ms. Nesser applauded.
Billie Joe smiled proudly, no one had ever applauded him before.
"Ready for another question?" his teacher asked.
Billie nodded again, "I'll give you a choice: History, algebra, or the periodic table?"
He thought for a moment; "Periodic table."
Ms. Nesser pulled out a sheet of paper with the period table on it as her answer sheet. She searched on the element table for a suitable question he could answer: "What can you tell me about polonium?"
"It's radioactive, atomic number is 84, it's group name is...chalcogen...and it's in tobacco." Billie struggled a bit, but came through in the end.
"Perfect! How about argon?"
Billie Joe thought a while before answering, "It's a noble gas, atomic number is 18 and...a little bit is in the atmosphere." he finished and looked at Ms. Nesser for direction.
"I guess Mike was right, you're a natural Einstein!" Ms. Nesser smiled.
By now Billie Joe had finally figured out who Albert Einstein was, and smiled happily.
"Okay, next question..."
Later That Night
Billie Joe sat at the kitchen table again, studying the next assignment he had been given (The Holocaust and its After Effects), an apple held tightly in his jaw. He placed the book on the table, sick of reading, and threw the apple in the trash half-eaten. He moved into his bedroom and lay in bed without changing.
Before he fell asleep, a stray tear fell down his cheek due to thoughts of Jess and her hatred towards him the day before.
"Who's that guy doing my job?" Billie asked, puzzled.
Deefer crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to make himself look tougher, "His name's Jack. Kit hired him after you left, he's best buds with Frank now...or should I say 'Tré'."
"Who's Tré?" Billie Joe asked, his brain addled.
Most of his hair had grown back by now, but he refused to take off his Elvis beanie, just incase his head looked wierd from the protruding scar coming from his hair line down to his temple.
"Frank. He told Jack to call him Tré for some reason, he won't answer to anything else but 'Tré'"
"Oh." Billie Joe looked down at the dirty floor, "Since Jack's doing my job, what am I supposed to do?"
"I dunno, ask Kit I guess." Deefer answered before going back behind the counter and flipping burger patties.
Billie Joe sighed and walked over to Kit, who was wiping down tables with a rag. Billie stood there and waited to be acknowledged.
"What do you want?" Kit asked, but when he turned he jumped slightly, not expecting to see Billie Joe standing there; "Bill! You're back! How long's it been? A month?"
Kit began to walk around to a different table, not even bothering to listen for his employee's answer, Billie Joe followed him; "It's only been three weeks. Can I have my job back?"
Kit huffed and spun around to meet Billie, "Jack's a real good janitor, Billie. But don't fret, I'll give you a different job, an even better one."
***
Billie breathed heavily as he balanced on his knees over the toilet bowl and scrubbed the inside of it with a thick rag. Even after only three weeks of non-stop learning he knew this was deffinately not a better job than the one he had had before.
When he finished cleaning that toilet, he pulled himself up, grabbed the bucket full of dirty water, overflowing with suds, and continued on the next stall.
An Hour Later
He dumped the filthy water into the now sparkling sink and left it there when he exited the mens' bathroom.
He found Kit arguing with a women, upon closer expection, he realized it was Jess.
"Hi, Jess." Billie greeted, happy to see his friend after so long.
She ignored him and continued to argue with her former manager. Before she left, she gave Billie an angry glance. If looks could kill.
"Why were you guys fightin'?" Billie asked.
"Nothing, petty stuff. But I saw the look Jess gave you on her way out, you guys on the outs?" Billie looked at the floor in sadness, and Kit took the hint and departed to the kitchen.
***
Once his shift was over, he walked out of the fast food parlor without saying good-bye to anyone, not really in the mood to talk to anyone but Jess. When he was half way down the street, he heard people shouting his name and he stopped dead and turned.
It was Tré and the new guy, Jack. Billie waited for them to catch up patiently. They did and stood in front of him smirking.
"What?" Billie asked, wanting to get home and study.
"Jack just had to tell you something." Tré answered, nudging his new friend.
Jack turned to Billie and spoke for the first time, "I just wanted to say how I'm real sorry for taking your job like that, no one told me I was replacin' anybody." he answered, patting his new co-worker on the back.
Billie Joe smiled, happy someone was being nice to him for once, and instead of making fun of him or pushing him around, they apologized. Before he could say his thanks, Tré and Jack turned and left in hushed silence.
He shrugged to himself and walked the rest of the way to his apartment. When he arrived, he unlocked the door, entered, and plopped down into a seat in the kitchen. On the table he was at, sat five books, one an american history text book, the next a dictionary, the second largest was a text book on chemistry, an english book, and the last was an algebra text book.
He picked up the history book and flipped to a marked page: The 1929 Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression. He began to read slowly, if he did not know the meaning of a word, he would take the dictionary and look it up.
***
The bright sunlight lit up the kitchen, and hit Billie's closed eyes, snapping him awake. He wiped the drool from the side of his mouth and tried his best to get it off the history book he had fallen asleep upon reading, but it left a small blotch.
He stood up and stretched, checking the digital clock on the counter top. Billie had an hour before Ms. Nesser was to arrive and test him on the things he had learned in the past week. He pulled off the jacket he had forgotten to wash and tossed it onto the couch in the tiny living room before entering the bathroom to take a shower.
When he finished, he got dressed and pulled the jacket back on, and sat down on the couch to wait for his teacher to come. Twenty minutes later, there was a loud knocking at the door; "Come in!" he shouted loud enough for the person on the other side to hear.
Ms. Nesser entered with a large backpack with all her teaching materials in it slung over her right shoulder. She walked into the living room knowingly and sat in the chair opposite her pupil.
"G'morning, Billie. Sleep well?" she asked sincerely.
Billie shook his head and yawned. "Aw, why not?" Billie shook his head again in response.
Ms. Nesser sighed, tired herself, "Did you read the assignment I gave you?"
Billie Joe nodded and rubbed his eyes with his hand. "Okay then...worst day in U.S. stock market history?"
"Black Tuesday," he sensed the next question Ms. Nesser was to ask and beat her to it: "because the market lost twelve percent."
"Very good!" Ms. Nesser clapped her hands two times, "Do you remember the exact date of Black Tuesday?"
"October...29th 1929...?" Billie answered with a question, not sure the day was correct.
"Correct! Well, this is a good sign, your memory is even getting better!" Ms. Nesser applauded.
Billie Joe smiled proudly, no one had ever applauded him before.
"Ready for another question?" his teacher asked.
Billie nodded again, "I'll give you a choice: History, algebra, or the periodic table?"
He thought for a moment; "Periodic table."
Ms. Nesser pulled out a sheet of paper with the period table on it as her answer sheet. She searched on the element table for a suitable question he could answer: "What can you tell me about polonium?"
"It's radioactive, atomic number is 84, it's group name is...chalcogen...and it's in tobacco." Billie struggled a bit, but came through in the end.
"Perfect! How about argon?"
Billie Joe thought a while before answering, "It's a noble gas, atomic number is 18 and...a little bit is in the atmosphere." he finished and looked at Ms. Nesser for direction.
"I guess Mike was right, you're a natural Einstein!" Ms. Nesser smiled.
By now Billie Joe had finally figured out who Albert Einstein was, and smiled happily.
"Okay, next question..."
Later That Night
Billie Joe sat at the kitchen table again, studying the next assignment he had been given (The Holocaust and its After Effects), an apple held tightly in his jaw. He placed the book on the table, sick of reading, and threw the apple in the trash half-eaten. He moved into his bedroom and lay in bed without changing.
Before he fell asleep, a stray tear fell down his cheek due to thoughts of Jess and her hatred towards him the day before.
