The Summer Of Our Lives, chapter 5
<p>The slow Whine of the sewing machine was calming me down at intervals of about half a second for every five stitches I made. Every time I thought about the concert, my breathing would come really fast and my legs would start shaking. I was THAT excited. </p>
<p>I tried instead to empty my mind of everything other than the T-shirt I was making.<br /> I had called Kevin after hanging up with Liv and her mom, and he said he would meet Liv, Robert, and me at the train station outside of Kentford, so the four of us could ride into the city.<br /> Soon after, I decided nothing I owned was good enough to wear to a Green Day concert. Which brings me to where I am now, making the perfect Green Day T-shirt and singing "Wake Me Up When September Ends" so loudly I was practically shouting. <br /> I stopped sewing, took my new shirt out of the machine, and admired my work. The shirt was jet black, with a red felt heart-grenade on the front and, in white felt, the words "GREEN DAY" around the grenade. I compared the heart grenade on the shirt to the one on the cover of "American Idiot" and decided that I had done a good job tracing and cutting it.<br />'Looks like I have an amazing talent for making T-shirts,' I joked to myself. 'I finally found what I'm good at.'
Actually, this was not true. I looked at the CD case again. Liv had lent it to me in hopes that I would learn the words to all the songs before the concert. She didn't need to worry. I don't mean to brag, but I am an AMAZING singer. My memory for lyrics and my ability to find the deeper meanings of songs was impeccable (Liv's word, not mine). I used to be completely terrified of singing in front of people. But now I wasn't. Ever since Kevin had come out and said he liked me, I somehow gained this new confidence. If I, Cassandra Madison Jenkins, could get my dream guy, then I could do ANYTHING.<br />I folded my T-shirt and placed it carefully on my desk chair. </p>
**Day of the Concert**
<p>Liv and I emerged from my room, looking like the perfect Green Day queens we so obviously were, and psyched beyond belief. I was in my homemade T-shirt, dark denim Levi's, and black high-heeled boots. Liv sported a red Green Day tank top, pale blue ripped-up jeans, and a pair of silver heart-grenade earrings that glinted every time they caught the light.<br />"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," was all I had been able to say pretty much all day.<br /> "We're going to a concert! A Green Day concert! This... is... so... COOL!"<br />"Cassie," Liv said, trying to reprimand me but doing a lousy job, since she was having a hard time containing her own excitement, "would you please calm yourself?"<br />We laughed. Liv told me to take a deep breath and relax. </p>
<p>"Cassie! Olivia! Will you get in the car?" my mom yelled over the car horn and "Holiday" playing on the radio. <br />"'Kay," I yelled back as I swung myself into the front seat. I turned to Liv in the back.<br /> "Got everything?"<br />"I hope so."<br />I looked at her. "You've got the tickets?"<br />"I've got the tickets."<br />"You've got money?"<br />"Money, tickets, cell phone, bag, everything," Liv assured me.<br />With that, we were off.</p>
**At the Train Station**
<p>We pulled up to the station about ten minutes before the train into New York City was scheduled to leave. Liv immediately ran from the car, with me close behind.<br />"Kevin!" I shouted happily.<br />"Mad!" he shouted back, waving. A few weeks ago, Kevin gave me the nickname "Mad", because (a) my middle name is Madison, and (b) I'm a little bit crazy.<br />The four of us paid for our tickets, said goodbye to our mothers (who, much to our relief, did not cry or do anything equally stupid), and boarded the train.<br />We took two seats facing each other, me and Kevin facing Robert and Liv. Kevin kissed me on the cheek as soon as we sat down. <br />"Will this be cool," he wanted to know, "or what?"
<br />"This will be cool beyond physical possibility," Liv said.<br /> Rob looked at her admiringly, as the train began rolling down the tracks, away from the tiny suburb of Kentford and towards the Concrete Jungle.<br /> "I agree."
We all did.</p>
<p>I tried instead to empty my mind of everything other than the T-shirt I was making.<br /> I had called Kevin after hanging up with Liv and her mom, and he said he would meet Liv, Robert, and me at the train station outside of Kentford, so the four of us could ride into the city.<br /> Soon after, I decided nothing I owned was good enough to wear to a Green Day concert. Which brings me to where I am now, making the perfect Green Day T-shirt and singing "Wake Me Up When September Ends" so loudly I was practically shouting. <br /> I stopped sewing, took my new shirt out of the machine, and admired my work. The shirt was jet black, with a red felt heart-grenade on the front and, in white felt, the words "GREEN DAY" around the grenade. I compared the heart grenade on the shirt to the one on the cover of "American Idiot" and decided that I had done a good job tracing and cutting it.<br />'Looks like I have an amazing talent for making T-shirts,' I joked to myself. 'I finally found what I'm good at.'
Actually, this was not true. I looked at the CD case again. Liv had lent it to me in hopes that I would learn the words to all the songs before the concert. She didn't need to worry. I don't mean to brag, but I am an AMAZING singer. My memory for lyrics and my ability to find the deeper meanings of songs was impeccable (Liv's word, not mine). I used to be completely terrified of singing in front of people. But now I wasn't. Ever since Kevin had come out and said he liked me, I somehow gained this new confidence. If I, Cassandra Madison Jenkins, could get my dream guy, then I could do ANYTHING.<br />I folded my T-shirt and placed it carefully on my desk chair. </p>
**Day of the Concert**
<p>Liv and I emerged from my room, looking like the perfect Green Day queens we so obviously were, and psyched beyond belief. I was in my homemade T-shirt, dark denim Levi's, and black high-heeled boots. Liv sported a red Green Day tank top, pale blue ripped-up jeans, and a pair of silver heart-grenade earrings that glinted every time they caught the light.<br />"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," was all I had been able to say pretty much all day.<br /> "We're going to a concert! A Green Day concert! This... is... so... COOL!"<br />"Cassie," Liv said, trying to reprimand me but doing a lousy job, since she was having a hard time containing her own excitement, "would you please calm yourself?"<br />We laughed. Liv told me to take a deep breath and relax. </p>
<p>"Cassie! Olivia! Will you get in the car?" my mom yelled over the car horn and "Holiday" playing on the radio. <br />"'Kay," I yelled back as I swung myself into the front seat. I turned to Liv in the back.<br /> "Got everything?"<br />"I hope so."<br />I looked at her. "You've got the tickets?"<br />"I've got the tickets."<br />"You've got money?"<br />"Money, tickets, cell phone, bag, everything," Liv assured me.<br />With that, we were off.</p>
**At the Train Station**
<p>We pulled up to the station about ten minutes before the train into New York City was scheduled to leave. Liv immediately ran from the car, with me close behind.<br />"Kevin!" I shouted happily.<br />"Mad!" he shouted back, waving. A few weeks ago, Kevin gave me the nickname "Mad", because (a) my middle name is Madison, and (b) I'm a little bit crazy.<br />The four of us paid for our tickets, said goodbye to our mothers (who, much to our relief, did not cry or do anything equally stupid), and boarded the train.<br />We took two seats facing each other, me and Kevin facing Robert and Liv. Kevin kissed me on the cheek as soon as we sat down. <br />"Will this be cool," he wanted to know, "or what?"
<br />"This will be cool beyond physical possibility," Liv said.<br /> Rob looked at her admiringly, as the train began rolling down the tracks, away from the tiny suburb of Kentford and towards the Concrete Jungle.<br /> "I agree."
We all did.</p>
