The Summer Of Our Lives, chapter 9
Kentford, New Jersey, the town my friends and I live in, is a kind of weird suburban sprawl near the New York area. The problem is, you can't really get anywhere without driving. There are no cabs and no buses. The only form of transportation besides cars is the train, but that only runs into the city. So that explains why Liv gave her cell phone number to Billie, telling him to call her the next day when they were ready to meet us at the mall where we would give them their ticket back to civilization.
"Thanks," he said to Liv.
To me, he said, "Well, thanks for letting us hang out here a bit while we try to find our way around this, er, lovely little town." Liv and I chuckled.
"Yeah, the suburbs suck, we know," we both said.
And before we knew it, we were saying goodbye to Green Day as they left, climbed back in their car, and sped off down my street.
The Next Morning
I awoke with the sunlight shining in my room right onto my face. I rolled over and saw a pair or emerald-green eyes sparkling mischievously at me, and nearly jumped out of my skin. It was Liv.
"Hola, sleepyhead," she said cheerfully. "Time to get up!"
"Uhhhhmmmmm," I muttered, dragging myself out of my sleeping bag. Then I sat straight up and said, "Oh my God, I had the craziest dream last night. We went to the Green Day concert, and when we got back my mom left us alone in the house, and then Green Day came over, and there were orange mocha frappaccuinos, and Tre was going through my fridge, and -"
"Cassie, umm, yeah..." Liv trailed off helplessly. "That kinda sorta wasn't a dream."
My memory returned. "Oh my God, you're right, it wasn't! We have to meet them at the mall. And hey, isn't your mom coming to pick you up in a little while?" I was randomly chatting, probably caused by the sugar-and-caffeine-filled after-affects of the orange mocha frappaccuinos.
Liv and I climbed downstairs, still in our pajamas (Liv was still in her concert T-shirt and jeans, which she had slept in). Liv went through the fridge in the same manner Tre had the night before, and finally returned to the table with a carton of orange juice and a bottle of maple syrup. I dug microwave pancakes from the freezer and stuck them in the microwave. When they were done, Liv and I sat down to eat.
"So," Liv said, shoving pancakes in her mouth, "where's your mom? She and Pete ever get back last night?"
"Yeah," I said. "You were just in too much shock from meeting the guys from Green Day to remember. I practically had to carry you upstairs, you were daydreaming so much."
"Oh yeah," Liv said, as if she were just remembering this, which she probably was.
We finished eating and cleared the table. A little while later, the doorbell rang. I looked at the clock. It was nine-thirty. "Jesus, Liv, we never seem to sleep in like normal people."
"Yeah," she agreed. "We're up at the crack of dawn, for Christ's sake."
"Olivia, it's your mother," my mom was saying, as she sleepily wandered downstairs, with my brother Peter at her heels, rubbing his eyes.
"Well, anyway, thanks, Cassie! I had so much fun!" Liv said as she headed out the door. Then, as an afterthought, she added, "I'll call you!" Of course, only I knew what she was talking about.
A Little While Later
I went upstairs, took a shower, and washed my hair, which was all greasy from not being washed the night before. As soon as I was dressed, I went back downstairs and saw that the little red light on the phone was blinking. I pressed the button.
"Hey, Cassie, this is Liv. Just calling to see if you, uhh, wanted to go to the mall." She paused, wanting to make sure I got the message, but not wanting my family to hear about how a rock band was at their house the previous night. "So... call me back. You know the number. Bye." I took the phone off the receiver and dialed the number. Liv picked up on the first ring.
"Hey Cassie!" she sang.
"Damn," I said, "I hate when you do that! It's weird how you always know it's me!"
"A little thing called caller ID," my friend replied. "Anyway, Billie called me." Liv paused. "God, that sounded weird to say. Billie called me," she giggled.
"Liv! Can we get back to reality here?" I prompted. "The map thing? Remember?"
"Oh yeah," she sighed. "We need a ride."
"I know!" I snapped my fingers. "I'll call Kevin!"
"I'll call Rob."
"I'll call you back." I hung up, then dialed Kevin's number. Like Liv, he picked up on the first ring and also had caller ID.
"Hey Mad. What's up?" was the first thing he said to me.
"Liv and I have something to tell you. But... we'll need a ride to the mall."
"No problem," he said. I heard him go in the background, "Hey Clare! Can my friends and I get a ride to the mall?"
I heard a faint "Ugh. FINE," and the sound of someone getting up from a chair. Kevin said into the phone, "Be there in a minute."
"Kay. See ya." I hung up and called Liv back.
"Well?" she said as soon as she picked up.
"Kevin's sister can drive us. We'll pick you up in a few." I hung up.
Fifteen Minutes Later
"So, what is this huge surprise that you guys couldn't tell us on the way over?" Rob asked Liv and me as soon as we walked through the door to the Kentford Area Mall (which is ridiculously small, by the way).
Rob turned to Kevin. "And how did you get your sister to drive us here? I have a little sister; I wouldn't do a goddamn thing for her."
Kevin replied, "You would if you just got your license and would do anything to drive someplace." He stopped cold. "Hey," he said, "Aren't those the guys from the concert last night? Green Day? That looks just like them, I could swear-"
"Yyyeeeaahh," I said slowly. "That's kind of the surprise. They showed up on my front porch last night because they were lost, and they agreed to meet us here to get a map of Kentford."
Kevin looked at me skeptically. "You know there's a reason I call you Mad," he said. "That is probably the craziest story I ever heard." I shrugged. It was true. Just then we were interrupted by the three Green Day guys coming towards us. Billie was looking around nervously, probably hoping no one would recognize him, Mike was downing a coffee he'd gotten from Starbucks, and Tre was staring at a group of girls who were obviously checking him out.
"I got you guys a map," I said, thrusting it at Billie. "It should get you out of here and back to the real world, but you know her number if you get lost." I gestured towards Liv.
Mike looked up from his coffee at Kevin and Rob. "I don't think I caught your names," he said.
"I'm Kevin," Kevin said, sticking out his hand for the three of them to shake.
"Rob," said Rob, doing the same.
Awkward silence. I broke it by saying, "Well, what are we going to do? We're here; we might as well go someplace."
"Okay." Everybody seemed to agree with that one. We headed off to Hot Topic.
"Thanks," he said to Liv.
To me, he said, "Well, thanks for letting us hang out here a bit while we try to find our way around this, er, lovely little town." Liv and I chuckled.
"Yeah, the suburbs suck, we know," we both said.
And before we knew it, we were saying goodbye to Green Day as they left, climbed back in their car, and sped off down my street.
The Next Morning
I awoke with the sunlight shining in my room right onto my face. I rolled over and saw a pair or emerald-green eyes sparkling mischievously at me, and nearly jumped out of my skin. It was Liv.
"Hola, sleepyhead," she said cheerfully. "Time to get up!"
"Uhhhhmmmmm," I muttered, dragging myself out of my sleeping bag. Then I sat straight up and said, "Oh my God, I had the craziest dream last night. We went to the Green Day concert, and when we got back my mom left us alone in the house, and then Green Day came over, and there were orange mocha frappaccuinos, and Tre was going through my fridge, and -"
"Cassie, umm, yeah..." Liv trailed off helplessly. "That kinda sorta wasn't a dream."
My memory returned. "Oh my God, you're right, it wasn't! We have to meet them at the mall. And hey, isn't your mom coming to pick you up in a little while?" I was randomly chatting, probably caused by the sugar-and-caffeine-filled after-affects of the orange mocha frappaccuinos.
Liv and I climbed downstairs, still in our pajamas (Liv was still in her concert T-shirt and jeans, which she had slept in). Liv went through the fridge in the same manner Tre had the night before, and finally returned to the table with a carton of orange juice and a bottle of maple syrup. I dug microwave pancakes from the freezer and stuck them in the microwave. When they were done, Liv and I sat down to eat.
"So," Liv said, shoving pancakes in her mouth, "where's your mom? She and Pete ever get back last night?"
"Yeah," I said. "You were just in too much shock from meeting the guys from Green Day to remember. I practically had to carry you upstairs, you were daydreaming so much."
"Oh yeah," Liv said, as if she were just remembering this, which she probably was.
We finished eating and cleared the table. A little while later, the doorbell rang. I looked at the clock. It was nine-thirty. "Jesus, Liv, we never seem to sleep in like normal people."
"Yeah," she agreed. "We're up at the crack of dawn, for Christ's sake."
"Olivia, it's your mother," my mom was saying, as she sleepily wandered downstairs, with my brother Peter at her heels, rubbing his eyes.
"Well, anyway, thanks, Cassie! I had so much fun!" Liv said as she headed out the door. Then, as an afterthought, she added, "I'll call you!" Of course, only I knew what she was talking about.
A Little While Later
I went upstairs, took a shower, and washed my hair, which was all greasy from not being washed the night before. As soon as I was dressed, I went back downstairs and saw that the little red light on the phone was blinking. I pressed the button.
"Hey, Cassie, this is Liv. Just calling to see if you, uhh, wanted to go to the mall." She paused, wanting to make sure I got the message, but not wanting my family to hear about how a rock band was at their house the previous night. "So... call me back. You know the number. Bye." I took the phone off the receiver and dialed the number. Liv picked up on the first ring.
"Hey Cassie!" she sang.
"Damn," I said, "I hate when you do that! It's weird how you always know it's me!"
"A little thing called caller ID," my friend replied. "Anyway, Billie called me." Liv paused. "God, that sounded weird to say. Billie called me," she giggled.
"Liv! Can we get back to reality here?" I prompted. "The map thing? Remember?"
"Oh yeah," she sighed. "We need a ride."
"I know!" I snapped my fingers. "I'll call Kevin!"
"I'll call Rob."
"I'll call you back." I hung up, then dialed Kevin's number. Like Liv, he picked up on the first ring and also had caller ID.
"Hey Mad. What's up?" was the first thing he said to me.
"Liv and I have something to tell you. But... we'll need a ride to the mall."
"No problem," he said. I heard him go in the background, "Hey Clare! Can my friends and I get a ride to the mall?"
I heard a faint "Ugh. FINE," and the sound of someone getting up from a chair. Kevin said into the phone, "Be there in a minute."
"Kay. See ya." I hung up and called Liv back.
"Well?" she said as soon as she picked up.
"Kevin's sister can drive us. We'll pick you up in a few." I hung up.
Fifteen Minutes Later
"So, what is this huge surprise that you guys couldn't tell us on the way over?" Rob asked Liv and me as soon as we walked through the door to the Kentford Area Mall (which is ridiculously small, by the way).
Rob turned to Kevin. "And how did you get your sister to drive us here? I have a little sister; I wouldn't do a goddamn thing for her."
Kevin replied, "You would if you just got your license and would do anything to drive someplace." He stopped cold. "Hey," he said, "Aren't those the guys from the concert last night? Green Day? That looks just like them, I could swear-"
"Yyyeeeaahh," I said slowly. "That's kind of the surprise. They showed up on my front porch last night because they were lost, and they agreed to meet us here to get a map of Kentford."
Kevin looked at me skeptically. "You know there's a reason I call you Mad," he said. "That is probably the craziest story I ever heard." I shrugged. It was true. Just then we were interrupted by the three Green Day guys coming towards us. Billie was looking around nervously, probably hoping no one would recognize him, Mike was downing a coffee he'd gotten from Starbucks, and Tre was staring at a group of girls who were obviously checking him out.
"I got you guys a map," I said, thrusting it at Billie. "It should get you out of here and back to the real world, but you know her number if you get lost." I gestured towards Liv.
Mike looked up from his coffee at Kevin and Rob. "I don't think I caught your names," he said.
"I'm Kevin," Kevin said, sticking out his hand for the three of them to shake.
"Rob," said Rob, doing the same.
Awkward silence. I broke it by saying, "Well, what are we going to do? We're here; we might as well go someplace."
"Okay." Everybody seemed to agree with that one. We headed off to Hot Topic.
