A Kid Called Billie Joe, chapter 1
I hated my life. I hated my parents. I had no friends. I'd only just started High School but already I knew I was failing. In every class I sat in a dark corner at the back, alone and depressed at the two-people tables. But then one day everything changed...
One morning a boy with black hair and an expensive-looking leather jacket came into my registration class. The teacher stopped taking attendance and said, "Everyone, this is Billie Joe. He'll be joining this class." Then he turned to the boy and pointed out a seat. I looked around and ralised that all the seats were taken except the one beside me. The new kid made his way to the back of the room and sat down beside me.
"Hi, I'm Billie Joe," he said and he held out his hand.
"Cool name. I'm Rach," I replied as I shook his hand. When reg. class ended, the teacher called us both over.
" Rachel, Billie Joe is in all your classes. Could you show him around, please?"
I nodded, and the teacher turned to Billie Joe. "Billie Joe, is that alright with you?"
He replied, "Yeah, that would be great, thanks."
"OK, you two had better get to class. I don't want to get you both in trouble."
We left the classroom, and I said to Billie Joe, "You have French class first, right?"
He replied, "Yeah, and thanks for showing me around."
"No problem. Well,this is the room."
I went to take my usual seat at the back. Billie Joe came to sit beside me. "Hey, if you're sitting here so I'll give you answers, you're out of luck, I'm no good at French. In fact, I'm no good at school in general."
Billie Joe grinned. "No, I'm sitting here because I want to sit next to you."
"Why'd you wanna do that? Normally people just see right through me. I'm a ghost to the other kids," I said.
"That's not fair. Don't you ever feel lonely here?"
"Whatever."
"Rachel, Billie Joe, be quiet and pay attention," I heard the teacher say.
After class, we made our way to music. We sat down at the keyboards. We were supposed to make up our own tunes, and 5 minutes after we'd started, Billie Joe stopped working to play me his composition. It was a rock tune, different to anything I had ever heard before. And he blew me away.
I looked at him, amazed. "I call it Basket Case. You like it?"
"Wow, Billie Joe, that was awesome! How do you do that?"
"Um, well, I've been playing guitar for a couple of years... you want some help?" he offered.
"That would be good."
"OK, what kind of music are you into?"
"I don't know..."
"OK then, try this." I watched him play a few notes. Then I copied them. He played a few more. I copied. Then I played a few more.
"There you go. You've composed a tune. Play it again." So I practised it. At the end of the lesson, everyone in the class performed his or her tune. Billie Joe went last. Two cheerleaders, Laura and Sarah, said it was boring and awful, but apart from that, everyone seemed to like it.
We moved on to English, where we passed notes for the whole period. Then we got lunch. At one point, another cheerleader, Emma, came up to Billie Joe and said, "You're cute. Why are you hanging around with that freak?" looking at me.
Billie Joe just looked at her and said, "Because she's my friend," and went back to his sandwich.
After we ate, I showed him the different parts of the school. The bell rang and we made our way to Science, where Billie Joe blew up part of the Chemistry lab. " I was getting kind of sick of that teacher anyway," he said, like nothing had happened.
The last class of the day was Art. We took our seats, and he said to me, "Do you sit at the back of ebery class?" But before I could reply, he added, "I always sat at the back at my last school. I didn't have many friends there to sit with."
We started to draw. We had to do a portrait of the person sitting opposite you. At the end we swapped drawings. Billie Joe had drawn me drawing him. I told him it was pretty good. I'd drawn him with his famous grin and his leather jacket. "You're a really talented artist," he finally said, after taking in evry detail of the drawing.
"Thanks, and I like your jacket," I said.
"Thanks," he said.
As he finished talking, the bell rang. "Time to go," I said, stuffing things in my bag. "Hey Billie Joe, how do you get home?"
"I take the bus."
"Me too. Can I sit with you, or are you sick of me?"
"You can sit with me."
We got on the bus. "Billie Joe, why'd you come here?"
"I ran away. Couldn't take it anymore, so I took my money and things and left. I bought myself a little apartment and came to school."
"Don't you get lonely?"
"Yes"
I took out a pencil and a piece of paper and wrote CALL ME and put my phone number. "This is my stop. Bye, Billie Joe See ya tomorrow." He waved to me as I went into my house.
That night I got a phone call.
"Hello?"
"Its me, Billie Joe."
"Hey, what's up?"
"I'm bored."
"Me too. You get the bus to school, right?"
"Yes."
"I'll see you on the bus tomorrow morning then, right?"
"Right. I have to go now, OK? Bye Rach."
"Bye Billie Joe." And then he hung up.
One morning a boy with black hair and an expensive-looking leather jacket came into my registration class. The teacher stopped taking attendance and said, "Everyone, this is Billie Joe. He'll be joining this class." Then he turned to the boy and pointed out a seat. I looked around and ralised that all the seats were taken except the one beside me. The new kid made his way to the back of the room and sat down beside me.
"Hi, I'm Billie Joe," he said and he held out his hand.
"Cool name. I'm Rach," I replied as I shook his hand. When reg. class ended, the teacher called us both over.
" Rachel, Billie Joe is in all your classes. Could you show him around, please?"
I nodded, and the teacher turned to Billie Joe. "Billie Joe, is that alright with you?"
He replied, "Yeah, that would be great, thanks."
"OK, you two had better get to class. I don't want to get you both in trouble."
We left the classroom, and I said to Billie Joe, "You have French class first, right?"
He replied, "Yeah, and thanks for showing me around."
"No problem. Well,this is the room."
I went to take my usual seat at the back. Billie Joe came to sit beside me. "Hey, if you're sitting here so I'll give you answers, you're out of luck, I'm no good at French. In fact, I'm no good at school in general."
Billie Joe grinned. "No, I'm sitting here because I want to sit next to you."
"Why'd you wanna do that? Normally people just see right through me. I'm a ghost to the other kids," I said.
"That's not fair. Don't you ever feel lonely here?"
"Whatever."
"Rachel, Billie Joe, be quiet and pay attention," I heard the teacher say.
After class, we made our way to music. We sat down at the keyboards. We were supposed to make up our own tunes, and 5 minutes after we'd started, Billie Joe stopped working to play me his composition. It was a rock tune, different to anything I had ever heard before. And he blew me away.
I looked at him, amazed. "I call it Basket Case. You like it?"
"Wow, Billie Joe, that was awesome! How do you do that?"
"Um, well, I've been playing guitar for a couple of years... you want some help?" he offered.
"That would be good."
"OK, what kind of music are you into?"
"I don't know..."
"OK then, try this." I watched him play a few notes. Then I copied them. He played a few more. I copied. Then I played a few more.
"There you go. You've composed a tune. Play it again." So I practised it. At the end of the lesson, everyone in the class performed his or her tune. Billie Joe went last. Two cheerleaders, Laura and Sarah, said it was boring and awful, but apart from that, everyone seemed to like it.
We moved on to English, where we passed notes for the whole period. Then we got lunch. At one point, another cheerleader, Emma, came up to Billie Joe and said, "You're cute. Why are you hanging around with that freak?" looking at me.
Billie Joe just looked at her and said, "Because she's my friend," and went back to his sandwich.
After we ate, I showed him the different parts of the school. The bell rang and we made our way to Science, where Billie Joe blew up part of the Chemistry lab. " I was getting kind of sick of that teacher anyway," he said, like nothing had happened.
The last class of the day was Art. We took our seats, and he said to me, "Do you sit at the back of ebery class?" But before I could reply, he added, "I always sat at the back at my last school. I didn't have many friends there to sit with."
We started to draw. We had to do a portrait of the person sitting opposite you. At the end we swapped drawings. Billie Joe had drawn me drawing him. I told him it was pretty good. I'd drawn him with his famous grin and his leather jacket. "You're a really talented artist," he finally said, after taking in evry detail of the drawing.
"Thanks, and I like your jacket," I said.
"Thanks," he said.
As he finished talking, the bell rang. "Time to go," I said, stuffing things in my bag. "Hey Billie Joe, how do you get home?"
"I take the bus."
"Me too. Can I sit with you, or are you sick of me?"
"You can sit with me."
We got on the bus. "Billie Joe, why'd you come here?"
"I ran away. Couldn't take it anymore, so I took my money and things and left. I bought myself a little apartment and came to school."
"Don't you get lonely?"
"Yes"
I took out a pencil and a piece of paper and wrote CALL ME and put my phone number. "This is my stop. Bye, Billie Joe See ya tomorrow." He waved to me as I went into my house.
That night I got a phone call.
"Hello?"
"Its me, Billie Joe."
"Hey, what's up?"
"I'm bored."
"Me too. You get the bus to school, right?"
"Yes."
"I'll see you on the bus tomorrow morning then, right?"
"Right. I have to go now, OK? Bye Rach."
"Bye Billie Joe." And then he hung up.
