Another Day Goes By, Am I In Your Dreams Tonight?, chapter 1
So here I sat, like I do everyday same old boring gross cup of too black and too strong coffee and it stares back at me at bland as my life it's self.
'Another day another dollar that could be in your pocket join today and save tons!' Francesca, or better known as Frankie among friends skimmed threw the New Yorker finding nothing of any particular interest as she sipped on her unsatisfactory coffee that she only drank because it was free from her good friend Dean who owned the small place.
"Do you want some more Frankie?" Dean asking holding a pot in his hand
"No I'm fine, I'll take some pancakes though"
"Coming right up"
She sighed and looked into her half empty cup seeing the reflection of her 25 year old self
"25 out of luck and out of love, welcome to my life, ugh that sounds like a bad pop song" she mumbles to no one but herself as she moved her gaze out the window staring into the busy New York street " and there they all go running around like they give a damn where there going, but they all live the lives they hate. Poor, poor souls, and poor me for being one of them"
"Here's your pancakes" Dean said placing the plate down in front of her and she mumbled her thanks and began pouring syrup over them.
"You okay? You seem kind of down, well more then usual" Dean asked staring down at her
"I'm the same as I am everyday Dean, I guess I'm just a bit over fed up today, you know?" she took small bite of the pancake and sat back and looked up at her friend
"I lost my job, my horrible crappy job that I hated anyway, and I guess in return it and everyone involved in it hated me as well"
"Well you were going to quit anyway right?" Dean sat across from Frankie and poured her some more of the sickening coffee
"Yeah well that's the point I was going to quit and I got fired, I was working harder so I could leave with a good clean slate, but no it seems the more you pull up the harder they want you to fall, bastards it really pissed me off"
"Well do you have a job set up you want, or do you know what you're going to do now?"
"I have no clue, I was thinking about maybe starting to write again"
"Yeah that's be good but that takes time to get anywhere with, and you'll need money in the mean time"
"Yeah so scratch that idea right, I guess I could just go to the newspaper or a magazine and write for one of them to get a bit of cash saved up you know"
"Yeah or you could work for me here, Mel is leaving for college and I'll need a new waitress" Dean offered as Frankie nodded in acknowledgment
"You know I'd love to, but it doesn't pay nearly enough, even though I'll probably have to get two job's anyway"
"Well I'll hire you right now, and you have job number one"
"Dean you really don't need to do this for me, I'm a lousy waitress and you know it, remember us working together in university, I was shit and you were the shit" Frankie put the last remaining pieces of pancakes in her mouth and swallowed them almost without chewing.
"I don't care how shitty you are at waitressing Frankie, I don't want to see you on the street, it will put enough money in your pocket for now until you find another job that pay's enough or one that will balance it out with this one"
Dean disappeared into the kitchen with her plate as she let out a tired sigh and took five dollar's out of her pocket for the bill, she knew Dean wouldn't let her pay and give back to her latter, but she put it on the table and went to leave anyway.
'Dean, Dean, Dean what will I ever do without you' as Francesca turned to the door she hit a taller man, and was knocked off her unsteady feet, he gave her his hand and apologized for running into her and she to him for the same.
"It's my fault really, I was rushing by not looking" he insisted
"No, no if I didn't turn like that, I really wasn't paying attention myself, just don't worry about it" she answered
"Are you okay though, no bad battle scars?"
"No I'm fine really, I'm a cluts use to falling a lot"
"Would you like to join me for coffee?"
"Um well I was just-"
"Oh Francesca don't even think about it" Dean came over waving her five dollar bill and putting it in her pocket "You know you're a free eater specially now and your taking the job, no objections to it- Hi I'm Dean, you are?" Dean asked taking the man's hand
"I'm Mike, hope to see you again, Francesca is it?"
"Yeah and same" Mike walked off to get a table in the corner of the restaurant café
"Hey, earth to Frankie stop staring at him likes he's a famous rock star and listen to me" Dean said waving his hand in front of Frankie's face to get her attention
"Uh oh sorry, and yes I'll take the job, and you take my money, I have to go now though, the damn cat's will probably tear the place apart if I don't get back soon with food for them"
"See you later Hun" Dean gave Frankie a friendly hug good-bye and she headed to the pet store
'Prime choice from and for your cat's health, cats will love it and you as well, now the world wants to base how much my pets will love me by which type of food I buy them how degrading. Oh well I'm picking the cheapest, so they can hate me as much as they want, like any of this shit tastes better or worse.' Frankie took the bag of cat food to the check out and grabbed some cat treats on the way.
"Is this everything mam' " the cashier asked
"Yes this is everything" Frankie stared out the window across to Dean's dinner café to see the man she bumped into walking out the doors
"Your change mam' "
"Uh yeah thanks" she took her bags and walked out of the pet store watching the man across the street 'uh what was his name again... Oh yeah Mike duh, maybe if I cross and wait no he's crossing! Okay maybe I should avoid him he could be a stalker type. But I don't know that, he could be great, maybe I'll just bump into him again, it may be on purpose but it could be worth it. Or I could make a fool of myself, think Francesca think!'
"Hey its you again" Frankie looked up to his sunglass covered eyes
"Uh, uh yeah nice to meet you, again"
"So you like cats eh?"
'How did he know I like cats, or I know have cats! He is a stalker type oh way to go Frankie always attracting the freaks!'
"Or you hate them and just buy cat food to-"
"Oh yeah, yeah I love cats great animals" a wave of relief and founded stupidity washed over her as she realized he saw in her pet's mart bag "sorry I couldn't join you for coffee I already had mine"
"Oh its fine, the pancakes are the only good thing there anyways"
"That's cause they don't cook them form scratch, but you didn't hear that form me"
Mike laughed and spoke up again "so you want to get a real coffee, one that doesn't make you gag?"
"Well I really should get this stuff home before my cat's rip apart my place"
"Oh yeah, sorry" Mike looked down at the dirty sidewalk
"Well I guess I could make them wait twenty minutes more, Splitz is fat anyways he could go without eating for a few days actually"
"Really? You want to join me?"
"Well unless you meant for me to go get coffee by myself, yes I'd like to join you"
"Okay great, I know I place a few blocks from here, walk or cab?"
"Walk, if it's alright. I hate cabs"
"Walking it is"
"So what do you do?" Mike asked taking a sip of his star bucks coffee
"Well as of today I am no longer a corporate prick's stepping stone, and I now work at Dean's café restaurant or whatever he is going with these days. What do you do?"
"Oh cool, you and Dean know one another well?" Mike asked ignoring the question asked
"Yes we are good friends go way back, what is it you do?" Frankie pressed for an answer
"It really shows, so uh what's your cats names?"
"Splitz and Spaz, now stop avoiding the question"
"You really don't know who I am do you?"
"No, should I?" Frankie questioned
'Wow she doesn't know who I am, finally someone in the world I can have a conversation with who thinks I am just plain old Mike, no suck-ups cause I'm a big time rock star. Today is a good day for Mike Dirnt, a very good day indeed'
"No, no, um I co-own a café in California, it's called Rudy Can't Fail"
"Cool that named after the clash song right?"
"Yeah, you like them?"
"Yes they are my favorite band, they are old but still I love them, I listen to mostly old stuff, I don't watch TV much, but I do know some new stuff like alkaline trio and some other's from my friends. What about you? What bands do you like?"
"Well the clash obviously, you know you really shouldn't get me started on music I could go on forever"
"That's okay I love music, I had a band in high school, we played punk-type stuff but I moved to New York and my friends and family stayed behind, as well as the band"
"That sucks I'm in a band, I play bass do back up vocals. What did you play?"
"The guitar I was the lead singer also"
"You play anywhere with your band, or have you been stuck in a garage phase since high school, or are you still in high school?"
Mike laughed and looked up at Frankie "No, not stuck in the garage we play all over. And I'm not still in high school and I did graduate, and I'm for a few more days"
"Well that's good to know, I graduated went to university here in New York and am fresh on the number 25"
"Really, when was your birthday?"
"Two days ago"
"So April 26th well I'm May 4th"
"Maybe I could see your band play sometime. What time is it?" Frankie grabbing Mike's wrist to check the time "I don't mean to rush off but should go, I have starving cats to feed"
"Well it was nice having coffee with you"
"Yeah same. If you're ever around stop into Dean's and have some pancakes and I'll make you non-gagging coffee"
"I'd like that, here's my number" Mike scribbled down some digits on a napkin and handed it to Frankie.
"I hope to hear from you Francesca"
"Call me Frankie" she smiled and walked out the door.
"Frankie" Mike whispered heading out into the sunny New York Street.
'Another day another dollar that could be in your pocket join today and save tons!' Francesca, or better known as Frankie among friends skimmed threw the New Yorker finding nothing of any particular interest as she sipped on her unsatisfactory coffee that she only drank because it was free from her good friend Dean who owned the small place.
"Do you want some more Frankie?" Dean asking holding a pot in his hand
"No I'm fine, I'll take some pancakes though"
"Coming right up"
She sighed and looked into her half empty cup seeing the reflection of her 25 year old self
"25 out of luck and out of love, welcome to my life, ugh that sounds like a bad pop song" she mumbles to no one but herself as she moved her gaze out the window staring into the busy New York street " and there they all go running around like they give a damn where there going, but they all live the lives they hate. Poor, poor souls, and poor me for being one of them"
"Here's your pancakes" Dean said placing the plate down in front of her and she mumbled her thanks and began pouring syrup over them.
"You okay? You seem kind of down, well more then usual" Dean asked staring down at her
"I'm the same as I am everyday Dean, I guess I'm just a bit over fed up today, you know?" she took small bite of the pancake and sat back and looked up at her friend
"I lost my job, my horrible crappy job that I hated anyway, and I guess in return it and everyone involved in it hated me as well"
"Well you were going to quit anyway right?" Dean sat across from Frankie and poured her some more of the sickening coffee
"Yeah well that's the point I was going to quit and I got fired, I was working harder so I could leave with a good clean slate, but no it seems the more you pull up the harder they want you to fall, bastards it really pissed me off"
"Well do you have a job set up you want, or do you know what you're going to do now?"
"I have no clue, I was thinking about maybe starting to write again"
"Yeah that's be good but that takes time to get anywhere with, and you'll need money in the mean time"
"Yeah so scratch that idea right, I guess I could just go to the newspaper or a magazine and write for one of them to get a bit of cash saved up you know"
"Yeah or you could work for me here, Mel is leaving for college and I'll need a new waitress" Dean offered as Frankie nodded in acknowledgment
"You know I'd love to, but it doesn't pay nearly enough, even though I'll probably have to get two job's anyway"
"Well I'll hire you right now, and you have job number one"
"Dean you really don't need to do this for me, I'm a lousy waitress and you know it, remember us working together in university, I was shit and you were the shit" Frankie put the last remaining pieces of pancakes in her mouth and swallowed them almost without chewing.
"I don't care how shitty you are at waitressing Frankie, I don't want to see you on the street, it will put enough money in your pocket for now until you find another job that pay's enough or one that will balance it out with this one"
Dean disappeared into the kitchen with her plate as she let out a tired sigh and took five dollar's out of her pocket for the bill, she knew Dean wouldn't let her pay and give back to her latter, but she put it on the table and went to leave anyway.
'Dean, Dean, Dean what will I ever do without you' as Francesca turned to the door she hit a taller man, and was knocked off her unsteady feet, he gave her his hand and apologized for running into her and she to him for the same.
"It's my fault really, I was rushing by not looking" he insisted
"No, no if I didn't turn like that, I really wasn't paying attention myself, just don't worry about it" she answered
"Are you okay though, no bad battle scars?"
"No I'm fine really, I'm a cluts use to falling a lot"
"Would you like to join me for coffee?"
"Um well I was just-"
"Oh Francesca don't even think about it" Dean came over waving her five dollar bill and putting it in her pocket "You know you're a free eater specially now and your taking the job, no objections to it- Hi I'm Dean, you are?" Dean asked taking the man's hand
"I'm Mike, hope to see you again, Francesca is it?"
"Yeah and same" Mike walked off to get a table in the corner of the restaurant café
"Hey, earth to Frankie stop staring at him likes he's a famous rock star and listen to me" Dean said waving his hand in front of Frankie's face to get her attention
"Uh oh sorry, and yes I'll take the job, and you take my money, I have to go now though, the damn cat's will probably tear the place apart if I don't get back soon with food for them"
"See you later Hun" Dean gave Frankie a friendly hug good-bye and she headed to the pet store
'Prime choice from and for your cat's health, cats will love it and you as well, now the world wants to base how much my pets will love me by which type of food I buy them how degrading. Oh well I'm picking the cheapest, so they can hate me as much as they want, like any of this shit tastes better or worse.' Frankie took the bag of cat food to the check out and grabbed some cat treats on the way.
"Is this everything mam' " the cashier asked
"Yes this is everything" Frankie stared out the window across to Dean's dinner café to see the man she bumped into walking out the doors
"Your change mam' "
"Uh yeah thanks" she took her bags and walked out of the pet store watching the man across the street 'uh what was his name again... Oh yeah Mike duh, maybe if I cross and wait no he's crossing! Okay maybe I should avoid him he could be a stalker type. But I don't know that, he could be great, maybe I'll just bump into him again, it may be on purpose but it could be worth it. Or I could make a fool of myself, think Francesca think!'
"Hey its you again" Frankie looked up to his sunglass covered eyes
"Uh, uh yeah nice to meet you, again"
"So you like cats eh?"
'How did he know I like cats, or I know have cats! He is a stalker type oh way to go Frankie always attracting the freaks!'
"Or you hate them and just buy cat food to-"
"Oh yeah, yeah I love cats great animals" a wave of relief and founded stupidity washed over her as she realized he saw in her pet's mart bag "sorry I couldn't join you for coffee I already had mine"
"Oh its fine, the pancakes are the only good thing there anyways"
"That's cause they don't cook them form scratch, but you didn't hear that form me"
Mike laughed and spoke up again "so you want to get a real coffee, one that doesn't make you gag?"
"Well I really should get this stuff home before my cat's rip apart my place"
"Oh yeah, sorry" Mike looked down at the dirty sidewalk
"Well I guess I could make them wait twenty minutes more, Splitz is fat anyways he could go without eating for a few days actually"
"Really? You want to join me?"
"Well unless you meant for me to go get coffee by myself, yes I'd like to join you"
"Okay great, I know I place a few blocks from here, walk or cab?"
"Walk, if it's alright. I hate cabs"
"Walking it is"
"So what do you do?" Mike asked taking a sip of his star bucks coffee
"Well as of today I am no longer a corporate prick's stepping stone, and I now work at Dean's café restaurant or whatever he is going with these days. What do you do?"
"Oh cool, you and Dean know one another well?" Mike asked ignoring the question asked
"Yes we are good friends go way back, what is it you do?" Frankie pressed for an answer
"It really shows, so uh what's your cats names?"
"Splitz and Spaz, now stop avoiding the question"
"You really don't know who I am do you?"
"No, should I?" Frankie questioned
'Wow she doesn't know who I am, finally someone in the world I can have a conversation with who thinks I am just plain old Mike, no suck-ups cause I'm a big time rock star. Today is a good day for Mike Dirnt, a very good day indeed'
"No, no, um I co-own a café in California, it's called Rudy Can't Fail"
"Cool that named after the clash song right?"
"Yeah, you like them?"
"Yes they are my favorite band, they are old but still I love them, I listen to mostly old stuff, I don't watch TV much, but I do know some new stuff like alkaline trio and some other's from my friends. What about you? What bands do you like?"
"Well the clash obviously, you know you really shouldn't get me started on music I could go on forever"
"That's okay I love music, I had a band in high school, we played punk-type stuff but I moved to New York and my friends and family stayed behind, as well as the band"
"That sucks I'm in a band, I play bass do back up vocals. What did you play?"
"The guitar I was the lead singer also"
"You play anywhere with your band, or have you been stuck in a garage phase since high school, or are you still in high school?"
Mike laughed and looked up at Frankie "No, not stuck in the garage we play all over. And I'm not still in high school and I did graduate, and I'm for a few more days"
"Well that's good to know, I graduated went to university here in New York and am fresh on the number 25"
"Really, when was your birthday?"
"Two days ago"
"So April 26th well I'm May 4th"
"Maybe I could see your band play sometime. What time is it?" Frankie grabbing Mike's wrist to check the time "I don't mean to rush off but should go, I have starving cats to feed"
"Well it was nice having coffee with you"
"Yeah same. If you're ever around stop into Dean's and have some pancakes and I'll make you non-gagging coffee"
"I'd like that, here's my number" Mike scribbled down some digits on a napkin and handed it to Frankie.
"I hope to hear from you Francesca"
"Call me Frankie" she smiled and walked out the door.
"Frankie" Mike whispered heading out into the sunny New York Street.
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