2028, chapter 6
A few weeks after the Armstrong family breakdown, as Ellie was identifying it in her head, Katie sat at the kitchen table, looking through some phone numbers. Knowing Mike Dirnt would be the harder one, since he lived in So Cal, she was going for Tre Cool first. Since her parents were out, having long since made up over the BIAB issue, she had hijacked her mother's electric address book, hoping she might still have Tre's number. Katie also hoped this model was self-updating incase he had moved.
Aha! An F.E. Wright III had surfaced, with the name 'Tre Cool' in parentheses in smaller letters. An insane looking picture of a brown haired man accompanied the entry along with notes like "Ooh, he's SOO shmexy!" and "You're not single Elle, remind yourself that".
Happily, Katie pressed the numbers into her phone and again nearly squealed with delight as the line on the other end began to ring. She calmed herself and stared into the screen for video calling.
"Hello?" a blond woman asked.
"Yeah, can I speak with Tre?" Katie asked, barely containing herself.
"Sure. Can I tell him who's calling?"
"Um... my name's Katie."
"Oh, okay. Let me tell him," the woman smiled and a second later Tre Cool's face appeared on the screen.
"Holy shit! You look like Joey Armstrong!" was the greeting that welcomed Katie into a conversation she would never forget.
"Holy shit you look like Tre Cool," Katie said dryly, "I get that a lot... 'cause oh, you know... he's my dad... "
Tre's eyebrow shot up momentarily, "You're an Armstrong then?"
"Not my fault. You know very well my father hasn't spoken to his father in fifteen years."
"Yeah, I know. Whaddaya want? Actually first, who's your mother?"
"Ellie."
"Hm... he did get her pregnant! I knew it, Jake sucks at lying! So anyways, whaddaya want?"
"I need to talk to you."
"Well, if I'm correct and sane, which may be questionable, you are."
"I need to talk to you in person, I need your help with something."
Tre sighed, momentarily serious, "Alright. When?"
"Today."
"That's a lot to ask of someone you just met... um, well okay. I guess so, where and what time?"
"The Caning Shop [or 924 Gilman for you non-Bay Area-ites], on Gilman. I think you know where it is. Be there in twenty minutes."
"I dunno if I can go past there anymore... "
"Trust me, just don't come all Tre Cooled up and I don't think anyone's gonna come after you."
Tre glanced at the clock, "Alright, how long will this take?"
"Depends on how much you cooperate with me," Katie answered smugly. She had him in her grasp, she could smell it.
"Alright, I'll be there."
"Good."
Once the conversation had successfully settled into Katie's mind, she went about preparing for this little outing with Tre Cool. In her leaning, flying scrawl, she scribbled a quick note to her parents that she had gone out with her phone and would be back later. Then, rushing a bit, she ordered a Pod to Gilman, and began to shovel through a box labeled 'Old Clothes: Joey and Ellie'. Finding what she was looking for, she changed her clothes, using the old Clash shirt that she had found as a safety blanket, the short black skirt and studded belt a bit father out there.
After applying eyeliner and the like, she checked herself against an old picture of her mother circa age fourteen. Perfect, except for the socks and shoes. Ellie had had an abundance of knee socks in shocking shades of pink, blue and green. Katie on the other hand, owned none. She decided to forget the socks and take another risk with wearing her father's old Converse, which seemed her size. They were black, just the average '05-fad, but with more cracks, drawings and holes than she had ever seen.
The Pod arrived and she ran out to go to Gilman.
Aha! An F.E. Wright III had surfaced, with the name 'Tre Cool' in parentheses in smaller letters. An insane looking picture of a brown haired man accompanied the entry along with notes like "Ooh, he's SOO shmexy!" and "You're not single Elle, remind yourself that".
Happily, Katie pressed the numbers into her phone and again nearly squealed with delight as the line on the other end began to ring. She calmed herself and stared into the screen for video calling.
"Hello?" a blond woman asked.
"Yeah, can I speak with Tre?" Katie asked, barely containing herself.
"Sure. Can I tell him who's calling?"
"Um... my name's Katie."
"Oh, okay. Let me tell him," the woman smiled and a second later Tre Cool's face appeared on the screen.
"Holy shit! You look like Joey Armstrong!" was the greeting that welcomed Katie into a conversation she would never forget.
"Holy shit you look like Tre Cool," Katie said dryly, "I get that a lot... 'cause oh, you know... he's my dad... "
Tre's eyebrow shot up momentarily, "You're an Armstrong then?"
"Not my fault. You know very well my father hasn't spoken to his father in fifteen years."
"Yeah, I know. Whaddaya want? Actually first, who's your mother?"
"Ellie."
"Hm... he did get her pregnant! I knew it, Jake sucks at lying! So anyways, whaddaya want?"
"I need to talk to you."
"Well, if I'm correct and sane, which may be questionable, you are."
"I need to talk to you in person, I need your help with something."
Tre sighed, momentarily serious, "Alright. When?"
"Today."
"That's a lot to ask of someone you just met... um, well okay. I guess so, where and what time?"
"The Caning Shop [or 924 Gilman for you non-Bay Area-ites], on Gilman. I think you know where it is. Be there in twenty minutes."
"I dunno if I can go past there anymore... "
"Trust me, just don't come all Tre Cooled up and I don't think anyone's gonna come after you."
Tre glanced at the clock, "Alright, how long will this take?"
"Depends on how much you cooperate with me," Katie answered smugly. She had him in her grasp, she could smell it.
"Alright, I'll be there."
"Good."
Once the conversation had successfully settled into Katie's mind, she went about preparing for this little outing with Tre Cool. In her leaning, flying scrawl, she scribbled a quick note to her parents that she had gone out with her phone and would be back later. Then, rushing a bit, she ordered a Pod to Gilman, and began to shovel through a box labeled 'Old Clothes: Joey and Ellie'. Finding what she was looking for, she changed her clothes, using the old Clash shirt that she had found as a safety blanket, the short black skirt and studded belt a bit father out there.
After applying eyeliner and the like, she checked herself against an old picture of her mother circa age fourteen. Perfect, except for the socks and shoes. Ellie had had an abundance of knee socks in shocking shades of pink, blue and green. Katie on the other hand, owned none. She decided to forget the socks and take another risk with wearing her father's old Converse, which seemed her size. They were black, just the average '05-fad, but with more cracks, drawings and holes than she had ever seen.
The Pod arrived and she ran out to go to Gilman.
