2028, chapter 7
Tre wondered what this girl, this Armstrong, wanted with him. He was surprised that any member of that horrible family would dare contact him anymore, but nevertheless, he was very curious and interested. He mulled over these thoughts on his way, twisting his ring on his finger in slow, rhythmic circles. Once he arrived, he stepped outside tentatively, hoping that, thirty-some years later, no one would notice him. He observed these thoughts for a minute, and when no insults were yelled, he grew less uptight and surveyed his surroundings, noting how much they had changed in the past years. Instead of the ratty old drugstore and a much used liquor store (at least for Tre), there were new, glassy, tinted buildings. The old club looked sorry and out of place in the middle of these top of the line, beautifully constructed buildings near it.
"Hey!" a voice shouted. Tre turned, to find Katie walking up the street.
"Damn you look like your dad!" Tre exclaimed, "But now that you've got the eyeliner on, I do say you have your mom's eyes. Ha! Just like Harry Potter!"
Katie raised an eyebrow quizzically, but said nothing.
"Wait... can I do The Armstrong Test?"
"Um... the what?"
"In my best days, I decided that incase one of the Armstrong family members got replaced by a clone, I could test them. There is not an Armstrong in the world who cannot sing a note."
"La," Katie said dryly.
"Good enough for me," Tre smiled, "So what was it that you just had to talk to me about?"
"Walk with me, Your Royal Treness."
"Treness? I like it... it's catchy."
Katie and Tre began to walk at a medium pace, slowly away from 6th and towards the tracks, about four blocks away on Christie.
"So, I've got a project," Katie began, wondering how he would take her motives.
"Isn't it summer?"
"Yeah. But not like that. I'm on a bit of a mission."
"And it involves me?"
"Yep."
"Who else do you need?" Tre asked, getting a sneaking suspicion about her motives.
"Um... well... it's not exactly the best-"
"Are you trying to reunite Green Day?"
"What is this? Twenty Questions?" Katie defended, attempting to protect her plot.
"Are you?"
"Yeah... " Katie mumbled, looking at her dad's shoe, as Tre sighed and let his head fall back against his neck.
"Well... " he said after a minute, "There're some things you don't really know about. Thing is, after I left the band there was a brief period of time where they had a different drummer. He was good to, probably better than me. Honestly Kate, I haven't played in eight years."
"So?" Katie asked, "That's not really your reason. I know what it is, you don't wanna see Billie or Mike." Tre winced at Katie's mention of the other two-thirds of Green Day's names.
"Can you blame me?"
"Yes."
Katie gave Tre a look.
"Don't pull that with me, missie! I've known your parents for longer than you have. If they don't share anything else, they had that look down to the max by age fourteen or so!"
"Whatever," Katie smiled.
"Look," Tre sighed, "I gotta go." With that he walked off.
Katie stood watching his receding back, and she wondered if she could honestly pull it off. Could a girl of merely fourteen pull together one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time? She was just beginning to doubt herself when she remembered something, a line from a song, 'running away from pain when you been victimized' she thought. She wasn't going to be that person, that girl who, just when the going got hard, gave up and turned back?
"Tre!" she shouted and he turned around.
"What?" he yelled back.
She sang the line from the song and spontaneously, the old Tre Cool emerged from the black hole of memories that was Frank Wright these days. A huge, mischievous grin spread across his face and he took something out of his pocket. Before Katie knew it, he had hurled a paper airplane that was swirling towards her. She picked it up, but before she could look up again, he had gone. 'I'll do it' it said in a bold, capital script and then in the same blue pen 'Reprise Records: CEO (Henry Norman)' and a phone number before it. Katie jumped up and down, trying not to squeal out of happiness.
"Hey!" a voice shouted. Tre turned, to find Katie walking up the street.
"Damn you look like your dad!" Tre exclaimed, "But now that you've got the eyeliner on, I do say you have your mom's eyes. Ha! Just like Harry Potter!"
Katie raised an eyebrow quizzically, but said nothing.
"Wait... can I do The Armstrong Test?"
"Um... the what?"
"In my best days, I decided that incase one of the Armstrong family members got replaced by a clone, I could test them. There is not an Armstrong in the world who cannot sing a note."
"La," Katie said dryly.
"Good enough for me," Tre smiled, "So what was it that you just had to talk to me about?"
"Walk with me, Your Royal Treness."
"Treness? I like it... it's catchy."
Katie and Tre began to walk at a medium pace, slowly away from 6th and towards the tracks, about four blocks away on Christie.
"So, I've got a project," Katie began, wondering how he would take her motives.
"Isn't it summer?"
"Yeah. But not like that. I'm on a bit of a mission."
"And it involves me?"
"Yep."
"Who else do you need?" Tre asked, getting a sneaking suspicion about her motives.
"Um... well... it's not exactly the best-"
"Are you trying to reunite Green Day?"
"What is this? Twenty Questions?" Katie defended, attempting to protect her plot.
"Are you?"
"Yeah... " Katie mumbled, looking at her dad's shoe, as Tre sighed and let his head fall back against his neck.
"Well... " he said after a minute, "There're some things you don't really know about. Thing is, after I left the band there was a brief period of time where they had a different drummer. He was good to, probably better than me. Honestly Kate, I haven't played in eight years."
"So?" Katie asked, "That's not really your reason. I know what it is, you don't wanna see Billie or Mike." Tre winced at Katie's mention of the other two-thirds of Green Day's names.
"Can you blame me?"
"Yes."
Katie gave Tre a look.
"Don't pull that with me, missie! I've known your parents for longer than you have. If they don't share anything else, they had that look down to the max by age fourteen or so!"
"Whatever," Katie smiled.
"Look," Tre sighed, "I gotta go." With that he walked off.
Katie stood watching his receding back, and she wondered if she could honestly pull it off. Could a girl of merely fourteen pull together one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time? She was just beginning to doubt herself when she remembered something, a line from a song, 'running away from pain when you been victimized' she thought. She wasn't going to be that person, that girl who, just when the going got hard, gave up and turned back?
"Tre!" she shouted and he turned around.
"What?" he yelled back.
She sang the line from the song and spontaneously, the old Tre Cool emerged from the black hole of memories that was Frank Wright these days. A huge, mischievous grin spread across his face and he took something out of his pocket. Before Katie knew it, he had hurled a paper airplane that was swirling towards her. She picked it up, but before she could look up again, he had gone. 'I'll do it' it said in a bold, capital script and then in the same blue pen 'Reprise Records: CEO (Henry Norman)' and a phone number before it. Katie jumped up and down, trying not to squeal out of happiness.
