Destination Unknown (sequel to Worlds Apart), chapter 5
I found it pretty hard after Billie Joe left. Suddenly I was in this huge city all by myself and I didn’t know anyone at all. I only had a few days before I started my job so to take my mind off the nerves I threw myself into sorting out my apartment. It was pretty weird living by myself. I missed my housemates like crazy. That morning I got some mail delivered that was meant to be for next door. I saw it as a good opportunity to go and say hi, so I went over. The name on the envelope was Omar Smith, and it was addressed to the same apartment I’d seen the Dreadlocks Guy come out of the day before. But when he answered, I got a shock, cause he didn’t have the dreadlocks any more. I wondered if it was a different person, his flat mate or something, but I was sure he had the same face.
“Um…hi� I said, “Does Omar live here?�
“Yeah, that’s me�
“Oh cool. Well, this got delivered to my apartment this morning�
I passed him the envelope.
“Thanks� he said, “Where are you from? Australia?�
“England� I replied
“Wow…that’s really cool,� he said.
He smiled, and I noticed he looked younger than I had thought, around eighteen or nineteen.
“Uh, thanks� I smiled, “I think I saw you yesterday…but I swear you had dreadlocks�
“Yeah. I shaved them off last night� he said, running a hand over his head, “I had them for like two years and they went shitty. Feels pretty good�
I nodded, and then he said,
“Did you just move in yesterday…�
“Yeah� I said, “I only arrived here a couple of days ago. I’m here for 8 months on this internship thing in the city�
“Yeah, I saw you moving your stuff in with that guy…I remember cause he looked like that guy from that band…�
He frowned as he tried to remember their name. He was obviously not a punk fan, I decided with a smile.
“Green Day?� I offered,
“Yeah,� he smiled, “That’s it. He gets that a lot, I guess…right?�
“Well…�
I was about to explain but decided against it. I’d only just met this guy and I couldn’t be bothered to go into the whole story.
“Yeah� I said, “He gets it a lot�
I hadn’t heard from Billie Joe how things went with Adrienne. Part of me was desperate to know what her reaction was, and exactly how big a problem I was causing, but the rest of me felt I just shouldn’t ask. I knew it was totally between the two of them. And as much as it killed me, Adrienne had known Billie Joe inside out for over ten years. Four months ago he had just been some famous rock star to me. Even though I knew the two of them were romantically over, I also knew I just wasn’t qualified to comment on their relationship. I knew that if I were her, I would probably hate me. I just had to trust that Billie Joe knew what he was doing.
My first day of work was scary, but not so bad. To be honest I didn’t really do much. They just looked through my sketchbook and oohed and aahed a lot and then I sat around doing the odd sketch while they showed me the ropes. My panic about the whole thing started to ease up. After all, all I was going to have to do was draw. It was one of the few things I didn’t have to worry about being able to pull off.
The night before Billie Joe, Mike and Tre came back, I was sitting in my apartment, dizzy with excitement. I couldn’t sit still, and I was driving myself crazy when there was a knock on my door. It was Omar the Ex Dreadlock Guy and some girl.
“Hey Sophie� he said, “Got any more mail for me?�
“No� I smiled, leaning against my door frame, “Afraid not�
“Ah well. This is Lucy. She lives down the hall�
I looked at Lucy. She looked about my age, and she was wearing a Sublime t-shirt. This was good news.
“Hi� she said, “I heard you just moved from England�
“Yeah� I said,
“That’s really cool�
“Really? Thanks.� I smiled. I didn’t really see what was so cool about it, but hey.
“You wanna hang out?� she asked, “Omar and I are kinda bored. We’re the only normal people in this building and Omar said you seemed normal too, so we have to stick together. And he was right…you do seem normal�
I laughed,
“Thanks� I said, “Um…what’s wrong with everyone else? I haven’t even seen them…are they hermits or something?�
“Exactly� said Omar. “Come on. I’ve got heaps of movies�
I followed them into Omar’s apartment. He was wearing baggy trousers with a checkered pattern on, like ska check.
“I like your trousers, Omar� I said,
“Huh? Oh…I work in a restaurant downtown. This is health and safety…somehow.�
“You’re a chef?�
“Well….kinda. I’m learning.�
“Awesome�
We had a few drinks and sat around talking. We had a lot of fun. I was really happy I’d found some friends. Lucy and I got a bit drunk on some crazy cocktail that Omar shook up, and she started asking me millions of questions whilst lying on the floor like a starfish.
“What’s it like in England?�
“It’s nice…mostly. Not too different to here just everything’s…smaller.�
“Like miniature America?�
“Sort of…and with less guns�
“Do you live in big old houses?�
“Yes, we all live in castles� I said wryly.
“Really?� she asked, wide eyed,
“No� I laughed, and Omar spat his drink all over himself.
“Do you drink tea?�
“Yeah…�
“And what are crumpets?�
Jesus.
“Like…muffins…but savoury. And with holes in�
“Why do they have holes in?�
“I don’t know. That’s a good question. I’ll find out for you� I smiled,
“Lucy, stop asking stupid fucking questions, you’re going to freak her out,� said Omar.
“I’m not freaked out� I said, “Its pretty funny.�
It wasn’t long after that Lucy passed out on the floor and Omar and I stayed up talking.
“How long have you lived here?� I asked him.
“Since like, April or something. My Mom kicked me out, so I came here�
“Really? Why?�
“I don’t know. She’s crazy and we don’t get on.�
“How old are you?�
“Seventeen�
“And your Mum kicked you out?�
“Yep.�
“That’s really sad�
He shrugged,
“I’m ok� he said, “I can look after myself.�
He stood up, suddenly, and I knew that was the end of the conversation. I felt bad for him. I couldn’t imagine my parents ever kicking me out, no matter what I ever did.
“You want another drink?� he asked,
“Nah…I’d better go� I said, “I have work tomorrow�
The next day seemed to drag. Work was fine, but I was so desperate to see Billie Joe it was almost painful. The moment I got out I got a bus to Oakland and ended up crawling through rush hour traffic for two hours. I could have sworn the gods were mocking me. When I finally arrived at the bus station in Oakland, Billie Joe’s car was parked outside. I hadn’t expected him to come meet me and I felt a surge of excitement. He got out of the car and grinned as I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly.
He kissed me,
“How’s it going?� he grinned,
“Great� I smiled, happily, “Even better now. It’s really good to see you, you know�
“Its good to see you too, Soph. I’ve got some friends waiting in the car…�
I looked over to see Tre sticking his head out of the window. I grinned and got in the backseat with him and Mike. I hugged them both. It was so good to see them again.
“How does it feel to be home?� I asked them
“Its awesome� said Mike, “I am so exhausted after this tour, I think I might just sleep for like six months. But I might get drunk instead�
“Yeah, I think I’m going to sleep,� said Tre, head in his hands, “Billie, what the fuck is with this car? It’s like a sauna in here�
“I think you’re just getting hot flushes Tre� smiled Mike,
“No…there’s something wrong with the air conditioning,� said Billie Joe, “I think Jake fucked it up the other week by pushing things into the vent�
“Ah…children are such sweet creatures,� said Tre, winding down the window and sticking his head out. “So Soph…how’s life in the bay?�
“Its great� I said, “I love it here�
“How’s the job going?� Mike asked,
“Its cool. I just sit around and draw stuff and then people tell me how I can make it better and then I draw stuff again. Whilst listening to cool music and pissing about on the Internet�
“That sounds ok,� said Billie Joe, “So you guys want to come back to my place and celebrate an awesome tour…I’ve got some of the crew coming over later�
“Definitely� I said, happily, winding my window down too as the air in the car got harder to breathe. It was good to have them back.
When we got back to Billie Joe’s place, I helped him fix some drinks in the kitchen.
“I have a question� he said, pouring vodka into the cocktail shaker.
“What’s that?� I asked.
I hoisted myself onto the worktop and looked at him.
“This weekend…I think you should come over…�
“Ok…well, I’d love to� I smiled, “Where’s the question?�
“Well, I have the kids for the rest of the week� he said, “And the question is…do you wanna meet them?�
I was pretty surprised. I knew I’d meet them sometime, I just hadn’t thought about it yet. I didn’t know what to say. He raised his eyebrows and started pouring juice into the shaker,
“You can say no if you want� he said, “Its up to you…if you want to leave it longer you can�
“Its not that, exactly� I said slowly, “Its just…how are they going to react?�
“I think they’ll be ok� he said, “They have to get used to this. I’ll just introduce you as a friend at first and see how they take it, let them get to know you. I spend a lot of time with them. Its going to be hard to keep you guys separate. So if you want to leave it longer before meeting them that’s fine…just you’ll have to understand it’ll mean seeing less of me.�
That didn’t sound appealing at all. It was kind of exciting that he wanted me to meet his kids. I mean, that must mean he’s serious about us, right? I was good with kids, and they were bound to be nice kids. It would be ok.
“If you think they’ll be ok with me, then I’m ok with them,� I said, “I’d like to meet them.�
He smiled, then slid his arms round my waist and kissed me.
“That’s cool� he smiled, “And you don’t need to worry. You’ll get on great. They’re great kids.�
“I know� I smiled.
Then I asked the million-dollar question. It just sort of came out.
“Is Adrienne ok about me meeting them?�
He exhaled and scratched his head, messing up his hair.
“I think so� he said, “She was…surprised at first. She had no idea I had met someone. And I don’t think it was a pleasant surprise. It wasn’t an easy conversation. But she accepts we have to move on and that means the kids do too. She knows you’re going to meet them soon.�
“Has she met anyone?� I asked quietly
“No� he said, “But I’m sure she will in time. She’s just taking some time out right now. She says she doesn’t have space in her life for anyone�
I nodded, chewing my lip. I hoped Adrienne was ready to move on too. I didn’t want her to hate me. And I especially didn’t want her to compete with me. Because I didn’t want to think about who would win if she did.
“Um…hi� I said, “Does Omar live here?�
“Yeah, that’s me�
“Oh cool. Well, this got delivered to my apartment this morning�
I passed him the envelope.
“Thanks� he said, “Where are you from? Australia?�
“England� I replied
“Wow…that’s really cool,� he said.
He smiled, and I noticed he looked younger than I had thought, around eighteen or nineteen.
“Uh, thanks� I smiled, “I think I saw you yesterday…but I swear you had dreadlocks�
“Yeah. I shaved them off last night� he said, running a hand over his head, “I had them for like two years and they went shitty. Feels pretty good�
I nodded, and then he said,
“Did you just move in yesterday…�
“Yeah� I said, “I only arrived here a couple of days ago. I’m here for 8 months on this internship thing in the city�
“Yeah, I saw you moving your stuff in with that guy…I remember cause he looked like that guy from that band…�
He frowned as he tried to remember their name. He was obviously not a punk fan, I decided with a smile.
“Green Day?� I offered,
“Yeah,� he smiled, “That’s it. He gets that a lot, I guess…right?�
“Well…�
I was about to explain but decided against it. I’d only just met this guy and I couldn’t be bothered to go into the whole story.
“Yeah� I said, “He gets it a lot�
I hadn’t heard from Billie Joe how things went with Adrienne. Part of me was desperate to know what her reaction was, and exactly how big a problem I was causing, but the rest of me felt I just shouldn’t ask. I knew it was totally between the two of them. And as much as it killed me, Adrienne had known Billie Joe inside out for over ten years. Four months ago he had just been some famous rock star to me. Even though I knew the two of them were romantically over, I also knew I just wasn’t qualified to comment on their relationship. I knew that if I were her, I would probably hate me. I just had to trust that Billie Joe knew what he was doing.
My first day of work was scary, but not so bad. To be honest I didn’t really do much. They just looked through my sketchbook and oohed and aahed a lot and then I sat around doing the odd sketch while they showed me the ropes. My panic about the whole thing started to ease up. After all, all I was going to have to do was draw. It was one of the few things I didn’t have to worry about being able to pull off.
The night before Billie Joe, Mike and Tre came back, I was sitting in my apartment, dizzy with excitement. I couldn’t sit still, and I was driving myself crazy when there was a knock on my door. It was Omar the Ex Dreadlock Guy and some girl.
“Hey Sophie� he said, “Got any more mail for me?�
“No� I smiled, leaning against my door frame, “Afraid not�
“Ah well. This is Lucy. She lives down the hall�
I looked at Lucy. She looked about my age, and she was wearing a Sublime t-shirt. This was good news.
“Hi� she said, “I heard you just moved from England�
“Yeah� I said,
“That’s really cool�
“Really? Thanks.� I smiled. I didn’t really see what was so cool about it, but hey.
“You wanna hang out?� she asked, “Omar and I are kinda bored. We’re the only normal people in this building and Omar said you seemed normal too, so we have to stick together. And he was right…you do seem normal�
I laughed,
“Thanks� I said, “Um…what’s wrong with everyone else? I haven’t even seen them…are they hermits or something?�
“Exactly� said Omar. “Come on. I’ve got heaps of movies�
I followed them into Omar’s apartment. He was wearing baggy trousers with a checkered pattern on, like ska check.
“I like your trousers, Omar� I said,
“Huh? Oh…I work in a restaurant downtown. This is health and safety…somehow.�
“You’re a chef?�
“Well….kinda. I’m learning.�
“Awesome�
We had a few drinks and sat around talking. We had a lot of fun. I was really happy I’d found some friends. Lucy and I got a bit drunk on some crazy cocktail that Omar shook up, and she started asking me millions of questions whilst lying on the floor like a starfish.
“What’s it like in England?�
“It’s nice…mostly. Not too different to here just everything’s…smaller.�
“Like miniature America?�
“Sort of…and with less guns�
“Do you live in big old houses?�
“Yes, we all live in castles� I said wryly.
“Really?� she asked, wide eyed,
“No� I laughed, and Omar spat his drink all over himself.
“Do you drink tea?�
“Yeah…�
“And what are crumpets?�
Jesus.
“Like…muffins…but savoury. And with holes in�
“Why do they have holes in?�
“I don’t know. That’s a good question. I’ll find out for you� I smiled,
“Lucy, stop asking stupid fucking questions, you’re going to freak her out,� said Omar.
“I’m not freaked out� I said, “Its pretty funny.�
It wasn’t long after that Lucy passed out on the floor and Omar and I stayed up talking.
“How long have you lived here?� I asked him.
“Since like, April or something. My Mom kicked me out, so I came here�
“Really? Why?�
“I don’t know. She’s crazy and we don’t get on.�
“How old are you?�
“Seventeen�
“And your Mum kicked you out?�
“Yep.�
“That’s really sad�
He shrugged,
“I’m ok� he said, “I can look after myself.�
He stood up, suddenly, and I knew that was the end of the conversation. I felt bad for him. I couldn’t imagine my parents ever kicking me out, no matter what I ever did.
“You want another drink?� he asked,
“Nah…I’d better go� I said, “I have work tomorrow�
The next day seemed to drag. Work was fine, but I was so desperate to see Billie Joe it was almost painful. The moment I got out I got a bus to Oakland and ended up crawling through rush hour traffic for two hours. I could have sworn the gods were mocking me. When I finally arrived at the bus station in Oakland, Billie Joe’s car was parked outside. I hadn’t expected him to come meet me and I felt a surge of excitement. He got out of the car and grinned as I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly.
He kissed me,
“How’s it going?� he grinned,
“Great� I smiled, happily, “Even better now. It’s really good to see you, you know�
“Its good to see you too, Soph. I’ve got some friends waiting in the car…�
I looked over to see Tre sticking his head out of the window. I grinned and got in the backseat with him and Mike. I hugged them both. It was so good to see them again.
“How does it feel to be home?� I asked them
“Its awesome� said Mike, “I am so exhausted after this tour, I think I might just sleep for like six months. But I might get drunk instead�
“Yeah, I think I’m going to sleep,� said Tre, head in his hands, “Billie, what the fuck is with this car? It’s like a sauna in here�
“I think you’re just getting hot flushes Tre� smiled Mike,
“No…there’s something wrong with the air conditioning,� said Billie Joe, “I think Jake fucked it up the other week by pushing things into the vent�
“Ah…children are such sweet creatures,� said Tre, winding down the window and sticking his head out. “So Soph…how’s life in the bay?�
“Its great� I said, “I love it here�
“How’s the job going?� Mike asked,
“Its cool. I just sit around and draw stuff and then people tell me how I can make it better and then I draw stuff again. Whilst listening to cool music and pissing about on the Internet�
“That sounds ok,� said Billie Joe, “So you guys want to come back to my place and celebrate an awesome tour…I’ve got some of the crew coming over later�
“Definitely� I said, happily, winding my window down too as the air in the car got harder to breathe. It was good to have them back.
When we got back to Billie Joe’s place, I helped him fix some drinks in the kitchen.
“I have a question� he said, pouring vodka into the cocktail shaker.
“What’s that?� I asked.
I hoisted myself onto the worktop and looked at him.
“This weekend…I think you should come over…�
“Ok…well, I’d love to� I smiled, “Where’s the question?�
“Well, I have the kids for the rest of the week� he said, “And the question is…do you wanna meet them?�
I was pretty surprised. I knew I’d meet them sometime, I just hadn’t thought about it yet. I didn’t know what to say. He raised his eyebrows and started pouring juice into the shaker,
“You can say no if you want� he said, “Its up to you…if you want to leave it longer you can�
“Its not that, exactly� I said slowly, “Its just…how are they going to react?�
“I think they’ll be ok� he said, “They have to get used to this. I’ll just introduce you as a friend at first and see how they take it, let them get to know you. I spend a lot of time with them. Its going to be hard to keep you guys separate. So if you want to leave it longer before meeting them that’s fine…just you’ll have to understand it’ll mean seeing less of me.�
That didn’t sound appealing at all. It was kind of exciting that he wanted me to meet his kids. I mean, that must mean he’s serious about us, right? I was good with kids, and they were bound to be nice kids. It would be ok.
“If you think they’ll be ok with me, then I’m ok with them,� I said, “I’d like to meet them.�
He smiled, then slid his arms round my waist and kissed me.
“That’s cool� he smiled, “And you don’t need to worry. You’ll get on great. They’re great kids.�
“I know� I smiled.
Then I asked the million-dollar question. It just sort of came out.
“Is Adrienne ok about me meeting them?�
He exhaled and scratched his head, messing up his hair.
“I think so� he said, “She was…surprised at first. She had no idea I had met someone. And I don’t think it was a pleasant surprise. It wasn’t an easy conversation. But she accepts we have to move on and that means the kids do too. She knows you’re going to meet them soon.�
“Has she met anyone?� I asked quietly
“No� he said, “But I’m sure she will in time. She’s just taking some time out right now. She says she doesn’t have space in her life for anyone�
I nodded, chewing my lip. I hoped Adrienne was ready to move on too. I didn’t want her to hate me. And I especially didn’t want her to compete with me. Because I didn’t want to think about who would win if she did.
