2,000 Light Years Away, chapter 3
Billie Joe woke up with Roxy cuddled up in his arms. His smile turned into a yawn as he stretched. Was last night a dream? He asked himself. Did I actually fall asleep with Roxy? Did I actually kiss her? And touch her? This was amazing! Billie Joe replayed last night in his head, over and over. He felt so... In love. So very happy.
Maybe he did have a chance with Roxy. She seemed to have liked him a lot last night. Maybe she'll just forget about Mike and be with me.
Billie kissed her on the cheek. She looks so cute when she's asleep, he thought.
At that moment, Billie Joe's eyes went wide in shock. There, staring at the scene of Billie Joe, holding Roxy just after kissing her, was Billie's brother, David. David stared wide eyed back at his brother as well.
I'm such a dumb fuck leaving the fuckin window open! Billie thought.
David dropped the foot ball he was holding and bolted towards the front door.
"YOU FUCKIN SHIT FACE!" Billie Joe yelled. Roxy woke up, startled.
"What what what?! What's going on?!" she sat up, clutching the sheets.
"Stay in here." Billie Joe said to her, and then before Roxy could ask why, he swiftly jumped through his window. Like he was diving into a swimming pool. Bad idea. Very bad indeed.
He landed face first into the lawn, getting a very nice mouth full of grass. He quickly recovered in the blink of an eye and continued down the perimeter of the house at his brothers heels. Billie Joe was supper quick, coming close to losing his balance when he made sharp turns. David looked back over his shoulder in terror as Billie Joe pounced and tackled him. They landed roughly on the ground.
"GET OFF ME!" David yelled.
"NO! YOU BETTER NOT TELL MOM ROXY WAS HERE YOU LITTLE RAT! YOU HEAR ME?!" Billie pushed his brother on the shoulder.
"WHY NOT BILLIE?!" David shoved back.
"BECAUSE I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
David bit into Billie Joe's arm, leaving crooked teeth marks. Billie Joe let out a high pitched scream like a little girl. It echoed through the neighborhood. David wriggled free and continued running up the steps into the front door. Billie Joe dove for David's shorts, pulling them down. David tripped over them, and fell on top of Billie.
"GET THE FUCK OF ME, YOU FAT ASS!" Billie snarled.
"YOU'RE SUCH A FAG, PULLIN DOWN MY PANTS! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING DO, RAPE ME? David laughed, getting off Billie and running into the house.
There was no stopping David. He had to get Roxy out of his bedroom, fast.
Billie ran back to his window as fast as he could. He looked down and noticed he had just been bitten and screamed like a girl in front of the whole neighborhood in his underwear!
He stumbled back into his room, out of breath.
"Ro... Roxy... You... Gotta get out of here... Fa... Fast!" He said, trying to breath.
Just then there was a loud pounding on his door.
A rather upset voice said through the other side of the door "Billie? What's this David is telling me about you having sex?"
Roxy mouthed 'Oh shit. ', and quickly shoved on her tee-shirt inside out and slipped on her hoodie in panic.
"Uhm. What mom?" Billie asked, as double panic struck him. He helped Roxy out the window.
"Open up this door right now!" Billie's mom growled.
"Just a minute." Billie yelled back, watching Roxy run down the street, making sure she was totally out of site.
He picked up his crumpled sheets and tossed them back onto his bed, shut his window and blinds, and unlocked the door. He scratched his head and faked a yawn.
"Morning mom."
"Billie Joe, what the hell were you doing last night? David said you chased him down the yard and jumped on top of him! What's all this about? And he says he saw you having sex with Roxana? What the hell?!"
"Mom! You don't understand!"
Just then, another disaster occurred. The phone rang. Billie Joe's mom, Ollie, shot him a bad look, and ran into the living room to pick up the phone. He followed his mom into the living room and collapsed onto the couch, trying to seem as casual as he could while trying to listen to what mom was saying.
"Yes? She wasn't?" Ollie said, eyeing her son suspiciously.
"I think I have a feeling I know where she was last night... Yes... I'll call you back. Bye."
Mom slammed the phone back on it's receiver. She was p-i-s-s-e-d.
"Guess who that was?" She hummed, sitting next to him.
"Grandma?" Billie asked, shrugging.
"No, you're not funny. That was Roxana's mom. She informed me that her daughter was not home yesterday when she came back from her friend's house. She wasn't at Mike's either, and she said Roxy just got back from somewhere. Do you know where?"
Billie sighed. He'd just gotten himself stuck in some deep shit. He couldn't lie anymore. It would make matters worse.
"She was here. In my room."
"I see. So, let me get this straight; You snuck her in, your brother saw you two having sex, so you tackled him and threatened him if he told me you'd 'kill him'? What the fuck, Billie Joe Armstrong?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
Billie Joe protested angrily.
"We weren't having sex! Shut the fuck up!"
"Hey!" His mom yelled.
"Don't you dare speak like that to me!"
"Then don't tell me what I did and what I didn't. Get this through your think skull, mom, Roxy and I didn't have sex. She came over crying because Mike broke up with her. I let her spend the night because she was alone and needed someone to talk to! And that stupid little demon child bit me and sat on me!"
"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE, BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG! YOU'RE RUINING YOUR LIFE. YOU'LL NEVER HAVE A FUTURE IF YOU KEEP UP LIKE THIS! YOU'RE GETTING SUSPEND ALMOST EVERY DAY! YOU'RE GRADES ARE SLIPPING, AND YOU'RE MESSING AROUND WITH GIRLS!"
Billie Joe stood up.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME AT ALL!"
"WHAT'S THERE TO UNDERSTAND, BILLIE JOE? YOU'RE IRRESPONSIBLE AND IMMATURE!"
He couldn't take another moment trying to argue with this woman and get his point across. He walked into his room and grabbed enough clothes to last him a week along with a tooth brush and tooth pate, a cassette player along with his cassettes. He unzipped his backpack and spilled all his school shit onto the floor, and through the few items in angrily, slipped clothes and converse, picked up his guitar case, and shoved past his mom.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?!"
"Anywhere but here!"
"Good luck living on the streets! Hope you end up like your step cousin."
Billie Joe was red with anger now.
He jammed the front door open, and tore off the screen door."
"DON'T YOU EVER FUCKING COMPARE ME TO THAT DIRTY SKANK!"
-Two hours later-
It was around noon now, and already starting to get hot out. Billie Joe pulled off his shirt, turning heads of a group of preppy girls in skimpy clothing and high heels.
This is pointless! This is stupid! He had no money and his stomach was growling. His mouth was dry, and he was sweating like crazy. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Beg for money? He thought. And that's when it hit him, like a train. He was somewhere rather busy. There was one narrow road, and on each side of it was many shops. Like a surf shop, an Italian restaurant, a craft store, a woman's clothes store, and so much more.
Billie Joe sat on the curb in front of a tiny ice cream shop. He unzipped his guitar case to reveal his most prized possession; his guitar which he named Blue. Blue was dented and taped-up together. It was covered in stickers, and had been through a lot, but old Blue played as if it was just as new. Just like he had played it for the first time when his dad bought it for him and he strummed a few random notes, bewildered about how his favorite rock starts could make amazing music from this thing. He played back his memory of the first day he got it; He had hooked it up to his amp, not aware it was at full blast and slammed down on all 6 strings. He jumped. It scared the shit out of him as the amp screamed back the notes at him. Billie Joe's parents laughed their heads off.
Billie Joe put the guitar strap over his neck. His shoulder was sun burnt really bad. He winced, and threw on his tee shirt first, then put the guitar over him, tuning it a bit by his vivid memory of the sound of each string. He sat there, thinking for a moment as people walked by and stared at him. He shifted through his back pack and pulled out his notebook, flipping through each page. He found the newest song he had written. It was called 'Dry Ice. ' Billie wrote it two weeks ago. He sat there on his bedroom floor, chewing away at his pencil eraser all night long, thinking about that dream girl as usual, Roxy. He decided to jot it all down on paper, and managed to even write a guitar part for it. He didn't get any sleep that night, but it was worth it! He had really impressed himself with this song. He wished he could share the song with his best friend. But Mike probably wouldn't want to hear a song about how madly in love Billie Joe was with his own girl!
Billie Joe took off his hat and laid it out in front of him, running one hand through his sweaty hair. He read over the song lyrics twice, stood up, eyes closed, trying to visualize the paper he had written the guitar part on. He played six on the D and A and four on the E slowly and unsurely, then remembered the rest of the notes and played as loud as he could. It was rather difficult without an amp and out in the hot sun, but he didn't care. People stopped to stare. Billie didn't give a damn. He had played in front of crowds of people from school, and it's not like he'd ever see these folks again.
He began to sing.
"Late last night I had a dream,
And she was in it again.
She and I were in the sky,
Flying hand in hand.
I woke up in a cold sweat,
Wishing she was by my side.
Praying that she'll dry tears
Left on my face I've cried."
A little boy holding his mom's hand walked by. The kid stopped in his tracks, staring at Billie Joe, amazed. The mom gave Billie one of those 'Ew, look at one of those drugged up homeless teens" looks, and pulled on her kid's hand, keeping her eyes on Billie.
"C'mon honey, keep walking."
The kid protested.
"Lemme watch him, mom! Pleeeeeeeeeeease."
Billie Joe looked up from his guitar and started to sing with a smile, shrugging at the kids mom, giving her one of those 'Kids will be kids' looks. The mom sighed, and the kid slipped through his mom's grasp and ran up to Billie Joe, sitting next to him on the curb.
"Oh I love her!
Keep dreaming of her!
I understand
If she wants to be my friend."
The kid watched Billie's hands move quickly up and down the neck of the guitar, fascinated
"I'll send a letter to that girl
Asking her to be my own.
But my pen is writing wrong
So I'll say it in a song.
Oh I love you more right now
More than I've ever loved before.
Here's those words straight from these lips
I'll need you forever more."
A few girls stopped and watched Billie sing his heart out, and so did an elderly couple. Most people shot him dirty looks. One scary looking guy with a beard slipped Billie 3 dollars into Billie Joe's hat.
He played the last note and looked up. Everyone had left except for that one kid and his mom. He smiled and clapped really hard for a really long time.
"That was soooooooooo cool!" he smiled.
"Thanks." Billie grinned. "Looks like you're the only one who liked it."
"Why wouldn't I? That was great! You're so cool!"
"Thanks. What's your name? I'm Billie Joe."
The mom looked uncomfortable.
"I'm Joey." the little boy said.
"Awesome Joey, you're my coolest fan ever. How old are you?"
"I'm 9."
"9. Haha, I remember those days. I started playing guitar around that age. When I was 10 I think. You should play too. Start off early."
"I'll never be as good as you." the kid said, sadly.
"Me? I suck! But I'm not giving up. I'm hoping to form a band."
The kid got all hyped up.
"Do you think if I start off now I could be as good as you someday and start a band too?!" he bounced up and down.
"Sure you could."
The mom rolled her eyes and grabbed her kid by the wrist.
"Let's go Joey, it's getting late, and we need to see your grandfather."
"Mom mom mom! Can I get an electric guitar?! I wanna be just like Billie Joe!"
The mom gave the two boys a grossed out look.
"Sure, we'll see." she said unsurely.
"Okay, cool. Well, I guess I'll see you later, Billie Joe."
"Alright kiddo. Go after your dreams, I'll see you around, Joey." Billie smiled. He felt really good. This Joey kid reminded of him when he was little. It was a great feeling to know he had inspired a 9 year old like that, he thought to himself. Just hope this kid doesn't end up on the streets like him.
The day went on, and got cooler as the day dissolved into night, and the stars came out. Billie Joe had made 12 dollars and sixteen cents. Not bad. Most of the stores were closing up, so he grabbed all his stuff and ran into a bakery.
The old man at the register looked startled as Billie ran in.
"What can I get for 12 dollars?!" he panted, leaning on the counter.
"Geeze kid. What's the hurry? Take your time. We won't be closing for another 5 minutes."
"Okay, whatever! Just get me anything. Billie Joe emptied the hat out onto the counter."
"Hungry?"
"Yeah! I haven't eaten anything today and I've been cooking out in the sun like a slice of bacon!"
The old guy looked Billie up and down. He was strange looking. He looked like he was gonna die any second.
Billie Joe sat down at a comfy little table, and slid his shoes off while the old guy rounded up some doughnuts, slowly shuffling over to the table Billie was sitting at.
"I didn't know they allowed people this old to work." Billie Joe mumbled to himself.
The old man stopped when he got to Billie's table, and looked him straight in the eye.
"Ey, you're that one kid that was playin guitar! My grandson told me all about that." he said in a raspy voice. "He says you're his idol. "
"Your grandson?"
"Yeah, Joey."
"Oh! Joey! Wow, yeah. He's a real nice kid."
Billie Joe shoved his food down in throat, liking his fingers and choking now and then.
Billie Joe coughed, eyes watering and said,
"So, do you live around here?"
The old guy turned around slowly.
"What? What was that?"
Billie Joe sighed.
"Nothing, nothing."
A few minutes later after every crumb was gone, the old guy scuffled up to Billie once more and set a large Styrofoam cup of icy juice down.
"It's on me."
Billie Joe chugged his drink down in two gulps, choking on ice, then sat up and thanked the guy for everything.
"Come back anytime, kid." the man smiled, waving one wrinkly hand.
--- Three hours later ---
"I'll never make fun of a hobo ever again." Billie Joe growled as he gritted his teeth in frustration. He was sleeping on his backpack, old sofa stuffing, and pieces of card board. The cardboard had big and chunky, rusty staples. One was poking into his side. He didn't dare take his shirt off. He'd rather melt in the heat then get a staple pushed into his side!
To think just yesterday he was sleeping in his bed with a beautiful girl.
To think he actually used to complain about his bed! Saying it was "Too small." or "Not comfortable enough."
Shit! Right now BJ would do anything just to not be sitting here, sleeping behind a dumpster, where he feared a hobo or racoon would pop out and attack him. What did I get myself into? He thought.
Billie Joe wrapped his arms around his guitar. He wanted to make sure no one stole Blue. He guarded this thing with his life. He eventually drifted to sleep with his face smashed up against Blue. Alone, in that dark alley.
Maybe he did have a chance with Roxy. She seemed to have liked him a lot last night. Maybe she'll just forget about Mike and be with me.
Billie kissed her on the cheek. She looks so cute when she's asleep, he thought.
At that moment, Billie Joe's eyes went wide in shock. There, staring at the scene of Billie Joe, holding Roxy just after kissing her, was Billie's brother, David. David stared wide eyed back at his brother as well.
I'm such a dumb fuck leaving the fuckin window open! Billie thought.
David dropped the foot ball he was holding and bolted towards the front door.
"YOU FUCKIN SHIT FACE!" Billie Joe yelled. Roxy woke up, startled.
"What what what?! What's going on?!" she sat up, clutching the sheets.
"Stay in here." Billie Joe said to her, and then before Roxy could ask why, he swiftly jumped through his window. Like he was diving into a swimming pool. Bad idea. Very bad indeed.
He landed face first into the lawn, getting a very nice mouth full of grass. He quickly recovered in the blink of an eye and continued down the perimeter of the house at his brothers heels. Billie Joe was supper quick, coming close to losing his balance when he made sharp turns. David looked back over his shoulder in terror as Billie Joe pounced and tackled him. They landed roughly on the ground.
"GET OFF ME!" David yelled.
"NO! YOU BETTER NOT TELL MOM ROXY WAS HERE YOU LITTLE RAT! YOU HEAR ME?!" Billie pushed his brother on the shoulder.
"WHY NOT BILLIE?!" David shoved back.
"BECAUSE I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
David bit into Billie Joe's arm, leaving crooked teeth marks. Billie Joe let out a high pitched scream like a little girl. It echoed through the neighborhood. David wriggled free and continued running up the steps into the front door. Billie Joe dove for David's shorts, pulling them down. David tripped over them, and fell on top of Billie.
"GET THE FUCK OF ME, YOU FAT ASS!" Billie snarled.
"YOU'RE SUCH A FAG, PULLIN DOWN MY PANTS! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING DO, RAPE ME? David laughed, getting off Billie and running into the house.
There was no stopping David. He had to get Roxy out of his bedroom, fast.
Billie ran back to his window as fast as he could. He looked down and noticed he had just been bitten and screamed like a girl in front of the whole neighborhood in his underwear!
He stumbled back into his room, out of breath.
"Ro... Roxy... You... Gotta get out of here... Fa... Fast!" He said, trying to breath.
Just then there was a loud pounding on his door.
A rather upset voice said through the other side of the door "Billie? What's this David is telling me about you having sex?"
Roxy mouthed 'Oh shit. ', and quickly shoved on her tee-shirt inside out and slipped on her hoodie in panic.
"Uhm. What mom?" Billie asked, as double panic struck him. He helped Roxy out the window.
"Open up this door right now!" Billie's mom growled.
"Just a minute." Billie yelled back, watching Roxy run down the street, making sure she was totally out of site.
He picked up his crumpled sheets and tossed them back onto his bed, shut his window and blinds, and unlocked the door. He scratched his head and faked a yawn.
"Morning mom."
"Billie Joe, what the hell were you doing last night? David said you chased him down the yard and jumped on top of him! What's all this about? And he says he saw you having sex with Roxana? What the hell?!"
"Mom! You don't understand!"
Just then, another disaster occurred. The phone rang. Billie Joe's mom, Ollie, shot him a bad look, and ran into the living room to pick up the phone. He followed his mom into the living room and collapsed onto the couch, trying to seem as casual as he could while trying to listen to what mom was saying.
"Yes? She wasn't?" Ollie said, eyeing her son suspiciously.
"I think I have a feeling I know where she was last night... Yes... I'll call you back. Bye."
Mom slammed the phone back on it's receiver. She was p-i-s-s-e-d.
"Guess who that was?" She hummed, sitting next to him.
"Grandma?" Billie asked, shrugging.
"No, you're not funny. That was Roxana's mom. She informed me that her daughter was not home yesterday when she came back from her friend's house. She wasn't at Mike's either, and she said Roxy just got back from somewhere. Do you know where?"
Billie sighed. He'd just gotten himself stuck in some deep shit. He couldn't lie anymore. It would make matters worse.
"She was here. In my room."
"I see. So, let me get this straight; You snuck her in, your brother saw you two having sex, so you tackled him and threatened him if he told me you'd 'kill him'? What the fuck, Billie Joe Armstrong?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
Billie Joe protested angrily.
"We weren't having sex! Shut the fuck up!"
"Hey!" His mom yelled.
"Don't you dare speak like that to me!"
"Then don't tell me what I did and what I didn't. Get this through your think skull, mom, Roxy and I didn't have sex. She came over crying because Mike broke up with her. I let her spend the night because she was alone and needed someone to talk to! And that stupid little demon child bit me and sat on me!"
"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE, BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG! YOU'RE RUINING YOUR LIFE. YOU'LL NEVER HAVE A FUTURE IF YOU KEEP UP LIKE THIS! YOU'RE GETTING SUSPEND ALMOST EVERY DAY! YOU'RE GRADES ARE SLIPPING, AND YOU'RE MESSING AROUND WITH GIRLS!"
Billie Joe stood up.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME AT ALL!"
"WHAT'S THERE TO UNDERSTAND, BILLIE JOE? YOU'RE IRRESPONSIBLE AND IMMATURE!"
He couldn't take another moment trying to argue with this woman and get his point across. He walked into his room and grabbed enough clothes to last him a week along with a tooth brush and tooth pate, a cassette player along with his cassettes. He unzipped his backpack and spilled all his school shit onto the floor, and through the few items in angrily, slipped clothes and converse, picked up his guitar case, and shoved past his mom.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?!"
"Anywhere but here!"
"Good luck living on the streets! Hope you end up like your step cousin."
Billie Joe was red with anger now.
He jammed the front door open, and tore off the screen door."
"DON'T YOU EVER FUCKING COMPARE ME TO THAT DIRTY SKANK!"
-Two hours later-
It was around noon now, and already starting to get hot out. Billie Joe pulled off his shirt, turning heads of a group of preppy girls in skimpy clothing and high heels.
This is pointless! This is stupid! He had no money and his stomach was growling. His mouth was dry, and he was sweating like crazy. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Beg for money? He thought. And that's when it hit him, like a train. He was somewhere rather busy. There was one narrow road, and on each side of it was many shops. Like a surf shop, an Italian restaurant, a craft store, a woman's clothes store, and so much more.
Billie Joe sat on the curb in front of a tiny ice cream shop. He unzipped his guitar case to reveal his most prized possession; his guitar which he named Blue. Blue was dented and taped-up together. It was covered in stickers, and had been through a lot, but old Blue played as if it was just as new. Just like he had played it for the first time when his dad bought it for him and he strummed a few random notes, bewildered about how his favorite rock starts could make amazing music from this thing. He played back his memory of the first day he got it; He had hooked it up to his amp, not aware it was at full blast and slammed down on all 6 strings. He jumped. It scared the shit out of him as the amp screamed back the notes at him. Billie Joe's parents laughed their heads off.
Billie Joe put the guitar strap over his neck. His shoulder was sun burnt really bad. He winced, and threw on his tee shirt first, then put the guitar over him, tuning it a bit by his vivid memory of the sound of each string. He sat there, thinking for a moment as people walked by and stared at him. He shifted through his back pack and pulled out his notebook, flipping through each page. He found the newest song he had written. It was called 'Dry Ice. ' Billie wrote it two weeks ago. He sat there on his bedroom floor, chewing away at his pencil eraser all night long, thinking about that dream girl as usual, Roxy. He decided to jot it all down on paper, and managed to even write a guitar part for it. He didn't get any sleep that night, but it was worth it! He had really impressed himself with this song. He wished he could share the song with his best friend. But Mike probably wouldn't want to hear a song about how madly in love Billie Joe was with his own girl!
Billie Joe took off his hat and laid it out in front of him, running one hand through his sweaty hair. He read over the song lyrics twice, stood up, eyes closed, trying to visualize the paper he had written the guitar part on. He played six on the D and A and four on the E slowly and unsurely, then remembered the rest of the notes and played as loud as he could. It was rather difficult without an amp and out in the hot sun, but he didn't care. People stopped to stare. Billie didn't give a damn. He had played in front of crowds of people from school, and it's not like he'd ever see these folks again.
He began to sing.
"Late last night I had a dream,
And she was in it again.
She and I were in the sky,
Flying hand in hand.
I woke up in a cold sweat,
Wishing she was by my side.
Praying that she'll dry tears
Left on my face I've cried."
A little boy holding his mom's hand walked by. The kid stopped in his tracks, staring at Billie Joe, amazed. The mom gave Billie one of those 'Ew, look at one of those drugged up homeless teens" looks, and pulled on her kid's hand, keeping her eyes on Billie.
"C'mon honey, keep walking."
The kid protested.
"Lemme watch him, mom! Pleeeeeeeeeeease."
Billie Joe looked up from his guitar and started to sing with a smile, shrugging at the kids mom, giving her one of those 'Kids will be kids' looks. The mom sighed, and the kid slipped through his mom's grasp and ran up to Billie Joe, sitting next to him on the curb.
"Oh I love her!
Keep dreaming of her!
I understand
If she wants to be my friend."
The kid watched Billie's hands move quickly up and down the neck of the guitar, fascinated
"I'll send a letter to that girl
Asking her to be my own.
But my pen is writing wrong
So I'll say it in a song.
Oh I love you more right now
More than I've ever loved before.
Here's those words straight from these lips
I'll need you forever more."
A few girls stopped and watched Billie sing his heart out, and so did an elderly couple. Most people shot him dirty looks. One scary looking guy with a beard slipped Billie 3 dollars into Billie Joe's hat.
He played the last note and looked up. Everyone had left except for that one kid and his mom. He smiled and clapped really hard for a really long time.
"That was soooooooooo cool!" he smiled.
"Thanks." Billie grinned. "Looks like you're the only one who liked it."
"Why wouldn't I? That was great! You're so cool!"
"Thanks. What's your name? I'm Billie Joe."
The mom looked uncomfortable.
"I'm Joey." the little boy said.
"Awesome Joey, you're my coolest fan ever. How old are you?"
"I'm 9."
"9. Haha, I remember those days. I started playing guitar around that age. When I was 10 I think. You should play too. Start off early."
"I'll never be as good as you." the kid said, sadly.
"Me? I suck! But I'm not giving up. I'm hoping to form a band."
The kid got all hyped up.
"Do you think if I start off now I could be as good as you someday and start a band too?!" he bounced up and down.
"Sure you could."
The mom rolled her eyes and grabbed her kid by the wrist.
"Let's go Joey, it's getting late, and we need to see your grandfather."
"Mom mom mom! Can I get an electric guitar?! I wanna be just like Billie Joe!"
The mom gave the two boys a grossed out look.
"Sure, we'll see." she said unsurely.
"Okay, cool. Well, I guess I'll see you later, Billie Joe."
"Alright kiddo. Go after your dreams, I'll see you around, Joey." Billie smiled. He felt really good. This Joey kid reminded of him when he was little. It was a great feeling to know he had inspired a 9 year old like that, he thought to himself. Just hope this kid doesn't end up on the streets like him.
The day went on, and got cooler as the day dissolved into night, and the stars came out. Billie Joe had made 12 dollars and sixteen cents. Not bad. Most of the stores were closing up, so he grabbed all his stuff and ran into a bakery.
The old man at the register looked startled as Billie ran in.
"What can I get for 12 dollars?!" he panted, leaning on the counter.
"Geeze kid. What's the hurry? Take your time. We won't be closing for another 5 minutes."
"Okay, whatever! Just get me anything. Billie Joe emptied the hat out onto the counter."
"Hungry?"
"Yeah! I haven't eaten anything today and I've been cooking out in the sun like a slice of bacon!"
The old guy looked Billie up and down. He was strange looking. He looked like he was gonna die any second.
Billie Joe sat down at a comfy little table, and slid his shoes off while the old guy rounded up some doughnuts, slowly shuffling over to the table Billie was sitting at.
"I didn't know they allowed people this old to work." Billie Joe mumbled to himself.
The old man stopped when he got to Billie's table, and looked him straight in the eye.
"Ey, you're that one kid that was playin guitar! My grandson told me all about that." he said in a raspy voice. "He says you're his idol. "
"Your grandson?"
"Yeah, Joey."
"Oh! Joey! Wow, yeah. He's a real nice kid."
Billie Joe shoved his food down in throat, liking his fingers and choking now and then.
Billie Joe coughed, eyes watering and said,
"So, do you live around here?"
The old guy turned around slowly.
"What? What was that?"
Billie Joe sighed.
"Nothing, nothing."
A few minutes later after every crumb was gone, the old guy scuffled up to Billie once more and set a large Styrofoam cup of icy juice down.
"It's on me."
Billie Joe chugged his drink down in two gulps, choking on ice, then sat up and thanked the guy for everything.
"Come back anytime, kid." the man smiled, waving one wrinkly hand.
--- Three hours later ---
"I'll never make fun of a hobo ever again." Billie Joe growled as he gritted his teeth in frustration. He was sleeping on his backpack, old sofa stuffing, and pieces of card board. The cardboard had big and chunky, rusty staples. One was poking into his side. He didn't dare take his shirt off. He'd rather melt in the heat then get a staple pushed into his side!
To think just yesterday he was sleeping in his bed with a beautiful girl.
To think he actually used to complain about his bed! Saying it was "Too small." or "Not comfortable enough."
Shit! Right now BJ would do anything just to not be sitting here, sleeping behind a dumpster, where he feared a hobo or racoon would pop out and attack him. What did I get myself into? He thought.
Billie Joe wrapped his arms around his guitar. He wanted to make sure no one stole Blue. He guarded this thing with his life. He eventually drifted to sleep with his face smashed up against Blue. Alone, in that dark alley.
