Senior Slumps, chapter 8
"Will you hurry up?" an anxious Anastasia groaned as she flopped down on my bed.
I rolled my eyes at her while pulling my hair up into a low ponytail. I eyed myself in the full-length mirror. I looked alright. Usually when we went to Gilman we didn't care what we looked like, but tonight we both had someone we wanted to impress.
"Shut up," I said to Ana when she buried her head in my pillow and let out a scream of frustration, "I'm not the one who spent 20 minutes deciding what perfume to wear."
"I want to smell good!" she exclaimed, sitting up on my mattress.
"You know you're just going to sweat it off in the first 20 minutes anyway," I pointed out.
"Yeah well," she searched for a rebuttal, "At least my sweat will smell sexy"
I couldn't help but smile at my high school friend, "Whatever, lets go." I said grabbing some cash and putting it into the front pocket of my jeans.
We made our way downstairs and we were almost safely out the door when we were caught.
"Jessie!"
I groaned quietly, "Go wait in the car; I'll just be a sec." I said to Ana, who nodded "Hurry up," she whispered sharply before turning out the door.
"Yeah Mom?" I called, my voice echoing through the foyer.
"Where are you girls headed?" she asked, walking into the room.
"Gilman St. I told you," I answered, feeling extremely like a teenager with an overprotective mother.
"Oh," she smiled, but I knew she hated the idea. Knowing that gave me the sense of rebellion I loved since childhood, "Well have fun."
"I will," I smiled and headed toward the door.
"And sweetie?" she called after me.
"What?" I said, turning back towards her.
"That Billie Joe boy that was here yesterday," she began, "Are you two?" she laced her fingers together to signal 'Together'.
I grinned, "Yeah Mom, I believe so."
"Oh," she forced another smile, "Lovely," she said and I could hear the hint of bitterness in her voice. "Anyway, I'll see you tonight."
"Don't stay up for me," I said, walking out the door and finally fleeting down the walkway.
**
"Well I never would have guessed we'd end up back here again," I said breathily as I collapsed next to Billie Joe on his bed. He let out a small chuckle while catching his breath. He pulled me up close to his chest, and covered our bodies in whatever blankets that were scattered among the run down mattress.
"You guys were amazing tonight," I whispered, tracing my finger along one of his many tattoos.
"Thanks," he breathed, "Did you catch that song I played just for you?"
"What song?" I asked, sitting up to face him. All the songs Green Day played that night were running through my mind.
"Your song," he said looking at me like I was crazy "At the Library."
"Wait a minute that song was writted about me?" I asked
"Of course it was. Isn't it pretty obvious?" He laughed.
"Guess not," I said thinking about the millions of times I had listen to that song and never made the connection.
"You know," he said, "You're pretty stupid for a smart girl."
"Shut up, I didn't know," I said, smacking him against the chest before placing my head back down against it. We sat in a silence for a minute, taking in the fact of how close we actually were at this point.
"Who was that man?" I asked "The guy in the suit."
"That fucker?" Billie Joe laughed, "He was from some record company."
"And," I said, continuing to trace along his shoulder.
"He wanted to get us to sign to some major label. He came up to us after the show and gave us his card." He laughed again, "Tré and I were like 'Fuck you buddy'. Oh man too bad Mike wasn't there, but he ran off with that friend of yours pretty damn quick."
"Yeah, Ana's so happy," I smiled and met his gaze with mine.
"And so am I," he smiled at me and closed his eyes, giving me one last squeeze before he started to fall asleep. I sighed happily and rested my head against his chest, the curves of my body fitting perfectly into his.
"Wait a second," I said, interrupting the quiet that had overtaken the room. "I was told that song was about some ugly girl you thought you had a chance with."
Billie Joe cracked one sleepy eye and laughed when he saw the confused and angry look on my face. "No, I wrote it before I actually met you. When I used to see you in there, you looked so unhappy with your life when you were alone, even though you pretended to be happy." He shrugged, "So I guess that's what made you ugly in a sense. But physically I always thought you were beautiful, but you seemed like you were way too good for me so I just figured you'd reject me if I tried anything."
"Guess not," I smiled.
"Mmmm, guess not," He murmured, closing his eyes again, "Now let me get some sleep, I have a lot of drinking and smoking to take care of tomorrow."
I laughed, "Alright, Goodnight"
"'Night," he yawned kissing the top of my head. Then we both waited for the other one to finally say 'I Love You'. But neither of us said a thing, we just quietly fell asleep.
**
"What time did you end up coming home last night?" My mom leaned against my doorway and watched me pack.
"I didn't," I said simply adding a shrug.
"Oh," she said, walking into the room and sitting down on my bed, pushing aside the assorted piles of clothes. "Where'd you stay?"
"At Billie Joe's," I said, making it sound as if Billie Joe actually owned a house.
"Honey," She started, her fingers drew imaginary circles on my comforter. "Why are you getting yourself involved with him again? You aren't in High School anymore."
"Because Mom," I stopped packing and looked at her, I knew what she was getting at. "I want to."
"But Sweetie, you're such a smart and beautiful girl, I hate to see you waste that on some low-life musician."
I could feel annoyance and anger building inside of me, and before I could control it, the words poured out of my mouth. "You know what Mom?!" I said, throwing a shirt into my bag "I'm not sixteen anymore, I'm an adult, and you don't have any say in who the hell I'm fucking anymore!!"
She was a little taken aback. "Well I'm sorry," She said bitterly, "Maybe I'm just trying to tell you what's best for you!" She stood up.
"I think I know what's best for me!" I yelled
"I don't want you to get hurt Jess!" she yelled.
"Oh Geez Mom, You should talk. Remember Sean? He was this big hotel chain owner and you said we were going to be one big happy family. Only to have you walk in on him in bed with some receptionist 3 months after your wedding. Is that what you want for me?! To marry into money only to find him fucking someone else?!"
My Mother didn't respond. Her shoulders dropped and she looked down at the carpet. I knew I had crossed the line; Sean was always a sore spot, even though she left him when I was seven.
"Look Mom," I said softly, "I'm sorry. But you have to let me make decisions for myself. I know Billie Joe isn't the richest person in the world, but God Mom, I care about him so fucking much and he cares about me. And that's all I need to be happy for the rest of my life."
She looked up and gave a small smile; I could see the tears that were building in her eyes. "You should go," she said, "You're going to miss your flight."
I lugged my duffle bags down the stairs and dropped them in the foyer. I gave my mom a hug as the cab pulled upfront and honked the horn. "See you at graduation," I said, kissing her cheek.
"I know," she said, giving me another squeeze, "My little girl is finally all grown up. I'll just have to learn to accept that."
I smiled at her and turned to get my bags. "I'll see you in June!" I chirped, "And
I'll call when I get back to school." I said as I turned the doorknob handle.
She nodded and wished me a safe flight before turning to leave the room. I walked out to the front porch and found Billie Joe leaning against the house.
"Thought I missed ya," he said giving me a smile. "I wanted to say goodbye at least."
He pulled me up to his chest. I could smell cigarette and a hint of weed on his clothes.
"I'll be back soon," I said, kissing him on the lips, "It'll be like I haven't even left."
"I'll miss you though," he pouted a little. And I kissed him fully on the lips, letting his tongue slip into my mouth.
"Well I graduate in June, and then I'm yours all summer," I said, licking my lips
He snickered and grabbed my ass, I looked to see if the cab driver had seen "Good," he replied.
The cabby blared his horn again, "I have to go," I said pulling away from him again. "See you later,"
"Yeah," he said, giving a small wave as I walked down the path.
I was smiling to him as I got into the cab when something caught my eye. My mother had been watching us the entire time from the kitchen window. A small, perhaps happy smile was on her face.
I rolled my eyes at her while pulling my hair up into a low ponytail. I eyed myself in the full-length mirror. I looked alright. Usually when we went to Gilman we didn't care what we looked like, but tonight we both had someone we wanted to impress.
"Shut up," I said to Ana when she buried her head in my pillow and let out a scream of frustration, "I'm not the one who spent 20 minutes deciding what perfume to wear."
"I want to smell good!" she exclaimed, sitting up on my mattress.
"You know you're just going to sweat it off in the first 20 minutes anyway," I pointed out.
"Yeah well," she searched for a rebuttal, "At least my sweat will smell sexy"
I couldn't help but smile at my high school friend, "Whatever, lets go." I said grabbing some cash and putting it into the front pocket of my jeans.
We made our way downstairs and we were almost safely out the door when we were caught.
"Jessie!"
I groaned quietly, "Go wait in the car; I'll just be a sec." I said to Ana, who nodded "Hurry up," she whispered sharply before turning out the door.
"Yeah Mom?" I called, my voice echoing through the foyer.
"Where are you girls headed?" she asked, walking into the room.
"Gilman St. I told you," I answered, feeling extremely like a teenager with an overprotective mother.
"Oh," she smiled, but I knew she hated the idea. Knowing that gave me the sense of rebellion I loved since childhood, "Well have fun."
"I will," I smiled and headed toward the door.
"And sweetie?" she called after me.
"What?" I said, turning back towards her.
"That Billie Joe boy that was here yesterday," she began, "Are you two?" she laced her fingers together to signal 'Together'.
I grinned, "Yeah Mom, I believe so."
"Oh," she forced another smile, "Lovely," she said and I could hear the hint of bitterness in her voice. "Anyway, I'll see you tonight."
"Don't stay up for me," I said, walking out the door and finally fleeting down the walkway.
**
"Well I never would have guessed we'd end up back here again," I said breathily as I collapsed next to Billie Joe on his bed. He let out a small chuckle while catching his breath. He pulled me up close to his chest, and covered our bodies in whatever blankets that were scattered among the run down mattress.
"You guys were amazing tonight," I whispered, tracing my finger along one of his many tattoos.
"Thanks," he breathed, "Did you catch that song I played just for you?"
"What song?" I asked, sitting up to face him. All the songs Green Day played that night were running through my mind.
"Your song," he said looking at me like I was crazy "At the Library."
"Wait a minute that song was writted about me?" I asked
"Of course it was. Isn't it pretty obvious?" He laughed.
"Guess not," I said thinking about the millions of times I had listen to that song and never made the connection.
"You know," he said, "You're pretty stupid for a smart girl."
"Shut up, I didn't know," I said, smacking him against the chest before placing my head back down against it. We sat in a silence for a minute, taking in the fact of how close we actually were at this point.
"Who was that man?" I asked "The guy in the suit."
"That fucker?" Billie Joe laughed, "He was from some record company."
"And," I said, continuing to trace along his shoulder.
"He wanted to get us to sign to some major label. He came up to us after the show and gave us his card." He laughed again, "Tré and I were like 'Fuck you buddy'. Oh man too bad Mike wasn't there, but he ran off with that friend of yours pretty damn quick."
"Yeah, Ana's so happy," I smiled and met his gaze with mine.
"And so am I," he smiled at me and closed his eyes, giving me one last squeeze before he started to fall asleep. I sighed happily and rested my head against his chest, the curves of my body fitting perfectly into his.
"Wait a second," I said, interrupting the quiet that had overtaken the room. "I was told that song was about some ugly girl you thought you had a chance with."
Billie Joe cracked one sleepy eye and laughed when he saw the confused and angry look on my face. "No, I wrote it before I actually met you. When I used to see you in there, you looked so unhappy with your life when you were alone, even though you pretended to be happy." He shrugged, "So I guess that's what made you ugly in a sense. But physically I always thought you were beautiful, but you seemed like you were way too good for me so I just figured you'd reject me if I tried anything."
"Guess not," I smiled.
"Mmmm, guess not," He murmured, closing his eyes again, "Now let me get some sleep, I have a lot of drinking and smoking to take care of tomorrow."
I laughed, "Alright, Goodnight"
"'Night," he yawned kissing the top of my head. Then we both waited for the other one to finally say 'I Love You'. But neither of us said a thing, we just quietly fell asleep.
**
"What time did you end up coming home last night?" My mom leaned against my doorway and watched me pack.
"I didn't," I said simply adding a shrug.
"Oh," she said, walking into the room and sitting down on my bed, pushing aside the assorted piles of clothes. "Where'd you stay?"
"At Billie Joe's," I said, making it sound as if Billie Joe actually owned a house.
"Honey," She started, her fingers drew imaginary circles on my comforter. "Why are you getting yourself involved with him again? You aren't in High School anymore."
"Because Mom," I stopped packing and looked at her, I knew what she was getting at. "I want to."
"But Sweetie, you're such a smart and beautiful girl, I hate to see you waste that on some low-life musician."
I could feel annoyance and anger building inside of me, and before I could control it, the words poured out of my mouth. "You know what Mom?!" I said, throwing a shirt into my bag "I'm not sixteen anymore, I'm an adult, and you don't have any say in who the hell I'm fucking anymore!!"
She was a little taken aback. "Well I'm sorry," She said bitterly, "Maybe I'm just trying to tell you what's best for you!" She stood up.
"I think I know what's best for me!" I yelled
"I don't want you to get hurt Jess!" she yelled.
"Oh Geez Mom, You should talk. Remember Sean? He was this big hotel chain owner and you said we were going to be one big happy family. Only to have you walk in on him in bed with some receptionist 3 months after your wedding. Is that what you want for me?! To marry into money only to find him fucking someone else?!"
My Mother didn't respond. Her shoulders dropped and she looked down at the carpet. I knew I had crossed the line; Sean was always a sore spot, even though she left him when I was seven.
"Look Mom," I said softly, "I'm sorry. But you have to let me make decisions for myself. I know Billie Joe isn't the richest person in the world, but God Mom, I care about him so fucking much and he cares about me. And that's all I need to be happy for the rest of my life."
She looked up and gave a small smile; I could see the tears that were building in her eyes. "You should go," she said, "You're going to miss your flight."
I lugged my duffle bags down the stairs and dropped them in the foyer. I gave my mom a hug as the cab pulled upfront and honked the horn. "See you at graduation," I said, kissing her cheek.
"I know," she said, giving me another squeeze, "My little girl is finally all grown up. I'll just have to learn to accept that."
I smiled at her and turned to get my bags. "I'll see you in June!" I chirped, "And
I'll call when I get back to school." I said as I turned the doorknob handle.
She nodded and wished me a safe flight before turning to leave the room. I walked out to the front porch and found Billie Joe leaning against the house.
"Thought I missed ya," he said giving me a smile. "I wanted to say goodbye at least."
He pulled me up to his chest. I could smell cigarette and a hint of weed on his clothes.
"I'll be back soon," I said, kissing him on the lips, "It'll be like I haven't even left."
"I'll miss you though," he pouted a little. And I kissed him fully on the lips, letting his tongue slip into my mouth.
"Well I graduate in June, and then I'm yours all summer," I said, licking my lips
He snickered and grabbed my ass, I looked to see if the cab driver had seen "Good," he replied.
The cabby blared his horn again, "I have to go," I said pulling away from him again. "See you later,"
"Yeah," he said, giving a small wave as I walked down the path.
I was smiling to him as I got into the cab when something caught my eye. My mother had been watching us the entire time from the kitchen window. A small, perhaps happy smile was on her face.
