Tripping Over Drum Sets, chapter 14
Over the next 4 years, I had my share of boyfriends. Most of them more loyal then Tre was to me. But I could never forget Tre, no matter what I did. One, he was my first love. Two, he was in Green Day which hit it big after I left him (maybe it was because I left him), and he was on the TV, magazines, radio. He was everywhere, and I could never forget about him. I bought a magazine for the hell of it and read that Billie Joe and Adi had gotten married in July of this year. I didn't really keep my promise of keeping in touch after I left Berkeley. In fact, saying good bye to Mike and Billie Joe was that last time I had ever spoken to them in person.
"Saidi!" came Maria's voice from outside my door. I rolled over and pulled the blankets over my head.
"NO! I still wanna sleep!" I said trying to fall asleep again.
"Saidi, Nick is gonna be here soon!" she called opening the door and jerking my curtains open, letting in massive amounts of sunlight.
"NO! IT BURNS!!!" I cried as I tried to pull blankets over my head, but Maria was too fast and pulled them off.
"Yeah, yeah sure it does. Now get up before I get the holy water!" she said holding a cup.
"NO! Okay! Okay! I'm up! When is Nick coming?" I asked as I got out of bed.
"30 minutes. That gives you like.... 20 minutes to get ready. He's always early." she said as she left the room. I stood up and brushed my hair. I was never a morning person... ever. I walked to the bathroom and washed my face and then sauntered off to the kitchen where I quickly shoved large amounts of cereal into my mouth. Maria looked at me.
"It's like you haven't eaten in days!" she said with a stunned look on her face.
"Yeah, well." I said as I continued shoving food in my mouth. She shook her head and resumed eating her own breakfast. After I finished eating, I brushed my teeth and just as I was getting dressed the door bell rang. I looked at my watch. "10 minutes early, he's right on time." I said to myself. I finished getting dressed. I had a plain black T-shirt on, a pair of blue cargo pants and my converses. I pulled my hair into a loose ponytail and when I walked out, there was Nick standing in the kitchen waiting for me.
"Hey sexy!" he said to me, as he opened his arms for a hug. I walked into his arms and kissed him.
"How are you?" I asked him as he kissed back.
"I'm good." I said as I walked into the kitchen. "Have you eaten yet?"
"Yes I have." he said as he sat down. "Do you guys wanna do something today?"
"Yeah, sure. What did you have in mind?" I asked tilting my head to one side.
"I was gonna take you to a concert! So we need something to wear!" he said.
"Really! Which one!" Maria exclaimed.
"Woodstock '94! Got 3 tickets from my boss at work as a raise." he said holding up 3 crisp tickets.
"Oh my god! Nick! That's great!" I screamed as I jumped on him and kissed him. "Thank you so much!"
We spent the rest of the day walking around town, looking in various different shops for various different things.
"Hey Nick? When is Woodstock?" I asked.
"Two days from now. We got standing and a reserved area right up near the front!" he said. Maria squealed with excitement.
"That is soooooo awesome!" she said. Our days waiting for Woodstock usually consisted of eating, walking around town and counting the seconds until we could go.
"I'm gonna get every ones' autographs when I'm there!" Maria said, the night before Woodstock.
"Yeah. I'm just glad to be there!" I said as I shut the light out and drifted off to bed. Again, I had another dreamless night and when I woke up, Maria was jumping up and down on my bed screaming, "WOODSTOCK TODAY! WOOHOO!!!!"
"For fuck's sakes! Get the fuck off my fucking bed and go jump on your own!" I said to her as she hopped off my bed and started to jump on her own. I pulled the covers back over my head.
"Oh no you don't! We are getting ready for Woodstock!" said Maria as she pulled the covers off of me. I rolled out of bed, put on a T-shirt that said, "I'm a band groupie! ;)" and a pair of jeans.
"How do I look?" I asked. Maria looked me over.
"You need socks dumb ass." she said. I looked down at my bare feet and sighed. I picked up a black sock and looked around for the other one. I couldn't find it so I put on a Halloween theme sock and then covered them up with my converses.
"Better?" I asked. She nodded and we met Nick in the kitchen for breakfast. We all inhaled our breakfast and ran out to the car with our tickets. Maria was so excited she powered the gas pedal and we sped toward Woodstock. We were there early thanks to Nick! So we just went in. We waited for everyone to come in. Boy that was a crowd! Bands just started play left, right and center. It was a blast. Then some guy came on stage for intermission.
"Okay! We have a really special guest here today named Nick! C'mon up Nick!" he said as the camera pointed down on Nick. He smiled and pulled me onto stage.
"Wait! What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" I said as he pulled me. We stood in front of everyone and looked around. I was mesmerized by the sight that I didn't even notice that Nick had gotten down on one knee. I looked at him when the entire crowd let out an ear bursting scream. "Oh my god." I whispered to myself. I felt light headed. Then the crowd went silent.
"Saidi, ever since I saw you, I knew we would be together. You mean the world to me! Saidi, will you marry me?" he said holding up a ring with a diamond in the center. I smiled and felt tears coming to my eyes.
"Y-YES!" I said as I fell forwards and hugged him. The entire crowd burst out into a cheer once again. We stood up and kissed. It was like something out of a movie or a punk/rock fairy tail! He put the ring on my ring finger and jumped off the stage ready to catch me. I hopped down and landed in his arms. I was so happy. I was going to marry Nick, and I was at Woodstock! Then a familiar face came on stage. I rubbed my eyes. Billie Joe? He was wearing a white shirt that said "stupid" with an arrow pointing up and black pants with spiky bleached hair. He had his guitar in his hand. He walked right up to the mic, positioned it and looked right at me.
"So are we invited to the wedding or what?!" he asked as Mike and Tre came running out. They started playing Geek Stink Breath, and moved onto F.O.D, and a whole bunch of their other hits. The whole entire place was screaming their heads off. Then some fan threw a clump of mud. Things kind of went down hill, or uphill depending on what you think, from there. Everyone was throwing mud back and forth. I even joined in a little and ended up getting covered in mud. So Green Day were the closing act so we were about ready to go home when Billie Joe grabbed me by my arm and pulled me away from the crowd.
"Come back stage! Okay?" he said. I nodded and told Nick and Maria that I would take a taxi home because I met up with an old friend. Which wasn't a lie. They nodded and went off back home. I walked back to the stage and went up on it. I turned around and there was the back of my head. I turned back around to where the audience should be and started playing air guitar.
"Woo Hoo! I'm a fucking rock star!" I said as I jumped around the stage with my air guitar.
"Saidi! Over here!" said Billie Joe's voice. I turned around and saw Billie Joe behind the curtain waving to me. Oops, now that was just a little embarrassing. I walked over to him. "That was amusing!" he said laughing.
"Yeah, well, you know. Whatever," I said blushing a little. He opened his arms and took me in for a hug.
"How have you been?! I haven't seen you for four years!" he said as we pulled away from our hug.
"I'm good. Gonna get married as you've seen. Sorry I didn't call or keep in touch when I left. I thought it over and thought it would be better if I just cut off all loose ends." I said. He shrugged and nodded.
"Tre watched you say yes to that Nick guy on stage today. I think it really affected him. He's been really fucked up since you left." said Billie Joe. I didn't mind talking about it now. I was over my heart break and I thought I would be able to talk to Tre now. That is, if he wanted to talk to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, he's not the same. Like he's less happy now, and its really weird. Mike and I have been trying to make him normal again for the last 4 years."
"I am not getting back together with him if that's what you want! I'm not!" I said, warning Billie Joe.
"I never meant it like that. But we're working on it."
"So what did he do when he saw me?" I asked. I was curious to know.
"Well, he was the first to see you on the TV, and he was all like, 'Oh my God! Guys! It's Saidi! Look! It's Saidi!' so Mike and I rushed over to see if it was really you. And then Tre saw Nick with you and his face kinda dropped. And when he saw Nick go down on one knee, it looked like he was gonna cry. And when you said yes to Nick, Tre kinda lost it. He started crying and Mike kicked him and told him to suck it up because we were on next. That's why Mike and Tre were out later then I was. But yeah. I think he might still love you." said Billie Joe picking up an apple and taking a bit.
"But I can't love Tre! Because I'm getting married!" I said, almost falling over. I sat down.
"I didn't say he still loved you. I just said I think he might." said Billie Joe sitting next to me. I looked up.
"Where's Mike? And Adi?" I asked. Then I brought myself to say it. "And Tre?" Billie Joe smiled. He pointed to a door that said, "Green Day Room"
"C'mon. Let's go say hi." he said as he stood up. He helped me up and took me to the room that my old friends were in.
"So I heard you got married to Adi eh?" I asked. He looked at me weird. "I read it in a magazine."
"Oh! Ha! Yeah. This year actually. In July!" he laughed.
"Congrats! I'm sure you and Adi are really happy together." I said as Billie Joe opened the door. Everyone looked up when we entered. Mike's face was the first to light up.
"SAIDI! OH HOW I'VE MISSED YOU! WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU CALL US!? WELL WHATEVER! YOU'RE HERE AND I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" he shouted as he pulled me into a hug and nearly shattered my rib cage.
"Oh ow! Yeah I missed you too Mike." I laughed in a slight amount of pain. I pulled out of the hug and braced myself for another one. Adi ran up to me and hugged me.
"Oh I missed you! Thanks for the prize! We used it for our honeymoon! It was great!" she said as she gave me a peck on the cheek.
"HEY! I want a kiss too!" pouted Mike. I reached over to give him a kiss on the cheek but he turned his head and got it on the lips instead. "Haha! I stole a kiss! Muwhahaa!"
"Yeah you bugger." I said. Then things got a little awkward. Tre looked at me and I looked at Tre. "I-I missed you." I said. He sort of smiled.
"I missed you too." he said. I went to him and pulled him into a hug. He seemed a little shocked at first but then put his arms around me and returned the hug.
"I'm sorry I left." I said.
"I'm sorry I was an asshole." he replied. I could hear Adi, Billie Joe and Mike all saying "Aww!" when we said this. I pulled away from the hug and looked at Tre who's eyes were glazed over with tears that had not yet fallen from hit eyes.
"Saidi!" came Maria's voice from outside my door. I rolled over and pulled the blankets over my head.
"NO! I still wanna sleep!" I said trying to fall asleep again.
"Saidi, Nick is gonna be here soon!" she called opening the door and jerking my curtains open, letting in massive amounts of sunlight.
"NO! IT BURNS!!!" I cried as I tried to pull blankets over my head, but Maria was too fast and pulled them off.
"Yeah, yeah sure it does. Now get up before I get the holy water!" she said holding a cup.
"NO! Okay! Okay! I'm up! When is Nick coming?" I asked as I got out of bed.
"30 minutes. That gives you like.... 20 minutes to get ready. He's always early." she said as she left the room. I stood up and brushed my hair. I was never a morning person... ever. I walked to the bathroom and washed my face and then sauntered off to the kitchen where I quickly shoved large amounts of cereal into my mouth. Maria looked at me.
"It's like you haven't eaten in days!" she said with a stunned look on her face.
"Yeah, well." I said as I continued shoving food in my mouth. She shook her head and resumed eating her own breakfast. After I finished eating, I brushed my teeth and just as I was getting dressed the door bell rang. I looked at my watch. "10 minutes early, he's right on time." I said to myself. I finished getting dressed. I had a plain black T-shirt on, a pair of blue cargo pants and my converses. I pulled my hair into a loose ponytail and when I walked out, there was Nick standing in the kitchen waiting for me.
"Hey sexy!" he said to me, as he opened his arms for a hug. I walked into his arms and kissed him.
"How are you?" I asked him as he kissed back.
"I'm good." I said as I walked into the kitchen. "Have you eaten yet?"
"Yes I have." he said as he sat down. "Do you guys wanna do something today?"
"Yeah, sure. What did you have in mind?" I asked tilting my head to one side.
"I was gonna take you to a concert! So we need something to wear!" he said.
"Really! Which one!" Maria exclaimed.
"Woodstock '94! Got 3 tickets from my boss at work as a raise." he said holding up 3 crisp tickets.
"Oh my god! Nick! That's great!" I screamed as I jumped on him and kissed him. "Thank you so much!"
We spent the rest of the day walking around town, looking in various different shops for various different things.
"Hey Nick? When is Woodstock?" I asked.
"Two days from now. We got standing and a reserved area right up near the front!" he said. Maria squealed with excitement.
"That is soooooo awesome!" she said. Our days waiting for Woodstock usually consisted of eating, walking around town and counting the seconds until we could go.
"I'm gonna get every ones' autographs when I'm there!" Maria said, the night before Woodstock.
"Yeah. I'm just glad to be there!" I said as I shut the light out and drifted off to bed. Again, I had another dreamless night and when I woke up, Maria was jumping up and down on my bed screaming, "WOODSTOCK TODAY! WOOHOO!!!!"
"For fuck's sakes! Get the fuck off my fucking bed and go jump on your own!" I said to her as she hopped off my bed and started to jump on her own. I pulled the covers back over my head.
"Oh no you don't! We are getting ready for Woodstock!" said Maria as she pulled the covers off of me. I rolled out of bed, put on a T-shirt that said, "I'm a band groupie! ;)" and a pair of jeans.
"How do I look?" I asked. Maria looked me over.
"You need socks dumb ass." she said. I looked down at my bare feet and sighed. I picked up a black sock and looked around for the other one. I couldn't find it so I put on a Halloween theme sock and then covered them up with my converses.
"Better?" I asked. She nodded and we met Nick in the kitchen for breakfast. We all inhaled our breakfast and ran out to the car with our tickets. Maria was so excited she powered the gas pedal and we sped toward Woodstock. We were there early thanks to Nick! So we just went in. We waited for everyone to come in. Boy that was a crowd! Bands just started play left, right and center. It was a blast. Then some guy came on stage for intermission.
"Okay! We have a really special guest here today named Nick! C'mon up Nick!" he said as the camera pointed down on Nick. He smiled and pulled me onto stage.
"Wait! What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" I said as he pulled me. We stood in front of everyone and looked around. I was mesmerized by the sight that I didn't even notice that Nick had gotten down on one knee. I looked at him when the entire crowd let out an ear bursting scream. "Oh my god." I whispered to myself. I felt light headed. Then the crowd went silent.
"Saidi, ever since I saw you, I knew we would be together. You mean the world to me! Saidi, will you marry me?" he said holding up a ring with a diamond in the center. I smiled and felt tears coming to my eyes.
"Y-YES!" I said as I fell forwards and hugged him. The entire crowd burst out into a cheer once again. We stood up and kissed. It was like something out of a movie or a punk/rock fairy tail! He put the ring on my ring finger and jumped off the stage ready to catch me. I hopped down and landed in his arms. I was so happy. I was going to marry Nick, and I was at Woodstock! Then a familiar face came on stage. I rubbed my eyes. Billie Joe? He was wearing a white shirt that said "stupid" with an arrow pointing up and black pants with spiky bleached hair. He had his guitar in his hand. He walked right up to the mic, positioned it and looked right at me.
"So are we invited to the wedding or what?!" he asked as Mike and Tre came running out. They started playing Geek Stink Breath, and moved onto F.O.D, and a whole bunch of their other hits. The whole entire place was screaming their heads off. Then some fan threw a clump of mud. Things kind of went down hill, or uphill depending on what you think, from there. Everyone was throwing mud back and forth. I even joined in a little and ended up getting covered in mud. So Green Day were the closing act so we were about ready to go home when Billie Joe grabbed me by my arm and pulled me away from the crowd.
"Come back stage! Okay?" he said. I nodded and told Nick and Maria that I would take a taxi home because I met up with an old friend. Which wasn't a lie. They nodded and went off back home. I walked back to the stage and went up on it. I turned around and there was the back of my head. I turned back around to where the audience should be and started playing air guitar.
"Woo Hoo! I'm a fucking rock star!" I said as I jumped around the stage with my air guitar.
"Saidi! Over here!" said Billie Joe's voice. I turned around and saw Billie Joe behind the curtain waving to me. Oops, now that was just a little embarrassing. I walked over to him. "That was amusing!" he said laughing.
"Yeah, well, you know. Whatever," I said blushing a little. He opened his arms and took me in for a hug.
"How have you been?! I haven't seen you for four years!" he said as we pulled away from our hug.
"I'm good. Gonna get married as you've seen. Sorry I didn't call or keep in touch when I left. I thought it over and thought it would be better if I just cut off all loose ends." I said. He shrugged and nodded.
"Tre watched you say yes to that Nick guy on stage today. I think it really affected him. He's been really fucked up since you left." said Billie Joe. I didn't mind talking about it now. I was over my heart break and I thought I would be able to talk to Tre now. That is, if he wanted to talk to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, he's not the same. Like he's less happy now, and its really weird. Mike and I have been trying to make him normal again for the last 4 years."
"I am not getting back together with him if that's what you want! I'm not!" I said, warning Billie Joe.
"I never meant it like that. But we're working on it."
"So what did he do when he saw me?" I asked. I was curious to know.
"Well, he was the first to see you on the TV, and he was all like, 'Oh my God! Guys! It's Saidi! Look! It's Saidi!' so Mike and I rushed over to see if it was really you. And then Tre saw Nick with you and his face kinda dropped. And when he saw Nick go down on one knee, it looked like he was gonna cry. And when you said yes to Nick, Tre kinda lost it. He started crying and Mike kicked him and told him to suck it up because we were on next. That's why Mike and Tre were out later then I was. But yeah. I think he might still love you." said Billie Joe picking up an apple and taking a bit.
"But I can't love Tre! Because I'm getting married!" I said, almost falling over. I sat down.
"I didn't say he still loved you. I just said I think he might." said Billie Joe sitting next to me. I looked up.
"Where's Mike? And Adi?" I asked. Then I brought myself to say it. "And Tre?" Billie Joe smiled. He pointed to a door that said, "Green Day Room"
"C'mon. Let's go say hi." he said as he stood up. He helped me up and took me to the room that my old friends were in.
"So I heard you got married to Adi eh?" I asked. He looked at me weird. "I read it in a magazine."
"Oh! Ha! Yeah. This year actually. In July!" he laughed.
"Congrats! I'm sure you and Adi are really happy together." I said as Billie Joe opened the door. Everyone looked up when we entered. Mike's face was the first to light up.
"SAIDI! OH HOW I'VE MISSED YOU! WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU CALL US!? WELL WHATEVER! YOU'RE HERE AND I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" he shouted as he pulled me into a hug and nearly shattered my rib cage.
"Oh ow! Yeah I missed you too Mike." I laughed in a slight amount of pain. I pulled out of the hug and braced myself for another one. Adi ran up to me and hugged me.
"Oh I missed you! Thanks for the prize! We used it for our honeymoon! It was great!" she said as she gave me a peck on the cheek.
"HEY! I want a kiss too!" pouted Mike. I reached over to give him a kiss on the cheek but he turned his head and got it on the lips instead. "Haha! I stole a kiss! Muwhahaa!"
"Yeah you bugger." I said. Then things got a little awkward. Tre looked at me and I looked at Tre. "I-I missed you." I said. He sort of smiled.
"I missed you too." he said. I went to him and pulled him into a hug. He seemed a little shocked at first but then put his arms around me and returned the hug.
"I'm sorry I left." I said.
"I'm sorry I was an asshole." he replied. I could hear Adi, Billie Joe and Mike all saying "Aww!" when we said this. I pulled away from the hug and looked at Tre who's eyes were glazed over with tears that had not yet fallen from hit eyes.
