2010 (sequel/prequel to 2028), chapter 1
In late September of 2010, Joseph Armstrong was fifteen. His brother Jakob was twelve and his dad was thirty-eight. Joey was a sophomore in high school; Jake, a seventh grader in middle school and their father was a dropout rock star. His name was Billie Joe Armstrong and he was in a band called Green Day.
Up until about three years ago, Joey had loved being a rock star's son so much in fact that he made a point of wearing something Green Day to school every day. But then Joey had turned thirteen and out popped another Green Day album, and it had exploded as much as the prior one, American Idiot. Joey was getting tired of having to share his dad with umpteen million people and in fact, he began to hate Green Day and everything surrounding them. It bothered him to turn on the TV and see his dad's face grinning back at him as he co-hosted TRL with his two friends, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool. It bothered him that day late last year in December when his dad had kissed his head and boarded a plane to London for a long world tour. But most of all, it bothered him when, on one of the few days his dad was his dad and not Billie Joe from Green Day, when their pilgrimage to the movies or the zoo or the whatever would get interrupted by a phone call, a fan, an autograph seeker, once they even ran into Mike as they left the movie theatre.
Up until this point in his life however, Joey had let these things happen, knowing there was no way to stop them. As he got older though, he started to wonder; if his dad had rebelled against everything when he was fifteen, couldn't Joey? What was stopping him from disagreeing and arguing with every little thing his parents suggested and thought of? When he thought of this, he realized the answer: nothing. It was his choice and that was all.
**
One morning Adrienne Armstrong was watching the news in her bedroom alone. Her husband was doing a TV appearance and it had taken him to New York for the weekend. She was also pondering why her son Joey was acting so oddly and attitudinal lately. He was a teenager, but he had never been a problem before. It seemed to suddenly come up, as though a flash of remembrance of how he was supposed to be acting, and then leave, letting him become himself again, nice and fairly decent.
"Mom!" came the shout of one of her sons.
Adrienne rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath before shouting back, "What?"
"Do we have any more Mini-Wheats?"
"Oh God," she muttered, "Hold on I'm coming," she stood up, put on a robe and some slippers, as she was not a morning person. As she padded past door after door in the hallway, she noticed only one was closed, Joey's. It was easy to recognize, with it's stickers, posters and road signs, whereas her other son's was less filled, just a 'Los Dios de Verdes' poster and a scratch on the door, made by a hyper dog trying to get inside. She saw that this room, Jake's, was empty and she rolled her eyes again, amused by the antics of her son, the only morning person in the family.
"You're up early," she smiled to her son as she entered the kitchen after descending the stairs with absolutely no grace whatsoever. She could see almost nothing of her son, a flash of dark hair there, a shoe and the bottom of his pants here. He was nearly in the cereal cupboard as he searched relentlessly for the only acceptable cereal in his mind, Mini-Wheats.
"Yeah, well, I promised I'd meet Ellie at the library, and we're gonna do whatever she wants from there. She thinks we do to much of what I want to do, but it's not my fault. She asks to come," Jakob explained, his voice muffled by the walls of the cabinet.
"How you gonna get there?" Adrienne asked, raising an eyebrow. Ellie was of her son's good friend, and well, Adrienne had to admit it, the girl was gorgeous. She was a year older, Stella Dirnt's friend as well, but her and Jakob seemed to connect. She was a sweet girl, caring and funny, but every time Adrienne saw her, it made a lasting imprint in her mind. She had these two dark eyes that were intense and amazing, almost black but with flecks of gold in them, always rimmed in eyeliner. She also had beautifully colored hair, that was so black that it appeared a grayish-blue in some lights, creating an inhuman, beautiful look especially when she smiled, which was not often. Although she pretended she didn't know, Adrienne knew that Ellie's home wasn't great. She lived down off Gilman and California, which was an okay neighborhood, despite the infamous street, but then again it was only a few blocks away from the infamous club, and it's surrounding counterparts of the near-ghetto, bars and fast-food places.
"Bike," Jake announced coming out of the cupboard, "So do we have any more?"
"Actually," Adrienne winced, "I don't think so."
"AH!" Jake shouted, pretending to die, "What am I supposed to eat?"
"Well," Adrienne smiled, "We have fruit, toast, and all those other kinds of cereals."
"Whatever, I'll eat toast," Jake muttered and pulled some white bread out of a bag, putting it in the toaster quickly.
Up until about three years ago, Joey had loved being a rock star's son so much in fact that he made a point of wearing something Green Day to school every day. But then Joey had turned thirteen and out popped another Green Day album, and it had exploded as much as the prior one, American Idiot. Joey was getting tired of having to share his dad with umpteen million people and in fact, he began to hate Green Day and everything surrounding them. It bothered him to turn on the TV and see his dad's face grinning back at him as he co-hosted TRL with his two friends, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool. It bothered him that day late last year in December when his dad had kissed his head and boarded a plane to London for a long world tour. But most of all, it bothered him when, on one of the few days his dad was his dad and not Billie Joe from Green Day, when their pilgrimage to the movies or the zoo or the whatever would get interrupted by a phone call, a fan, an autograph seeker, once they even ran into Mike as they left the movie theatre.
Up until this point in his life however, Joey had let these things happen, knowing there was no way to stop them. As he got older though, he started to wonder; if his dad had rebelled against everything when he was fifteen, couldn't Joey? What was stopping him from disagreeing and arguing with every little thing his parents suggested and thought of? When he thought of this, he realized the answer: nothing. It was his choice and that was all.
**
One morning Adrienne Armstrong was watching the news in her bedroom alone. Her husband was doing a TV appearance and it had taken him to New York for the weekend. She was also pondering why her son Joey was acting so oddly and attitudinal lately. He was a teenager, but he had never been a problem before. It seemed to suddenly come up, as though a flash of remembrance of how he was supposed to be acting, and then leave, letting him become himself again, nice and fairly decent.
"Mom!" came the shout of one of her sons.
Adrienne rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath before shouting back, "What?"
"Do we have any more Mini-Wheats?"
"Oh God," she muttered, "Hold on I'm coming," she stood up, put on a robe and some slippers, as she was not a morning person. As she padded past door after door in the hallway, she noticed only one was closed, Joey's. It was easy to recognize, with it's stickers, posters and road signs, whereas her other son's was less filled, just a 'Los Dios de Verdes' poster and a scratch on the door, made by a hyper dog trying to get inside. She saw that this room, Jake's, was empty and she rolled her eyes again, amused by the antics of her son, the only morning person in the family.
"You're up early," she smiled to her son as she entered the kitchen after descending the stairs with absolutely no grace whatsoever. She could see almost nothing of her son, a flash of dark hair there, a shoe and the bottom of his pants here. He was nearly in the cereal cupboard as he searched relentlessly for the only acceptable cereal in his mind, Mini-Wheats.
"Yeah, well, I promised I'd meet Ellie at the library, and we're gonna do whatever she wants from there. She thinks we do to much of what I want to do, but it's not my fault. She asks to come," Jakob explained, his voice muffled by the walls of the cabinet.
"How you gonna get there?" Adrienne asked, raising an eyebrow. Ellie was of her son's good friend, and well, Adrienne had to admit it, the girl was gorgeous. She was a year older, Stella Dirnt's friend as well, but her and Jakob seemed to connect. She was a sweet girl, caring and funny, but every time Adrienne saw her, it made a lasting imprint in her mind. She had these two dark eyes that were intense and amazing, almost black but with flecks of gold in them, always rimmed in eyeliner. She also had beautifully colored hair, that was so black that it appeared a grayish-blue in some lights, creating an inhuman, beautiful look especially when she smiled, which was not often. Although she pretended she didn't know, Adrienne knew that Ellie's home wasn't great. She lived down off Gilman and California, which was an okay neighborhood, despite the infamous street, but then again it was only a few blocks away from the infamous club, and it's surrounding counterparts of the near-ghetto, bars and fast-food places.
"Bike," Jake announced coming out of the cupboard, "So do we have any more?"
"Actually," Adrienne winced, "I don't think so."
"AH!" Jake shouted, pretending to die, "What am I supposed to eat?"
"Well," Adrienne smiled, "We have fruit, toast, and all those other kinds of cereals."
"Whatever, I'll eat toast," Jake muttered and pulled some white bread out of a bag, putting it in the toaster quickly.
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