Feels Like Home

"For the next three weeks, we are going to do an experiment of society." Adrienne said as she began to write on the board with the black dry-erase marker. It was her last period of the day, another round of sociology.

"Do we have to do it?" A voice asked from one of the rows.

Adrienne, shocked that someone would actually ask that question, turned to the class. "Who asked that?"

"Nikki did." A boy answered as he pointed to the girl next to him.

"Nikki, why did you ask that?" Adrienne asked, very irked. Her day was not going well at all. "It is an assignment, not an option."

"Sorry Ms. Nesser, but that sounds so stupid, an 'experiment of society.'" Nikki said dramatically. Nikki Cole was the school's princess. She was homecoming queen, Miss Pine High, beauty queen, and dumb as dirt.

"Then fail, I don't really care." Adrienne snapped back, ignoring the 'oooohhhs' of the students behind her or Nikki's huffs of aggravation. "During this experiment, you will break into groups and be given a budget. That budget must cover education, water and electrical expenses etcetera. You are practically building a virtual town with yourselves as mayors and alderman. During this assignment, we will also be looking at how a community reacts to politics, music, movies and the media. We will listen to sound bites of music and speeches and such and you will decided how your town will respond."

"Like what kind of music and reactions?" Another student asked, interested at the assignment.

Adrienne thought for a good example. "Okay, like the song 'American Idiot' by Green Day. How would your town react to the song's message? Would they support it or would they try to ban it? Would it start a revolution in liberalism or conservatism?" Adrienne saw a classroom of blank faces. Adrienne knew why, this wasn't a town accustomed to punk rock music. This was a hip hop, bubble gum pop town. "The Boulevard of Broken Dreams guys?"

"Oh, okay. We know who you're talking about, but we haven't heard that song. Is it good?"

"Yes, it's very good." Adrienne answered, wishing she hadn't brought the subject up and slightly irked that her class had no idea who Green Day was aside from the mainstreamed song 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams.'

"Oh, it's one of those groups that wears all black and makeup " Nikki blurted out. "No wonder you like them Ms. Nesser, all you wear is black."

Adrienne bit her tongue and took a small glance at her outfit. She wore black pinstriped pants with a red button down top with the black boots she wore everyday almost. She thought she looked nice, even with the small tear in the pants on the inside of her thigh. Nobody could see that though. "Yes, they do wear a lot of black and yes, two of the guys wear eyeliner but what I wear is none of your business Nikki and if you say one more thing to disrupt my class, I will send you out of here."

"You can't do that " Nikki protested.

"Do you want to try me?" Adrienne challenged. Nikki didn't rise to the offer. Adrienne looked at the clock, they had wasted too much time this period. "Your assignment for tonight is to split yourselves into small groups of four and to come up with a name for your town. Have it ready tomorrow." She finished her assignment just as the bell rang. "Have a nice day." She said without meaning.

Adrienne stalked to her desk and plucked her purse and keys up and left the room behind the students. She had to wait on Joey to get off the bus and then she had to go get gas before she picked up Sydney from daycare and then get home to start doing homework with Joey, grading, and fixing dinner.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"This sounds like shit." Billie Joe complained as he stopped playing his guitar and glared at Tre' and Mike.

"Well, why don't you play the right cords." Tre' snapped back. He was just as frustrated with Billie Joe as Mike was. Billie Joe was constantly stopping practice to blame something on Mike or Tre' that he was doing.

"It's not me, it's something else that's not clicking right." Billie Joe became quite defensive. "Maybe it's you."

"No," Mike corrected. "Tre' is playing his part and he's playing it right. You're going too fast."

"How can I go too fucking fast? I wrote the damn song?" Billie Joe's volume raised with every syllable.

"Because you probably drank the actual memory of the beat away." Mike had taken off his guitar and his fists were balled and shaking. He was sick of Billie Joe's petty nonsense.

"Will you get off of that shit." Billie Joe basically threw his guitar away from him. It would have crashed on the floor if a techie hadn't been there to catch it. "I'm sick of you ragging on me. I like to drink, so what." His teeth were bared like a dog ready to attack. "If you don't like it, no one is fucking keeping you here."

"Fine." Mike answered simply. "This will be the last tour Green Day ever does because I can't deal with your shit anymore Billie Joe. You have forgotten everything you stood for and you're going to do nothing but destroy everything and I don't want to be a part of that shit. I'm leaving."

Mike headed towards the door.

Tre' threw down his sticks. "I'm outta here too." He followed Mike out the door.

"Fine " Billie Joe yelled after them. Mike and Tre' didn't hear any of his other comments because they were too far down the stairs and they really didn't care about what he had to say.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I can't believe him." Tre' said as he and Mike drove through the streets.

"I can." Mike said as he passed a truck. "All he does is fuck whores, drink, and smoke. That's it. He has no drive to do anything creative with himself but yet he whines about people who do. I don't need this fucking shit." Mike hit the steering wheel. "I could be home playing with my other band, spending time with Estelle, doing whatever the hell I want, but no. I have to babysit Billie Joe Armstrong and make sure he doesn't kill himself before the tour is over."

"This tour isn't worth it." Tre' said. "And I'm surprised the media hasn't gotten a hold of this. It's not like we're hiding our hate for Billie Joe."
"I don't hate him." Mike confessed as he pulled into a gas station, the car needed a refill. "I'm just worried about him."

The two men got out of the car. Mike began to pump the gas while Tre' went inside. There was a woman at the next pump who was finishing up. Mike only got a glance at her profile and then the back of her head, a small boy walking next to her. A very familiar profile and back of the head. "No, that wasn't her." He said to himself as he tried to pay attention to the gas. "Was it?"

"You can get a drink or something." Adrienne told Joey as they headed to the drink section of the store before she went to pay for the gas. Joey got a soda while Adrienne pulled out a bottle of flavored water. As she closed the door and turned to go to the front, she bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's ok...Adrienne?"

"Yeah," Adrienne looked at the face of a man she had not seen in person for over ten years. "Oh my God, Tre'?" A smile broke out on her face as she hugged the man.

"Yeah. Shit you look good." Tre' held her out at arms length to get a good look at her. "You look exactly the same."

"No, no." Adrienne insisted as she tugged on her shirt. She did not look like she did when she was in her twenties by no means. Time and kids had made their mark on her. Tre's remark did make her blush though. "You look great too. How have you been?"

"Good. I have two kids and you seem to have one too." Tre' nodded to Joey, who was looking up at him shyly.

"Yeah, this is my oldest baby. This is Joey, he's five. Joey, this is an old friend of mine. His name is Tre' Cool."

"Hi." Joey said shyly.

"Hey dude." Tre' squatted down so he was eye level with Joey. "Gimmie some." He held out his fist for a complicated handshake that he led Joey through. "Yeah," He said as they finished it. "We'll work on that more one day." He stood back up. "He's your oldest? How many do you have?"

"One more. I have a three year old daughter named Sydney." Adrienne told him proudly.

"Tre', who are you... Adrienne?" Mike came over and joined them.

"Mike " Adrienne squealed as she and Mike embraced.

"Oh, I thought that was you at the gas pump but I wasn't sure. It's so good to see you." He hugged her again. People in the store were beginning to stare at them.
"I know. I haven't seen you guys in over ten years. God that seems so long ago." Adrienne pushed some stray hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, back in the good ol' days." Mike said with a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

"Where's Billie Joe?" Adrienne asked somewhat nervously. She kind of hoped he wouldn't be there, she wasn't sure if she was ready to see him.

"Uh, he's... back at the hotel." Mike said, less than smoothly. "Please tell me you don't want to see him." He blurted out before he could stop himself.

Adrienne gave him a curious look. "Why wouldn't I?"

Mike gave a grin and put his arm around her shoulders as they all walked back up to the register. "No reason. Uh, are you coming to the show tomorrow?"

"No." Adrienne said firmly.

"What? Why?" Tre' asked from where he was walking with Joey. "We need some of our original fans there. Your about as original as it gets Adie."

Adrienne blushed again at the sound of her old nickname. "Can't. It's a school night."

"Well," Mike looked for a reason as they walked out the door of the store. "Can't your husband watch the kids for the night?"

"No." Adrienne said a bit more forcibly. "Joey, go sit in the car, we still need to go pick up Sydney."

Joey bid his goodbyes to Tre' and Mike and sat in the car to wait on his mother.

"I can't go because I am trying to raise Joey and Sydney on my own." Adrienne said firmly. "My ex-husband and I are divorced and he doesn't come around. You guys have no idea what it's like to try to explain to two small children that their daddy doesn't want to come see them. I'm living with my mom again and she works the night shift on Thursday. I have to make tests out to give on Fridays and I have grading to do to turn in on Fridays as well. I have responsibilities now and I can't just pack up and go like I used to. Things are different. I would love to see you guys, but I just can't." Adrienne pulled them into separate hugs. "It was so great seeing you and I want to see you again and maybe with Billie Joe, but my kids come first now."

They exchanged a few more words and phone numbers before they went their separate ways. Mike and Tre' climbed back into the car and headed for the hotel. Their fight with Billie Joe was forgotten.

"Wow," Tre' said as he looked out the window. "I never expected Adrienne to wind up like that. She deserves so much better."
"Yeah," Mike agreed. "But she's better off now than what she would have been with Billie Joe if they stayed together."

"You're probably right." Tre' paused. "Should we tell him?"
"Tell him what?"

"That we saw Adrienne." Tre' looked at his friend. "Do you think that will snap him out of his self-pity bubble knowing that his ex-girlfriend, who I think he is still hung up on, has moved on?"

"I don't know." Mike sighed. "I doubt he'd care. Plus, Adrienne doesn't seem like she's moved on."

"Exactly." Tre' said in a sing-song voice. "After all, Billie Joe did say Adrienne would be the only woman he would ever love. And since Adrienne still wants to see him, this could work to our advantage."