"Who Would've Thought Getting Knocked Down Would End So Well?"
Movie Night!
Thursday night was movie night. Billie Joe and Mike had parked their cars in Tre's driveway and the four of us climbed into Tre's SUV and headed for the movie theatre. There was no point in everyone driving and since Tre's car was huge, it only made sense to travel with him. Besides, it was more fun for us to travel together. We drove with a comfortable silence between us as we listened to the radio; I was enjoying the song "Second Solution" by The Living End when we slowed at an intersection. Tre lowered the volume on the stereo and turned slightly to look at the three of us. "Hey, let's play six degrees of Kevin Bacon!" I seemed to be the only one who had no idea what he was talking about.
"What are we doing with bacon? It's not some dirty thing or a prank on me, is it?" I looked at him nervously.
Tre looked at me incredulously, he could not understand how someone did not know about this game. He was stunned into silence. The traffic light turned green and Tre pulled the car forward through the late afternoon traffic.
"Mikey, you explain, I'm just too shocked right now."
I rolled my eyes at Tre. "Well, someone enlighten me already!"
Mike piped up. "It's a game we sometimes play when we're driving for a long period of time. But also we play it when we're bored, usually when we're drunk or stoned. You start with the name 'Kevin Bacon.' Then you take the last letter of his last name to come up with the first letter of the first name of another celebrity. In this case, the last letter of the last name is N. So, you could choose Nelly Furtado as the next celebrity, for example."
Tre licked his lips. "I'd choose her for many games." Then we witnessed Tre's infamous waggling of eyebrows.
Mike cleared his throat and continued, "As I was saying, then you take the O at the end of her name, etc, etc. Basically the point is to get back to Kevin Bacon."
I looked at the three of them like they were joking. "You're pulling my leg, right? Green Day plays six degrees of Kevin Bacon for fun?" I started laughing at them.
"Hey, it's a challenging game there, lady. Besides, there's nothing wrong with it." Billie Joe tried to defend their game but I continued to shake my head.
"Let's play then, Miss Smarty Pants."
"Fine."
So we began the game, each of us taking a turn. It was kind of fun but I would not admit it. Tre drove to a nearby park. I was a bit confused as to why, but kept playing our game. He stopped the car and turned around to look at us.
"Time to make the game more fun!"
And he pulled out a joint. He put it to his lips and lit the tip. He took a few tokes then passed the joint to me. I took it reluctantly; I hadn't smoked in a while so I was not sure how the experience would be for me. I inhaled deeply and let the smoke hit my lungs. I held the smoke in my body for as long as I could then let out a breath of silver smoke that swirled toward the ceiling of the car. The four of us continued taking turns until the joint was finished, and we had successfully hot-boxed the car. Then we restarted our game. It was so funny and we made no sense. We got out of Tre's SUV and walked toward the theatre, leaving his car near the park. My mind was foggy and I felt like I was floating - I was stoned. All the while we struggled to come up with celebrity names. We stepped into the theatre and Billie Joe's answer was Dick Clark. I paused for a moment then my eyes opened wide with excitement.
"KEVIN BACON!"
I yelled at the top of my lungs. People turned and looked, half expecting to see Kevin Bacon there. They did not find Kevin Bacon, but who they did see was Green Day. For the next fifteen minutes I watched the guys sign autographs on popcorn bags, ticket stubs and whatever else their fans could find. I admired the way they made time for their fans, on their own time. Even when they were stoned. When the crowd died down we got our snacks and headed toward theatre number six.
"So, what are we seeing, guys?"
Tre was leaning forward in his seat, looking at all of us. Since none of us could agree on a movie, we'd decided to see whatever movie was showing in theatre number six. At that moment, the lights dimmed and the previews began. We threw food at each other and waited for the feature presentation. When we caught a glimpse of a giant wooly mammoth we knew immediately what we were seeing . . .
Ice Age, The Meltdown.
I could not believe that we were seeing Ice Age. Secretly, I kind of wanted to, despite never having seen the first installment of the film. But I did not see much of the film. For fifteen minutes, Tre whined that we had chosen a film where there was no chance of seeing any nudity. Then he finally shut up and became engrossed in the film. Mike seemed to also be enjoying the movie. Billie Joe and I were more interested in each other. I lifted the armrest between us and moved closer to him; he wrapped his arm around my waist and held me close. I placed my hand on his upper thigh and squeezed it gently. Billie Joe looked over at me with his eyebrows raised and a mischievous grin appearing on his lips. He turned towards me and we kissed, no, scratch that, we made out. It was getting pretty heated when I felt something hit me on the head lightly. I ignored it until I realized that Billie Joe and I were being showered with Skittles.
"Taste the rainbow!"
We looked at up Tre who was smiling innocently, still holding the empty bag over our heads. Billie Joe and I peeled away from one another and I threw the candy back at Tre. Some of the candies had hit Mike by accident and the next thing I knew, I was covered in his popcorn. There was a full-fledged food fight going on between the four of us and we had caught the attention of nearby children who wanted to join in. The next thing we knew, everyone was throwing food, that is, until the film was stopped short. The manager of the movie theatre came in. She did not look pleased. She pursed her lips and glared at the four of us. I suddenly felt like I was in the principal's office in high school all over again.
"What do you think this is? You're adults! Just because you're famous, you think you can get away with anything and I'm so tired of it. The four of you will have to leave. Now." Rendered speechless by our scolding, the four of us were escorted out of the theatre.
Once outside of earshot of the manager, we burst out laughing. I was still struggling to catch my breath. "Remind me to do that again sometime."
"That was fun. But I hate when people think we do things like that because we're known by the public. We do it because we're childish . . . and stoned. Besides, I remember doing things like this way before anyone knew who Green Day was." Billie Joe scowled. He hated being described as famous, especially since he hated most celebrities. Mike nodded in agreement.
"Forget them. We had fun, right?" They all nodded in agreement. "And what we did wasn't such a big deal, right? A few candies lost their lives, but nothing tragic happened." The guys smiled at the way I was trying to cheer them up.
"Amelia's right! Forget them, their loss. They won't have these sexy buns to fill their seats!" Tre rubbed his butt suggestively, pointing it toward Mike. "Go on, touch it, you won't be disappointed!" Mike shook his head, backed away from Tre and smiled.
"Race you to my car! I'll count to three: one, two - " Tre took off at the count of two.
"Cheater!" I yelled as I ran to catch up to Tre. We all chased after Tre and arrived within seconds of each other.
"Man, now I wish I'd eaten that popcorn, I'm so hungry!" We all nodded in agreement with Mike. We piled into Tre's SUV and drove to a small diner where we sat, ate, talked, and joked for hours.
"What are we doing with bacon? It's not some dirty thing or a prank on me, is it?" I looked at him nervously.
Tre looked at me incredulously, he could not understand how someone did not know about this game. He was stunned into silence. The traffic light turned green and Tre pulled the car forward through the late afternoon traffic.
"Mikey, you explain, I'm just too shocked right now."
I rolled my eyes at Tre. "Well, someone enlighten me already!"
Mike piped up. "It's a game we sometimes play when we're driving for a long period of time. But also we play it when we're bored, usually when we're drunk or stoned. You start with the name 'Kevin Bacon.' Then you take the last letter of his last name to come up with the first letter of the first name of another celebrity. In this case, the last letter of the last name is N. So, you could choose Nelly Furtado as the next celebrity, for example."
Tre licked his lips. "I'd choose her for many games." Then we witnessed Tre's infamous waggling of eyebrows.
Mike cleared his throat and continued, "As I was saying, then you take the O at the end of her name, etc, etc. Basically the point is to get back to Kevin Bacon."
I looked at the three of them like they were joking. "You're pulling my leg, right? Green Day plays six degrees of Kevin Bacon for fun?" I started laughing at them.
"Hey, it's a challenging game there, lady. Besides, there's nothing wrong with it." Billie Joe tried to defend their game but I continued to shake my head.
"Let's play then, Miss Smarty Pants."
"Fine."
So we began the game, each of us taking a turn. It was kind of fun but I would not admit it. Tre drove to a nearby park. I was a bit confused as to why, but kept playing our game. He stopped the car and turned around to look at us.
"Time to make the game more fun!"
And he pulled out a joint. He put it to his lips and lit the tip. He took a few tokes then passed the joint to me. I took it reluctantly; I hadn't smoked in a while so I was not sure how the experience would be for me. I inhaled deeply and let the smoke hit my lungs. I held the smoke in my body for as long as I could then let out a breath of silver smoke that swirled toward the ceiling of the car. The four of us continued taking turns until the joint was finished, and we had successfully hot-boxed the car. Then we restarted our game. It was so funny and we made no sense. We got out of Tre's SUV and walked toward the theatre, leaving his car near the park. My mind was foggy and I felt like I was floating - I was stoned. All the while we struggled to come up with celebrity names. We stepped into the theatre and Billie Joe's answer was Dick Clark. I paused for a moment then my eyes opened wide with excitement.
"KEVIN BACON!"
I yelled at the top of my lungs. People turned and looked, half expecting to see Kevin Bacon there. They did not find Kevin Bacon, but who they did see was Green Day. For the next fifteen minutes I watched the guys sign autographs on popcorn bags, ticket stubs and whatever else their fans could find. I admired the way they made time for their fans, on their own time. Even when they were stoned. When the crowd died down we got our snacks and headed toward theatre number six.
"So, what are we seeing, guys?"
Tre was leaning forward in his seat, looking at all of us. Since none of us could agree on a movie, we'd decided to see whatever movie was showing in theatre number six. At that moment, the lights dimmed and the previews began. We threw food at each other and waited for the feature presentation. When we caught a glimpse of a giant wooly mammoth we knew immediately what we were seeing . . .
Ice Age, The Meltdown.
I could not believe that we were seeing Ice Age. Secretly, I kind of wanted to, despite never having seen the first installment of the film. But I did not see much of the film. For fifteen minutes, Tre whined that we had chosen a film where there was no chance of seeing any nudity. Then he finally shut up and became engrossed in the film. Mike seemed to also be enjoying the movie. Billie Joe and I were more interested in each other. I lifted the armrest between us and moved closer to him; he wrapped his arm around my waist and held me close. I placed my hand on his upper thigh and squeezed it gently. Billie Joe looked over at me with his eyebrows raised and a mischievous grin appearing on his lips. He turned towards me and we kissed, no, scratch that, we made out. It was getting pretty heated when I felt something hit me on the head lightly. I ignored it until I realized that Billie Joe and I were being showered with Skittles.
"Taste the rainbow!"
We looked at up Tre who was smiling innocently, still holding the empty bag over our heads. Billie Joe and I peeled away from one another and I threw the candy back at Tre. Some of the candies had hit Mike by accident and the next thing I knew, I was covered in his popcorn. There was a full-fledged food fight going on between the four of us and we had caught the attention of nearby children who wanted to join in. The next thing we knew, everyone was throwing food, that is, until the film was stopped short. The manager of the movie theatre came in. She did not look pleased. She pursed her lips and glared at the four of us. I suddenly felt like I was in the principal's office in high school all over again.
"What do you think this is? You're adults! Just because you're famous, you think you can get away with anything and I'm so tired of it. The four of you will have to leave. Now." Rendered speechless by our scolding, the four of us were escorted out of the theatre.
Once outside of earshot of the manager, we burst out laughing. I was still struggling to catch my breath. "Remind me to do that again sometime."
"That was fun. But I hate when people think we do things like that because we're known by the public. We do it because we're childish . . . and stoned. Besides, I remember doing things like this way before anyone knew who Green Day was." Billie Joe scowled. He hated being described as famous, especially since he hated most celebrities. Mike nodded in agreement.
"Forget them. We had fun, right?" They all nodded in agreement. "And what we did wasn't such a big deal, right? A few candies lost their lives, but nothing tragic happened." The guys smiled at the way I was trying to cheer them up.
"Amelia's right! Forget them, their loss. They won't have these sexy buns to fill their seats!" Tre rubbed his butt suggestively, pointing it toward Mike. "Go on, touch it, you won't be disappointed!" Mike shook his head, backed away from Tre and smiled.
"Race you to my car! I'll count to three: one, two - " Tre took off at the count of two.
"Cheater!" I yelled as I ran to catch up to Tre. We all chased after Tre and arrived within seconds of each other.
"Man, now I wish I'd eaten that popcorn, I'm so hungry!" We all nodded in agreement with Mike. We piled into Tre's SUV and drove to a small diner where we sat, ate, talked, and joked for hours.