Class is Now in Session

When I arrived home after my first day of work, I was pretty tired, even though I didn't really do much. But oh well, I was looking forward to a quiet night at home.
As I was pulling up to my house and into my driveway, I saw that there was a large bus parked in front of it. "Oh my God," I thought, "It can't be who I think it is."
When I parked my car in my driveway, I noticed that there were three guys standing at my front door. One with black hair, one with dark brown, and another with light brown. I immediately knew who it was.
It didn't look like they had noticed me pull in, so I decided to surprise them. I quietly opened my car door, got out, and then quietly shut it again. I crept up behind them with a big smile on my face.
"Well, well, well, look who's here," I said, standing behind the three guys. They immediately turned around and I was staring at the members of Green Day.
"Carrie!" they all screamed and they pulled me into a big group hug. I hugged them back. I was so happy to see them.
When I was finally released we all just looked at each other for a second and then started cracking up. It's just one of those friend things. After we stopped laughing, I gave them all an individual hug and a friendly kiss.
"Where have you been, young lady? We've been standing here for about ten minutes, worried sick about you, wondering where you were and why you weren't answering your door," Tre' asked me in a mock fatherly voice.
"I've been at my new job, daddy," I replied sarcastically.
"I thought you quit your job a month ago," Billie Joe said.
"I did, but now I have a new job, a better job," I told them.
"Oh really, and what would it be?" Billie asked with a smirk.
"I teach the 8th graders at St. Luke's about rock and roll," I said happily.
"Get out," Mike said.
"I do, and today was my first day," I replied.
Tre' started to fake cry and then pulled me into a big hug.
"Guys, our little Carrie's all grown up now!" he said while still pretending to sob.
I started to laugh. Tre' had to be the funniest person I knew. When he finally released me, I smiled at them all. This day just kept getting better and better.
"Hey, do you mind if we go inside?" Mike asked me, gesturing toward the door.
"Not at all. I just have to unlock the door first," I said, while they all moved out of my way so I could get my key in the door. When the door was unlocked, I turned the handle and pushed it open. Within seconds, my pet pug, Mugsy, came bounding toward us, barking like crazy. I love Mugsy so much.
"Hey, Mugs!" Billie yelled and he scooped him up and gave him a hug. Mugsy started licking his face.
"Oh, so you're stealing my dog's affection now, are you?" I teased.
"I can't help that I'm so damn sexy, even the animals love me," he replied with a laugh as he walked into the kitchen while still carrying Mugsy in his arms.
Mike, Tre', and I all followed Billie into the kitchen. Billie was sitting Indian-style on the floor while Mugsy brought him his favorite chew toy. He dropped it at Billie's feet and barked, telling him that he wanted Billie to throw it. Billie obliged and Mugsy ran after it like a madman. I laughed and walked behind Billie, over to the fridge, while Mike and Tre' sat down at the table.
"You guys want anything to drink?" I asked.
"I'm good," Billie called from the floor.
"You got any coffee?" Mike asked.
"Uh... Not already made," I replied, "But I could whip up a pot for you if you want."
"That would be great," he said.
"Tre', do you want anything?" I asked, looking over my shoulder as I grabbed the instant coffee out of a cupboard.
"No, I'm fine. I'd just finished a can of beer when you were pulling up," he said.
As the coffee was brewing in the coffee maker, I sat down on the floor with Billie and played with Mugsy while the guys and I talked.
"So, why are you guys here, exactly?" I asked while scratching Mugsy behind the ears.
"Well, we just kinda decided to take a vacation. Just to relax a little after the tour, you know?" Billie told me.
"Shouldn't you be at home with your families, then? Instead of here with me?" I asked.
"Well, the tour's been over for awhile and we were kinda getting bored of just sitting around the house all day," Mike said.
"Were the girls okay with you guys comin' out here to see me?" I asked.
"As a matter of fact, they suggested it," Billie said, "They saw how bored we were getting so they suggested we come out here for a visit since we hadn't seen you in a while."
"You'll have to thank them for me when you get back home, then," I said.
Just then, the timer on the coffee maker went off and I got up to go pour some for Mike. I grabbed a mug out of a cupboard and poured some coffee into it.
"What do you want in your coffee, Mike?" I asked him.
"Uh, sugar and milk," he replied.
I emptied a small packet of sugar into the mug and then added some milk. I stepped over Billie and handed the mug to Mike.
"Thanks, Carrie," he said, gingerly sipping it.
"No prob," I replied.
"So how long are you guys staying in town?" I asked them, taking a seat next to Tre' at the table.
"Not really sure yet," Tre' said. "Couple weeks maybe."
"You guys checking into a hotel or are you just gonna camp out in the bus?" I asked.
"Well, we were kinda hoping we could stay here, in your house," Mike said, setting his mug down on the table.
"Well, you guys can stay here as long as you want," I told them.
"Aw, we knew we could count on you, Carrie," Billie said, standing up and going to retrieve Mugsy's chew toy from under the fridge.

Later that night, after me and the guys had gotten all of their stuff out of the bus and into the spare bedrooms I had and had a nice dinner at home of frozen french bread pizza, we all sat around the living room and relaxed. Mike was on the floor this time, stroking a drowsy Mugsy, Tre' was sprawled out in my armchair with a bottle of water since I told him he wasn't allowed to get drunk in my house, and Billie and I were sharing the couch. Billie was reading a book and I was resting my head on his shoulder, trying to avoid sleep for as long as I could.
"So, Carrie, why don't you tell us about your new job?" Billie said, putting his book down and turning his head to look at me.
"Well, all I basically have to do is teach these ten 8th graders who seem to be in a classical music induced stupor about the cooler side of music," I told them, "It's really pretty fun... So far, at least. After all, I've only been there a day."
"Any smart asses?" Tre' asked, taking a sip of his water.
"As a matter of fact, yeah, I did have one smart ass," I said, lifting my head off of Billie's shoulder and turning to look at Tre'.
"What'd the kid do?" Mike asked.
"He asked me why I was there in, like, a really bitchy voice," I told them, "I think his name was James."
"Oooh, big, bad ass James," Tre' joked.
"Oh, and I put up posters of bands, including you guys, up on the walls in the classroom," I told them with a smile. I wanted to see how they would react to this.
"Did we all look like sexy beasts in the posters?" Billie asked with a smirk.
"You always do," I teased.
"Good point," Tre' replied.
"Oh, and some of the girls were asking about you when they saw your picture, Billie," I told him with a smile.
"Oh really? What'd they ask?" he said with a smirk spreading across his face.
"Well, they wanted to know who you were, how old you were, if you had a girlfriend or wife," I told him with a small laugh.
"Pretty typical questions then, huh?" he laughed.
"Yeah, I guess so," I said. "They want you guys to come in and play for them a little bit, too."
"I think we could do that," Billie said. "What do you think guys?"
"Sounds like fun," Mike said. Mugsy was now asleep in his lap and he was stroking his ears.
"Yeah, let's rock those little fuckers!" Tre' yelled.
We all started laughing. I rested my head on Billie's shoulder again once we'd all calmed down a little.
"So when should we come in?" Billie asked.
"Doesn't matter, but I should probably run it by my boss, Mr. Kessler, before we do anything," I told them.
"Sounds like a plan," Mike said, while Mugsy drooled on his pant leg.

The next day, I got up bright and early and took a shower. As the warm water washed over me, I thought about what I would say to Mr. Kessler. I decided to just come out and ask him. And promise him that the guys wouldn't set the school on fire or anything like that. I really hoped that he would agree because the kids would be so excited.

I arrived at school at about 7:45. School didn't start until 8:30, so I had plenty of time to talk over the visit with Mr. Kessler.
I went to my classroom first to drop off all my stuff. I was just setting my bag down beside my desk when I saw Mr. Kessler walking down the hall. Now was my chance.
"Mr. Kessler!" I called, running out of my classroom to catch him. He stopped walking and turned to look at me. He gave me a friendly smile.
"What can I do for you, Ms. Ericson?" he asked politely.
"Well, you know how I'm friends with the guys from the band Green Day?" I asked.
"Yes, I remember reading that," he replied.
"Well, since their tour is over, they came to visit me for a couple of weeks and I told them about working here," I explained. "They'd like to come in and talk to the class and play a private show for them. But I told them I'd have to check with you first."
"Hmmm... Well, that does sound like an interesting idea," Mr. Kessler thought.
"I know that the kids would absolutely love a visit from the guys," I said, trying the guilt trip a little.
"Well... Okay. I think that it would be a wonderful idea for your friends to come in and talk with the students," he said with a smile.
I was so happy, I almost let out a squeal. "Oh, thank you, Mr. Kessler! I promise you the guys will be on their best behavior."
"I'm sure they will," he smiled. "And when can we expect a visit from them?"
"Well, they're free all week, so I'll talk it over with them when I go home today."
"Excellent, I look forward to meeting them," Mr. Kessler replied with a smile and a thumbs up. I didn't even know people did that anymore.

"Guys, I have some very exciting news," I told my class after they'd all taken their seats. "Green Day is going to come in and talk with you guys and play you a little private show!"
All the girls squealed with excitement and the guys all high-fived and starting talking about how awesome it would be. I couldn't have gotten a better reaction.
"I'm glad that you guys are so happy to hear that," I told them with a big smile.
"When are they coming in?" the girl named Heather asked.
"I'm not sure yet, I still have to talk it over with them," I replied. "But I'm sure it will be soon. They really want to come in and meet you guys."
The girls squealed a little bit again and the guys started whispering to each other.
"Okay guys, calm down. We have to start working today," I told them.
"What are we doing today?" Vincent asked, raising his hand.
"Well, I'm just gonna give you guys some background on rock and some of the band's that helped establish it," I told them, and I set off into the lesson.
At the end of class, everyone started talking about how excited they were about Green Day coming in. I smiled a huge smile at all of them as they said good-bye and thanked me.
Once everyone had left, I packed up all my stuff(since I only have one class a day) and headed out to my car, trying really hard not to run and/or trip.
I stopped by Mr. Kessler's office before I flew out the front door so that I could thank him for agreeing to let the guys come into school.
"It's my pleasure, Ms. Ericson," he said from behind his desk.
"I promise you won't be disappointed, Mr. Kessler," I told him.
"I know you won't," he said. "Oh, and you can call me George."
"Okay... George," I said with a bit of a laugh. "Then you can call me Carolyn."
He gave me a smile and we said good-bye. Wow, first name basis with the principal on my second day. Am I good or what?

When I walked inside my house, Tre' poked his head out of the kitchen, squealed like the girls in my class, and ran over and gave me a back-breaking hug.
"Nice to see you too, Tre'," I said, after having the wind knocked out of me.
"How was work?" he asked after releasing me.
"Excellent," I said. "Where are Billie and Mike?"
"Ummm... Billie's in the shower and Mike is in the kitchen," he said.
"Oh, okay. I just wanted you all to be together when I gave you the news."
"What news?" came Billie's voice. He was walking down the stairs with a towel wrapped around his waist, exposing his chest and all of his tattoos.
"Come into the kitchen and I'll tell you," I replied, walking down the hall.
Mike looked up from his coffee as I walked in and gave me a smile.
"Hey, Carrie," he said.
"Hey," I replied, giving him a friendly kiss on the cheek.
"So what's this big news I keep hearing about?" he asked as Billie and Tre' walked in and sat down around the table.
"Well, I talked it over with my boss and he said that you guys could come in and talk with the kids and give them a private show!" I said, trying not to scream it.
"Really?" Billie said, raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah!" I replied.
"Cool," he said, with a big smile.
"Sounds like an ass-load of fun," Mike said, raising his mug.
"Yeah! We're going back to school!" Tre' yelled really loud.
I starting laughing. This was gonna be a lot of fun.
"Well, I better go put some clothes on," Billie said, standing up and heading toward the stairs.
Tre' held a finger up to his lips to quiet Mike and me. He had an evil look on his face. He then jumped up and grabbed Billie's towel away from him so that Billie was standing butt-naked in my kitchen. I screamed and covered my eyes. I love Billie, but I don't need to see that much of him.
"Fuck! Tre'!" Billie yelled and ran after Tre', who ran away with the towel flying out behind him like a cape. Mike just sat there, laughing so hard I thought that he would piss himself or that coffee would come out of his nose, which it did. We both started laughing like idiots.

Once Billie had retrieved his towel and headed upstairs to get dressed, I poured some food into Mugsy's bowl and grabbed a can of diet Pepsi out of the fridge. I went into the living room where Mike and Tre' were watching "The Three Stooges." I plopped down on the couch and opened up the can and took a sip. Then Billie came down the stairs wearing a red t-shirt and black jeans. He sat down next to me and gave me a kiss on the head.
"Sorry you had to see that," he apologized.
"That's okay, I blame Tre'," I told him, giving Tre' an evil look.
"What?" Tre' asked, raising his eyebrows. "It's not like everyone hasn't already seen Billie naked."
"I hadn't, until today," I told him.
"Oh good. Then that sex tape of me and Billie hasn't gotten out yet," he said, pretending to be relieved.
We all started laughing and I set my soda on the coffee table so I wouldn't spill it all over Billie.
"So, when would you guys like to come in?" I asked them after we'd all stopped cracking up.
"Doesn't matter. We could come in tomorrow, if you want," Billie replied.
"That would be great," I told him, giving him a friendly kiss on the cheek.
"Do you guys want to come in early with me or come on your own and surprise them?" I asked.
"I vote on surprising them," Tre' said, raising his hand.
"I second that," Mike said, also raising his hand above his head.
"I third it," Billie said, raising his hand in the air.
"Then it's settled. You guys can surprise them," I said with a smile.
"Should we just bring our instruments and our sexy bodies?" Tre' asked.
"Yeah, that would work," I laughed. "I'll set up your drumset when I get in tomorrow."
Tre' gave me a thumbs up. I laughed. There's two people who still do that.