Dreams of Tomorrow

“Mamie? I’m back!” called Athalya as she closed the front door behind her, dropping her bag in the hall, hanging her jacket on the pattern and taking off her shoes. Receiving no answer, Athalya headed to the kitchen to grab a banana before she headed to the living room to see her grandmother and grandfather sitting on the couch. Her grandmother was speaking on the phone while her grandfather just watched his wife, his face expressionless.

“Yes I understand. Okay, no problem. Yes. See you later. Bye.” And she hung up, putting the phone on the coffee table and rubbing her face.

“What’s wrong?” asked Athalya as she went to sit on the edge of the table.

“Nothing you need to worry about.”
Her grandmother smiled at her, “How was your day?”

“Oh it was okay.” She replied, taking a bit from her banana. “A typical day you know, we watch ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ in French class.” She added.

“I think I’m going to take a walk around the neighbourhood.” She said, getting up. “Do you mind?”

Her grandfather shook his head, and got up, wrapping his arms around his granddaughter. Then Athalya hugged her grandmother and walked back to the hallway, putting her shoes back on, taking her jacket and her CD player before she opened the door and was out in the sun.

She looked up at the cloudless sky and couldn’t help but started thinking about France, and the fact that the only father figure she had had was her step father. She hadn’t heard from him since she arrived here ad she knew she might probably never hear from him again. She knew how painful it would be for him, and for Athalya too. Leaving France had been the only choice for her. To get away from everything and maybe try to move on? That wasn’t likely. It would take time, you cannot erase things like that. Forgive but not forget, that’s what they say. She wrapped her jacket tighter around her and kept walking ahead. She had no idea where she was going, probably the beach or the nearest park?

With her earphones safely tugged in her ears, she was blocking any sound that could come and disturb her thoughts. Actually, she was trying to prevent herself from thinking too much. She focussed on the lyrics and on the music. Quietly humming to herself, she reached the park. Kids were playing in a sandbox, other were going on the slide while their mothers were watching them from the bench. Athalya sighed quietly, running a hand through her hair and kept walking. She walked further in the park, looking at her surroundings.

She should be happy, the sun was shinning, there were no clouds in the sky, she was walking in a park in California. But for some reasons she wasn’t, it didn’t feel right. She sighed and kicked a rock that was on her way, stuffing her hands in her jacket. She really needed to stop thinking about it. She turned around, and headed back to the gates. She was just about to cross the street when she saw Val, Matt, Zack, Jimmy and a bunch of other persons coming her way. She lowered the volume of her CD player, in case they would try to talk to her, she wanted to hear them and be able to reply without sounding stupid.

“Hey Athalya, what’s up?” asked Val smiling at her. Athalya smiled back and took one hand off her pocket to wave at them shyly.

“We were going to play baseball in the park, do you wanna join us?” asked Justin.

“Thanks but I was heading back home.” She replied, stuffing her hand back in her pocket.

“Oh alright, maybe an other time then?” asked Val, looking a little disappointed.

“Yeah...” was Athalya’s weak reply as she looked at Val’s group of friends. Most of them she had no idea who they were. She waved at them before crossing the street. Why did people kept trying to talk to her and make her fit in their group of friends. They had probably known each others for years. That was part of the things she would never understand. Sighing, her mind drifted back to her old life in France where she had a few friends. She called them friends, but were they really? She rubbed her face and turned around the corner, heading back home.

She wasn’t what you would call a social butterfly or anything, she was rather uncomfortable with too many people around her and she wasn’t the one to walk up and start a conversation with someone she didn’t knew. She was the kind of person who will sit in a corner and wait for the time to pass. That’s what she had been doing for the past weeks, waiting patiently for the time to pass and ease the pain she was feeling in her chest.

Athalya walked up to the front door and opened it. She took a deep breath and walked in the kitchen. Her grandmother was making dinner. She felt a wave of guilt crash over her. Her lack of communication was also affecting her grandparents, she bit her lip and sat on a stool. She needed to make an effort for them, which was the least she could do after everything she put them through.

“I went to the park.” She said, smiling. “I ran into Valary and her friends.” She added, which caused her grandmother to turn around and smile at her granddaughter.

“They asked me if I wanted to play baseball with them, but I told them I was heading back home.” She said. She felt stupid for saying things like that. It wasn’t important and her grandmother probably didn’t found it interesting.

“That’s great. I told you they were nice, didn’t I!” she beamed. Athalya smiled.

“Yes, they are nice.” She approved.

“Athalya, you need to understand that not everyone here is evil or wicked. They are still some nice people walking this earth.” She said, looking at her granddaughter who had her head hanging low, looking at her shoes.

“I doubt it, everyone is evil or wicked. Some people just don’t show it.” She whispered, looking up. And she knew what she was talking about. “There’s a fine line between good and bad, and it depends which way you choose. It’s much easier to let your temper out, to scream and shout than to stay calm and try to keep your voice low. We all have our weakness Mamie, some of those people just hide them better than others... or maybe they just handle things better, who knows...” she trailed off, looking out of the window.

Her grandmother turned back to watch the pot that was boiling, and wiped the only tear that rolled down her cheek. She didn’t like it when Athalya was speaking like that, it hurt her to see her granddaughter so down all the time. She never seems to see the bright side of life.

“Your mother had her reasons...” said her grandfather walking in the kitchen. Obviously he had been listening to their conversation.

“I wasn’t talking about her.” Athalya, looking at her grandfather with her green eyes. “And there are reasons for everything, we all have our reasons.” She mumbled. She knew she wasn’t making any sense for them, but to her it did.

The room felt silent. The only sound was Athalya’s grandmother moving around the kitchen to prepare dinner.

“Do you, by any chance, know a kid named Jonathan?” asked Athalya, changing the subject completely.

“Jonathan? Is he in your class?” asked her grandmother, her mood lightening up. Maybe Athalya’s case wasn’t hopeless?

“Nah, I think he’s a year younger than me. He isn’t tall and we’re taking the same bus at the same stop.” Athalya explained.

“Oh you must be talking about the Seward kid.”

“I don’t know his last name.” Whispered Athalya, scrunching her eyebrows.

“He’s a nice kid. I think he lives further down the street, he has an older brother if I remember well.” Said her grandmother and she kept speaking about the neighbours that had kids around Athalya’s age until the last bit of pasta had been swallowed.

Athalya put her plate in the sink and kissed her grandparents’ cheek.
“Well, thank you for dinner Mamie and for telling me the lives of the whole neighbourhood.” She added with a smile. Her grandfather chuckled. “I think I’ll go to my room now. I’m tired.” She added just as she yawned. “Good night!” she said, waving at them as she headed to the stairs.

Athalya closed her bedroom door softly and jumped on her bed. She reached for the pillow and lifted it, taking the brown envelop that was underneath. She opened it and took out her most prized possession. She would never thank her stepfather enough for booking a plane ticket to California with a correspondence in New York. She felt her eyes whelming up as her eyes scanned the picture. The proof that he did exist. She luckily met him in New York. Her eyes stopped on his smile and she touched the picture. That had been the best of her life, and will probably always be.

Wandering aimlessly in the streets of New York, dragging her suitcase behind her, she started to wonder if she made the right decision when she told her step father that she was going to handle going to an other airport to catch her flight for LAX. She had no idea why, but her stepfather told her it was cheaper.
She was walking down the streets in N.Y, her duffel bag swung over her shoulder, and her suitcase in hand. With a shaky hand, she brushed her hair out of her face and shifted her bag a little, trying to release the pressure the material was implying to her already sour shoulder. She rubbed her neck and looked up at the map in front of her. She had no idea where she was… Well, except for the red spot on the map with “You are here” written in red underneath. She wanted to find someway to get to the right airport and catch her flight before it was too late but she had no idea where it was on the goddamn map.
Her stomach groaned, reminding her that she hadn’t ate anything in a while. She shoved her hand in her pocket , closed her fist, pulling out five dollars and twenty cents. She frowned and dropped her bag to the concrete at her feet. She crouched down and started rummaging through it, taking out her black wallet. She opened it and looked at the credit card. She could use it to buy herself something to eat in a fast-food, because at that time, she was craving for McDonalds. But she’d rather keep the very little money her mother had left her for something that’d worth it. She looked at how much she had in cash, 50bucks. She took out 5$, and placed the rest back in the wallet, and the wallet back in the duffel bag. She swung it back over her shoulder, looked attentively at the map and decided the headed West. She grabbed her suitcase once again and started walking down the busy streets, people were walking fast in the big Apple.

She looked up, trying to see the sky from over the top of the buildings and skyscrapers, but she couldn’t. The only thing she could see was some grey stuff floating above her head, a subtle mix of pollution and rain clouds. She frowned, and started walking faster, last think she needed was some rain. She sighed deeply, bit her lip and tightened her grip on her suitcase as people were bumping into her and weren’t polite enough to excuse themselves. As minutes passed by, she was losing hope of ever catching her flight…

As the first rain drop crashed on the pavement, people started walking even faster, not bothering if she was standing in the way or not. She tried to step out of their way as someone bumped into her hard, she lost her balance and she fell on the sidewalk. She blinked few times, wondering how she fell and why her when an extended hand appeared in front of her. The hand belonged to the man that had bumped into her just seconds ago.

“I’m sorry!” he apologized as he helped her back on her feet.

“It’s okay…” she whispered, blinking away the tears that were threatening to fall. She didn’t hurt herself too much during the fall, but she was exhausted, lost, confused and her mother had died only a few days ago. She just felt exhausted and wanted to catch her flight.

“Hey, don’t cry! I’m sorry if I hurt you! Are you alright?” asked the man. Athalya shook her head furiously, and whipped her cheeks with the back of her hand.

“I’m lost.” She said.

“You’re not from here, are you?” the man asked. She shook her head once again.

“I’m from France, and I’m supposed to get to the airport to take my flight but I have no idea where it is and I’m sure I missed it and I don’t know what to do!” she said, biting her lip, hoping the tears would stop falling.

“Okay, well, I could always drive you there, right?”

Her eyes widened in shock.

“Don’t worry, I’m not some crappy pervert or rapist or whatever it is that is crossing your mind at the moment. I have kids, and I know that’d hate to imagine them lost in such a big city. I’m just offering you some help, okay? I promise I won’t do anything, I just want to help you not missing your flight, alright?” he asked, looking at her.

“Sure…” she whispered. She had a pocket knife in her pocket, and could scream really loudly if needed. And she would get anything to just catch the plane in time.

“Alright, I just have to stop at Starbucks really quickly, I was heading there. And then I’ll have to go back to where I’m coming from and give their drinks to my friends, will it be okay?” the man asked. Athalya nodded her head.

“Here, I’ll take your suitcase.” He offered, holding out his hand.

“No.” she said, her grip tightening. He rose up his hand in surrender and pointed over her shoulder.

“This way…” he said and they both made their way down the street.

They stayed silent as they were making their way to the Starbucks a few meters away. She hadn’t noticed it earlier, too focussed on her finding her way through this jungle.

“Do you want anything?”

“Huh?” she asked, only to realise that the man was about to order his drinks.

“Do you want something?” he asked, Athalya shook her head just as her stomach grumbled. She blushed and looked at her feet. The man just smiled, “And I’ll take a muffin too.” He said to the waiter. He waited for his order, looking at Athalya as she was looking at the coffee shop like it was some holly place or something.

“Have you ever been into one?” he asked. Athalya looked away from the wall and looked at him. She nodded.

“Yeah, with my mother. We always went to Starbucks every time we were in Paris.” She explained, before looking away once again.

The man paid for his order and they left the coffee shop.
“Here.” Said the man, handing the muffin to a starving looking girl.

“Thank you.” She whispered, and took a bit. She swallowed it and smiled. He chuckled and both made their way towards wherever the man was coming from.

They turned around a corner and started walking down a street that was less busy than the previous one, and there, Athalya was finally able to walk next to the man, without bumping into someone every five seconds.

“Where are you coming from?” asked the man.

“I already told you,” she said, after she swallowed the mast bit of her muffin and threw the paper in a trashcan. “I come from France.” She replied.

“Yeah, I heard that. But I mean, where exactly?” he asked.

“Normandy, the west part of France.” She said, biting her lip as she remembered her life back there.

“Really?” asked the man, turning his head a little so he could take a better look at the girl walking next to him.

“Yeap!” she said, smiling proudly. “Have you ever been to France?” she asked.

“Couple of times. My job allows me to travel quiet often.” He said, running a hand through his messy hair. “I’m actually here for my job.” He added.

She stayed silent. He half expected her to ask questions, but she kept her mouth shut, her attention focussed on her surroundings.

“Where are we going?” she asked, slowing down her pace as they had now reached a part that was darker. The streets were dirty and the buildings were so close from each others that the sun was barely enough to light the street.

“Back to the bar.” He said. She stopped.

“I need to give the drinks to my friends, and I need to grab the car keys. Don’t worry, it won’t be long.” He said as they once again turned around a corner. The arrived in what looked like a small parking lot, behind a bar. A door was opened and that’s when she realised that they were standing at the back of the building.

“You can come in if you want…”he said, stopping at the door, and waiting for her to come in first.

“Nah I’m alright, I’ll wait here.” She said, sliding her hand in her pocket, her fingers wrapping around the little knife in her pocket.
“As you want.” He said with a shrug. “I’ll be right back…” and he walked in, leaving Athalya by herself.

She was sitting on her suitcase, her back against the wall and her arms crossed over her chest. Her earphones were safely tugged in her ears and the CD player was resting by her side. She was waiting for the mysterious man that helped her.

Someone walked out of the bar and didn’t even notice her. He leaned against the wall, took a cigarette out of a pack in his jeans’ pocket and placed it between his lips. Athalya was watching him attentively. Through his moves, she was seeing her mother. She closed her eyes and turned her head the other way. She blinked a few times and looked up to the sky. A single tear ran down her cheek. She furiously wiped her tears and bit her lip.

“Hey, are you alright?”

The voice startled her. Her head snapped to the side and she realised that the man was now looking at her, a small smile on his lips as he realised she was looking at him. They starred at each others. Athalya was waiting for him to repeat what he had said and she had lowered the volume of her CD player while he was just watching her, waiting for her reply.

“Uh?” she asked after a silence.

“I asked you if you were alright.” Said the man, turning so he was fully facing her. She recognised him as the man who had helped her.

“I’m fine.” She whispered, watching attentively as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew out the smoke. Her nose scrunched up and she let out a shaky breath, turning her head the other way.

“So, are you ready to go?” he asked, running a hand through his dark locks. She nodded and took out her earphones just as someone came jumping out of the bar and stood in front of the other man.

“Dude! You brought our drinks and you just fucking disappeared!” he shouted, snapping his fingers. “Just like that!”

“Sorry Tré…” the man mumbled, throwing his cigarette on the ground and stepping on it.

“Nah, it’s okay buddy. But you know Mike, he was freaking out without his coffee! Such a coffee freak and…” the hyper active man noticed Athalya. “Oh! Hey there Lady! Nice to meet you! I’m Tré Cool!” he said, extending his hand. Athalya shook it timidly.

“And what’s your name beautiful?” Tré asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Athalya.” She said softly.

“Beautiful name, for a beautiful girl!” he said, winking, which made Athalya blushed and looked down at her feet.

“Tré, leave her alone. I have to drive her to the airport now, or she’ll miss her flight.” He said, stuffing his hands in his pocket, his gaze not leaving the young girl.

“Nah that’s bullshit BJ! Pretty lady, don’t you want to stay here with us and hear some real music?” he asked, standing in front of her.

“It depends of what you call ‘real music’?” she asked, tilting her head to the side, watching the strange man jumping around. He was either high on sugar or just plain high.

“Green Day, darling! Green fucking Day!” he said, pointing at her, winking. Her mouth made the perfect ‘Oh’ shape as the words left his mouth.

“They are playing tonight?” she asked, turning her gaze away from the jumping man to the one who helped her.

“Hell yeah they are!” shouted Tré while she kept her gaze on the man with darker hair.

“Do you know them?” he asked, a blank expression on his face.

“Fuck yeah I do!” she said, her eyes shining. “I love their music! So fucking talented! They were my mother’s favourite band! I’ll do everything I could to see them!” she said excitedly. Looking from Tré who was grinning big, to the other one who had a thoughtful look on his face.

“I’d gladly let you in, but you’ll miss your flight.” Spoke the man, taking his keys out of his jeans’ pocket.

Tré turned to look at his friend and opened his mouth but quickly shut it.

“Well Athalya, I guess this is Good Bye then. It was nice meeting you!” he said, waving at her. She sat heart-broken on her suitcase as she realised that if it wasn’t for her flight, she could see Green Day for the first time in her life.

“Bye…” she managed to say as she felt like crying once again.

“Aww don’t cry! Here, take this!” Tré said, taking a drumstick from his back pocket and handed it to Athalya.

“Thanks?” she asked/said. Tré knelled down in front of her and whispered:

“It’s Green Day’s drummer’s stick. But don’t tell anyone I stole it from him, he’d kick my ass.” He said, patting her knee and getting up again. She took it and looked at it for a few seconds before smiling at Tré.

“Thank you Tré.” She whispered, he winked at her, waved and then disappeared back inside.

“Let’s get you to the airport shall we?” said Tré’s friend.

Athalya nodded and followed him, dragging her suitcase with her.
“Your friend is kinda weird.” She randomly commented as she put her suitcase in the truck and then went to the passenger seat.

“Well, yeah, but he’s one of the best drummer ever.” He said as he was buckling his seatbelt.

“Is that your car?” she asked. Still firmly holding the drumstick in her hand.

“Nope, me and my friends rented it. We’re not from here.” He said as he started the engine.

“Where are you from?” she asked, putting her seatbelt on.

“Sunny California.” He said, smiling as he heard her gasp.

“You are very lucky.” She said, sighing.

“I know.” He replied, nodding.

“But… how come you are in N.Y when you live on the other side of the country?” she asked.

“My job.” He explained.

“And Tré is working with you?” she asked, frowning.

“Yeap.”

She stopped asking questions after that and the rest of the drive was silent.

“Here’s your stop, I hope you didn’t miss your flight.” He said, killing off the engine. She shrugged,

“If I did, I’ll just find a way to go back to the bar and ask Tré to drive me to the Green Day show.” She said, smiling.

He got out of the car and she followed suit.

“Can I ask you something?” she whispered, as he was taking her suitcase out of the trunk.

“Yeah…?” he asked, closing the trunk, locking the car and heading towards the airport’s entrance.

“Is your presence in N.Y related to Green Day?” she asked shyly.

He stopped walking and looked at the young girl who had the biggest hopeful look on her face.

“You could say that. Do you even know what they look like?” he asked. She shook her head.

“I’ve never seen them, I just grew up with their music. I never bother to search for their pictures, it’s the music that matters to me.” She explained.
He nodded.

“Do you have a camera?” he asked her after a few moment of thinking.

“Yeah…” she whispered, taking a Polaroid camera out of her duffel bag. “Why?” she asked. He just held out his hand. She frowned but handed it to him.

He stood next to her, his arm wrapped around her shoulder and held her close to him as he was holding the camera in his hand. He smiled, and Athalya did the same and he pressed the button. Seconds later, the picture came out. He handed the Polaroid camera back to Athalya and grabbed the picture. She put it back in her duffel bag and starred in awe as he took a sharpie out of his pocket, turned the picture to the other side, walked towards the wall and started writing something.

She just hoped it wouldn’t be his number, because that would be weird…

“Here you go.” He said softly, handing her the picture. She looked at it and smiled. Her smile faded and was replaced by a surprised face as she turned around the photo and read what he had written.

“Thank you…” was all she could say as she saw him smiling warmly at her, his green eyes shining.

“You’re most welcome Athalya. Now go or you’ll miss your flight.” He said. She nodded, her eyes wide.

“Bye Athalya.” He said, waving at her and then disappeared in the crowd of people.
She went to register her luggage and sighed in relief when she realised that she was just in time and wouldn’t have too long to wait for her plane.

She took out the picture and looked at its back once again.

Since you can’t make it to the show,
Here’s a dedicated picture of the one and only Billie Joe Armstrong
Green Day’s singer.
Now you’ll know what the crazy drummer and singer look like.

Good luck Athalya.
BJ x x x

That was definitely the best day of her life.

Athalya fell asleep with a smile on her face, holding the picture close to her heart.