Green Day Baby

Meeting Rosie

I sit on the passenger's side of Tre's car, Mike is sitting in back. We have no idea where Tre is taking us but he's going at high speed.
"Bill, open the glove compartment," He demands. I do as he says, because right now Tre is on crazy mode.
"Bottle cap, map of Oakland, owner's manual, eyeliner."
"Eyeliner!" he yelps. I hold it up. "Put it on!"
"You?" I ask dumbfounded.
"On yourself," He says irritated with me, I look at Mike.
"Just do it," Mike mumbles. I apply a generous amount to my eyes.

"What's this all about?" I ask as Tre finally parks the car. He snatches the eyeliner from me and applies it to his own eyes.
"Rosie won't recognize us after all these years, but she will recognize the infamous band Green Day!"
"Wait!" Mike says urgently, "This is going too far, we could get arrested for this."

Tre doesn't listen, he just bursts out of the car, I follow behind him to make sure he doesn't do anything incredibly stupid. Mike takes a moment before he joins us. I follow Tre to a bus stop where he takes a seat.

"Mike's right you know," I mumble as I take a seat next to him.
"Well if she doesn't want to talk to us then-" Tre trails off.
"Can't believe I'm doing this," Mike mutters.

A bus stops in front of us and three girls get out, one really preppy girly blond and two more gothic/punk looking ones. The preppy one looks us over and walks away.
"Hey, they look like Green Day," The taller girl says quietly.
"Because we are," Mike says smoothly.
"Are one of you Rosie Salvador?" Tre asks, then the shorter one looks straight at us, I'd recognize those blue eyes anywhere.
"Did I win some kind of contest?" she asks excitedly.
"I'm sorry, but can I have your autographs?" The taller one asks as she produces an American Idiot and permanent marker from her bag.

I glance at my band mates then take the CD from her and sign it before passing it to Mike.
"C'mon Gale!" someone yells from a car on the corner. Tre signs the CD and hands it to the one that must be Gale and she runs off to the car.
"Wow," Rosie says looking us over, "Green Day."

"Yup," I say nervously.
"You're shorter than I thought," She says tilting her head, "Except for Mike." We all chuckle. "So what happens now?"
"Uhh." I look at Tre.
"Well you didn't win a contest," Tre starts slowly as he reaches into his pocket, "We know you," she looks at him puzzled, he hands her a photo. "When you were a baby."

"Shit, this is me, with you guys," She stutters as she analyzes the photo, "But how could this be?"
"Do you know about your mother?" Mike asks, trying to help things along.
"Yeah, she over-dosed then I went to live with my aunt and uncle."
"Not exactly." I sigh, "See right before her OD, she was neglecting you so we started babysitting you. Then she died and you stayed with us for about a month before they found your aunt."

"Oh wow," She says in disbelief. "I umm, need to sit down and my cousin will be wondering where I am."
"Oh okay," Mike says quietly. We start to walk away.
"Wait!" she yells, "Come over." Tre smiles. "I'll have you know my cousin is 6'4 and can beat the living crap out of all three of you in his sleep."
"Fair enough," Mike says as we follow her down the street. She comes up to a nice house with a big garden.

"So you've lived here long?" Mike asks as we go up the front steps.
"My whole life, well sort of." She laughs nervously as she unlocks the door. We step into the house, it was a nice homey feel to it.

"Marc!" she calls, and within seconds a really tall, really buff guy in his late teens, early twenties graces us with his presence.
"I told you to handle Jehovah Witnesses on your own," He mutters rolling his eyes.
"They're not." She says quickly as she shoves the photo in his hand.
"Oh its . . . . them," He says looking us over.
"You knew!" she says angrily.
"Well I didn't think it was important!" the tall guy yells. "The cop just told Mom that these three guys babysat you for a little bit."
"A month is hardly a little bit," Tre says crossing his arms.
"Well I didn't know," The guy says scratching the back of his neck. "I'm Marc by the way."

"Billie," I say extending my hand to shake his.
"Tre."
"Mike." He looks us over for a second, then his eyes lie on me.
"You're . . . . you're."
"Green Day." Rosie sighs.
"Oh! Oh!" Marc exclaims and he runs up the stairs.

"This is embarrassing," She says putting her hands over her face. "We're both major fans."
"Which one of us do you find hottest?" Mike asks laughing.
"Tre," She mumbles into her hands.
"Well some things don't change." I laugh, she removes her face from her hands curiously, "You see when you were little Tre was the one you always wanted to hug, look at that picture, you're on his lap."
"Oh god," She says putting her head in her hands yet again.

"This must sound really stupid." The giant teenager says staggering down the stairs, "But can I have your autographs."
"Sure sweetie," Tre says taking the CD case and marker from him and signs it, "I drew a penis."
"Thanks!" he says ecstatically.
"Is this the guy who could beat the living crap out of us in his sleep?" I ask laughing as Mike signs the CD case.
"Yup, champ of the wrestling team five years running, I even got drafted for the next Olympics."
"Then we should get your autograph too." I laugh as I sign my name on his CD case.

"So," Rosie says nervously as she and Marc lead us into the living room. "How come you took so long to find me?"
"Technically, we're not supposed to be here," Mike says rocking back and forth on his seat. He always does that when he's nervous, "It was jackass's idea."
"See after they took you away, we tried to contact your aunt but she thought we were a bunch of druggies." I pause, "Which we sort of were."
"ANYWAY!" Tre exclaims, "I stumbled across your aunt's grad class thing and found you."
"How come she didn't tell us?" Marc asks rhetorically.
"Well," Tre says uneasily, "She probably got the email at work, and when I asked to meet you she said no."

"Mom, I don't see what the big deal, it's just a nose piercing." We hear someone gibber from the entrance of the house.
"Who are you?" a teenage girl says at the sight of us.
"Uhh, well I'm Billie Joe, that's Mike and over there is Tre," I say pointing everyone out.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" A middle aged woman says entering the room as well.
"Wait, did you say Billie Joe?" The teenage girl asks, "Oh my god! You're Green Day!"
"Valerie!" the middle aged woman yelps, "I want you kids to go upstairs." Marc and Valerie head up the stairs but Rosie doesn't move from her seat.

"Rosie, I said upstairs." The woman says aggravated.
"No," the teenager says firmly, "I'm staying here Aunt Lainey." The woman sighs.