16

What do you pack, when you are going to stay with the best bass player in the world, who you only just found out is your Dad? I stood in my room, with my duffel in front of me. The previous day we had decided that it would be easiest for Mike to stay another night, and then for both of us to go back to his the next day.

I pulled a whole bunch of clothes out of my wardrobe and dumped them on the bed. I never was the most organized person in the world and I struggled to find everything I needed in the mass of unfolded and not sorted clothes. I chucked all the clothes and toiletries I would need into the duffel, zipped it up and grabbed my canvas shoulder bag. In which, I made sure I had all the essential items needed to keep me entertained and in touch with the world; iPod, phone book, drumsticks, notebook etc. I slipped my low-top chucks on before dragging all the stuff I needed into the main living area of our apartment. Mike picked up my duffel and took it out to his car.

“Have a good time Dani.” Mum said, as we stood near Mike’s car. “Try to be nice.” She smiled at me and pulled me into a hug.

“See ya Dani!” I heard two voices yelling from the apartment building. I looked up to see Alex and James standing on Alex’s small balcony, hanging over the railing. I had said a proper good bye to them the day before, after we had had one of our impromptu band rehearsals without the other people of the building watching us.

“See ya!” I yelled back waving as I got into the car with Mike.

I said goodbye to Mum again and we pulled out of the car park. A slightly tense silence filled the car. I pulled my iPod out of my bag along with the car kit I had thrown in there at the last minute and plugged it into the car.

“You better not have any crap on that thing.” Mike commented.

I raised my eyes at him, but didn’t speak. The silence became a little bit more comfortable after that as we drove and listened to the sound of various bands that I had on my iPod.

I was beginning to think that the drive might not be that terrible when Governator began to play. I quickly reached forward and changed the song, finding it too weird to be listening to any Green Day yet let alone listening to a song sung by Mike. I saw him tense beside me at how fast and eagerly I changed the song. Welcome back uncomfortable silence!

Oakland was only a little over an hour’s drive away so I didn’t have to try and make too much small talk. I was fine with just sitting there in silence, but Mike seemed to think that it was necessary to talk about pointless little things like what I had done at school the previous year and when I started to play drums etc. Needless to say that when Mike said “This is it.” I was extremely relieved.

I then actually looked at the house and my jaw dropped. It was huge and it dawned on me that I hadn’t given Mike’s living situation a second thought. I had been far too preoccupied with worrying about meaning the people in his life.

We pulled into the driveway and I slowly got out of the car. We walked up the path and through the front door where Mike put my bag down in the sort of entrance way.

“I think Estelle is at her friend’s house at the moment.” Mike said “and Brittney is at work, I think.”

He had told me about his wife the day before even though, being the obsessive Green Day fan that I was, I had already known about her.

“So where can I put my stuff?” I asked gesturing to the things I had brought with me.

“Oh right.” He said, signaling that he had forgotten that I didn’t know my way around his place. “I’ll show you your room.”

We walked up a flight of stairs that and when we reached the landing Mike said. “Your room is just down the hall; Brittney has already got the bed ready and everything.”

We walked down the hall and Mike pointed things out on the way, like Estelle’s room and the bathroom. “This is yours.” He said opening the door to a room about half way down the hall. “I’ll leave you to get settled in if you want. I’ll be down stairs somewhere.”

I nodded at the idea and he left the room. I quickly closed the door behind him. I looked around for the first time, realizing how large the room was. There was a large double bed, done up with black sheets and blankets, a large walk in wardrobe, a dressing table with a huge mirror and a few shelves on the plain white walls. The bedside tables, and all of the other furniture in the room, were a very dark wood which matched the linen on the bed.

I dumped my duffel and took out my toiletries bag, placing it on the dressing table. I didn’t see the point in unpacking anything as I was only going to be there for 4 days. All I did was take out my phone and iPod and take my sunglasses off of where they were sitting on top of my head and place them next to the toiletries bag.

I then pulled my old teddy bear that I had had since I was born out of my duffel and put it on my new bed. His name was Ron and he was looking extremely old, with his shiny eye that had fallen out a few times and a couple of repaired holes and tears, you could tell that I had had him for 16 years. Lastly, I took my drumsticks out of my bag and put them in the pocket of the baggy black pants I was wearing; I know it sounds stupid but I feel comforted when they are with me.

I looked around the room again and then stood in front of the mirror to look at myself.

‘So this was it, I’m Mike Dirnt’s daughter and I’m here to spend some time with my Dad… I really don’t want to be here right now.’

I took a deep breath; I can do this. I opened the door and stepped out into the hall way, deciding to have a quick look around the second floor before returning downstairs. I wandered down the hall, stumbling onto two spare rooms and a linen cupboard. I continued to the last door in the hallway and opened it. I realized straight away that it was Mike and Brittney’s bedroom. Holy shit. This was Mike Dirnt’s bedroom. I very speedily returned to the hall way and jogged down the stairs.

My initiative told me that Mike was most likely in the kitchen, refueling after the drive. I went to join him when I realized that I had absolutely no idea where the kitchen was situated. I looked around as though expecting to see a big sign with the words “Kitchen - This Way!” pointing me in the right direction. I poked my head through a doorway to see a lounge room with big couches and a massive entertainment system but Mike was nowhere to be seen so I stepped back into the entrance way.

“Mike!” I yelled. I paused to give him a chance to respond. When he didn’t I called for him again, only to hear someone yell the same thing from behind me.

I turned around to see Billie Joe standing in the open doorway looking at me strangely.
Against all my best judgement I couldn’t help but mutter “Oh my god.”

“Um…hi.” Billie Joe said, still regarding me with a confused expression. “Who are you?” he asked me.

“I’m Danielle.” I managed to say. “But everyone calls me Dani.”

“Billie?” a female voice came from the direction of the driveway. “Why are you just standing in the doorway?”

I looked passed Billie Joe to see a lady with long dreadlocks walking down the path, followed by two boys. I knew straight away that it was Adrienne, Joey and Jakob.

“There’s some random girl standing in Mike’s house.” He called back to his wife, still looking at me and still not understanding who I was. “She says her name is Dani or something.”

Adrienne and her two sons reached the doorway and all looked at me.
“She’s not a random, you idiot.” Adrienne said, smacking her husband on the upside of his head. “She’s Mike’s daughter.” Adrienne pushed passed Billie Joe and gave me a hug. “Hi. I’m Adrienne.”

A light seemed to switch on inside Billie Joe’s head.
“Oh, Dani!” he said, extending a hand towards me that I took timidly and shook. “Sorry, hi, I’m Billie.”

“This is Joey and Jakob.” He gestured to his sons who had now stepped into the house.

“Why were you yelling for Mike?” Billie asked.

“Well,” I said. “I was, funnily enough, looking for Mike. He hasn’t completely showed me around yet so it was a little hard to look for him properly.”

Billie nodded and walked down the passageway, leading us all to the kitchen.
“Okay.” He said “he’s not here; he’s probably out the back.” We all followed him again although I was the only one who was properly following him; everyone else knew where they were going. That made me think about how much I had missed out on by him not being there. This was my Dad’s house and someone else’s kids knew their way around better than I did.

We arrived at the back door where I got my first look at the back yard. I was amazed at the size of the swimming pool, but apart from that it just looked like a normal well kept yard, except that it was a whole lot bigger than most.

“Oi Mike!” Billie said, having just spotted Mike standing at the barbeque, he was obviously getting something ready for lunch. “You gotta look after your girl here. She was looking for you, but apparently you haven’t shown her around yet.”

Mike almost blushed. “Oh shit. Sorry Danielle. This is-“ He began to introduce us all.

“We’ve already introduced ourselves. And its Dani, no one calls me Danielle.” I was unable to keep the almost coldness out of my voice as I was reminded, by him calling me Danielle, that he doesn’t know me at all.

The awkward silence that followed was broken by the sounds of people walking through the house.

“Hey everybody, I’m here now, the party may begin.” Came the voice of one of the newcomers. I looked inside the house to see none other than Tre Cool, my idol and in my opinion, the best drummer in the world.

“Hey Tre.” Mike said. The air seemed to become less strained at the arrival of the third member of Green Day. Billie and the rest of his family said hello to Tre and his family and I just stood there waiting to be introduced.

Tre stepped out into the backyard.
“You must be Danielle.” He said extending his hand to me and bowing in an over exaggerated gesture of welcome. “I’m Frank Edwin Wright III but you may call me Tre.” He winked at me, which made me smile.

“Hi.” I said. “Call me Dani.”

“Cool.” He said. “This is my wife Claudia and our son Frankito.” He gestured to his wife, whose hand I shook and to his son, who I smiled at as politely as I could manage whilst still in shock at having a conversation with my drumming idol.

The group of people began to disperse, Billie and Tre started a conversation as did Claudia and Adrienne and Frankito and Jakob.

“Mike?” I said.

“Yeah?”

“Can you show me around now please?”

“Oh yeah,” he said. “Sure.”

“I can show her around if you want.” Joey said, who I had noticed was still standing with us. “So then you can continue with the barbeque and stuff.”

“Sound okay to you Dani?” Mike asked me.

“Yeah okay.” I said.

I was unsure of what to think of Joey. He seemed okay, but he had an air about him that suggested he was very popular and he knew it and loved it. Mike smiled at us and walked over to where Tre and Billie were standing by the barbeque.

“Come on.” Joey said, leading me inside the house. We didn’t talk much as he showed me around. He showed me the kitchen, the dining room, lounge room, living area, a room that had a pool table and bar in it, two bathrooms, the laundry, an office and another spare bedroom. The bottom floor was definitely bigger than the upstairs.

The last room he showed me was the basement, beginning a conversation about music as he lead the way down the stairs.
“So what’s you favourite band?” he asked me sounding almost suspicious.

“Well…” I said. What do you say to that when asked by the son of the lead singer of your favourite band? “It was Green Day.” I was about to tell him that after everything that had just happened I wasn’t sure if that was the case but I didn’t get the chance.

“I knew it.” He said.

“I don’t know if I like them anymore though.”

“Why not?”

“Well this whole thing with Mike is…very confusing, to say the least.”

We had reached the bottom of the stairs and I looked around the basement. It was remarkable and kind of reminded me of the basement at home. Mike had obviously set it up like that so he and the guys could jam at his place whenever they felt like it. There was an electric guitar sitting in one corner, quite a few basses lined up along one wall, a few amps, a large stereo system, a couple of big couches and, what I was most excited about, a really big, expensive and beautiful drum kit. Joey was standing next to me, watching me take in all the equipment in amazement.

For a few seconds I mulled over whether or not I was allowed to touch the kit before deciding that I didn’t care if the answer was no; Mike was my Dad and he owed me. I pulled my drum sticks out of my pocket and walked over to the kit.

“What are you doing?” Joey asked me.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” I said back, I didn’t want to be rude but you ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer.

I paused to think of what to play, not knowing where to start. I ended up just playing random beats, drumming various parts of different songs and making up new solo patterns. I was the happiest I had been all day.

“Are you sure you’re allowed to play those?” Joey asked as he moved to take a seat on one of the couches.

“I don’t really care if I’m allowed or not, Mike owes me big time.” He sat quietly for a few seconds before speaking again.

“I know what you’re doing here.”

“So do I.” I said. “I’m playing drums.” I didn’t stop playing, and I wasn’t exactly in the mood to strike up an in depth conversation.

“No,” Joey said. “I know what you’re doing here in Oakland.”

“Oh really…and what am I doing here in Oakland?” I tried to keep the bitchiness out of my voice as my arms came to a stop. He was starting to bug me with his stupid questions and arrogant tone.

“You’re just here because Mike is rich and famous.” He said.

“Excuse me?” I looked at him with disbelief.

“I saw the way you looked when you were talking to Tre and my Dad. You just wanna spend some time with a rock star and get some money off your Daddy.”

It was as though someone had slapped me in the face. I stood up and walked around the drum kit so that I was standing in front of Joey who quickly jumped to his feet before I could tower over him.

“How dare you.” I said. “You don’t know a fucking thing about me; you don’t know what I’ve been through. You think I actually want to be here? I would rather be back at home in my scummy little apartment, away from stuck up spoilt brats like you! The only reason I am here is because my Mum thinks it’s a good idea for me to spend some time with my father, who you all seem to hold in high regard despite the fact that he completely ignored my existence for 16 bloody years. So you can take your rich bastard lifestyle, shove it up your ass and go fuck yourself!”