16

I hurriedly stepped around Joey and ran up the stairs, out of the basement, bumping full force into who I eventually realized was Tre. Dodging his eye I raced up to my new room and collapsed on the bed, burying my face in the pillow. I knew I was safe from the adults hearing about the argument, considering even Joey couldn’t deny that what he said was inconceivably rude. I sat up, swiveling around and hugging a cushion to my chest. So this was how it was going to be. Everyone was going to think that all I wanted was a little bit of Mike’s spotlight and my inheritance. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of that before, of course people were going to think like that. The worst part of it is that I truly don’t care about the money and the fame; I don’t even want to be here.

I leant over to my bed side table and grabbed my cell phone, finding Alex’s number in the phone book and pressing call. I listened to the dial tone, tapping my nails on my thigh as I waited for her to pick up.

“Hello?” I heard her say; just the sound of someone from home immediately bringing me a small amount of comfort.

“Alex!” I said. “It is so good to hear your voice.”

“Jesus Dani, are you okay? You haven’t even been there for a day yet.”

“I had a big fight with Joey.”

“Joey? As in Joey Armstrong? As in Billie Joe’s son?”

“Yes.”

“Wow!” There was a pause from her end and I could imagine her attempting to gloss over the excitement of Billie Joe and turn her attention towards the matter at hand. “Ok tell me what happened, tell me everything.”

I had no idea where to start, but then all of a sudden I was telling her everything about my day, including the anxieties and thoughts I had had as each moment happened. I told her about the car ride, what Mike’s house is like, getting lost in the house, meeting Billie and Adie, Tre and Claudia and then I told her about Mike’s basement and what happened with Joey.

“Wow. What a wanker.” On a normal day I would have smiled at the use of her favourite word, a word she liked to slip into as many conversations as possible, but I couldn’t, considering the circumstances.

“Tell me about it.”

“You handled it pretty well though, I must say.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, you didn’t take no crap.” She said in one of those ‘don’t go there girlfriend’ voices.
I laughed a little and a moment of silence followed.

“So what are you going to do about Joey?” Alex asked.

“I’m not sure.” I said “I doubt he’ll be talking to me any time soon, which is fantastic. He’s so arrogant it’s ridiculous.”

“Have you met Estelle?”

“Nah, she’s at a friend’s house or something, I can only hope that that goes better than the other events of today. So what have you been doing?”

“Not much.” If she noticed my sudden change of topic, she knew me well enough not to say anything more about our previous discussion. “James and I have been sitting around doing nothing. Cody comes back tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Cool.”

I heard a voice in the back ground and Alex passed on James’ message of hello.
“Hi James.” I said, waiting as she passed it on to him.

“Well I better go; Mum will rage if my bill is too high. Thanks for letting me bitch.”

“Anytime, call me if you need to talk again, and forget about Joey, he sounds like an ass.”
We said the usual goodbyes and hung up.

I lay down on the bed, gazing up at the ceiling and wondering whether or not people would notice that I was missing from the festivities outside. Suddenly feeling the need for air and lots of it, I walked over to the window and opened it, breathing in deeply.

I looked down into the front yard to see three more cars than had been there earlier. One, I assumed, was Tre’s and the others… I had no idea who the other cars belonged to. Mike must have invited all of his friends over to meet me and get all of the introductions out of the way in one afternoon. I stumbled back to the bed, collapsing onto it again. After a while there was a knock at the bedroom door and then the sound of it opening and someone entering the room.

I quickly wipe my eyes and look up to see Mike standing in the door way.
“Hey.” He said. “I’d wondered where you’d gone. Are you okay? What’s wrong?” he asked, clearly uncomfortable and oblivious to the fact that he was making an awkward situation worse by asking too many questions.

“Nothing,” I said. “I’m fine.” I said.

“Are you going to come down stairs? Because Estelle, Jason and Brittney are here and they want to meet you so…”

“I’ll be down soon.” I said, hinting to Mike that he could leave.

When he got the hint and left, I quickly made my way to the bathroom and splashed my face with some water before going down stairs. The house appeared to be empty so I slowly walked out the back using my new knowledge of the layout of the house to navigate the way.

I walked out the back door and was met with the very pleasant smell of food on the barbeque. I took notice of the increase in people enjoying the cool temperature of the pool. Joey, Jakob and Frankito were all swimming with a small girl who looked to be around 4 years old, who was wearing those floaties that go on your arms. I was amazed to see Joey helping her to swim in the shallow end; who would have thought he could actually be a nice person? Adrienne and Claudia were sitting near the pool with another two women that I didn’t recognize and Mike, Billie and Tre were still standing by the barbeque with a man I recognized as Jason White. I felt the now familiar rush of excitement that came with seeing someone from Green Day for the first time. This feeling was quickly replaced with the nervous jitters that filled my stomach when I saw who was standing between Jason and Mike. Though I hadn’t seen pictures of her, I was sure the girl standing there was Estelle, my new sister, she had to be.

I prepared myself for more introductions as Mike noticed my presence. He signaled for me to come over to where they were standing, so I did, breathing deeply, knowing that I was about to meet my sister. I reached the group, coming to stand between Mike and Billie Joe.

“Dani, this is Jason.” Mike said, getting the easier introduction out of the way first. “Jason, this is Dani.”

I smiled politely at Jason as I shook his hand before turning towards Estelle. There was a short pause and both of us looked down at our feet. When Mike said the words of introduction to us it was a weird and confusing moment. Neither of us knew if we were supposed to shake hands, hug or just kind of wave at each other and smile politely. I went to shake hands and she went to hug. Then I went to hug her and she went to shake my hand. In the end we both laughed nervously and stepped into a weird and yet slightly comforting hug. We didn’t know when we were supposed to let go. I think both of us only just realized, while we were in the embrace, that we were sisters, that we shared the same blood. Billie, Tre and Jason quietly edged away from us, to give us some time alone.

“Hi.” I managed to say as we pulled back, it dawning on me that neither of us had said anything.

“Hey.” She said. And then there was more silence. I shouldn’t have been surprised really, silence seems to be following me everywhere I go, and I hate it.

“I’m sure you guys want to talk, but first, Dani, there are more people for you to meet.” Mike said, referring to the two women that I didn’t recognize.

I nodded and Mike led me over to the group of women near the pool, leaving Estelle to go and change into her bathing suit. Claudia, Adie and the others stopped talking when we got nearer.

“Jasmin, Brittney, there is someone I want you to meet.” Mike said. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his extremely obvious and thus rather stupid statement. “This is Dani.” He continued as I smiled politely. “Dani, this is Jason’s wife Jasmin. And this is my wife Brittney.”

I was quickly pulled into a hug by my Brittney as it dawned on me that I she was my stop-mother; it was an odd thought.

Mike strolled away from us, back to the barbeque to get the food and his beer, where he was again joined by the other members of Green Day. As Estelle was now swimming with Joey in the pool, I decided to forgo a conversation with her and stay with the wives of Green Day for a while, where I was introduced to Jason and Jasmine’s four year old daughter Chelsea. However she paid me no attention as she was having too much fun with the others in the pool.

“Foods on!” Mike called from where he was carrying plates of cooked meat to a large garden table set. All of the kids jumped out of the pool and everyone made their way over to the food. I somehow ended up sitting in between Tre and Adie, making me somewhat self conscious.

“I heard you drumming earlier.” Tre said. “You sounded pretty good.” I can’t believe my favourite drummer just complimented my drumming skills.

“Thanks.” I said, trying to hold down my blush and accept the compliment from my idol.

The afternoon seemed to drag on, I didn’t talk to anyone much. I would have liked to talk to Estelle but she seemed to always be with Joey, Jakob and Chelsea and I had a feeling I wouldn’t be welcomed warmly into that little group.

At one point in the afternoon, I was sitting by the pool with Claudia, Adie, Brittney and Jasmin although I wasn’t paying any attention to the conversation they were involved in. I glanced up at the house just as Estelle and Joey made their way back out into the backyard. Estelle looked at me and I smiled at her but was only met with a cold stare. What was that for? I took one look at the smug expression covering Joey’s face and I knew he must have said something to her about me.

I turned back to the group I was in, but I couldn’t handle sitting there any longer, listening to the adults ask me annoying questions about my life and feeling the glare I was receiving from Estelle. I got to my feet and made my way across the backyard. I had walked through the house and was almost at the stair case when I heard a voice behind me.

“Hey Dani!” They called and I turned around to see Estelle standing about five paces away from me.

“What?” I said, not feeling very patient with the girl I had been receiving death stares from.

“I just wanted to tell you that I know why you’re here.” She said. “Joey told me.”

“Oh really? What did Joey tell you?” I could feel the anger rising in my cheeks.

“He told me enough for me to know that all you want is attention and money, I know your type. And I want you to know that my Dad won’t put up with you for long.”

“I’m not putting up with this shit again.” I muttered, quickly making myself to the nearest bathroom, locking the door behind me.

So this was how it was going to be, I thought, fighting back the tears that were slowly coming to surface. I hadn’t even lasted a day at Mike’s without getting into arguments with two people that were permanently in his life. One of those people being his own daughter… his other daughter, the one he had been able to support; his hero. I just couldn’t see how this was going to work, how I was supposed to form some kind of weird relationship with the man if I couldn’t get along with the people that were important to him. I desperately wanted to speak to my Mum, to hear her voice telling me that I could come straight home and that it didn’t matter. But I knew how important this whole thing was to her, she would be worried and sad for me, but mostly she’d be disappointed that I couldn’t work it out on my own.

I splashed my face with refreshing cold water from the tap, attempting to wash the blotchiness of my face away and remove all evidence of my crying. After placing my ear to the door to make sure no one was waiting for me, I crept out of the bathroom and headed in the direction of the basement where I found solace in the form of Mike’s drum kit.

There was a fleeting thought in my mind about people hearing me play and disrupting me before I pushed those thoughts away; I could not stand to sit in such a depressing silence any longer.

I once again pulled my drumsticks from my pocket and began to bash out a rhythm on the skins. I wasn’t playing my best but it was making me feel better, as I attempted to forget the way Joey and now Estelle were making me feel. Through my drumming I didn’t hear the sound of the basement door opening or of someone entering the room. I only noticed, out of the corner of my eye, someone standing at the foot of the stairs, quietly observing.

I looked up; slowly bringing the rhythm I was playing to a stop. Tre moved into in the middle of the room, his hands were in his pockets as he regarded me curiously.

“Continue.” Tre said gesturing to me and the drum kit as he took a seat on the edge of one of the couches.

“Why are you down here?” I asked him.

“I heard you drumming.” He said. “I wanted to come down and see you play.” He paused for a few seconds before speaking again. “Why are you down here?”

There was a short pause as I fought the temptation to throw in a slew against Joey and Estelle and I struggled with an explanation of what exactly I was doing down there. I settled on “to bash the shit out of something” whilst turning back to the kit and going back to my drumming. Although this time I was incredibly self conscious what with Tre Cool being in the room and all.

For the next five minutes all I did was play Mike’s drums and all Tre did was sit there, silently listening and staring at me, an interested and confused expression painted on his face. I played until I couldn’t ignore that look any longer, stopping my drumming abruptly and blurting out,

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m just watching you play, that’s all.”

“Then why were you staring at me as though you were trying to figure something out or trying to analyze me?”

“I was trying to work out why you’re so angry.” He said.

“Why don’t you just ask precious Joey and Estelle?” I muttered bitterly.

Tre raised his eyebrows, taken aback by my tone. “Woah… Where’d that come from? That’s not exactly sisterly love right there.”

I don’t know why I got angry at him, he really didn’t have anything to do with it, and he didn’t know what had happened. I don’t even think I was angry at him, I just really needed to rant and unfortunately Tre had the only set of ears available.

“Well why exactly should I be all nice and loving to my ‘sister’?” I snapped, standing and mentally slapping myself for the use of air quotes - I hate people that use air quotes. “I barely know her. And she barely knows me but that doesn’t stop her from jumping to stupid conclusions and believing everything that Prince Joey tells her.”

Tre stuttered a little, clearly trying to think of something to calm me down.

“Oh you haven’t heard? Well I may as well tell you now and then maybe you can help Stella hero girl and Joe-baby spread the word. I am a fame and money hungry whore.”

The completely stunned expression on Tre’s face brought me back down to reality. I had just yelled at idol. I had very nearly gone completely mental in the presence of my favourite drummer in the world. I quickly sprinted from the basement and raced to my bedroom, where I slammed the door and leaned back against it.

I wanted to sink into the floor and die. In a matter of hours I had argued with my new sister and Billie Joe fucking Armstrong’s son and I had yelled at my idol. To top it all off, I had actually physically used air quotes.

***

The next morning I woke up feeling like absolute shit. I hadn’t spoken to anyone since the disaster with Tre in the basement. I hadn’t eaten dinner and I had only left my room to use the bathroom. Surprisingly Mike had left me alone all evening; surely someone must have said something despite the awkward conversation my raging at Tre would have made for. Maybe Tre didn’t say anything, and Mike just assumed that I needed my space.

Climbing out of bed I decided to not think about it, I had spent the whole night analyzing the situation and now I desperately needed food. I shuffled down the hall readjusting the boxers and t-shirt that I was wearing as I went. I stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen where I sat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar.

“Good Morning.” Mike said from where he was standing on the other side of the kitchen near the coffee maker. “What happened to you last night? Tre said you were pretty short with him and then we didn’t see you again all night.” He said before taking a sip of his coffee.

“I’m just…” I didn’t know what to say, clearly Tre hadn’t told him everything; ‘pretty short with him’ was the understatement of the century. “I’m just having trouble getting on with everyone.”

Mike opened his mouth to say something but turned whatever it was that he was going to say into a “Good Morning” as Estelle entered the room.

“Morning Dad.” Estelle said, before she saw me sitting there. “You’re sitting in my seat.”

“Excuse me?” I said.

“That’s the stool I always sit in.”

“Come on ‘Stella,” Mike said. “Dani can sit there, can’t she?”

“I suppose so, she can STEAL whatever she wants.” She spat out, clearly directing her words at me.

“Oh no it’s okay.” I said, getting up from the seat. “The bitch can have her stool.”

“Dani, I don’t think that was necessary.” Mike said. “You shouldn’t to talk to Estelle like that, you guys are sisters.”

I scoffed at that, muttering “hardly” under my breath. “Anyway, what about her?” I speak up. “I’m just sitting here minding my own business and she comes in here demanding her stool like a little princess.”

“I’m in the room, hello?” Estelle said waving her hands around to stop us talking about her.

“Shut up!” I snapped.

“Don’t speak to each other like that!” Mike said to me.

“You can’t tell me what to do.” I yelled.

“I can if it involves the need for you to have a little bit of civility in my house.”

“Well if I have to be civil and she gets to be a selfish cow then I’m leaving.” I quickly left the kitchen and jogged up the stairs, slamming the door when I got to my bedroom. I picked up my cell to call a cab, arranging for it to pick me up as soon as possible.

I hurriedly changed into a pair of denim shorts and a black singlet and laced up my converse. I then threw anything that had been unpacked into either my duffel bag or canvas bag. With my hair pulled into a messy bun and all of my belongings draped over me like I was some kind of pack mule, I walked out of the room, down the stairs and out the front door.

I sat down on the grass as Mike followed me outside.

“What are you doing Dani?”

“I’m going home.” I said. “Coming here was a waste of time.”
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the cab driving down the street towards me.

“Dani, don’t leave.” Mike said.

I ignored him and got into the cab, asking the driver to take me to the bus station, knowing that I couldn’t afford to catch the cab all the way home. As the car pulled away, I found myself blinking back tears as I left Mike standing alone in the driveway.