Bullets

Joey awoke the next morning after an incredibly restless sleep. If he had thought sleep would bring peace to his now trouble mind he was sorely mistaken. It was as if the events of later the previous night had been stretched out to the length of his entire life so he could think of nothing else. With a depressed sigh, the teenager dragged himself out of bed and made his way downstairs.

His parents were both seated at the kitchen table with mugs of coffee, poring over the morning newspapers. Sure enough, the President's sudden announcement had made the front page. Joey's fifteen-year-old brother, Jakob, on the other hand, was busy buttering himself some toast. While although Joey had graduated the previous week, his brother still had another week of school left before he finished for the summer.

Billie had barely noticed the presence of his eldest son in the room. Instead he sat partially hidden behind the paper, his eyebrows creased in concern while his lips moved silently to the text. It wasn't until Adrienne offered a greeting to their son that the rockstar momentarily paused his reading to give a muffled "Morning".

"How are you feeling this morning, honey?" Adrienne asked, rising from her seat to make herself another coffee.

"Not much better," Joe admitted, dragging a seat from under the table and slumping down in it. He avoided his eyes from drifting over to the newspaper his mother had been reading.

Adrienne placed a mug of coffee in front of him and sat back down. "Just... don't lose too much sleep over this," she advised, folding up her newspaper and moving it aside. "Are you worried?"

"Well, I can't be, can I?" Joey mused. "I've only got the two fiercest people in the country for parents."

His mother gave a smile that didn't meet her gentle yet concerned eyes. She turned to her husband. "Anything new in there?" She gestured toward the newspaper.

Billie shrugged, folding up the paper and throwing it to the middle of the table. "We're not the only ones pissed off, I can give you that much. It's been more of an outrage this time because they're conscriptiing all men, rather than doing a birthday lottery or something." He rubbed his tired face and emitted a long-sounding groan. "I just hope they won't keep a tight check... otherwise we might find some army officers at our door.

"Oh, they'll keep a tight check," Adrienne muttered. "We're celebrities, but they'll probably remain harder on us if anything because they don't want to make it seem unfair." She exhaled slowly, leaning back against her chair and looking at Joey warily. "Don't mention anything about this to your friends. We don't want our little dummy spit to become public... otherwise they're sure to catch us."

Joey chose to nod rather than explain how he was going to tell his two closest friends what was going on anyway. There was no way he was going to keep something so major from Melanie especially. She was his other half - and this was going to affect her as much as it did to him.

It was after breakfast that Joey decided he needed to get away from the house. At least if he had a talk with his close friend Estelle things wouldn't seem so difficult.

The walk to Stella's house would usually only take around five minutes - but in the rising temperatures it seemed to last a lifetime. Nonetheless, the teenager soon found himself on her doorstep, waiting for a reply to his knock on the door. It was Mike who answered, lazily dressed in a singlet and shorts, whose tired face immediately lit up at the appearance of his best friend's son.

"Joey! How's it going?"

"I'm alright thanks, Mike. And yourself?" Joey casually peered behind the blue eyed bassist, eager to catch a glimpse of his friend.

"Not too bad, not too bad." Joey watched Mike's eyes slip into a state of concern. He probably knew about the situation Joey was in, too. But Joey knew Mike would feel too awkward bringing the subject up with him. Instead, he gave a warm smile and stepped aside from the door. "Would you like to come in?"

Joey shook his head. "Thanks, Mike, but I was just wondering if Stella would like to hang out for a while?"

The bassist smiled again. "Sure thing." He turned around. "Hero! Someone's waiting for you."

"No matter how many times I tell you not to call me that, you still do," an ever so familiar voice replied. Estelle Dirnt came up from behind her father, wearing an expression of mock annoyance. Her face broke out into a wide smile at the mere sight of her close friend. "Hey Joey."

"I'll leave you guys too it. Nice seeing you again, Joe."

"You too, Mike," Joey said appreciately. As Mike moved back inside, Joey turned back to Estelle. "Do you mind going for a walk?"

Her face turned into one of confusion. "Of course not, Joe." She paused, scanning his face carefully. "Is something wrong?"

They set off along Stella's driveway. "Have you heard the news at all?" Joey asked in a low voice.

Stella's dark crystal blue eyes flicked back to her friend's face cautiously. "No..."

Joey waited until they had reached the road before speaking again. He sighed heavily. "I'm going to war." He knew he shouldn't be thinking like this. His parents weren't going to let him go, they promised; but the tiny spark inside of him that held such hope was diminishing fast...

"What?!" She came to an abrupt halt, instinctively grabbing her friend's elbow and pulling him back suddenly. "Joe, are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Calm down! I have to go."

"With parents like yours? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Joey felt a strange desire to laugh. Estelle was so much like a sister to him, but he never realised she could become so distressed. She was like her father in so many ways - yet now, her relatively calm nature seemed almost impossible.

"Stell, please. The President has introduced conscription for all men eighteen to twenty-five... in Iraq." He let out the breath he had been holding in a rush. It felt as if by talking this over, he was finally acknowledging what was happening.

Estelle's face fell within seconds into a state of shock. He could tell her mind was struggling to come to terms with what was happening. For their entire childhood they grew up together, their biggest concerns shared by over how long their fathers had been away. They spent their fatherless summers around the neighbourhood, confessing their deepest fears or just having fun.

And now they were adults, facing something so indescribably huge that they could never have predicted.