Half Wit

Emelie looked around the, quite cozy but small, room. A couch was placed against the white wall, surrounded by several Gibsons and Fenders -which wasn't such a big surprise to Emelie really- and a set of drums, probably property of a certain Tré Cool on a little platform so it was higher than the rest of the instruments. She smiled a little and nodded, agreeing with how Mike had decorated it. Emelie looked at Mike and smiled a little, he looked around just like her, even though he had seen the room a thousand times before.

“Its not much but its something,” he said softly before he looked at the row of several bass's and inspected them with his eyes. He picked up one of them and gave it to Emelie, who took it carefully in her hands, trying not to drop it.

“Now, are you absolutely sure you want to learn bass?” Mike asked as he picked up his usual bass that he used during practices. Emelie's eyes were focused on the strings of the bass he was holding in his arms. She looked up and faced Mike, nodding enthousiastic as she knew for sure that this was an instrument she wanted to learn how to play. Mike looked at her with a smile and shook his head before he plucked the strings, listening to them before he tuned the bass.

"First thing you should know is that there is no single, correct way of playing bass - only better and worse ways - what does exist are the correct results. It needs to sound and feel good. How you do this is up to you really,” Mike said, shrugging. Emelie nodded and stood as silent as she could so Mike could help her with adjusting the bass.

"Always use a strap. Cause your hands need to be free to play," he pointed out, "Most people have their bass somewhere just above their hips and below the collarbone but since you're your fathers daughter, I'm guessing it'll be easier for you if its around your middle," Mike smirked, Emelie giggled and nodded, adjusting the strap that hung over her shoulder so it would be more comfortable for her. Mike smiled at her and hung the bass at the same height as his, just around the middle. Emelie looked at the bass hanging from the strap and let her fingers trail across the neck and strings, looking at every small detail of the instrument.

"Okay, that should be good for you to play it. Now, remember to hold your bass at about a 30-degree angle. Also make sure your wrists are as straight as possible.Don't try to do anything extreme with them or you'll hurt yourself!" Mike said, smiling a little at the last part. Emelie looked at her hands and then at the bass for a moment before she took a deep breath and held the bass by its neck to make sure it was in the right angle for her to play.

"I think you already know the different names of the bass?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow at the young girl. Emelie nodded with a knowing smile.

"Good, then we won't spend time on that," he winked, "Let's focus on the fretting today shall we?" Emelie frowned a little, looking at the bass and nodding.

"Remember, dad taught me everything a few years back when I was so smart to ask him about the thing he was holding," she said while rolling her eyes a little, remembering how obsessed her father had gotten about teaching and telling her about all the different parts of the guitar.

"Remember to pay attentions to your pains. Your fingertips might hurt a little in the beginning but you should get used to that. However, shooting pains in your wrists aren't normal so be careful with that," he advised her, "Alright, place your thumb on the middle of the back of the neck, not over the top of it. That'll make it easier for your fingers to reach the notes on the frets," he pointed out, helping her with placing her fingers in the right position so she could would learn the right position from the beginning.

"Your thumb should point towards the ceiling and the pad of it should be flat against the neck. It's there to help your fingers press the strings against the fretboard so keep your thumb behind your first and second fingers for the best support. Also make sure your palm isn't touching the underside of the neck. That only causes friction and might slow youd own or mute the highest string," Mike said slowly, hoping this wasn't too much information for the girl. Emelie however looked quite understandable, nodding enthousiastic and looking at the way Mike had positioned her thumb.

"Its always awkward getting used to the 4-fret span in the beginning, sometimes it seems impossible because you might think your hands are too small but with practice, you'll get more used to it and it'll be easier to use the one-finger-per-fret technique," Mike said, winking at Emelie and helping her with placing her fingers on the right frets. "Remember to use the pad of your finger and not the tip to press the string against the fretboard."

"Alright, I think I'm starting to understand what you've been saying for the past 15 minutes," Emelie smirked, looking at Mike and then back at her bass and the position of her fingers, letting go of the strings and then trying to put them back on the right fret without Mike's help. The bassist chuckled and shook his head, smiling a little at Emelie before he helped her placing her fingers back on the right fret after she seemed to fail at that.

"Also, each finger should press as closely behind the fret as possible, without being on the fret. Move your finger towards the bridge until you reach the fret. You should only see the metal of it in front of your finger. Don't press right on top of the fret. The reason is because this spot is the least likely to make some unwanted sound and it needs the least amount of pressing," Mike explained.

"So, is that good for me or not? The pressing fact I mean..." Emelie asked, looking at Mike while she raised her eyebrows, Mike raised one of his eyebrows at her and nodded while smirking a little.

“Yes, thats good for you.”
“Oh good!” Emelie said, rather happy with the fact that she had understood Mike correctly.

"Always try to press with the least amount of pressure. Any more pressure is just a waste of energy. The closer you press near the fret, the more lightly you can press it. A light touch will also increase your agility later when you play faster and your hand won't tire out or cramp during long playing or practicing," Mike said, picking up his own bass and showing her what he mean exactly. Emelie squinted her eyes slightly and looked closer at his fingers before nodding and trying it herself while Mike watched her.

"Try to keep your first finger laying flat against the strings to help mute them. Also mind that, the further away your fingers are from the strings, the longer it will take to press down a note. So you should try to hover right above them but with some practice that should turn out just fine. Don't let your fingers fly off the strings when they're not pressing a note, since thats a mistake some people make," Mike noted, Emelie frowned and tried to hover right above the strings but noticed that it wasn't exactly working. She sighed and shook her head.

"I guess I'll steal one of the basses in dad's basement so I can practice!" she said with a small smile, pulling her focus away from the hovering for a moment as she made eye contact with Mike.

"Just don't break them or he'll kill you," Mike said with a smirk.

“If I do, I'll blame you,” Emelie retorded, causing Mike to show a mock-hurt look on his face before looking away and pouting. Emelie giggled slightly and yawned a little, all the information Mike had told her was tiring her out, and caused her a slight head ache.

"One more thing, avoid bending the string when you press down. It'll only change the pitch and make you sound out of tune."

"That's not good right?" Emelie asked with a frown

"No it isn't. Now lets go get coffee, I need some!" Mike said, placing the bass carefully back where he had taken it from and taking over the one that Emelie was using as she held it carefully in both of her hands. Emelie chuckled and nodded, following Mike towards the kitchen in a somewhat slow pace. Her mind was still progressing all of the information (which caused her a slight headache) that Mike had told her. She frowned and looked at her watch, seeing that they had been in the music room for almost over an hour. Time went by so fast if you were enjoying yourself.

“Now be honest with me. Did you really get all of the things I told you?” Mike asked, leaning against the counter after he had put everything ready for the coffee. Emelie looked at Mike and smiled tiredly, nodding slowly.

“Some of the things I understand but others just slipped from my mind. Probably because of my concentration problem,” Emelie shrugged, yawning a little as she tried to remember everything Mike had said in the past hour, knowing she hadn't heard some of the things. Mike nodded and smiled a little at her, winking before he turned around to grab two cups out of the cupboard.

“Don't worry, once we start practicing you'll get the hand of things,” Mike said, grabbing the coffee and filling the two cups before he gave one of them to Emelie and held his own safely in his two hands. Emelie smiled and thanked him before she placed the cup on the counter behind her, knowing it was still too hot to drink anyway.

“I hope so...” Emelie said in a low voice, looking down to her hands securely placed on her lap. Mike smiled and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a small squeeze.

“I'm sure of it!” he said with a small wink. Emelie looked at him, still a little bit unsure about it all but believing Mike and his words before she nodded and showed him a small smile. All of the sudden, a sad mood came over her, Emelie bit her lip and took a deep breath, wondering why she would feel sad in the first place.

“Something bothering you honey?” Mike frowned, looking at Emelie who had a sad mood around her. Emelie looked up at Mike, her eyes glazed over like she was about the cry. The girl nodded and let out a deep breath.

“I guess I'm just a little tired that's all,” she said, grabbing the cup of coffee form behind her and taking a sip, happy to know that the drink had already cooled off a little.

Mike frowned a little but let the subject drop, nodding and hugging her a little, letting her know that he was there for her without saying anything.

“Thank you,” Emelie whispered as she burried her head in his shoulder, taking some calming breaths and trying to forget about that moment.

“Having a godfather/goddaughter moment?” Brittney's voice came from the other side of the kitchen. Mike smiled brightly and nodded, winking a little.
“Just finished the first bass lesson. How are you?” he asked her, wrapping one of his arms around her waist and gave her a kiss on the side of her face.

“I'm pretty fine. Billie called me for once. He said he wanted to reach you but you didn't pick up your cellphone,” she said with a small smile. Mike frowned and grabbed his cellphone out of his pocket, it was an older model that he had bought several years ago but it was still working properly so he was happy with it, and looked at the screen.

“Well what do you know, 5 missed calls from a worried father,” Mike chuckled. The doorbell rang not a few seconds after Mike pocketed the cellphone again. The bassist frowned and left the two girls alone in the kitchen to go and open the door for the impatient visitor.

"You know, its a polite thing to pick up your cellphone when somebody calls you at least 5 times after each other in one hour. Something you fail to do!" Billie Joe's voice filled the kitchen as he was talking to Mike who rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air.

“I told you I didn't hear it because we were busy with the lesson!” Mike said, explaining it to Billie why he hadn't picked up his phone. Billie raised an eyebrow at Mike and nodded, not really convinced by what he was saying.

Emelie and Brittney were happily chatting with each other about going on tour with the boys and their next album coming out in the next couple of days. Billie Joe frowned and placed his hands on his hips, looking at his daughter and having a quite feminine look about him, espcially with the layer of eyeliner he was wearing at the moment. Emelie chuckled at him and shook her head.

"Oh so thats what people call bass lessons these days," Billie Joe muttered, shaking his head at his daughter. Emelie smiled brightly and nodded at her father before she took a sip from her coffee.

"Looks like fun, perhaps I should join you guys next time," Billie said smirking, looking at Mike who sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Would I get some free coffee too or is that just for the hot girls?" Billie asked smirking, nudging Mike who sighed and shook his head at his band member before he took his own cup again and sipped from it. Taking another cup out of the cupboard, he filled it with coffee and gave one to Billie who grinned happily and placed his head on Mike's shoulder.

“You know I love you right?” Billie said with a sweet smile, looking up at Mike who raised an eyebrow at his friend.

“Oh, so that means that everytime I give you free coffee you love me and otherwise you don't. Good to know!” Mike said nodding, comfirming his thoughts out loud. Emelie chuckled and shook her head before she continued her conversation with Brittney.

Billie smiled brightly and gave Mike a sloppy kiss on the cheek before he took a sip from the coffee and nodded, telling his bassist that basically, he was right. Emelie looked up and frowned a little at the action, wondering what had gotten into her father for just a second before she decided that it was for the best not to question it and just let it go.

*

“Oh Emelie, I hung some new Adeline gear in your closet this afternoon, you should check it out okay? I want to know what you think of the design,” Billie Joe said, pointing at his daughter without taking his eyes off the road. Emelie groaned and rolled her eyes, her father knew pretty well how much she hated wearing Adeline clothes, not because she didn't like the designs, she loved the designs, just the fact that her parents created it and therefore wore it themselves to promote the clothes made her grind her teeth.

Billie Joe smiled a little at his daughters reaction to his revelation but let it drop, knowing that he couldn't force her to wear Adeline clothes. Even though they still look damn good on her.

“I want another tattoo,” Emelie said, just out of the blue but she had been thinking about it for some time now and decided to finally confront her father with it. Billie frowned and looked at Emelie for a second before he focused his eyes back on the road.

“Another one? You already have one!” Billie said, pointing at her wrists. Emelie blushed and covered her wrists with her hands, looking out of the window of the car.

“Why do you have more than 1 tattoo then? You already have one, why have another one?” Emelie asked back, raising an eyebrow at her father who's arms were completely covered with several tattoo's.

“Thats not the point Emelie. The point is that you want another tattoo!” Billie Joe pointed out. Emelie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest while she tried to ignore everything her father said about responsibility and the fact that she was still a minor.

“Next thing we know you come home with a tattoo of a big chicken on your back!” Billie overreacted, smiling a little and causing Emelie to double over in laughter.

“Now if I allowed you to get another tattoo. Where would it be and what would you pick?” Billie Joe asked, curious about the tattoo itself. Size and look mattered (at least to him). Now Emelie was a smart girl, he knew that as well as anyone that knew her personally, she wouldn't just get a random tattoo if she didn't think it meant something. Emelie probably already had a vision about how her tattoo should end up to be like but then there was the little small detail that she was still a minor.

“Just another small text, or I least, thats what I have in mind. Somewhere on my left upper arm, perhaps something around it, you know, like mum's with your name in it,” Emelie answered thruthfully, lifting up her sleeve and showing him exactly where on her arm she'd like it. Billie Joe thought about it for a while and envisioned his wife's tattoo. It was elegant and yet, not provoking.

'Typical for Emelie' he thought. “What kind of text then?” he asked, hoping it wouldn't be something stupid but rather something that meant something to her and had a story attached to it. Not that it was necessary for the tattoo to have a story but it would be a nice detail. Emelie's hands encircled her wrists (and so her other two tattoo's) as she bit her lip.

“Homophobia is gay,” she muttered, “I think it fits,” Emelie refused to meet her fathers eyes but she knew that his lips were graced with a small smile. That was a sort of tattoo he had expected from her, Emelie was well aware of this. He stretched out his arm and ruffled her hair, chuckling slightly. They made eye contact for a brief second before Billie focused his mind back on the road, telling his daughter that he would discuss it with her mother later on.

*

“Another tattoo?” Lyra asked, her mouth was slightly open as were her eyes even though they were hidden behind the brim of some black and white glasses while her dark hair (dyed in all different colours but now settled on something that resembled dark purple to Emelie) hung in front of the glasses. She looked at Emelie has she had grown a second head in a matter of seconds, trying to get over the fact that for once she wasn't the strange one in the group with her light blue jeans and her white tank top instead of black like all the others.

“That is so fucking awesome!” said Lyra, holding up her hands in defense and clearly making Emelie happy with her enthousiasm. “and hands down, I find a lot of things awesome but this tops everything for sure!”

“Oh dear god,” Andrea muttered under her breath and shook her head at the news. “I should've seen this coming,” the girl was sitting in one of the corners in the room, a comic book safely placed on her lap so it would be damaged whenever she turned the page. Her eyes were fixated on the drawings, probably done by one of her favourite artists that Emelie had forgotten about.

“He still needs to talk to my mother about it,” Emelie said, frowning at Andrea who looked up from the comic book and looked at Emelie with a raised eyebrow. “Is there a problem?”

“Huh? Oh...don't worry, the problem isn't the tattoo you were so discussing so joly a few seconds ago,” she said before turning her eyes back on the drawings in front of her. “I was talking about Wolverine. To myself, if you hadn't noticed I do that quite a lot lately,” the girl shrugged and shook her head, muttering something under her breath that Emelie didn't understand, which was probably for the best.

“I still think Gambit is better,” Lyra muttered under her breath, stealing a glance at Andrea.