If and When We Don't Take Medication

(Fast Forward to the next week)
I wake up when my alarm goes off at nine. It’s the day of the Fall Out Boy concert. I posted my new video on Twitter and Youtube the day after I videotaped it. I take a long, hot shower and dry off. I get dressed in tight jeans (but not skinny jeans) and a tank-top with a body-fitting shirt that says “Sanity is Overrated”. I eat breakfast and brush my teeth. I don’t put on any make-up just yet. By the time I’m ready, it’s ten thirty. I watch the rest of The Doctors and some other stuff while I do the dishes. I clean up the house while my parents are working. I finish around noon and start making lunch. I make hamburgers for them and am done and have the table set at quarter after one. My mom gets home at 1:20.
“Thank you so much, Nick,” she sighs.

“I know you and dad are working, so I thought I’d clean up and get lunch ready. I have to eat and leave, though. So I won’t be here. I’m going to spend the night down in Auburn Hills, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” she says, blowing off the fact that says I’m staying away for a whole night. She gets her lunch and we sit and wait for dad for ten minutes. “He’s probably not gonna get here until two or something, so we might as well eat while the food is warm,” she says. We eat and finish at ten after two. I quickly grab my PJs and another pair of clothes, a toothbrush and hairbrush, and extra make-up. I fancy myself up and kiss my mom goodbye. Dad pulls up in his truck just as I get into my Charger. I set my stuff in the back, double-checking that I have my license and paperwork. I bring my phone and iPad2. I shut the door to my car and go up to my dad, who’s just shutting his truck door.
“Dad, I’m going to be gone for tonight. That concert is today.”

“Oh, it is? Does it start at five or something?”

“No…it starts at seven but I have a special meeting with some people down in Auburn Hills, so I’m going early.”

“Whatever,” he sighs. “Bye; have fun,” he tells me, clomping up the steps and opening the screen door. His hair is much grayer and he is slower than he was before.

I go to my car and start her up. I pull out and drive out into town.

I get to Auburn Hills and look at the GPS. I’m parking quite a ways away from the venue, about a ten minute walk. I park my Charger in an open space and set all of the things I’m not taking under the seat with a blanket over them. I grab my purse and walk all the way to the venue. I trip over the curb and am glared at by all the young people standing in line as I stroll up to the bouncer.

“Are you Nicole Poy…Poyryer?” the bouncer asks.

“Close enough,” I laugh and nod as he lets me in.

I walk in a few steps and slow my pace. I have my thumbs in my pocket. I fix my glasses on my nose and text my mom to tell her I got there O.K.

“Hey, are you Nicole?” I look up.

“Why, yes, I am,” I smile as I look straight into the eyes of Pete Wentz.

“Nice to meet you,” he tells me, shaking my hand. “Follow me,” he says briskly.

I walk behind him with an even pace. He walks to a dressing room and holds the door open. I step in and take a quick glance around as he tells me to sit. I settle down on the edge of a comfortable wheeled chair. Pete gets his own chair and sits down a ways away from me.

“So, how long have you been into Fall Out Boy?” Pete strikes up a conversation.

“Um,” I do the math in my head, “Since I was ten or eleven,” I say clearly.

“Wow. That’s really young to like an emo/rock band.”

“I know. My older sisters were into it, and so was I. I guess we were just hooked,” I reply in a softer tone. I don’t know what to say. After a minute of silence, Patrick, Andy, and Joe storm into the dressing room.

“There she is!” Joe exclaims. I stand up quicker than I ever have.

“Took you guys long enough,” Pete laughs.

“We got here as fast as we could,” Patrick Stump replies to his best friend.

“Hi, I’m Joe,” Joseph Trohman tells me, sticking his hand out for me to shake it while Patrick exchanges words to Pete.

“Andy,” Andrew Hurley says to me, shaking my hand as well.

“It’s great to meet you!” Patrick tells me, shaking my hand vigorously.

“You too,” I smile, blushing ruby red. “I hear you think I’m funny.”

“That’s because you are!”

3rd Person POV

“Thank you,” Nicole says, still standing while Andy, Joe, and Pete all take seats.

“Please, sit down,” Patrick gestures and Andy, who’s closest, pulls a chair up for Nicole as Patrick grabs his own.

There was a moment of silence that felt like eternity.

“I’m glad you wanted to meet me,” she says, smiling at Fall Out Boy.

“All of us agreed that your voice is amazing and that you were amusing,” Patrick replies.

“Thank you,” Nicole smiles.

“On the first video we watched, you said you were fourteen?”

“Yes, I was fourteen. My best friend had brought her camera to school and I had a huge sugar rush.

It was kinda cool outside, so it was perfect weather for my insanity.”

All four men look down at her shirt and read it, understanding Nicole a little more.

“Your friends, they kept saying ‘you’re really a hippie!’ what’s that supposed to mean?” Pete asks her.

“My history teacher called me ‘Hippie’ because I would sit down outside of the door before class and it looked like I was protesting the class. I never really liked history, and I was really lazy, so I would slump down every day, and I got the name. It stuck…that’s why I was hugging that tree.”

“And you said you weren’t high?” Joe chuckles.

“Well, I had put nail polish on my toes…maybe the fumes got to me,” Nicole laughs, getting the guys to laugh as well.

“We saw your new videos this morning.”

“Already?” she asks, surprised.

“Yeah…what the hell were you thinking?” Patrick asks me.

“I’d never been in the field at night and I knew there were coyotes and all, but I didn’t think I’d meet any…I just happened to and it made out for a funny video.”

“My sides hurt the entire time I was watching it,” Andy laughs, and the other men agreed.

“Dude, I was freaking out! They were huge! Those freaking animals were scary!”

“They just wanted some loving!” Joe laughs.

“I didn’t want to get raped and chewed to bits!” Nicole laughs out. The four men were laughing as she talked. “I mean, the dog might have wanted to get going on something and, I didn’t! So, I backed up and booked it. I was afraid of tripping… I’m such a klutz! I’m surprised they didn’t even chew up my tripod! I was worried about it.”

“You don’t seem like a klutz,” Andy laughs.

“Get to know me, you’ll figure out I’m a klutz,” she smiles, shining her teeth. “I even tripped on the curb walking here!”

After a little bit of laughing, they started to talk again.

“I think I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” Nicole says. She stands up and heads out the door. She fixes her make-up and comes back.

“Do you write your own songs? Or do you just sing songs you hear on the radio?”

“Both, actually. I write songs all the time…even right now,” she laughs, “and I like to play and sing catchy songs. I also like doing stupid stuff. So, playing my guitar and singing while holding onto monkey bars with my legs is my life.”

“Wait, you’ve done that?” Pete asks, laughing.

“Yeah. I do it to warm up. Singing upside down correctly helps you get more air into your lungs and not as much blood to the brain as usual when upside down,” she laughs.

“And you haven’t videotaped it?!” Nicole is asked by all the men.

“Well, I had started singing upside down a long time ago…And then I tried playing my guitar upside down on the couch. I just kept doing crazier things. One day, I’ll be hanging upside down on a wire over the grand canyon!”

“Please don’t do that,” Patrick smiled softly, a little worried for Nicole’s health, apparently.

“I promise I won’t. I’m not afraid of heights, but that’s just downright crazy.”

“Yeah,” the men agreed.

“If you were in a movie, would you do your own stunts?” Andy asks.

“What, am I in an interview?” she laughs, “No, I’m kidding, Andy. Can I call you that? I don’t know if
you want me to call you Andy or Andrew or—“

“Andy is fine,” Andy says, interrupting Nicole so she didn’t go on.

“Sorry,” she smiles an embarrassed smile. “I would like to, but it depends on the stunt. Like, no way in hell am I jumping over buildings. I think I’d rather stick to jumping off bridges and falling out windows,” she laughs. Nicole tries to come up with her best jokes for the men.

“So would I,” the guys say in chorus. They all burst out laughing.

“Enough about me,” Nicole smiles, “what about you guys? What do you all do in your pastime, other than write music and play video games?”

“Write music and play video games,” is their response.

“I see…Not much to go on that,” she laughs, “I play video games, too…”

“You’re a gamer girl?” Patrick asks me.

“In the right sense, yes. I play video games on the Xbox, Nintendo DS, DSi, and 3DS, Wii, Playstation I and II, and on the laptop.”

“Same for us; when we have time, I mean,” Patrick tells Nicole.

“Do you like going all over the world?” Nicole asks thoughtfully.

“It’s fun to play for different countries and cities, but we like being home. Michigan is home away from home for us, and we like to play here.”

“I think that’s the same for every artist that goes on tour all over the world: they love it but they love going home.”

“Yep,” Joe smirks.
Patrick’s and Nicole’s phones vibrate and they answer their texts while the others wait.

“Do you think you can show us what you can do on the electric?”

“Yeah, I’d love to,” Nicole smiles, putting her phone back in her pocket and standing up. She sees and electric guitar and an amp next to it. She walks over to it and looks at Fall Out Boy. “Can I?”

“Yeah,” they smile. She picks it up and plugs it in. Nicole strums on it to get used to the feel and starts playing 27. She cuts it off and plays the guitar solo all the way through, looking up and the guys and smiling as she plays. She finishes cleanly and doesn’t miss a note.

“Holy shit, even I know that’s hard to do,” Patrick says, shocked that she can do it.

“I’ve been practicing it since 2009,” she smiles. Nicole starts to play another song; The Curse of Curves by Cute is What We Aim For.

“Good job,” they all smile as she set the guitar back where it was gently, unplugging the amp and sitting back in her seat.

“Thanks,” she blushes.

“So, what are you going to college for?” Andy laughs.

“Um…I would like to go for music, but it’s kind of hard to teach the life of a famous musician. My dad says I’ll never make it, and so does everyone else in my family. They think the only way to make money is to start a farm. ‘If I can support myself and have a roof over my head, the job is perfect’ my mother says to me.”

“You can support yourself with the money you make off of albums and you’ll always have a roof over your head: the van,” Pete smiles at me, glancing over at Patrick and the other men.

“Yeah that’s what I was think—wait, what? The van or a van?” Nicole asks, stopping mid-sentence.

“The van,” all of Fall Out Boy says.