The Correlation Between Peppermint and Eyeliner
St. Jimmy
Part 3: St. Jimmy
It must’ve been noticeable that Billie was thinking of something else other than the concert, because everyone that saw his face looked at him like he was crazy. He tried to shake out of his state of living daydreaming, but he still couldn’t stop thinking about Alex.
When Billie got backstage, he went to the dressing room one more time. When he got into the bright red room, he looked in the mirror. He had this feeling inside, like he was high, but he hadn’t had any drugs. He rubbed his face, and then smacked across his own cheeks, hoping this would free his expression on his face. Operation failure, he thought, still seeing his overly happy appearance. He gave up on it and hoped no one else would notice. Billie walked out of the door, into the dark hallway and into the lounge that was backstage with a couch that Tre was now spread out on. Tre’s drumsticks were scattered on the floor, probably thrown in a failed juggling attempt.
Billie’s excitement was overflowing inside of him. He had to blow all of this energy somehow. He got an idea.
Billie took in a deep breath, and took off running at full speed around the backstage lounge. Tre and Mike starred at him, wondering what Billie was doing. Billie threw his hands in the air, shouting and running like a bat out of hell, until about ten seconds later he sat down on the red couch. He panted slowly and calmly, trying to catch up with himself.
Tre and Mike didn’t have to ask what that was all about, considering that they knew all to well that Billie had his moments.
Billie looked up at the huge clock that was a big black wall. 9:30. The show started at 10. Billie’s excitement returned but he chose to try and ignore it.
“So… I’m bored.” Tre said randomly staring at the ceiling.
Mike sighed. “Me too.” They both looked at Billie.
Once again, Billie was drifted into another daydream about seeing Alex at the show, not even noticing Tre and Mike.
Billie was thinking about how he was going to look. Not in a whole preppy ‘How’s my hair’ way, but how Alex was going to see him. Did she hear what he said top her in Wal-Mart? Was she lying about the tickets? He honestly didn’t know. He’d just go out there and see her, if she was there, and play the show. He wouldn’t think of anything else, he’d try to concentrate on the music.
Ten minuets to the show time, tons of people were already in the stands. The old vintage curtain enclosed the stage. Mike, Billie and Tre walked out onto it, exhilaration filling their veins.
Tre sat down at his drum set, clicking his sticks on the rims in excitement. Billie picked up his guitar, looking at the big red curtain separating them from the huge rows of fans. But he only wanted, he only expected to see one person unparticular, and she would be in the front row, twelve feet away from him.
The stage manager came out and announced two minuets until the show goes, which made Billie involuntarily shout in excitement. He spent the next minute in a half adjusting the strings on Blue Two, then the stage manager ran across the stage on final time, giving a ten second warning.
The curtains spread apart, revealing a huge crowd. Billie looked around at the multicolored discombobulated rainbow of fans.
He ran forward toward the end of the front edge of the stage and screamed like a maniac on crack. His black converse dragged on the floor. Then he spotted her. The woman he remembered from Wal-Mart, with red hair and deep eyeliner. Only this time she was screaming and jumping up and down, moving with the crowd. She was just like he remembered, just how he’d pictured her.
He ran up to her, getting about a foot away, and stared into the eyes that had been in his mind all day. As the connection grew stronger, her body stopped moving and stood still, soaking in the moment. The people around Alex stared at them, wondering what the hell was going on between the two of them; Mike and Tre almost thinking the same.
Billie studied and stared at her green eyes like a staring contest with the wall.
Billie took a silent deep breath, still concentrating on her eyes. He was so close he could smell the faint fragrance on her body. What is that? Peppermint? Billie thought.
“How does my eyeliner look?” he whispered just loud enough for her to hear. He laughed and waited for her answer. She stood there for a second, thinking of a response.
“Hot.” She giggled. The answer was good enough for him.
Finally Mike and Tre decided they’d better start a song, because this would go on forever and Billie could stay in that spot all night.
Tre started the first beats to Give Me Novacaine, causing Billie to break the connection and shoot Tre a Why-The-Hell-Did-You-Do-That-For look.
Billie sighed and ran up to the mic, starting out the first line.
The songs tonight weren’t going in any particular order, the boys were pretty much improvising and doing whatever songs they wanted to play. They took turns doing what songs they wanted to do, this time around Tre got to pick first. Next it would go Mike, who wanted to do a few new songs, and then Billie, which he had no reference, he just went with what popped into his head.
After they played Give Me Novacaine, Holiday, American Idiot, She and Letterbomb, it was Billie’s turn to pick. He briefly turned to look at Tre and Mike, to tell them to play When I Come Around. They reasoned with it and Billie turned back to face the huge audience.
He started the song, staring at Alex. His body felt like he was flying all different directions, like he was being pulled into different dimensions. All of this dramatic, unknown feeling carried out throughout the whole song.
Alex’s eyes fluttered and her heart floated away from her, leaving her with anxiety and thrill as Billie’s eyes were on her. The connection that was drawn between them was not your average eye-to-eye glance or two. It was an unimaginable, indescribable correlation that had everyone staring at Billie’s lack of attention to anyone else in the huge crowd.
Finally the song ended and Billie looked around. He couldn’t help himself; he had to see her up close again. He had the sudden uncontrollable urge to see her eyes so vivid of beauty and innocence that it almost tore him inside to go without it.
He put on a light smile and took off his leather guitar strap, setting Blue Two on the floor of the hard stage. Mike and Tre stood, watching Billie walk up to the front of the stage towards the woman he was looking at all night. They wanted to question, but yet they didn’t want to ruin Billie’s moment. Here we go again… They thought.
When Billie got to Alex at the front row, he bent down to see her face more closely again, to see her eyes as they were covered in expression of energy and anticipation.
The staring contest didn’t last as long as the last one did; because Tre got impatient and thought that Billie was going completely out of his mind. Tre didn’t mean to ruin the whole feel of the moment, but he was an anxious person; he was on a roll.
“Billie, can we do St. Jimmy? Please? Please? Pleassssssse?” Tre immaturely pleaded into the microphone like a begging 4-year old, making everyone to laugh.
Billie looked down and let out a small laugh. “Yes, Tre, we can do St. Jimmy…” He yelled to the back of the stage, like the mother giving in.
Tre held no hesitation to the matter. He banged the drums for the first beat and Mike began his part. They decided to play it a little nicer and give Billie some time to break away from this newly found fascination with the woman n the front row, and carried the first vibrations of the strings longer to give him some time to get back to his spot.
Without due consideration, Billie stuck his hand out to Alex. She stared at it, confused and a bit wondrous about this offer. She looked up at him and his suggestive green eyes. She decided that she needed to take this risk and free herself from the uptight monster that had grown inside of her. Alex took his hand and a warm, emotional spark flew through both of their bodies.
Billie grasped her hand gently but tightly and pulled her up and forward, leaning back for more strength. Before she knew it, her hot pink converse were planted on the floor of the platform, and she was looking at the back of the stage. She turned around slowly, and a blast of exhilaration took over her whole body when she saw what seemed like hundreds-of-thousands-of people in the crowd.
Billie saw her face so amazed, and wished to embrace this moment forever.
He realized that the song was still going and Tre wouldn’t wait much longer. He gently guided her backwards, more towards his guitar so he would be able to pick it up and begin the song.
She got the picture of what she was supposed to do when Billie let her go, picking up his guitar and finally singing those first words: “St. Jimmy’s coming down across the alley way…”
Adrenaline pumped in Alex’s nerves when she was left staring at the huge amount of people in front of her. She couldn’t control herself when the big part of the beginning hit her ears, and she found herself running and jumping, doing gymnastic flips everywhere across and around the stage. She threw caution to the air surrounding her as her long red hair began falling from the ponytails it was put into. She didn’t seem to care- she didn’t seem to care about anything at this point; she was just throwing away her guilt and becoming clean again.
Billie showed that he enjoyed seeing her have this awesome time. Tre and Mike seemed to like it also, considering that Mike let her sing a few parts and Tre loved it when she seemed so excited when she hit the symbols.
By the time the song was over, Alex’s head was throbbing in spirit and her heart was flowing with vitality. Shock was covering her body, leaving her hardly breaking a sweat.
The song had ended and Billie called for a water break. Alex didn’t know what was expected, if she was supposed to go back to the front row or follow.
But her question was answered when Billie briskly walked over and lightly placed his hand on the middle of her back. He guided her to the opening at the side of the stage, down the dark and scary hallway and into a humungous red and black room that the band was in earlier.
It must’ve been noticeable that Billie was thinking of something else other than the concert, because everyone that saw his face looked at him like he was crazy. He tried to shake out of his state of living daydreaming, but he still couldn’t stop thinking about Alex.
When Billie got backstage, he went to the dressing room one more time. When he got into the bright red room, he looked in the mirror. He had this feeling inside, like he was high, but he hadn’t had any drugs. He rubbed his face, and then smacked across his own cheeks, hoping this would free his expression on his face. Operation failure, he thought, still seeing his overly happy appearance. He gave up on it and hoped no one else would notice. Billie walked out of the door, into the dark hallway and into the lounge that was backstage with a couch that Tre was now spread out on. Tre’s drumsticks were scattered on the floor, probably thrown in a failed juggling attempt.
Billie’s excitement was overflowing inside of him. He had to blow all of this energy somehow. He got an idea.
Billie took in a deep breath, and took off running at full speed around the backstage lounge. Tre and Mike starred at him, wondering what Billie was doing. Billie threw his hands in the air, shouting and running like a bat out of hell, until about ten seconds later he sat down on the red couch. He panted slowly and calmly, trying to catch up with himself.
Tre and Mike didn’t have to ask what that was all about, considering that they knew all to well that Billie had his moments.
Billie looked up at the huge clock that was a big black wall. 9:30. The show started at 10. Billie’s excitement returned but he chose to try and ignore it.
“So… I’m bored.” Tre said randomly staring at the ceiling.
Mike sighed. “Me too.” They both looked at Billie.
Once again, Billie was drifted into another daydream about seeing Alex at the show, not even noticing Tre and Mike.
Billie was thinking about how he was going to look. Not in a whole preppy ‘How’s my hair’ way, but how Alex was going to see him. Did she hear what he said top her in Wal-Mart? Was she lying about the tickets? He honestly didn’t know. He’d just go out there and see her, if she was there, and play the show. He wouldn’t think of anything else, he’d try to concentrate on the music.
Ten minuets to the show time, tons of people were already in the stands. The old vintage curtain enclosed the stage. Mike, Billie and Tre walked out onto it, exhilaration filling their veins.
Tre sat down at his drum set, clicking his sticks on the rims in excitement. Billie picked up his guitar, looking at the big red curtain separating them from the huge rows of fans. But he only wanted, he only expected to see one person unparticular, and she would be in the front row, twelve feet away from him.
The stage manager came out and announced two minuets until the show goes, which made Billie involuntarily shout in excitement. He spent the next minute in a half adjusting the strings on Blue Two, then the stage manager ran across the stage on final time, giving a ten second warning.
The curtains spread apart, revealing a huge crowd. Billie looked around at the multicolored discombobulated rainbow of fans.
He ran forward toward the end of the front edge of the stage and screamed like a maniac on crack. His black converse dragged on the floor. Then he spotted her. The woman he remembered from Wal-Mart, with red hair and deep eyeliner. Only this time she was screaming and jumping up and down, moving with the crowd. She was just like he remembered, just how he’d pictured her.
He ran up to her, getting about a foot away, and stared into the eyes that had been in his mind all day. As the connection grew stronger, her body stopped moving and stood still, soaking in the moment. The people around Alex stared at them, wondering what the hell was going on between the two of them; Mike and Tre almost thinking the same.
Billie studied and stared at her green eyes like a staring contest with the wall.
Billie took a silent deep breath, still concentrating on her eyes. He was so close he could smell the faint fragrance on her body. What is that? Peppermint? Billie thought.
“How does my eyeliner look?” he whispered just loud enough for her to hear. He laughed and waited for her answer. She stood there for a second, thinking of a response.
“Hot.” She giggled. The answer was good enough for him.
Finally Mike and Tre decided they’d better start a song, because this would go on forever and Billie could stay in that spot all night.
Tre started the first beats to Give Me Novacaine, causing Billie to break the connection and shoot Tre a Why-The-Hell-Did-You-Do-That-For look.
Billie sighed and ran up to the mic, starting out the first line.
The songs tonight weren’t going in any particular order, the boys were pretty much improvising and doing whatever songs they wanted to play. They took turns doing what songs they wanted to do, this time around Tre got to pick first. Next it would go Mike, who wanted to do a few new songs, and then Billie, which he had no reference, he just went with what popped into his head.
After they played Give Me Novacaine, Holiday, American Idiot, She and Letterbomb, it was Billie’s turn to pick. He briefly turned to look at Tre and Mike, to tell them to play When I Come Around. They reasoned with it and Billie turned back to face the huge audience.
He started the song, staring at Alex. His body felt like he was flying all different directions, like he was being pulled into different dimensions. All of this dramatic, unknown feeling carried out throughout the whole song.
Alex’s eyes fluttered and her heart floated away from her, leaving her with anxiety and thrill as Billie’s eyes were on her. The connection that was drawn between them was not your average eye-to-eye glance or two. It was an unimaginable, indescribable correlation that had everyone staring at Billie’s lack of attention to anyone else in the huge crowd.
Finally the song ended and Billie looked around. He couldn’t help himself; he had to see her up close again. He had the sudden uncontrollable urge to see her eyes so vivid of beauty and innocence that it almost tore him inside to go without it.
He put on a light smile and took off his leather guitar strap, setting Blue Two on the floor of the hard stage. Mike and Tre stood, watching Billie walk up to the front of the stage towards the woman he was looking at all night. They wanted to question, but yet they didn’t want to ruin Billie’s moment. Here we go again… They thought.
When Billie got to Alex at the front row, he bent down to see her face more closely again, to see her eyes as they were covered in expression of energy and anticipation.
The staring contest didn’t last as long as the last one did; because Tre got impatient and thought that Billie was going completely out of his mind. Tre didn’t mean to ruin the whole feel of the moment, but he was an anxious person; he was on a roll.
“Billie, can we do St. Jimmy? Please? Please? Pleassssssse?” Tre immaturely pleaded into the microphone like a begging 4-year old, making everyone to laugh.
Billie looked down and let out a small laugh. “Yes, Tre, we can do St. Jimmy…” He yelled to the back of the stage, like the mother giving in.
Tre held no hesitation to the matter. He banged the drums for the first beat and Mike began his part. They decided to play it a little nicer and give Billie some time to break away from this newly found fascination with the woman n the front row, and carried the first vibrations of the strings longer to give him some time to get back to his spot.
Without due consideration, Billie stuck his hand out to Alex. She stared at it, confused and a bit wondrous about this offer. She looked up at him and his suggestive green eyes. She decided that she needed to take this risk and free herself from the uptight monster that had grown inside of her. Alex took his hand and a warm, emotional spark flew through both of their bodies.
Billie grasped her hand gently but tightly and pulled her up and forward, leaning back for more strength. Before she knew it, her hot pink converse were planted on the floor of the platform, and she was looking at the back of the stage. She turned around slowly, and a blast of exhilaration took over her whole body when she saw what seemed like hundreds-of-thousands-of people in the crowd.
Billie saw her face so amazed, and wished to embrace this moment forever.
He realized that the song was still going and Tre wouldn’t wait much longer. He gently guided her backwards, more towards his guitar so he would be able to pick it up and begin the song.
She got the picture of what she was supposed to do when Billie let her go, picking up his guitar and finally singing those first words: “St. Jimmy’s coming down across the alley way…”
Adrenaline pumped in Alex’s nerves when she was left staring at the huge amount of people in front of her. She couldn’t control herself when the big part of the beginning hit her ears, and she found herself running and jumping, doing gymnastic flips everywhere across and around the stage. She threw caution to the air surrounding her as her long red hair began falling from the ponytails it was put into. She didn’t seem to care- she didn’t seem to care about anything at this point; she was just throwing away her guilt and becoming clean again.
Billie showed that he enjoyed seeing her have this awesome time. Tre and Mike seemed to like it also, considering that Mike let her sing a few parts and Tre loved it when she seemed so excited when she hit the symbols.
By the time the song was over, Alex’s head was throbbing in spirit and her heart was flowing with vitality. Shock was covering her body, leaving her hardly breaking a sweat.
The song had ended and Billie called for a water break. Alex didn’t know what was expected, if she was supposed to go back to the front row or follow.
But her question was answered when Billie briskly walked over and lightly placed his hand on the middle of her back. He guided her to the opening at the side of the stage, down the dark and scary hallway and into a humungous red and black room that the band was in earlier.