Adventures in Babysitting
Chapter Eight: Choices
Chapter Eight: Choices
I walked back into the living room silently. Everyone was already there. When the fuck did they get up? I certainly didn’t see them! It doesn’t matter though. No one’s mad at me today. It’s all good.
I threw myself onto the couch next to Gee and scanned the room. Ray and Mikey were talking about God knows what. Probably unicorns knowing Mikey. Actually, I think their talking about guitars or something. Bad guess. Oh well!
I looked at Bob next. He was sitting quietly in the corner chair with his headphones on, reading a TMNT comic book. That is so bad ass! I stared at him for a few minutes. Fuck! This guy is untouchable! He can’t be bothered. He seriously has no emotion. Like a robot. Kinda creepy.
I gave up staring at Bob and turned to Gee. He turned his head to face me. “What’s up?” he asked.
“I’m tired,” I told him. Not.Enough.SLEEP! Adele gets up too fucking early. She’d better get over that habit. Soon.
Gee laughed. “Don’t worry. I think we all are after all that’s gone on these past three days.”
“Yea,” I agreed solemnly. I slouched on the cushions, still looking at Gee.
“So,” he started. Oh God, what’s he gonna ask? “Can I ask about why your bunk smelled like piss, or would you rather not talk about it?”
I sat up and leaned over the edge of the couch. “Gerard,” I started.
He looked at me, “Yea?”
“Shut up, okay?”
He laughed at that. What’s so fucking funny? Am I a clown? Where’s my skittle colored hair and balloon animal then? Huh?!
“Sorry,” he told me, seeing that I was getting upset over nothing. He’d better be sorry. I’m in such a fucking bad mood right now. I could feel his stares as I rubbed my eyes. He’s worried about me. I can tell.
“Hey,” he leaned forward to get a better look at me. “I’ve got an idea that I think will cheer you up.”
“What?” I asked. I was getting impatient.
“Hey if you’re going to act that way, I’m not gonna tell you.”
“Tell me.”
“Nope.”
“Tell me dammit!”
“All right,” Gee started to laugh. I still don’t get what’s so fucking funny. “Okay, let’s go to Starbucks!” He threw his fist in the air triumphantly and smiled. Bob looked up from his comic book emotionlessly. Ray and Mikey turned. Adele stared through the doorway. The world came to a standstill. Silence.
Before I knew it, my arms were wrapped around Gerard. “Thank you Gee!” I screamed. He’s my best friend again! Yea!
He laughed. “You’re welcome!” he looked around at everyone else. “Anyone else?”
“I’ll come,”Mikey volunteered. He’s just in it for the coffee like me. And the scones. Starbucks scones kick total ass!
“Cool,” Gee smiled, “Ray? Bob?”
“I’ll come,” Bob said, putting down his comic book and ipod. Wait. Was that a smile? I believe it was! Bob has emotion! Holy Shit!
“Um,” Ray thought for a moment, “I’ll go another time.”
“Come on,” Gerard provoked, “You need a break. Come with us!”
“ I’ll stay here. It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not.”
“No Gee, really. I’ll be fine here. I’m not three.”
“I’m not saying you are.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you work too fucking hard and that you could use a break for once. Now get off your ass and come with us to fucking Starbucks!”
“Okay Okay! Fine, I’ll go.”
“Yea,” Gee cheered. He smiled and turned to Adele.
“Can I come?”she asked. Awww! Too cute! That totally makes up for the piss incident this morning!
“Of course,” Gee replied smiling wider. Adele smiled a little and ran over to me. She took my hand. I looked down at her. She smiled. And so we began our epic journey to the Starbucks down the road!
It wasn’t really a long walk. I remember that the coffee shop I went to as a kid, the walk was much longer. Like, two miles I think. Ugh, I sound like such an old man right now. Twenty-five on twenty-six isn’t that old though. For trees, anyway.
When we were about two streets away from the Starbucks, we heard someone from behind us. A girl. Oh god, please don’t attack me! I pray for her is she attacks Bob though. Last fan that attacked him got a big ass bruise on her head. Suddenly, I felt someone hug me from behind. A familiar hug.
“Alison?” I asked the girl. I turned about halfway so I could see her. Same dark brown hair and eyes. Yup. It’s her all right.
“Frankie!” she screamed. She squealed. As usual, I laughed. She’d never really change after all these years.
Alison and I became friends right before the band started, when I was still with Pencey Prep. After I’d joined My Chem, she’d been acting like such a fan girl at all of our rehearsals and crap. I haven’t seen her in a while. She’s still the same old Alison though.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to town?” she asked. She looked a little angry at me for not calling. I feel kind of bad now.
“Should I have?” I asked her. I honestly never knew I supposed to call. I only called once a month when I had time. Plus, our conversations never really lasted long. She always was up and around and had something to do.
“Yes!” she exclaimed, “I would have made cookies!” Um....cookies? “With Skittles.” That’s fucking crazy. But I love it!
“Um, okay,” I replied, laughing at her a little, “I’ll be sure to call you next time we come into town.”
“Okay!” she cheered. She giggled. Wow. I forgot how random she was. How could I forget that? “Oh hey guy!” Everyone turned to her. Before I knew it, it was like a family reunion. Everyone was talking and laughing with her. Except Adele. She continued to hide shyly behind my arm.
Alison looked down at Adele. “Hey Frankie,” she started.
“Yea?”
“Um, can I ask you something?”
“You just did.”
“Can I ask you two things then?”
“You just used your second turn.”
“Frankie!” she yelled. She playfully hit my arm. Wow she’s weak. “Just let me ask you the fucking question!”
“Ha. Okay,” I replied. She gets flustered so easily now. Then again, she was always like that.
“When did you get a kid?” she asked, kind of panicked. Wait. What? She thinks Adele’s my kid? That’s too crazy.
“What?” I asked. I looked down at Adele. She stared at me a little confused obviously. “Oh, no! This is Ray’s niece Adele. We’re watching her for a little while. Why.”
“Oh, no reason!” she replied, “It’s just, since I haven’t seen you in person in, what, three years? I thought maybe in our short conversations you may have forgotten to mention one tiny detail about your life. But it doesn’t matter now.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Alison,” Gerard yelled after her. Saved by the Gee! She turned around. “Do you want to come with us to Starbucks? Our treat.”
“No, it’s okay,” she replied. She smiled. “I have to be getting home soon. You know, lots to do.”
“All right,” Gee said. He smiled concertedly at her.
“I guess I’ll see you guys later,” she told us. She then ran down the street back to, I guess her house. What’s the rush?
“Okay,” Gee yelled, “Let’s go!” And we continued on our journey to Starbucks.
As we continued our walk, I couldn’t help but think about Alison. What was up with her? She seemed more worrisome than the last time I saw her. And why’d she run home so quickly? Something’s up, and I wanna know what.
“Coffee!” Gee squealed. We all went inside the large cafe quietly. The line wasn’t freakishly long yet. That was good.
“Can I help you?” the clerk asked. Her name tag read Kelly.
“Um, sure,” Gerard replied. He ordered his coffee first. Then Bob and Mikey’s. Ray just got some tea thingy. I ordered mine next.
“Anything else?” Kelly asked. She looked quickly down at Adele.
“Adele,” I asked. She looked up. “Do you want anything.”
“Um, okay,” she replied blushing.
“Um, what do you want?” I asked her. Maybe she didn’t want hot chocolate. Maybe she wanted a muffin or something. The only way I’d find out is by letting her make that choice.
“A blueberry muffin,” she said just barely loud enough for me to hear, “And hot chocolate.”
“Okay,” I told Kelly our order. We walked over to the serving counter. The barista (who’s name tag read Mo.) handed us our coffees, hot chocolate, tea thing, and pastries. I took mine and Adele’s cups in my hands. I handed her her hot chocolate.
“Careful,” I told her, “It’s hot.” She nodded and took the warm cup in her hands. She blew into the opening of the cup to cool it down.
“Let’s go somewhere,” Gee suggested as we walked out the big, glass doors. I stared at him.
“Where?” I asked. What crazy ideas does Gerard have up his sleeves today?
“I don’t know,” he replied. Great. “Any ideas?”
We all thought for a moment. “How about the park?” Mikey suggested. We all looked at him like he was on crack. He took a step back nervously. Obviously he didn’t know about the police being there last time. Did Gerard forget to mention that when he told him the story?
“Um, how about no?” I told him. He looked hurt. “Sorry.” I thought for a moment. Where else could we go? Wait. We’re in Jersey. The fucking Garden State. There are parks everywhere.
“Hey, let’s go to another park!” I suggested. Gee looked at me for a second. Mikey and everyone else nodded.
“Okay,” Gee replied, “Let’s go to the park!”
++++++++++++++++++
When we got to the park, it was completely empty. Maybe it was too early, maybe because of the incident at the other park. Either way, it was nice and quiet. But I’ll keep on the look for the killer anyway. He’d better watch out for my kung fu skills! Otherwise, BAM!
We all sat on a couple of the benches and drank our Starbucks. I think Gee was the first to finish. I’m not surprised. He is the coffee king after all. Mikey finished next. Do coffee drinking skills run in their family or something?
Ray finished after them, and then Adele. She took out her cd player and started to listen to it as we continued to sit an talk.
“I guess Adele likes the Starbucks hot chocolate?” Gee said smirking. I guess he heard me ask her what she wanted.
“Yea,” I told him, “I think it’s time I let her make small choices on her own.”
“Aww,” they all replied.
“They grow up so fast,” Gee said, wiping away a fake tear. We all laughed. I looked over to Adele. She was daydreaming again. There’s got to be something else for her to do other than hang out with us and daydream. I’ve got to think of something...I’ve got it!
“Hey Adele,” I said, a little louder so she could hear. She pulled off the headphones and turned towards me.
“Is there anything specific you want to do tomorrow?” I asked her.
She thought for a moment. “I wanna go to school!” she replied cheerfully. That’s actually an awesome choice. Cool!
We finished up our coffee and walked back to the bus. We didn’t really do anything. Bob continued to read, Gerard went to draw something in his head, Mikey went to read, and Ray fell asleep. So, I was left alone for a few hours.
It’s quiet. Is it gonna be like this when Adele leaves for school tomorrow? Probably not. But still. It won’t be the same. Would things go back to like before? I’m not sure. There’s a lot of things I’m not sure of right now.
After a few hours of nothing, I finally looked at the clock. 8:30. I’ll go see if Adele’s in bed. I got up and walked into the dark bunk area.
Well, I know Gee’s asleep. The lights were still on in his bunk, but he was out cold. I turned off the lights for him. Bob and Mikey were asleep. The book and comic were on the floor. Ray was still asleep probably. I went into my bunk, which had the curtain closed. What I saw made my heart melt.
Adele was lying in the bunk, but awake. She looked tired though. I got in next to her. “Frankie?” she started softly. I smiled at her.
“Shh,” I told her, “I know.” I knew exactly what she wanted. I started to softly sing an older song. The Secret Goldfish, which Pencey Prep had written. Adele curled up next to me. By the time I finished, she was fast asleep. I smiled at her and lay in the bad for a while.
So tomorrow Adele starts school. Should be interesting...
I walked back into the living room silently. Everyone was already there. When the fuck did they get up? I certainly didn’t see them! It doesn’t matter though. No one’s mad at me today. It’s all good.
I threw myself onto the couch next to Gee and scanned the room. Ray and Mikey were talking about God knows what. Probably unicorns knowing Mikey. Actually, I think their talking about guitars or something. Bad guess. Oh well!
I looked at Bob next. He was sitting quietly in the corner chair with his headphones on, reading a TMNT comic book. That is so bad ass! I stared at him for a few minutes. Fuck! This guy is untouchable! He can’t be bothered. He seriously has no emotion. Like a robot. Kinda creepy.
I gave up staring at Bob and turned to Gee. He turned his head to face me. “What’s up?” he asked.
“I’m tired,” I told him. Not.Enough.SLEEP! Adele gets up too fucking early. She’d better get over that habit. Soon.
Gee laughed. “Don’t worry. I think we all are after all that’s gone on these past three days.”
“Yea,” I agreed solemnly. I slouched on the cushions, still looking at Gee.
“So,” he started. Oh God, what’s he gonna ask? “Can I ask about why your bunk smelled like piss, or would you rather not talk about it?”
I sat up and leaned over the edge of the couch. “Gerard,” I started.
He looked at me, “Yea?”
“Shut up, okay?”
He laughed at that. What’s so fucking funny? Am I a clown? Where’s my skittle colored hair and balloon animal then? Huh?!
“Sorry,” he told me, seeing that I was getting upset over nothing. He’d better be sorry. I’m in such a fucking bad mood right now. I could feel his stares as I rubbed my eyes. He’s worried about me. I can tell.
“Hey,” he leaned forward to get a better look at me. “I’ve got an idea that I think will cheer you up.”
“What?” I asked. I was getting impatient.
“Hey if you’re going to act that way, I’m not gonna tell you.”
“Tell me.”
“Nope.”
“Tell me dammit!”
“All right,” Gee started to laugh. I still don’t get what’s so fucking funny. “Okay, let’s go to Starbucks!” He threw his fist in the air triumphantly and smiled. Bob looked up from his comic book emotionlessly. Ray and Mikey turned. Adele stared through the doorway. The world came to a standstill. Silence.
Before I knew it, my arms were wrapped around Gerard. “Thank you Gee!” I screamed. He’s my best friend again! Yea!
He laughed. “You’re welcome!” he looked around at everyone else. “Anyone else?”
“I’ll come,”Mikey volunteered. He’s just in it for the coffee like me. And the scones. Starbucks scones kick total ass!
“Cool,” Gee smiled, “Ray? Bob?”
“I’ll come,” Bob said, putting down his comic book and ipod. Wait. Was that a smile? I believe it was! Bob has emotion! Holy Shit!
“Um,” Ray thought for a moment, “I’ll go another time.”
“Come on,” Gerard provoked, “You need a break. Come with us!”
“ I’ll stay here. It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not.”
“No Gee, really. I’ll be fine here. I’m not three.”
“I’m not saying you are.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you work too fucking hard and that you could use a break for once. Now get off your ass and come with us to fucking Starbucks!”
“Okay Okay! Fine, I’ll go.”
“Yea,” Gee cheered. He smiled and turned to Adele.
“Can I come?”she asked. Awww! Too cute! That totally makes up for the piss incident this morning!
“Of course,” Gee replied smiling wider. Adele smiled a little and ran over to me. She took my hand. I looked down at her. She smiled. And so we began our epic journey to the Starbucks down the road!
It wasn’t really a long walk. I remember that the coffee shop I went to as a kid, the walk was much longer. Like, two miles I think. Ugh, I sound like such an old man right now. Twenty-five on twenty-six isn’t that old though. For trees, anyway.
When we were about two streets away from the Starbucks, we heard someone from behind us. A girl. Oh god, please don’t attack me! I pray for her is she attacks Bob though. Last fan that attacked him got a big ass bruise on her head. Suddenly, I felt someone hug me from behind. A familiar hug.
“Alison?” I asked the girl. I turned about halfway so I could see her. Same dark brown hair and eyes. Yup. It’s her all right.
“Frankie!” she screamed. She squealed. As usual, I laughed. She’d never really change after all these years.
Alison and I became friends right before the band started, when I was still with Pencey Prep. After I’d joined My Chem, she’d been acting like such a fan girl at all of our rehearsals and crap. I haven’t seen her in a while. She’s still the same old Alison though.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to town?” she asked. She looked a little angry at me for not calling. I feel kind of bad now.
“Should I have?” I asked her. I honestly never knew I supposed to call. I only called once a month when I had time. Plus, our conversations never really lasted long. She always was up and around and had something to do.
“Yes!” she exclaimed, “I would have made cookies!” Um....cookies? “With Skittles.” That’s fucking crazy. But I love it!
“Um, okay,” I replied, laughing at her a little, “I’ll be sure to call you next time we come into town.”
“Okay!” she cheered. She giggled. Wow. I forgot how random she was. How could I forget that? “Oh hey guy!” Everyone turned to her. Before I knew it, it was like a family reunion. Everyone was talking and laughing with her. Except Adele. She continued to hide shyly behind my arm.
Alison looked down at Adele. “Hey Frankie,” she started.
“Yea?”
“Um, can I ask you something?”
“You just did.”
“Can I ask you two things then?”
“You just used your second turn.”
“Frankie!” she yelled. She playfully hit my arm. Wow she’s weak. “Just let me ask you the fucking question!”
“Ha. Okay,” I replied. She gets flustered so easily now. Then again, she was always like that.
“When did you get a kid?” she asked, kind of panicked. Wait. What? She thinks Adele’s my kid? That’s too crazy.
“What?” I asked. I looked down at Adele. She stared at me a little confused obviously. “Oh, no! This is Ray’s niece Adele. We’re watching her for a little while. Why.”
“Oh, no reason!” she replied, “It’s just, since I haven’t seen you in person in, what, three years? I thought maybe in our short conversations you may have forgotten to mention one tiny detail about your life. But it doesn’t matter now.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Alison,” Gerard yelled after her. Saved by the Gee! She turned around. “Do you want to come with us to Starbucks? Our treat.”
“No, it’s okay,” she replied. She smiled. “I have to be getting home soon. You know, lots to do.”
“All right,” Gee said. He smiled concertedly at her.
“I guess I’ll see you guys later,” she told us. She then ran down the street back to, I guess her house. What’s the rush?
“Okay,” Gee yelled, “Let’s go!” And we continued on our journey to Starbucks.
As we continued our walk, I couldn’t help but think about Alison. What was up with her? She seemed more worrisome than the last time I saw her. And why’d she run home so quickly? Something’s up, and I wanna know what.
“Coffee!” Gee squealed. We all went inside the large cafe quietly. The line wasn’t freakishly long yet. That was good.
“Can I help you?” the clerk asked. Her name tag read Kelly.
“Um, sure,” Gerard replied. He ordered his coffee first. Then Bob and Mikey’s. Ray just got some tea thingy. I ordered mine next.
“Anything else?” Kelly asked. She looked quickly down at Adele.
“Adele,” I asked. She looked up. “Do you want anything.”
“Um, okay,” she replied blushing.
“Um, what do you want?” I asked her. Maybe she didn’t want hot chocolate. Maybe she wanted a muffin or something. The only way I’d find out is by letting her make that choice.
“A blueberry muffin,” she said just barely loud enough for me to hear, “And hot chocolate.”
“Okay,” I told Kelly our order. We walked over to the serving counter. The barista (who’s name tag read Mo.) handed us our coffees, hot chocolate, tea thing, and pastries. I took mine and Adele’s cups in my hands. I handed her her hot chocolate.
“Careful,” I told her, “It’s hot.” She nodded and took the warm cup in her hands. She blew into the opening of the cup to cool it down.
“Let’s go somewhere,” Gee suggested as we walked out the big, glass doors. I stared at him.
“Where?” I asked. What crazy ideas does Gerard have up his sleeves today?
“I don’t know,” he replied. Great. “Any ideas?”
We all thought for a moment. “How about the park?” Mikey suggested. We all looked at him like he was on crack. He took a step back nervously. Obviously he didn’t know about the police being there last time. Did Gerard forget to mention that when he told him the story?
“Um, how about no?” I told him. He looked hurt. “Sorry.” I thought for a moment. Where else could we go? Wait. We’re in Jersey. The fucking Garden State. There are parks everywhere.
“Hey, let’s go to another park!” I suggested. Gee looked at me for a second. Mikey and everyone else nodded.
“Okay,” Gee replied, “Let’s go to the park!”
++++++++++++++++++
When we got to the park, it was completely empty. Maybe it was too early, maybe because of the incident at the other park. Either way, it was nice and quiet. But I’ll keep on the look for the killer anyway. He’d better watch out for my kung fu skills! Otherwise, BAM!
We all sat on a couple of the benches and drank our Starbucks. I think Gee was the first to finish. I’m not surprised. He is the coffee king after all. Mikey finished next. Do coffee drinking skills run in their family or something?
Ray finished after them, and then Adele. She took out her cd player and started to listen to it as we continued to sit an talk.
“I guess Adele likes the Starbucks hot chocolate?” Gee said smirking. I guess he heard me ask her what she wanted.
“Yea,” I told him, “I think it’s time I let her make small choices on her own.”
“Aww,” they all replied.
“They grow up so fast,” Gee said, wiping away a fake tear. We all laughed. I looked over to Adele. She was daydreaming again. There’s got to be something else for her to do other than hang out with us and daydream. I’ve got to think of something...I’ve got it!
“Hey Adele,” I said, a little louder so she could hear. She pulled off the headphones and turned towards me.
“Is there anything specific you want to do tomorrow?” I asked her.
She thought for a moment. “I wanna go to school!” she replied cheerfully. That’s actually an awesome choice. Cool!
We finished up our coffee and walked back to the bus. We didn’t really do anything. Bob continued to read, Gerard went to draw something in his head, Mikey went to read, and Ray fell asleep. So, I was left alone for a few hours.
It’s quiet. Is it gonna be like this when Adele leaves for school tomorrow? Probably not. But still. It won’t be the same. Would things go back to like before? I’m not sure. There’s a lot of things I’m not sure of right now.
After a few hours of nothing, I finally looked at the clock. 8:30. I’ll go see if Adele’s in bed. I got up and walked into the dark bunk area.
Well, I know Gee’s asleep. The lights were still on in his bunk, but he was out cold. I turned off the lights for him. Bob and Mikey were asleep. The book and comic were on the floor. Ray was still asleep probably. I went into my bunk, which had the curtain closed. What I saw made my heart melt.
Adele was lying in the bunk, but awake. She looked tired though. I got in next to her. “Frankie?” she started softly. I smiled at her.
“Shh,” I told her, “I know.” I knew exactly what she wanted. I started to softly sing an older song. The Secret Goldfish, which Pencey Prep had written. Adele curled up next to me. By the time I finished, she was fast asleep. I smiled at her and lay in the bad for a while.
So tomorrow Adele starts school. Should be interesting...