Know Who Your Friends Are

Where Is Mike?

*Billie Joe POV*

I walked to school, my guitar flung over my back. Mike wasn't with me. He hadn't showed up.

I was going to murder him.

I kept walking to school, looking at the trees and the way they moved, swinging almost at the same time. I wondered why they moved that way.

I walked quickly, jumping over a few puddles. I decided to text Mike and ask him calmly where he was.

'Where are you, you little shit.'

Okay maybe not calmly. I sent it and put my phone back in my pocket.

I was already late for first lesson.

Fuck that, I'm skipping.

I normally sit next to Mike in that lesson and there's no way I'm sitting alone.

I ran behind some sheds, the crisp autumn air smacking me about the face, waking me up. I jumped behind a final wall.

Of course he was there.

Jimmy stood behind the wall, smoking. I offered him a smile and received a smirk.

"Billie Joe." Was the only thing he said.

"Yep." I replied.

"You smoke?" He asked, offering me the pack. I shook my head.

"I've never tried it." I admitted.

"Try one." He replied, shoving the packet closer to me. I shakily took one and watched as he flicked the lighter, the fire bursting into life. Then he moved it closer to the cigarette and lit it, putting the lighter out.

"Take some in, try and hold it in for as long as possible." He told me. I put the cigarette to my lips and sucked in a mouthful of whatever was in that stuff. I held it in for as long as I could before breathing out, choking and coughing. He laughed. "You'll get better." He said.

I kept smoking as we talked. I stopped coughing every time, it actually was pretty good. The bell went for next lesson. Jimmy handed me a small pill.

"Don't take that until you're at home," He said. He must have saw my expression, because he added "That stuff is better than air." I put the pill in my pocket and walked off to next lesson, which just happened to be the lesson where I worked with Jimmy and Mike.

Of course, Mike wasn't here. I sat down nervously next to Jimmy. We were told to write a short paragraph on our current topic. I started writing, but soon I gave up and wrote lyrics instead.

"I'm the son of rage and love

The Jesus of Suburbia"

Were the two lines stuck in my head. I stared at them, tapping my pencil. I felt a sharp pain in my left hand. I looked down the table and I saw that Jimmy was holding his knife, and it was jammed into my hand. He put his hand over my mouth to muffle a cry of pain, and then pulled the knife out. I cradled my hand, seeing blood. The wound was only about 10cm long, but it was bleeding a hell of a lot.

"What the fuck?!" I asked. He smirked. I looked at the cut again and gagged. Like Mike, I was never that good with blood. I'm better than Mike though. I stumbled dizzily to the nurse and looked away as she applied anaesthetic and wrapped a bandage around it.

"Oh Billie Joe. What happened this time?" She asked. The Nurse was always seeing me, Mike or Tré in this room.

"I don't... know." Was the only reply I could give her.

"Are you dizzy hun?" She asked. I nodded truthfully. "I'll call your mom. Lie down." She said. I lay back and suddenly remembered the pill in my pocket.

It's gotta be some sort of pain killer, right? I went to the sink and swallowed the pill with some water, lying down again. The nurse came back in.

"She's on her way, hun." She said.

By the time my mom got here, I felt really sick. She put her arm around me as we walked out of school.

"Bill you don't look so good. You okay?" She asked. I shrugged. When we got to the car she got a blanket out of the back and covered me with it. "Please don't throw up in my car." She sighed.

"I'll try not to." I muttered.

I didn't throw up in the car, but I threw up as soon as my feet hit the floor. My mom looked really worried. "Bill if you're staying off tomorrow I won't be here, you'll be alone." She said, wrapping the blanket around me again as we stood outside.

"S'ok." I replied. She picked me up like I was a baby.

I would normally have complained about this, but I really didn't feel good, so I let her carry me to the couch and I fell asleep as soon as she lay me down.