The Innocent Can Never Last

Overreaction In The Form Of Well...Me

Emma's POV

By Monday morning, however, it started to become clear to me that I would have to wait much longer for my next kiss with Billie than I had anticipated. Mike and I both became alarmed when, upon reaching homeroom that morning, we found that Billie Joe was nowhere to be found. I tried calling Ruth's house during study hall but nobody picked up the phone, and as the day kept dragging on, with still no word on Billie's whereabouts, I found that it was getting harder and harder not to panic. Surely he didn't do it again, did he? And if he didn't try to hurt himself, where was he? Did he leave, just like he had told those guys he would? If so, where did he go? Crazy thoughts and ideas ran through my mind all day, making it impossible for me to concentrate on school work. By lunch time, I was ready to simply leave the school and go find Billie.
"I don't understand, he said he would be here," I wailed hopelessly.

I was sitting at the lunch table, later that day, nervously picking at my food, too worried about Billie to actually eat anything. Mike was sitting across from me, acting so calm that I was about to scream. He was leaning casually on the table, using one arm to support himself, and using his other arm to slowly eat his food. "Relax, Em," he said calmly. "I'm sure he's fine. He's probably just sick. You know how he's always going on about a stomachache or something nowadays."
"Mike! How could you say that? He could be lying dead in a dumpster somewhere for all we know!" I shouted.
"Way to look on the bright side of life," Mike said sarcastically.
"Well, you never know," I said. "I know I'm overreacting, but I worry about him a lot, especially after-"
"He became your boyfriend?" Mike cut me off in the middle of my sentence.
"Hey! How did you know about that?" I asked.
"Billie told me when I talked to him the other day. He sounds like he's really fallen head over heels for you, Emma, you should feel honored," Mike answered.
"I would feel a lot more honored if I knew that Billie was okay," I said nervously, running my hand through my hair, as I watched Mike swirl one of his french fries around in ketchup, before bringing it slowly to his mouth and devouring it.
What the hell was wrong with me? He was eating a french frie, not figure skating in the Winter Olympics. I shook my head a bit, before Mike said, "Emma, calm down, we'll go over to Ruth's house after school and see what's up, okay?"
I nodded, feeling that three o'clock couldn't come fast enough.

By three fifteen that afternoon, Mike and I were both standing on the front porch of Ruth's house, as I knocked furiously on the door. We stood there for several minutes, before the door was flung open to reveal Ollie, looking slightly annoyed. I guess I had been hammering on the door rather obnoxiously. Ollie's frown faded when she saw us, however, and it was replaced by a wide smile. "Hey, kids, what are you doing here? Billie Joe already left," she said, and Mike and I both stole puzzled glances at each other, before Mike spoke.
"Huh?" he said.
"He left for Berkeley, remember?" Ollie asked, as her smile slowly faded.
Mike and I both stared at her for several seconds, before Ollie finally said, "He didn't tell you, did he?"
"Guess not," Mike said. His appearance had suddenly gone a bit grey.
Ollie sighed, and said, "Well, I can't believe he didn't tell you, but Billie dropped out of school and went to live in Berkeley."
"Why?" Mike asked.
"Well, you know Billie, his little heart is just set on making that band succeed, so he went to the city to see if he could get Sweet Children signed. He also said something about wanting to find a new drummer."
Mike and I continued to stare without moving, but I felt my jaw drop slowly. I made no move to close my mouth. Ollie was acting too...satisfied with the whole situation for this to be natural. Shouldn't she be just a little bit upset? Her son just dropped out of High School halfway through his senior year. I would be livid if it was my kid. Apparently Mike was thinking the same thing, because he said, "And you're okay with all this?"
"Well, what else could I do? He'll be eighteen in a month, and after that, there's nothing I can do to stop him, so I might as well let him go now..." Ollie answered.