I'll Be Good || Jim Carroll

Chapter 1: Downtown

My feet smacked against the dreary sidewalk that seemed to wash away any ounce of dreams in this part of town. The looming institution greeted me as though lightning would strike at any moment, ghosts of whispers warning me that this was a mistake. I was forced to meet my fate though, wandering halls that held secrets that haunted all who entered. I ventured further into the formidable prison, hearing calls of past lives

"Hey, you're just like Jim, always scribbling away in a notebook." I looked up at a boy with dark hair, still remaining slouched in my seat as I attempted to hide. I had just transferred to this school due to being forced to move. My dad had lost his job recently on Wall Street, so now him, my mom, and I were stuck here in this sketchy area of New York. "The name's Mickey."

"Um... Zoe," I reluctantly answered, carefully closing my purple spiral bound notebook.

"That's no good here. They banned spiral notebooks when someone got the bright idea of using it as a weapon."

My eyes widened as I freaked out inside, my palms beginning to sweat. "Oh okay. Thank you for letting me know," I stammered. I was grateful when the bell rang, since I dreaded talking to strangers. Father McNulty began teaching, but near the end of class a boy named, Jim Carroll kept acting up. I stared in horror as he had to get on all fours, getting whacked on the bottom with a cane by the teacher. I jumped every single time the sound echoed around the room, Jim scrunching his face up in a tough manner. Thankfully the horror ended when the bell went off.

"Too bad, Father. I was just beginning to enjoy it," Jim spoke before standing.

"We can do it again tomorrow if you like, Mr. Carroll."

I dashed out of the classroom before I could witness more, accidentally getting shoved in the direction of the group of boys, my face bright red as they recalled the recent events. Before I could hear more, I ran straight home, slamming the door after using my keys on all three locks.

I sighed in relief I was finally in my safe haven, well as much as it could be with constant sirens down below in the streets.

"Hey, kitten, how was your day," greeted my dad, giving me a warm smile as I instantly felt better.

"It wasn't so great. Some kid called Jim, or something got paddled. It was excruciating." I gladly took a banana from the bowl of fruit on the table, munching on it. "I really hate it here. I know you said to be brave and strong, but it's just scary, and I thought the other part of New York we lived in was scary. I passed like three druggies on the way home, and I think one of them was about to rob me for money in broad daylight!" A sigh fell from my lips as my dad came over to rub my shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm sorry, Zoe, but you know there's nothing I can do about it."

"I know," I whimpered, preventing myself from crying before heading for my small bedroom. "I'm just going to go unwind."

He slowly nodded before I dropped my purple backpack next to my bed. I smiled softly at my keyboard I had set up on a stand in the only free corner in the area. I carefully sat at the black, rounded stool before it, playing a few familiar notes before letting the music flow.

JIM'S POV:

I had just gotten home from a hectic day at school, which was nothing new. The first thing I went for was my notebook, scrawling poetry onto the lined pages while on my bed. I sniffed my nose a few times since the air was cool flowing in through my open window. I then heard a voice, confused when I realized it was producing a melody. I carefully crawled outside onto the fire escape, climbing the metal ladder to the apartment a floor above. I froze when I saw a girl poring over a piano, her fingers delicately flying across the keys as she sang the famous song.

"And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you

Someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to

Guide them along

So maybe I'll see you there

We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares

So go downtown

Things will be great when you're downtown

Don't wait a minute more, downtown

Everything is waiting for you, downtown

Downtown (downtown)

Downtown (downtown)

Downtown (downtown)

Downtown (downtown)"

After her voice faded to a whisper, her eyes grew to the size of saucers when she spotted me staring. I nearly fell backwards as I felt embarrassed, but she cautiously drifted to the halfway open pane of glass.

"You're Jim, right?"

I slowly nodded as I composed myself.

"I'm Zoe. I, um, started going to your school today."

"Well, Zoe, welcome to Manhattan." I hope that didn't sound as stupid as it did in my head.

ZOE'S POV:

"So, do you have any rituals to welcome newcomers here? Where I'm from we chug a whole bottle of water."

He chuckled lowly before asking, "What part of New York are you from?"

"How do you even know I'm from New York," I questioned.

"Your accent," he slightly smirked, causing my face to become flushed.

"Tribeca."

"Whoa, no shit? No offense, but how did you end up here?"

"My dad lost his job." I pressed my lips together, since it was a sensitive subject.

"Shit, sorry. Fuck, I'm sorry again. I have a dirty mouth."

I was shocked when I giggled, and even more surprised I didn't feel weird talking to him. Our conversation just felt natural, and my anxiety seemed to disappear. "It's okay. So, are you feeling okay?"

"Huh," he asked, clearly confused.

"You got hit pretty hard today," I reminded him, causing his cheeks to become a bit rosy.

"Oh, uh, yeah I'm fine," he claimed.

I nodded a tiny bit before noticing the orange sunset washing over the Earth.

"Well, I better go. I have a basketball game tonight."

"Oh okay," I answered, watching as he left, secretly wishing he had stayed longer, but I had a feeling I would be seeing him soon when I saw him go into the apartment directly below mine.

A/N: Hey guys, I hope this first chapter was alright. I just rewatched "The Basketball Diaries," but I've only seen it twice, so I'm not sure of the exact order of events in the movie. Please remember to comment, vote, and follow. Thank you so much! <3 Oh, and sorry for switching point of views so often in this chapter. I accidentally switched over without meaning to, and decided to just roll with it. Also, the title of this book is from the song, "I'll Be Good" by Jaymes Young, and the lyrics in the description are from that song too. I just changed them a little to fit better, since it was originally about drinking.  And the song I mentioned, "Downtown" is by Petula Clark from the 60s. <3