Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Cheesy & Corny Like A Bowl of Nachos

       To me, everything was perfect.
The sun was always shining in my world. Any situation could be made better just by keeping a smile on my face or doing a small favor for a friend. People knew me as the person who had everything figured out, and would do anything to help others feel that way. I gave as I was blessed. For a long while, that's the way I imagined it'd be. Sometimes, however, when life is a little too good to be true, something's got to happen to mess it up right? What are all those mottos again? Nothing gold can stay? If it's too good to be true, it probably is? Life is unfair? I sat on my high horse waiting for the day for things to come crashing down. It hasn't come yet, but when it does, will I be ready?
* * *

"Oh come on guys! It's beautiful out! Stop complaining!" I cry out while nearly skipping down the street.
"Layla, you have far too much energy for anyone to handle," Jasmine called out from behind.
"You're telling me," Sadie muttered in annoyance.
"I know it's been a long day, but the fun has barely begun! Please? It's only 4:30!" I plead.
"Aww we missed 4:20?" Sadie whined.
Sadie, Jasmine and I have been in Boston since 8 am in the morning. There's so much to do in a city as large as it with only so little time. We went for a boat ride on the harbor, long walks around Quincy Market, Little Italy and China Town, and got a lot of shopping done. Well, those two did, I mostly just watched to keep my wallet happy. The sun was still high and beaming on this gorgeous July afternoon. Time was flying by and there was still so much to explore.
"What do you ladies want to do next?" I overemphasize.
"Sleep," Jasmine chuckled.
"Besides that, you silly goose! We could go on a duck tour-"
"We're from Mass, we probably know more about this fucking state than any of them combined."
"I know I know, I'm just keeping our options open. There's this place called the improv asylum which I hear is really cool, I'm always down for that! Ooh, or we can even catch dinner early so we can-"
"Layla listen. You know we love adventure and all that shit but, Jas and I are really wiped out. Can we just like, pass out on a bench for a while? At least an hour. I know we have that party tonight, so it would be really cool if we could get some rest so we can be ready."
I looked the two girls in the eye with disappointment. How could you not have an adrenaline rush of adventure last all day? I could go on for hours upon hours and have left over energy to fuel a windmill. Unfortunately, not everyone runs the way I do, so I had to be accepting and give them time.
"Okay, I'll let it slide. You two take a rest, but to be honest I couldn't sit still if I tried. I'm going to for a walk, I'll meet you at Quincy in an hour?"
They both smiled.
"Thank you Layla. Sounds good. Be careful, okay? Have your phone on you, we'll be checking in," Jasmine assured.
"Will do."
I started walking in the opposite direction while trying to fumble my headphones out of my bag. I smoothed down my new Dookie Green Day shirt and began to blast Kerplunk through my ears. It was something about this band that made me feel really badass wherever I went. All my life I've listened to music that made me feel really peaceful, like The Beatles or Bob Dylan, but whenever I had Green Day screeching through my ears, it almost felt right to just feel the edge and rebellion of the song.
The emotions of the pedestrians became clear cut and noticeable while jamming to Android. It's almost as if people wanted me to read their feelings and understand how they felt. All my senses felt extra sharp, from the breeze of the wind on my skin to the smell of pastries from the bakery. Everything was beautiful. Everything was defined. And yet, everything seemed a little out of place.
I started noticing really small things that I had never realized before. Within moments, the pace of the crowd seemed to increase, almost to the speed of the song that was playing. Intensely I began watching everyone who passed me by, growing more nervous by the moment. Something wasn't right...no, something was wrong.
Quickly I grabbed my phone preparing myself to text Jasmine. I looked down for approximately 10 seconds, when before I knew it, I literally kerplunked my way into another human.
Immediately I fell back and moaned in pain.
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry!" The voice apologizes.
"Not as sorry as I am," I respond. "It was my fault." Things were a little blurry for a moment, but I accepted the hand that was laid before me to help get me up.
"Hey, nice shirt." I hadn't really focused to who the person was yet, still rubbing my head and trying to figure things out.
"Uh," I had to look down to remember what I was wearing. "Oh, yeah thanks! Green Day is one of my favorites, along with...HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"
Of course, me being me, I hadn't realized to make eye contact with this suspicious person that I had ran into, but when I did, it freaked me out.
"I'd introduce myself, but I suppose you already know who I am."
I had to stop everything and turn in a circle to make sure that I was still in reality. If everything was going according to the way my mind saw it, I fucking just walked into Billie Joe Armstrong.