Frank Iero and the Meaning of Life

Chapter Two - Groundhog Day

I shot off like a rocket on cocaine.

I dashed down the stairs, and Gerard followed me as close as he could. I didn't even bother to look back; I damn near tripped and fell down the stairs before I reached the bottom. I scrambled out into the street and a wave of cold air cut into my skin; I then scanned the smoky skyline for what the hell was just hovering outside my window. Clouds of frost poured from my nose and mouth as I panted with fear.

Then, Gerard caught up to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

I yelled out and nearly punched him in the face. "Don't fucking do that!" I screamed.

Gerard looked incredibly confused and worried. "What's going on with you?" he asked. "You've been acting strange all day long."

I looked at him, and then I pointed up at the sky. "You didn't see any of that shit?" I asked, my voice wavering.

"What are you even talking about?" he said.

"The white light up in the sky!" I said. "It looked like a...like a mouse!"

Gerard took me by the arm and tried to drag me back inside. "I think your mind is playing tricks on you," he said. "C'mon, let's go back in. It's freezing out here."

I came to a dead stop and yanked my arm away from him. "I'm not making this shit up, man!" I yelled. "You gotta believe me!"

"I'm not calling you a liar," he said, "I just think that your imagination is running wild. That, or you're high."

I ran my fingers through my hair and gritted my teeth. "I'm not on drugs, jackass," I said.

"Whatever the case," he said, "let's get the hell out of the cold. Seriously. I can't even feel my fingers. Besides, it's much warmer in bed..."

I wanted to fucking vomit.

Suddenly, without any explanation, I woke up in my bed.

A stream of early sunlight struggled to make its way into my barren room. My alarm squawked at me, and I rubbed my eyes in disbelief; I looked around the room for Gerard, but there was no sign of him.

Huh, that's strange, I thought.

I gave the top of my alarm clock a good thwack, and I arose from my bed. The heater struggled to warm the confined room, but it was just enough to shield the place from the ruthless cold outside. I peered into my tiny closet, and was surprised to see my Jersey Mike's uniform still in there.

Didn't my boss take it from me? I thought. Then, my cell phone rang.

I stumbled over to the thing and lazily picked it up. "What's up?" I said, barely giving a shit.

"Frank, where the hell are you, man?"

I immediately recognized the voice. It was my one coworker, Rubin.

"What are you talking about?" I said. "I got canned yesterday. Don't you remember?"

He went silent for a second. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked. "You got fired? Since when?"

I groaned and flopped onto my bed. "Yesterday, genius," I mumbled. "You saw the whole thing." I stared up at the cracked ceiling and sighed.

"Dude, I literally have no idea what you're talking about," he said. "Nothing like that happened yesterday."

My eyes widened, and I recoiled in denial. "Wait a minute, what day is it?" I asked.

"Thursday," he said. "Why?"