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The proper combination of headphones, radio and timing does a certain overachiever quite a bit of good. First of two songfics I wrote while off the computer in October - and this time I’m SURE it’s a songfic. ^_^
Diclaimer-type object - I own none of Lawndale or its denizens. MTV is in charge of that. As for the song, it’s recorded by Barenaked Ladies and I’m pretty sure Ed wrote this one. Still too lazy to look that up though.
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It was a very foggy November morning. Jodie knew her parents could care less that it was the first day of Thanksgiving break. If she stuck around the house too long, they’d press her into some form of community service.
Looking out her bedroom window, she noted it was hard to see a whole lot past the front door. She yawned, cursing her vocal chords for the lack of sound she felt was supposed to be there.
After breakfast, Jodie went back up to her bedroom for her coat and headphones. Pulling on her coat, she stuck the headphones in her pocket and headed outside, setting the radio on a mix station.
(It’s the perfect time of year
Somewhere far away from here
I feel fine enough, I guess
Considering everything’s a mess)
Jodie smiled. Just from the beginning of the first verse, she liked the song. She hoped they’d at least give the name of the band when it was over - it would at least be a place to start looking.
(There’s a restaurant down the street
Where hungry people like to eat
I could walk, but I’ll just drive
It’s colder than it looks outside
It’s like a dream you try to remember but it’s gone, then you
Try to scream, but it only comes out as a yawn when you
Try to see the world beyond your front door)
How appropriate for that morning. Jodie caught sight of Mack up ahead, and started walking faster to catch him.
(Take your time, ‘cause the way I rhyme’s gonna make you smile when you
Realize that a guy my size might take a while just to
Try to figure out what all this is for)
Whoever this band was, they’d definitely picked the right song to play on the radio all the time.
(It’s the perfect time of day
To throw all your cares away
Put the sprinkler on the lawn
And run through with my gym shorts on
Take a drink right from the hose
Change into some drier clothes
Climb the stairs up to my room
And sleep away the afternoon)
_Sounds like fun. The way my parents are, I’d be hard pressed to find any time to try it, though..._
(It’s like a dream you try to remember but it’s gone, then you
Try to scream, but it only comes out as a yawn when you
Try to see the world beyond your front door
Take your time, ‘cause the way I rhyme’s gonna make you smile when you
Realize that a guy my size might take a while just to
Try to figure out what all this is for)
Jodie caught up with Mack. He asked what she was listening to, and she replied, “I have no idea, but it’s good.”
“Radio?”
“Yep.” The two continued on together, headed toward Pizza King.
(Pinch me
Pinch me
‘Cause I’m still
Asleep
Please God, tell me
That I’m still asleep)
At Pizza King, Jodie picked out a booth while Mack ordered the pizza. She looked around at everyone going about their lives and thoroughly enjoying the day off school. Daria and Tom, by all appearances, were having another one of their “book discussions”, Jane and Andrea were talking art, the Fashion Club was having a meeting over a cheeseless pizza, and Upchuck... it was best not to go there.
The depressing thing was that Upchuck had more of a life than she did. That was a bad thing, in Jodie’s opinion, and she decided she should look for a way out.
(On an evening such as this
It’s hard to tell if I exist
If I pack the car and leave this town
Who’ll notice that I’m not around?
I could hide out under there
I just made you say “underwear”)
Jodie smiled. That line was *so* written in description of the red-headed letch.
(I could leave, but I’ll just stay
All my stuff’s here anyway
It’s like a dream you try to remember but it’s gone, then you
Try to scream, but it only comes out as a yawn when you
Try to see the world beyond your front door
Take your time, ‘cause the way I rhyme’s gonna make you smile when you
Realize that a guy my size might take a while just to
Try to figure out what all this is for
Try to figure out what all this is for
Try to see the world beyond your front door)
The music gave way at that point to the too-perky radio DJ, who proved useful for a change and supplied Jodie with everything she needed to know about the song. Over the pizza, she told Mack she wanted to stop by her house before they went to the new music store.
In her room, Jodie opened a jar that, in theory, contained her allowance. Some allowance it proved to be - in practice, her parents made her donate it to a charity. Without a second thought, she took all the money out of the jar. It *was*, after all, her allowance, and she was going to spend it as it was meant to be. Counting the money, she figured there was probably enough to buy the CD and a decent portable CD player.
_Try to figure out what all this is for..._
END
It’s the funniest thing... I wrote this having only heard the song off the CD. Goes on for about an extra minute there. That last thought of Jodie’s is the last line of the song on the CD, but the radio version stops where I stopped it. I just think that’s kinda weird, seeing as I first heard it on the radio about two weeks after I wrote this...