Timezones

Memories of the kitchen in the back of mama's cafe
Sweaty fingers, long hair, I'm droppin' off the entree
Fifteen, all my friends abroad are prolly sleeping
Cannot wait to clock out and log into my Skype now
It's 10 PM in Indo'
Boutta talk to homies and I met 'em through the signals
I been on the internet since ten
I don't mean the time, I mean my age
And that is how my little friendships would begin
Met one at twelve and his name was Pete
When my English was kinda off, he'd make fun of me
But then he'd teach me how to say it right after
Day after day I start to mirror all his manners
He was thirteen, had a Call of Duty channel
Liked to smoke grass and would talk about his favorite rappers
Asked me who was mine, and at the time, man, I ain't had one yet
He said "Listen to Childish Gambino, he dropped a project" and so I did
Sat there as the 808's hit me
Never loved music, but this one just really fit me
Then I met a girl that go by the name of Whitney
Yeah, we met on Vine, I was fifteen at the time
She was seventeen and, boy, it was hard not to cross the line, uh
Homeschooled kid, nothin' but titties on his mind
She was cool, though, turns out she was into me too, so
We start to date, "I cannot wait to meet you"
The first person I could say "I love you" to then said it back
The opposite of my internet speed, we movin' fast
Skype every single day
My brother in the room sick of hearin' two children call each other lover names
My brother, five years older
Rebellious cat, yeah, he's a cigarette smoker
Little brother Brian would complain about the odor
In reality, I didn't wanna see him smoking
He's always the first one in my family to try things
He got tattoos, smokin', now he's going clubbin'
Daddy was upset and my mama's unimpressed
Fights in the family would break, and I was stressed
I was always honest with him, A.K.A. gave him shit
"Mama's heart is lookin' fragile, so why you breakin' it?"
Man, you trippin', man, I'm just livin'
Parents had a higher standard 'cause they was religious
He's getting tired of the lectures I was giving
One Friday night, he told me I should come with him
(Just come to the club, pussy)
"No, thanks, I don't wanna drink, or smoke a cig
and do no cocaine or whatever y'all do, man"

Truthfully my heart was beating fast
In my mind, the club was scary and the hoes are shakin' ass, but I was tempted
My brother wanted me to go, so he was not the only one that was rebelling
Then he stopped trying and he skrrt off with his friend-ses
Then Whitney graduated, then she got accepted (Yay)
Red cups, red cups, kissin' on the lens while she schedulin' her classes
We were just some kids, man, we didn't have the answers
Lovin' in the summer but what are we doin' after, after?
Couple weeks out before the summer ends
Then she go to her dorm and get to moving in
Skip to the day that changed everything
She texted me and said that she been cryin'
And I asked her why, but all I saw was Whitney's still typing
Long paragraph, I read that shit in silence
She broke it off, broke it off
Our anniversary, erased it from the calendars, big deal
I was feeling fine, surprisingly
I told her, "If you feel this way, then it's just meant to be," uh
Next day, lookin' through her Snapchat
Nothin' weird about it, just checkin' where my ex at
All I saw was red cups, red cups
How she go and party just a day after the break up?
Start to feel the water slowly falling out my tear ducts
Zoomed in every single fuckin' face up in the pixels, I'm good

I'm at the cafe, we just closed down, lights out, tables flipped
Then I heard my phone sound, it's Whitney
She texted, man, I wonder if she'll try to patch shit up or say she miss me
"Hey Brian, how you doing?
I just wanna talk about something that's kind of stupid
I know that we broke up, but you're still my best friend
I just wanna tell you something, that is why I'm texting, so"
She don't even know where to start
I'm just texting back dry, feeling awkward as fuck
Then she told me "I was with my friends and we were drunk, so, um
Last night I went to a party and fucked someone"
Stop, stop, stop, stop, please
My stomach dropping fifty feet, I feel like vomiting
Just a week ago, you was my baby, didn't you call me that?
Boutta to fly to Maryland and beat his ass, don't hold me back
I didn't say that
I tried my hardest not to give this bitch a text back
I text my brother, told him "Need to call me ASAP"
I can't believe this bullshit
She caught a body first week of college, and I haven't even tasted no lips
I was fifteen
Always livin' life behind a screen, but I got big dreams
Now I'm on a mission
My brother finally called me back like "What is up?"
I told him, bitch, "I wanna go and hit the club"
He said, "Cool, get ready, I'ma pick you up"
We in Jakarta, give no fucks if I'm not old enough
Skrrt-skrrt, pulled up to the club
My brother lightin' up a cig first
Went up to the bouncer, slid a hunnid thou' to enter
Walkin' in, I feel the music thumpin'
See these bitches dry humpin', now I'm feeling like a sinner
I'm takin' shots after shots after shots
Even though there ain't no red Solo cups
Uh, lookin' all around me, hella girls, it's time to plot
I just wanna kiss somebody, I don't wanna fuck
Finally met this girl named Melanie
Pretty face and, boy, her chest is big, she got Yosemites
Lookin' like the one that really could fulfill my fantasy
She puffin' on a stoge, but I don't mind, I'm kinda into it
Then she grab my hand and start walking to the bar
I follow her, we put our drinks down and start kissing
I didn't see no fireworks, but I saw everything that I've been missing
Her lipstick was like strawberry and whiskey
Belligerent, but I remembered it so vivid
My brother proud, he saw me from a distance
That night, the stars aligned and all the crowd was cheering
Don't know what I woulda done if I stayed in the house
Our noses touching while her tongue is in my mouth

Now lookin' back and I'm just sitting here and laughing
Twenty-three, feelin' like I skipped a couple chapters
Finally made it to the US and met my friends that I used to call
When I was too scared to leave my nest
Whitney, to this day, I don't know why you texted me what you did
If you listening, I hope you know I'm not even pissed
'Cause if you didn't send that text, I wouldn't've gone out to the club
And got my very first kiss, so thank you
You let me out my shell and I ain't even met you
I hope one day we cross our paths in our adventures
And to my other friends up on the net
We don't talk as much, but I'd be down to reconnect
'Cause when I was at home
Hoppin' on them Skype calls made me feel less alone
2 AM Call of Duty, thoughts of Pete hittin' doobies
As I'm on the stage now, holding my microphone
Y'all the reason I walked on that plane on my own
'Cause back then you helped a boy feel like he belonged
And now his country loves it when he singin' these songs
telling these stories, provin' all of his opponents they wrong
Man, I been killin' shit so far since I was sixteen
And I'ma just keep doin' that extravagantly
Chasing all my dreams on my iPhone (iPhone)
Career is lookin' longer than some pythons (pythons)
Now they waiting every time I fly home
Thanks to all my friends in different timezones