The Bicentennial Blues

CW: Drug Use, Profanity

Ethan abruptly woke up with white crust accumulating on the side of his lips, and heavy rings around his eyes from staying up watching SNL reruns all night. His two younger brothers Jacob and Wesley had been kicking his bedroom door repeatedly.

"Wake your ass up, man!" yelled Jake. He turned the Steppenwolf song on his cassette tape Boombox a little bit louder.

"Please!" Wesley pleaded, the youngest in the quintet of brothers.

Ethan finally unlocked the door and they barged in. "Shit! Shit! I know. I know, I swear I couldn't hear you guys."

"C'mon Ethan, we've been waiting nearly two hours! Why are you even locking the door? You find some of dad's Playboys you're not sharing with us?"

"Shut up. Take a chill pill. I'll get ready in two minutes."

Jake and Wesley had already been dressed to go out to Beacon Park and enjoy the Bicentennial celebrations. Wesley wore his stone-washed bellbottoms and Jake had a more unconventional attire, of flared trousers and a ruffled poet shirt while his hair was an unkempt afro imitating the classic Hendrix look.

All three of them quickly brought their bikes out of the garage, Ethan had the most expensive one in the lot, a vintage blue Bowden Spacelander. It was gifted from Grandpa before he died, it was a thing of beauty and looked like straight out of a science fiction comic. Ethan hadn't allowed anyone else to ride it.

Wesley also brought out his brand new yellow Roadmaster from the garage while, Jake grabbed his purple spray-painted Schwinn Stingray, customized with Rolling Stones stickers. There was a small makeshift holster he tied to the dashboard for his drumsticks. Jake never left the house without a chance to bang the sticks against miscellaneous objects in an impromptu jam session.

He had found his passion for all things Funk and Rock 'n 'roll through Mason, his music muse, and oldest brother who introduced him to the greatest musicians of the time. Jake had been adopted when he was five by their parents, a veteran Policeman and a third grade Teacher.

Together, the three trekked over to Beacon Street nearly five miles out where the celebrations had already started. Some streets were blocked off for the parade as they pedaled through, they noticed a profound sense of American patriotism oozing through the air with every lawn in the suburban neighborhoods prodded with U.S. flags. Detroit had been ready and eager to celebrate the Fourth of July and the 200th year of Independence.

The brothers had been most excited to meet up when the sun went down for the extravagant fireworks. It was rumored to be one of the biggest displays in the country.

*************

The two oldest brothers, Mason and Ezekiel drove in their Dad's Ford Ranchero, Mason's arm rested out and his hand's glided through the wood paneling on the sides. He took in the fragrance of hamburger patties and exhaust fumes.

Ezekiel looked more uptight as he scavenged through his backpack looking for a particular Dungeons & Dragons figure he had misplaced.

Mason turned to him in a contemptuous way, "Dude, you're never going to find a chick playing with those toys." he scoffed.

Ezekiel sighed.

"Tell me about it" he shrugged. "If only girls were into guys who read Tolkien novels and could solve Rubik's cubes in thirty seconds."

"Yep, you're living in the Land of the Lost, Zeke. You don't need to suffer long though, you'll be a senior next year. All the freshman girls will be Easy Pickins' for you. And only because you're my little brother, and I don't want you jumping off the Ambassador Bridge, if you don't act like a spaz, and still don't get pussy, I'll see if Maddie has some friends."

Ezekiel smiled. "Thanks, Mason...so, this girl you're dating. Is she a stone fox or what?"

"Ohhhh! Yeah. Let me tell you." Mason laughed and uttered excitedly like a sex-crazed lunatic. "Picture Steve Nicks face, alright?!" He paused for dramatic effect "with, Pam Grier's body! Mmm!" Mason bit his lips making strange sounds while grinning."

"Ok...right on."

Mason looked proud. "I'm going to seal the deal and get to third base today." he nodded, his smile still stretching from ear to ear.

"Third base?"

"Y'know copping a feel?" Mason sighed. "So long as that loser doesn't bug us again." 

"Which one?"

"Some putz who rolls around with an equally pathetic group of losers. They call themselves 'Greasers'."

"Watch yourself, Mason. And don't forget to meet up by Mom's picnic tent later to watch the fireworks. Dad is gonna be there too, I think. He's gonna ask his boss to take off early when the protest is over."

*************

As soon as Ethan and his two younger brothers arrived to celebrate The Great American Birthday Party, they all unsurprisingly split their separate ways. There was a large crowd gathered around a stage with a man reading excerpts from the Declaration of Independence through a megaphone. Wesley followed behind Ethan like a lost duckling, as they went on a hunt for hot dogs and steal sips of booze from unsuspecting barbecue grillers.

Jake on the other hand, had gone to meet his own friends, members of his garage band. He made a last-minute detour to scour for his older brother first, Mason had promised him he'd share a blunt after a score with a dealer.

Mason was the most popular, best looking, most athletic and eldest of the five brothers. He came to the congested park to meet his girlfriend Maddie.

"Come on baby, I found an area we can spend some alone time together."

"First of all, I'm not your baby. I like you, Mason. You're nifty and different from other guys I've been with. I just want to take things slow."

Mason found a section of a broken fence by the park and walked through to an abandoned military training grounds with rusted vehicles and a canopy.

There Mason leaned on Maddie against a car. "Remember when we met, Mason?"

"Of course! I caught that 80-yard touchdown pass and you couldn't stop staring at me from the bleachers. Bet you thought I looked pretty groovy, huh?." Mason smiled.

She rolled her eyes. "Right. Remember what happened afterwards though?"

Mason and Maddie had only been dating for two weeks, though Mason was aware of her ex, he didn't know the extent of his obsession. As leader of the '7th District Greasers', Richie had apparently grown angry with her new boyfriend. Him and his gang of leather wearing vagabonds had planned to jump Mason after a scuffle during halftime of the Wild Cats football game.

Maddie and Mason continued making out for twenty minutes, before Mason was staggered by the Greaser's voice calling out for him.

"Oh, pretty boy!", said Richie approaching with his group, they all had their hair coiffed back, cemented with petroleum jelly. Their outfits were matching motorcycle jackets with tight 50's styled jeans. "It's your lucky day! Ah, Maddie! Sookie Sookie now!!"

"Richie, you creep!" yelled Maddie. "You were following me this whole time, weren't you?!"

"Maddie, baby, you really messin' with this meathead?"

Mason stood in front of Maddie puffing his chest out. "Look. We get it. You need to prove to everyone here you don't have a small dick. Lucky for you it's not your worse asset, you're also dumb as bricks!"

"Very funny, pretty boy. Looks to me you're way outmatched here"

Mason sighed shook his head. Richie was right he couldn't handle them all. "Look man, I'm no Mister Rogers but, I'm not really down with clashing right now."

"And why would I let go of a rat whose all too keen on running his mouth? Maybe it'll teach you to stop messing with girls out of your league." He smiled mischievously.

Jake had stumbled to find his brother clearly outnumbered. So he placed a large rock on the leather pad of his slingshot and flicked it to Richie's forehead.

"Son of a bitch!" Richie cursed out and turned to usher his group to grab Jake. Mason had taken the advantage to swing a punch to Richie's face. While two went for Jake, the rest tackled Mason and pinned him to the ground.

"You ready to get stomped, Buster?" said one of the Greasers.

They all stopped, for a moment after hearing the loud chimes of the recreation of the Liberty bell near the main stage. It rang a total of thirteen times in honor of the thirteen colonies.

Richie and his gang continued beating up the two brothers while it rang.

"Y'know what? I think we've been going a little soft on you, Casanova. I want to make sure I leave a mark." Richie brought out his brass knuckles and curled his fingers inside them.

*************

Ezekiel had arrived and found his kind of outcasts, a beloved group of geeks, nerds, and the lot of enthusiasts of all things comic books and high fantasy. Some of the teens were kicking around a hacky-sack while the rest were gathered in a circle preparing a game of D&D.

A table had been set up with a board, yellow rulebooks and figures.

"Just in time, Zeke." said the Dungeon Master.

Ezekiel chose the elf, with magic-user abilities.

The DM rolled the dice, as he set up the world's settings and rules.

"Wait. We need another player. Whose interested!?" The DM looked around to the sea of kids. Most weren't committed for the long duration of the game, except one skinny arm jumping in the foreground "Me! Me!" said the high pitched voice.

"You! Back there." the DM pointed.

A girl wearing denim overalls squeezed through two guys. "I can play!" she smiled and adjusted the thick glasses on her face. Her hair was a mop of tangled dark brown hair. "Names Alanis."

Ezekiel noticed her and stared as she helped herself by pulling a chair out, to sit across him.

"You know how to play this?" asked the puzzled Dungeon Master.

"You guys already have decent defense, so you'll need a capable weapon's bearer to take down an army of monsters. I'll be a fighter-man dwarf." she said snatching a figure from the side of the table."

"Ok...Suit yourself."

"You have traveled long and hard to reach the Realms of Fire, where it is rumored that great treasures are guarded by gargantuan fire dragons! As the sun sinks low in the sky, you could see the valley engulfed in darkness. What do you want to do?"

"Do we hear any footsteps around?" asked Alanis.

The DM rolled the dice and jotted down on his notepad.

"We should summon a divination spell." Ezekiel suggested.

"Good idea, dude!"

"Thanks." said Ezekiel, smiling. "Oh, you can call me Zeke."

Alanis smiled back and passed Ezekiel a bag of pop rocks. "Some candy chemistry for the Wizard?" she laughed.

After a long battle, they persevered over an Orc Army in the Kingdom of Darkness.

"Nice, move, wiz. You're not so pathetic after all!" she teased.

Ezekiel blushed, the bittersweet feelings of butterflies seemed to grow with each interaction with her.

"Zeke!! Zeke!!"

Ezekiel groaned hearing his brothers, Ethan and Wesley crying about something.

"I'm busy, get lost."

"They stole the Stingranger!"

Though Ezekiel didn't want to leave the table, he knew the importance of that bike to him.

He turned over to the DM, his friends and Alanis who waited for him.

"I gotta go...someone take over, I'll try to make it back soon." he sighed disappointedly.

"Don't sweat it, Zeke." Alanis smiled. 'We'll keep your seat warm."

*************

Richie had rubbed his brass knuckles with his other hand in anticipation to beat Mason.

"Hold up. I know you, man!" called out an older guy in his twenties with long unruly hair. "You're that kid who can drum like Keith from Steely Dan?!"

The stoner had recognized Jake from a band playing at his pad recently. He was also Mason's pot dealer.

"Hey! Yes, dude! I'm him!"

"Hey. These dudes bothering you, man?" he noticed the Greasers holding them down "How about some flower power, man?"

"Just get lost, hippie!" barked Richie.

"Naw, I don't think so, man. You're going to leave these dudes alone, man. That kid there is gonna be the next Richie Havens, man. You'll see."

"Is that right? Can you even stand up straight, buddy?"

The drunk guy whistled over and called a couple more people nearby, all boozed-up or high wearing rugged tie-dye shirts and denim. There were at least six of them approaching.

Richie and his crew had realized they were outnumbered now.

"We'll see each other again, pretty boy."

He walked away with the rest of his crew.

Jake and Mason were spared, but were left black and blue. Jake had his shirt torn off almost entirely, but somehow made it work tying it around his waist.

"Thanks dudes. You guys are far out."

"Don't mention it, man. I come bearing more gifts, amigo." He handed him a small thing of dope. "This ones on the house, man. It'll take the edge off."

Jake took a big puff of the joint and rotated it to Mason. 

The day began to get dark, so Jake headed out riding his bike ahead while Mason and Maddie followed slowly behind towards the picnic tent.

*************

Ezekiel, Ethan and Wesley walked through the sea of people mingling at the park to confront the group of three bullies, all which were much bigger than them. The bullies wore nice white collared dress shirts and pants, presumably from coming back from church service earlier.

They were the Farley brothers between the ages of 14 and 15-years-old. One of them was on top of the Bowden bike, while the other two kicked a soccer ball back and forth. Their adult sister, inattentively laid on a towel flipping through an issue of Tiger Beat teen Magazine.  

"Give my bike back!" Ethan cried out.

"Look who it is. The Zimmermans, bunch of freaks and geeks. Where's that weird adopted brother of yours?" they laughed.

"Okay, guys. Give it a rest and give us the bike." said Ezekiel.

"Oh, yeah!?" the eldest brother cracked his knuckles then shoved Ezekiel to the ground.

"You're gonna give me orders?"

Wesley balled his fists angrily taking a swing at the bully three times his size. At eleven-years-old, he was gutsy to take on the well-fed acne-faced brat.

Ezekiel quickly got up to grab Wesley. "We know who your dad is!"

"So what?" the bully laughed. "Trying to psyche me out?"

"You think we won't start rumors around the church? Make the Pastor think his three innocent angels didn't ditch school to have fun with mushrooms the other day? And we're not talking about the kind you put on New England clam chowder. You catch my drift?"

"You're a lying sack of-"

"Sure, maybe we are. But, how would the church feel about the news? I can spread rumors pretty easily. I see it now, the disappointment in his face. Thinking about sending you off to boarding school or worse yet, you'll be building houses in Nicaraguan Jungles in the Peace corp. You want to take that chance?"

"Take that rusty piece of junk." he said. Cooler heads prevailed and they avoided a kerfuffle. Ethan snatched the bike back and headed out to the picnic tent with Wesley.

"Thanks so much, Zeke." Said Ethan.

"Don't mention it."

Ezekiel took a detour and ran back to the D&D table.

When he arrived, he had found nobody sitting there. Everyone had already packed and gone back to their families. He felt like he sullied a perfect evening, but mostly felt a knot in his stomach leaving without saying goodbye to Alanis.

Ezekiel took one last glance at the table, before heading back. There was a piece of paper under the table blown away from a breeze.

"Excuse me!" He rushed in between the legs of strangers sitting there.

It read, "6728-4332 the Dwarf"

Ezekiel snatched it and headed to the picnic with a broad smile and unfeigned jitters of happiness.

He later joined his brothers and mom sitting on a lawn chair under the tent. Their mom had a fundraiser set up for her school there. Mason and Jake were laying on a blanket shoving fists full of potato chips down their throats, while Ethan laid down staring up to the night skies, with his Bowden no more than a few inches away.

"There's my troops! Where were you guys earlier?"

"Dad!" Wesley ran up to jump in his Dad's arms. They were all too happy to see him. The policeman came in full-uniformed, with a jacket on. He planted a kiss on his wife cheeks, and ruffled Wesley's long hair. Henry was a middle-aged man with thick mutton chops, a mustache and receding hair. 

"Have these boys been a handful?"

"Never." the mother admitted. "Our boys are sweethearts." 

"Mason, I thought I was going to meet Maddie today."

Jake turned to Mason and raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, where is Maddie?" he teased.

They had broken up during the short walk to the picnic tent.

"Eh. Didn't work out, Dad. She was a feminist anyways."

"Ha! Nothing wrong with that, son."

"Pops, I think Mason wants to be a little like Wilt Chamberlain. Trying to break a record, y'know? With the women?" Mason shoved Jake.

"Real funny, Jive Turkey."

Henry shook his head. "Ok boys, get ready for the firework show, they should start in a few. Oh Jake? Guess what?"

"Yeah, Pop?"

"I met a Rock Star today during the patrol."

"No way! Who'd you see?"

"Todd Rungren!" he smirked. "I know. Pretty far out, huh?"

"Ha! Radical, Pop." Jake smirked. "Can't get any more metal than that" (!)

The fireworks had erupted culminating the night when all five brothers stared up to the sky and reflected on their evening. Some of them had a faint smile still lingering, while others furrowed their brows with an ambivalence expression. Despite all that occurred, with the amazing fireworks and the family together, the night was ultimately imperfectly perfect.