Have you ever been on the losing team in a basketball or football team? Well, if you haven't, or you're one of those antisocial vampires that stay at home all the time because they're afraid of the sunlight or something, it sucks. The other team gets bragging rights, congratulations, and an all expenses paid pizza party, or at the very least a pat on the back from their coach, while your team is sad and angry and gets yelled at by your coach (behind closed doors, of course). Now, imagine that on a bigger scale. Like, way bigger. And a lot more important, like countries fighting against each other, like World War 3. Except it is World War 3, and countries are fighting against each other, and your country is on the losing side. Horrible, I know.
About 2 months ago, North Korea fired on US military bases in Japan, saying that they were just "practicing" for a potential invasion, but one of the missiles actually struck down. It hit Torii Station Army Base, a US military installation in Okinawa, Japan, killing over 15,000 US soldiers and their families. A lot of important people in the President's inner circle talked about how big a threat North Korea posed to the US, and the US retaliated in kind, sending in missile strike after missile strike, killing over 6 million people, a quarter of the population. In return, China declared war on the US, saying that the US "overreacted," as did Russia and Vietnam.
ISIS took advantage of the chaos that ensued, destroying chemical plants in Texas, California, and Ohio, bombing military bases around the country, killing over 2.5 million people. Japan, Indonesia, France, and the United Kingdom soon joined the US's side, and things escalated quickly from there.Country after country joined the war, some for us, some for them.
Where was I as all this was happening? Well, for the most part, I was in my room, playing Destiny and Diablo on my new PS4, or at school, sleeping in class, or at my friend Ethan's house, smoking weed and playing some more video games. The adults, and even some of us teenagers, talked about what this could mean, and if things would get worse before it got better and stuff like that. Me, I didn't really care all that much, sticking to my age-old adage: Things will work out by themselves, you just have to give it time. But about two weeks before things really went downhill, my parents decided it was high time I got out into the world, got out into the world, and generally got a life. Of course, they didn't actually say this part, but they should have. It would've been a lot easier than the beating around the bush stuff they were doing, and would've saved all of us from a lot of headache.
They came into OIA with me and helped me get my ticket and stuff, and even walked to the gate with me. I stood there for a little while, embarrassed, as my parents said there goodbyes. "Make sure you call us every day, and-," my mom choked up in the middle her goodbye, and started crying into Dad's shoulder. Dad slapped his hand onto my shoulder and drew me into a hug with them, whispering into my ear as he did," I love you, son. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, and be responsible for your actions." As I drew back, he shoved an envelope into the pocket of the hoody I'm wearing, and then let's go of my shoulder. I'm surprised to see tears in his eyes as he looks at me."Good luck, and enjoy your flight. Be good for your aunt now. Hurry up, you're going to miss your flight," he says as I open my mouth to tell them I love them. "I love you, Deuce," mom called as I ran to get to the plane.
The flight attendant stopped me before I could get past her and asked to see my ticket. As she studied it, I looked back at my parents, still standing there, my mom now out of my dad's shoulder and waving tearfully, my dad doing the same next to her, with his arm wrapped around her waist. As I stood there looking at them, I felt tears well up for the first time. I took my phone out of my pocket and took a picture of them, then waved back at them before grabbing my ticket back from the attendant. "Have a nice flight," she told me with a grin, and I mumbled a thanks as I walked past her and onto the plane.
YOU ARE READING
The Warzone
RandomMeet Deuce Reynolds, pothead and video game extraordinaire. Very unmotivated, very bright, has the potential to do better, at least, that's what the teachers tell his parents in every report card. In an effort to get him to focus more on his schoolw...
