The first articles he found were basically just a rehash of what they’d already seen on the news earlier. He kept digging until he found some new information. He stumbled across unedited videos being uploaded onto different social media platforms. The bulk of the time he clicked on the links the videos weren’t able to be played. Based on the popup messages the images were too graphic or violent in nature and were being barred from the platform. Occasionally he was successful at getting one to play and it became apparent why the different platforms were rushing to ban them. The ones he was able to get to play were beyond graphic.
“Dude. Quit sending me broken links.” Drew said looking over at him. He’d clicked on one of the videos LeBron had just watched maybe a minute ago.
“The videos are getting blocked. The government or the streaming sites or someone’s blocking them. The one I just tried to send you showed a little girl attacking a man who keeps smashing her down to the ground. It was bad.” LeBron said busily trying to find the video again.
“Do you want to lose your phone?” Nancy asked in her mom voice.
“No ma’am.” LeBron said.
“Then stop looking at videos like that or I’ll take it.” Nancy said with finality. When she used that tone of voice the argument was over. LeBron sulkily shoved his phone in his pocket. He knew from experience that she didn’t make idle threats where losing his phone was concerned.
Drew punched him in the arm and Yue told them both to grow up. Bart grumbled at them to all settle down from up in the driver’s seat. They semi-settled down for the rest of the short ride. Back at home they continued the celebration with a few friends and family members who came over for cake.
The TV was on in the background the entire time, but it was just sports and a Hallmark movie. Nancy and Yue were currently hooked on binge watching Hallmark movies together. The horrific images from the news they’d seen earlier were soon as forgotten as the thousand other tragedies people see every day on the news. The forgetfulness amplified by the fact that it’d all happened a few thousand miles away on another continent. Something happening that far away didn’t feel real to them. It might as well be happening on Mars.
Chapter 2: Denial is a River in Egypt
“Wake up!” Drew yelled over at LeBron for like the fifth time.
“I’m up.” LeBron muttered from underneath his pillow.
“Get dressed. You’ve got like a minute before we’re going to be late. Maybe try not staying up all night staring at your phone.” Drew said. The sad thing was he knew LeBron had probably been doing actual research the entire night. Not exactly what most teen boys stayed up all night staring at on the internet.
“Something’s going on in Egypt. Something pretty bad.” LeBron said finally sitting up. He was looking on the floor around his bed to find a clean looking shirt to wear.
“There’s always something bad going on over there. You really spend way too much time worrying about the wrong things.” Drew said exasperatedly. He loved his brother but there was seriously something a little off with him. The kid had stayed up all night staring at videos of people rioting in Egypt.
LeBron and Drew grabbed their lunches from out of the refrigerator and headed out to get in Drew’s old pickup truck. One of the ways Bart worked on turning his boys into contributing members of society was instilling a strong work ethic in them. They’d had chores up to the age of fifteen then been sent out into the world to get real jobs as soon as they were legally eligible. The real jobs didn’t excuse them from their chores at home either. The two young men maintained a very health schedule between school, their extracurricular activities and working.
‘Idle hands being the devils playthings’ was a commonly held belief in the Russel household. None of the kids liked the old adage since it was typically followed by them being given some new chore. You’d think they lived on a farm instead of a four-bedroom bungalow in the suburbs. The bungalow was nice. It was in an affluent neighborhood in the suburbs of Orlando in the small city of Winter Springs. The kind of neighborhood that has a resort style community pool, official dog parks and other amenities. The high school they attended was literally right down the street. They could easily walk to school if for some weird reason they ever felt the urge to do that. Florida was way too hot most of the year to be walking around outside if you didn’t have to. Plus, they’d lose the coolness of rolling into the parking lot in a rusty pickup truck.
LeBron kept expecting someone at school to mention the riots happening over in Egypt. No one did though. He supposed everyone had grown used to the atrocities on the nightly news. Every night the media reported shootings and genocide and droned on and on about the worst of humanity. After a while people tended to tune all that stuff out. There was only so much negativity a person could take.
After school LeBron walked to his job in the plaza beside the school. He’d gotten a job at the Publix supermarket as a bagger on his fifteenth birthday. It was mind numbingly boring, but it was close to the house and school. Unlike Drew he didn’t see a need
