(Note: This is canon and will take into effect later in the story, this takes place in between 'Morning Vietnam' and 'Grasshopper'
"Ay, man, have ya heard? The chefs are cookin' up some good food for Thanksgivin', what you thing they gonna serve", Shadow says. "Probably some turkey and stuffing and some other stuff like that, too bad they don't got fried chicken, Shadow.", Ray says, in his usual hateful manner. "Hey, leave him alone Ray Cist.", Castle says, I'm thankful that it was him and not me. "Oh yeah ya fuckin fence jumper, wanna brawl, bitch?", Ray responds. "Get over here then, since you wanna be a tough guy.", Castle responds. I get down from my bunk, grab my M-14, make sure it's on safe, and aim in between them. "Stop it y'all, it's Thanksgiving, hold it until then. And before Christmas, yeah?", I say. "Y'know. He's right man. You don't wanna ruin your appetite with a punch in the gut, especially on Thanksgiving.", Castle says. For the first time I see Ray grab his arm over Castle, as if they were friends since the beginning. "You're right, man. This food is gonna be amazing. I don't wanna miss out.", Ray says, being friendly for once in his life.
[ALL PERSONNEL BE ADVISED, TODAY WE HAVE A GOOD MEAL FOR DINNER. DON'T MISS OUT]
A person yells out, using a megaphone. Suddenly, a roar of cheering and applause erupts. "I guess everyone's hungry Castle.", Ray says. "I guess so Ray, I guess so.", castle says.
Dinner time comes and we line up in the little mess hall, more like mess tent to be honest, but we're all happy. I see the food, and I am so excited to eat. There's turkey, and stuffing, and mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese, and pumpkin pie, and peach cobbler. The cooks announce, "EAT ALL YOU CAN, ENJOY WHAT YOU EAT, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY. EAT WHAT YOU GET.". I fit everything onto my tray, and leave the tent, sitting down with the rest of the squad. "What are y'all thankful for?", I ask. "You've got the y'all, man, you from Texas?", Ray asks. "Yep, from the Fort Worth-Dallas area.", I respond. "Cool. And fuck the 'What are you thankful for' shit. Let's eat? Ya?", Ray says. "Wait, shit, we ain't got nothing to drink, I'll get us all some drinks.", I say, I run over to the tent and grab some cokes from the cooler. I run back to the squad and hand them out, "Thanks Grasshopper", everyone says. "Okay, now we can eat.", I say. And we do, we stuff our faces, we devour the food, we even go back for seconds. And by the end, we're all full. We walk back to the barracks, lay down, and for the first time, there's no hostility from Ray, no French from Napoleon, no fear from Kitty, no weight clanging from castle, no judgement from anyone or anyone. We feel like a family. One and the same, and finally, we all fall asleep. Happy and feeling good about each other, at least for a day.
[EXTRA 1, THANKSGIVING, END]
YOU ARE READING
When We're All Used Up
Historical FictionSebastian Carlos is a very smart kid, he is set to receive a scholarship to the prestigious University of Texas at Austin. But unexpectedly, he gets drafted into the Vietnam War. And only one thing is for sure - he's not leaving the same as he came.
