Stretching past the city limits of Los Angeles, on the outskirts of nowhere is the little town of Wrightwood Springs. James, a young teenage boy lives here with his mother, and other siblings. It’s only their mother now, because a few years ago their father was drafted into marines to go to Vietnam. They haven't heard from him since he left, mama just tells them to assume the worst. He was a hardworking man, always had been, probably why  James has been closet with his older brother David since their father went away. David is known as the “cool kid” around their miniscule high school campus. He drives his own car, has slick black hair, is tall, handsome, and always spends his time with the cutest girls in town. His sister Julie, is like a walking encyclopedia of assorted information and equations. She's a total bookworm, and mama wants her to go to some fancy university some day to receive a better education than anyone has in our family. James feels like he is a letdown to his family, because he has no special talents or attractive nature. It wasn't until a boiling summer day in 1959 that James took matters into his own hands, and became caught in a pickle.

The second that the final bell of the high school year rang, James was already bolting out the door of his classroom. He ran, determined to get to the Kings Department Store on 79th street, which had the best chocolate in town. James Flung open the storefront door, and dove into the candy section all while the storekeeper Mr. Anderson, didn’t even bat an eye. “Back again James? What would you like today?” he said. Usually James paid a dime to inhale a Baby Ruth bar with the wrapper practically still attached, but today he felt strangely adventurous. James examined the entire store again for anything that seemed to spontaneously jump out at him. James seemed content with his thorough investigation of the candy section, until a box of Caramel Delights averted his gaze, making his senses of curiosity tingle. James asked inquisitively, “Mr. Anderson, what are those?”. Mr. Anderson lifted the box off the dusty shelf, and set the sparkling purple and gold box down. This released manufactured type of candy had been around for while, but James had never seen it before. Mr. Anderson felt the need to stress how addictive the pieces of chocolate are, and advised caution before trying one. James only wanted to know the intended price, and to his excitement Mr Anderson made a bargain of only a nickel. James finagled the wrapped chocolate in his fingers, the light glinted off the gold part of the wrapper as he did so. He then ripped and tore through the plastic wrapper  covering his treat, and reached the spherical ball of excellence beneath. James shoved the whole piece into his mouth, and waited expecting a bombardment of flavors. The taste of dark chocolate with a bitter finish, compiled with caramel, sea salt, and the sticky sweet taste of the sugar made him crack a smile. James turned briskly to Mr. Anderson, and in a swift motion pulled two quarters from his pocket and beamed, “Give me ten more please!”.

James returned home late in the afternoon, just as dusk creeped into the neighborhoods. Ironically there was no spare change left in his pockets, only three Caramel Delights that he had saved. James opened the front door to his house, and went straight to his room foraging around for any other idle coins. He sat near the edge of his bed, his legs dangled slightly above the floor as he did so. In his peripheral vision he noticed the newspaper that was tacked to his bulletin board. James walked over to his board that was full of schoolwork and other current events around the country. The headline of the newspaper read, “Guard Duty- Marines to Vietnam”. James remembered the day he got this paper, it was the last newspaper of the Sunday Chronicle  that he ever got for his father. He kept it because the next day his father was gone, and not until a few years after he realized that was why he was not coming back. Soon after the war had started, his family packed into a car, and drove until they ran out of gas. Mama didn’t want to live in the old house anymore without him around. They eventually stopped three miles outside of Wrightwood Springs, and his family have stayed as residents in the peacefully quiet town ever since.

James came back into reality, releasing the memories of his past as tears filled his eyes and streamed down his cheeks. David strutted into his room, a cigarette behind his ear, as he put on his black leather jacket. “Hey buddy I’m going out, here is some money in case you need anything” David said with a smile on his face. It only took David a second to realize James and his downtrodden emotions. David noticed the newspaper on the wall with the bolded headline. He left the room, and came back a moment later carrying his own newspaper. David tacked his on the wall over the Vietnam edition, the new title read “Brooklyn Dodgers win 1955 World Series” . They were both die hard Dodger fans, and so was their father. They moved from Brooklyn, and James knew how much it meant to him. James looked up at his older brother, David smiled back and said, “It’s alright you can keep it, and maybe that’ll be you one day bud!”. David gave James a hug, and he turned to leave. James loved his brother, he knew he had the best one in the world, and he wouldn’t know what he would do without him.

The morning sun pierced through the clouds awakening James at an early hour, however he was grateful that today was the first day of summer. The money that his brother left for him came out to be $1.35. James could think of only one place to spend his temporary donation, and he made his way into the kitchen. As James entered in the kitchen, still groggy from a restful sleep, he found his mother and Julie discussing payments in a heated conversation. He heard the tone in their voices, and understood the seriousness in the air. They both acknowledged his presence, and awkwardly dropped the entailment. “Good morning honey,” his mom told him as his sister shot him a mutual look, with a bit of dissatisfaction. “Mama I am going to go down to the corner store” James told her as he rubbed his eyes. “Everything alright?”, James asked in a worried tone. His mother looked at him, “Yes dear, this is not something you need to worry about”. James didn’t truly believe that response, but he was eager to go down to the Kings Department store so he decided that would be the end of it. Before leaving however, James proceeded to hear the list of rules, and safety expectations that every mother needs to say to their kids in order to feel comfortable. After which he embarked down the unevenly pathed road, to the corner store located on 79th Street.

James plunged through the door feeling a sense of Déjà vu. He let his mind wander into the elements of the unknown, until a peculiar idea filled his mind. “Mr. Anderson, do you ever think of expanding the business you own here?”, James asked. Mr. Anderson gave James a confused look, clearly needing more of an explanation. James continued covering the remnants of a smile while he presented his case, “Do you ever think that you could make some extra cash on the side?”. Now the introduction of some dough to the conversation grasped his full attention, James just had to make his point abnormally clear. James wanted Mr. Anderson to stock him with products, and any extra bank that was made from selling the items for above the price was James’s to keep. Mr Anderson agreed, and gave him candy, chocolate, sodas, and other small trinkets such as marbles to sell. “Put together some scratch and I’ll resupply you, now go make some dough”, hollered Mr. Anderson. James smirked, he made sure his pack was full before sprinting back to his neighborhood, and then he started door to door as a new salesman.

At first a few slammed doors and definite rejections discouraged James, but as the day progressed so did his confidence and ability to strike a deal. James had a knack for talking to people, but more so for being deceptive and cunning. James concluded his day, with his bag nearly empty, and a fresh $18 wad crammed into his left pocket. Parading back to Mr. Anderson ready to tell him the fantastic news, he remembered his mama’s tone this morning in the kitchen. He remembered the strictness, the volume, and the shrilling distress. James decided that he needed to keep a little bit extra to help his family just in case. He quickly convinced himself that he was not stealing, besides what could only a few quarters do? James opened the door to the store, the familiar jingle of the bells rang overhead as he did so. “How’d it go James?”, Mr. Anderson  asked. James placed $12.50 on the counter, and Mr. Anderson was stunned. “My boy, you have only been gone four hours!” Mr. Anderson bellowed. “Do I need to worry about where you got this money?” Mr. Anderson questioned as he raised an eyebrow. James shook his head and answered with a confident “No sir”. James was then reloaded with more supplies, not truly realizing his own potential of being an ingenious entrepreneur. The thought made him both proud, but also frightened. But what could there be to be weary of, James thought?

The weeks of summer were blazing by, and at the same time James’s business was skyrocketing. He became steadfast and devoted to acquiring more and more currency. He routinely skimmed money from Mr. Anderson at this point, but he was doing the work so why shouldn’t he reap the rewards. After all James was not hurting anyone or directly stealing, he was just trying to help his family by paying bills. At least that is what he told himself. One day as James crossed a busy street, a 1957 red Chevrolet Bel Air drove by majestically in the opposite direction.  James couldn’t help but to stop and admire such a sight of pure beauty. “Technology is crazy!”, he said. People said that their black and white televisions were something to look at, but he undoubtedly disagreed. James saw the car park, and the young driver go into a clothing store. He walked over to the car eying the crafted design at first, then he noticed the keys where still there as well. James jumped into the driver's seat. He felt the interior and the power behind the wheel, and suddenly he shifted the gearbox into drive. Besides, James was just going to take it for a short ride, and bring it right back. He skirted away from the store, leaving fresh rubber tire marks painted across the ground. James never had any intention of bringing that car back, even that night as he returned home trying to stow the car away.

A few days later a witness of the scene reported a teenage boy with James’s description, getting very close to the red Bel Air. The police started an investigation for the stolen car, eventually finding the Bel Air behind the house under densely thick low lying trees. The police came to arrest James, and right before they cuffed him David stood in their way. “It wasn’t his fault, I told him to steal that car, take me not him.” said David. James tried to stop him, but David was not going to let his little brother be arrested. David was hauled into the back seat of the cop car, his mother and Julie cried loudly, their face red and damp with tears. James approached the backseat of the car, his fists clenching and eyes beginning to water. “I’m sorry David” James stuttered. David looked at him for a few seconds, then he grinned. “I fulfilled my promise to our father, now I am asking you to do the same, protect our family no matter what” said David with a serious tone. “I can’t, that’s what you need to do” James pleaded. David smiled shaking his head and said, “Dad woulda done the same thing for me.” “Here, take these I won’t be needing them for awhile”, David said as he handed James his car keys through the bars of the window. To this James bursted out in tears. David smiled, the cop got in the car, and turned on the engine. David looked at James, “Remember what I told you buddy, you’ll be fine, I know you will”, he said. The car drove off taking David away, and leaving James alone on the dusty road. James watched the car until long after it was gone.

The next morning James stepped out onto the porch, it was a beautiful day, and James was still in shock of the consequences from the previous day. He stepped down from the creaky steps, and trudged down the driveway. James picked up the morning paper just as David always did, and began to flip through the articles. One of the articles read, “Car Thief Found and Taken into Custody” and below was a mugshot of his brother. David still looked extremely charming and handsome just as he always did. James read that he was likely to get about three years in jail since he had no priors, with a possible reduced sentence. James looked up and into the everlasting distance. “It’s my turn brother, I will take care of our family” James said to himself. He then looked up towards the heavens where he knew his father was, and said “I will make both of you proud”.