It was a clear night with no clouds in Louisville, Kentucky. It was the Forth of July to be exact. We went crazy every year, so I was excited. We lived on 5 acres of land, so we had the go ahead to launch every firework we had. Judging by everyone’s facial expression, they were pumped to be here. We sat down to eat, parents at one table, kids at the other table the kids were much more excited to be here than the parents who took for ever to finally get their food. We also were not the cleanest. So, when we were scooping the warm, savory, salty mashed potatoes with gravy and hotdogs with cheddar cheese in the middle, into our mouths. There were also ketchup and gravy stains on the tablecloth. When were done, we ask for dessert. The parents wanted to keep us intertwined for a little longer, so that it would get darker. So, they pulled out a gigantic cake with writing that said Happy Fourth in big white frosting. We sunk our teeth into the sugary white piece of cake with red, white, and blue frosting on the side. When we are done with our food instantly and must wait for parents. They were having a more formal time at the dinner table, sipping their wines and beers in the dining room. It was the nicest room in the house because it was a big table that seated many people and was mainly used for very specific occasions. They had pulled pork sandwiches which looked much better than the hotdogs, but I could not complain.

                After moments of waiting, we got the thumbs up to go, so we rushed down the back door and we were amazed. We saw many fireworks and the firecrackers and things that pop on the ground. You could feel the excitement and see everyone with a smile on their faces. But the excitement died down due to the sun still shining, we had to wait for it to be dark outside to watch the big fireworks. Me and my friend Elijah, or Eli for short, lived right across the street. We went to his house to get some firecrackers.

                “Yo Eli, lets strap a bunch of firecrackers together and see what happens.” I said,

                “That sounds awesome,” he said, as he reached across the table grabbing the blue tape. We strapped about 7 together and light them up into the air. We were hoping for huge results, but it flew up into the air. A high-pitched noise than sparks of color followed, but it fell back down into the grass. Our smiles turned into frowns in a matter of seconds.

                “Well, that was stupid,” I said as the sky got darker and darker. My dad went into the garage and got out this big torch. It was for lighting the big fireworks, so we knew it was almost time. Everyone gathered around the back side of the pool, we sat frantically to see what was going to happen. Was this going to be the best 4th of July we have ever experienced? We were about to find out.

                My mom specifically told me to not go down to the lake where we launched fireworks, but me and Eli snuck down with the dads anyway, my dad was going to be lighting the fireworks. But Eli’s dad, Jamie was standing there too. There was also another of my dad’s friends, Chris there. Chris had bought most of the fireworks, he thought it was just right for the occasion. We always played American music to match the importance of America. Out here in Kentucky, we did not just light fireworks to match the date, we remembered the importance of this date and wanted to thank people who made this country that we could live in freely. The fireworks we started out with were small. We launched them into the sky while, “America the Beautiful,” played in the background. As the first box of fireworks died down me and Eli wanted to get another piece of cake, so we went up the hill to go to the house to get another piece.

“Let’s hurry up, so we don’t miss the next round of fireworks.”  I cut another piece of cake and I put it on my American flag plate. He was rushing down the stairs, so I hurried down to and took a fork. As we rushed down the stairs, I accidentally dropped a piece of cake on the ground. I’m sure my parents weren’t mad about that one. When we got back to where the parents were sitting, we snuck past my mom who seemed to notice but did not care because she was having a good time. We got down the hill, to the parents in just enough time to watch the next fireworks launch.

As Dad is loading in the next set of fireworks, we que up the music. This song was a country song. I was listening to Chris singing, “America, America,” while my dad was lighting the next box of fireworks. My dad had his torch in one hand and his phone in his other hand. He lighted the firework and we wait, and it goes up into the sky. The next time another one launched the prop fell over. Then, the next thing I saw was everyone running. I started to realize that I cannot outrun the fireworks. I questioned, can I outrun the fireworks? Will I be able to survive? Should I jump into the lake? Can I duck down and dodge the firework? I see Jamie’s face and he is nervous. I get nervous. I saw the rocket shoot past me in slow motion, I hope it misses me. I see my dad; he is scared for me. I look up to my right and see the yellow and white firework shoot past me. It spun around in a circle like a merry-go-round.  I sighed of relief because I was safe, but not yet, I see another firework coming straight for me. I drop down with my heart sinking into my chest. I am scared for my life. Luckily, the rocket shoots over me and I’m safe, because my dad set it up and the fireworks launched into the sky.

I started to laugh at the thought of how the tree did not fall over.

“Coop, are u ok? Did the firework hit you?” asked my dad as he picked me up.

“Yeah, I am ok.” I said getting up to my feet seeing if I have any bruises or burn marks. Me and my dad, followed by Eli and Jamie and Chris went back up to the house. I fell behind to where Eli was, and we started laughing. This was the hardest I have seen him laugh. His cheeks were so stretched out his cheeks started to hurt.

We went back up to where the parents were, I knew my mom was going to be mad, because she told me not to go down there from the beginning. I went up to her and your could see from her face she was mad, but she just stared to laugh.