Happy Independence Day by Michael Rupured

Author:Michael Rupured [Rupured, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2015-01-29T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 32

HAROLD AND Abigail followed Kelsey into the front room where they joined a long line snaking through the club waiting to present identification to the police. Bursts of laughter from the backroom in response to Kreema’s ongoing performance punctuated the buzz of nervous conversations. Although everyone steered clear of the police, nobody seemed very concerned.

Dancing amid guys with teased hair and makeup, wearing blouses and high-heel shoes, had been life-changing. Sitting alone in the school lunchroom all those years had left Harold believing he was a freak of nature. He’d seen the admiring looks his one-of-a-kind outfit had garnered as he danced. Although none of the flamboyant young men in the club possessed Harold’s panache and style, he applauded the effort and thought a few showed real promise.

Abigail grabbed Harold’s hand and whispered, “Isn’t this exciting?”

“Yes!” Harold replied. “Do you think we’ll get arrested?” He didn’t mean to sound hopeful, but spending time in jail would add another highlight to a night he knew he’d talk about for the rest of his life.

“Unlikely,” Kelsey said, shifting back and forth from one foot to the other and glancing around the room. “They’ll arrest a drag queen or two to establish the place as disorderly. Until the Mafia pays their bail, the employees will spend a few hours in jail. For everyone else, the cops will check our IDs and send us on our merry way. Do what they say, and we’ll be out of here in no time.”

Kelsey wiggled in between Harold and Abigail and draped an arm across their shoulders. Since they’d come to the front room, the line hadn’t moved. With so many people inside and the cops’ preoccupation with the liquor, the employees, and the drag queens, the process of checking IDs had created a logjam.

Crowbar-wielding policemen entered the room and ripped apart the wooden benches built around the perimeter. The squeal of nails pulling loose and the clatter of falling lumber cast a pall over the building.

“Shit!” Kelsey watched the destruction around her unfold. “This joint may be a dump, but it’s practically home for a lot of these kids.” She folded her arms across her chest and glared at the cops tearing the place up. “Raiding our hangout is one thing. Destroying it….” She shook her head. “Just more harassment by the establishment.”

A pair of plainclothes officers escorted a handcuffed line of employees from the backroom to the door. The derisive comments coming from the crowd surprised Harold. The workers had no fans among the patrons. Four cops dragged an embattled Kreema Dee Kropp, kicking and screaming, through the front room. The anger of the onlookers was palpable. Her flailing legs enabled her to break free for a moment, igniting the rage of her captors. The thud of batons against flesh sickened Harold. Abigail grabbed his arm and put a hand to her mouth in horror as the police whisked their friend outside. The upsetting violence had turned his excitement to fear.

“You said nobody would get hurt.

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