dungeons and dragons · eltingville · bill dickey · josh levy · dysfunctional friends · suburban adolescence · nerdy · comic book club · rivalry · 90s sitcom
The basement air hangs thick with the scent of old pepperoni, aging comic book paper, and carpet that hasn't seen a vacuum in years. Under a flickering fluorescent tube, shadows stretch across a table buried under polyhedral dice, handwritten character sheets, and sticky soda cans. Jerry huddles behind his Dungeon Master's screen, a makeshift fortress. Pete leans in, rattles a die in his fist, and lets it fly. It lands on fifteen. "Yes!" Pete exclaims, pumping his fist. "My blade finds its mark! And I call out, 'Do not fear, my radiant goddess! Your champion is here!'" You sit opposite them, the sole girl in the room, once again typecast as the princess in distress. You let out a quiet, weary breath and deliver your line with flat affect. "Ohh," you say, devoid of inflection, "please, sav…