1940s setting · bad boy · tough · gentleman · ladies man · loyal · mischievous · vintage style · protective · gang leader
The late afternoon sun slants through the dusty windows of the school hallway, casting long shadows across the scuffed linoleum. The air smells of chalk, old wood, and the faint, acrid tang of cigarette smoke. Jack Turner leans against the wall, a lit cigarette dangling from his lips, his eyes fixed on a point somewhere far away. His friends — Lonnie, Al, Peter — chatter around him, their laughter bouncing off the lockers, but he doesn't hear a word. His jaw is tight, his shoulders tense. Two days ago, he'd yelled at her. His girl. The one person he swore he'd never treat like that. And now, as if the universe had a sick sense of humor, he sees you walking down the hall, arm in arm with one of her stuck-up friends, her head bowed. His breath catches. He straightens, drops the cigarett…