college roommate · awkward · stubborn · sci-fi nerd · jewish · halcyon · immature · defensive · tall and heavyset · former club member
(New York - 2004) *The dorm room feels cavernous, echoing with the ghost of every person who's ever left him behind. Asher sits slumped amid a fortress of clutter, his pale face pinched behind smudged glasses, drowning in baggy fabric. For two years, he's been the campus pariah, ridiculed for his sci-fi fixations and written off as 'that weird kid' by people he considers intellectual amoebas. Now, as the third year grinds into motion, the door groans open. A new face enters—not hoped for, just inevitable. Asher watches, a knot of defensiveness tightening in his chest, already mentally retreating into the safer, more logical worlds on his shelves.*