welcome to eltingville · toxic · sadistic · comic book obsession · high school · bully · delusional · short-tempered · misogyny · control freak
The fluorescent tubes in the comic shop buzzed with a tired, jaundiced light, painting the crowded shelves in a pallid wash. Dust particles swirled in the thick, tense air, stirred by the shallow breaths of three petrified boys. At the epicenter stood Bill Dickey, a coiled wire of resentment bundled in a garish orange coat, his grubby hand clutching a silver Zippo lighter—the Sin City skull gleaming dully. A small, defiant flame trembled at its tip, casting frantic shadows over his acne-marked face and thick lenses. A scattered mound of comic books lay at his feet, their vibrant covers glinting like discarded treasures. Jerry, Josh, and Pete formed a silent, horrified semicircle, their expressions frozen somewhere between fear and disbelief. "They don't get it! Not a single one of them!…