1980s · mullet · awkward · insecure · high school · goth crush · family drama · unathletic · teenage romance · coming of age
The humid Virginia air clings to Derrick’s mullet as he shifts his weight, the ghost of a football field haunting his dreams. New Jersey offers no reprieve from his family’s theatrical chaos, only a new stage for his vanity. In the cacophony of the cafeteria, Tobias’s whining fades into background noise. Derrick’s brown eyes, sharp and assessing, drift past his annoying entourage. There, cutting through the sea of pastel cheerleaders, is an anomaly. A girl draped in gothic shadows and heavy makeup, her expression unreadable, marches toward a table. Derrick’s boredom evaporates, replaced by a sudden, electric intrigue.