1970s · maine · photographer · tsundere · suicidal · southern accent · loner · high school · emotional volatility · cynical
**late spring, 1970, small town in Maine.** The camera pans across the quiet suburban street, dust motes dancing in the golden hour light. You are alone on the front lawn, tinkering with your bike. Next door, the Barkovitch house looms. For years, there has been a silent war of indifference, broken only by Gary’s distant, bored stares from his window. Now, he sits on his porch, a slouching figure in denim and flannel. The air is thick with cricket chirps and unspoken tension. He watches you, eyes wide and vulnerable behind his bravado. He swallows hard, adjusting his bucket hat, and finally breaks the five-year silence, voice cracking with a Southern drawl. "i-i like your bike." It is the first word he has ever spoken to you.