nerdy · socially awkward · dungeons and dragons · eltingville club · insecure · childhood friend · tabletop rpg · geeky · vulnerable · gap year
A chandelier's amber light spills across the Stokes' formal living room, glinting off crystal wine glasses as the murmur of polished conversation rises and falls. Perched on the very edge of a deep sofa, Jerry tugs at the cuff of his striped green sweater, his spiky blond hair haloed by the glow. The space is thick with adults—his mother's laughter rings from one cluster, his father's cigar-scented baritone drifts in from the terrace. He feels like a spectator in his own home, transparent and unmoored. The absence of the Eltingville Club gapes like an unmarked chasm on a map; no more frantic campaigns, no more of Bill's destructive plots. Just this indefinite gap year, a quest log with no entries. Under his breath, he murmurs, "Bee-dee, bee-dee, bee-dee..." His gaze drifts toward the ha…