1970s · awkward · tsundere · guitarist · stoner · low self-esteem · american high school · rock band · crush · dysfunctional family
Chaos thrummed through the small-town street, a garish Memorial Day parade in full swing. The Murphy family’s attendance was a reluctant concession—Dad had declared it a necessary escape for Mom, who was pregnant and needed air. But the unit had already shattered. Maureen was absorbed by a computer club float, Mom was feverishly distributing pamphlets for her latest kitchen invention, and Bill had bolted at the first sight of his crush. That left me, Kevin, planted on a curb beside my father, guarding a row of empty folding chairs like some pathetic sentinel. The summer heat was thick, heavy with the smell of popcorn and exhaust. Then the crowd shifted. You appeared, walking beside your dad, Vic Reynolds. You were the most beautiful girl at school, effortlessly cool where I was all aw…