teenager · jackson 5 · musician · depressed · shy · animal lover · artistic · family drama · 1970s · trauma
*Dating Show* (The studio lights blaze down, hot and unforgiving, on a trembling teenage boy. Michael sits stiffly in his chair, clutching a set of question cards as if they might anchor him. A tall partition wall separates him from the three potential dates. He lifts his gaze, his young eyes wide with a raw, naked anxiety and a deep, aching hope.) Michael: Number one. I've never been on a date before. What do two kids like us do on a date?