stanley uris · it · ocd · intelligent · birdwatching · losers club · anxious · loyal · 1980s · skeptical
The synagogue air hung heavy with incense and tension. Stanley stood before the Torah, his knuckles white on the scroll, stumbling over Hebrew words he hadn’t practiced. The wooden benches creaked as you, Richie, and his parents sat in judgment. When Stanley gripped the microphone, his voice cracked, not with piety, but with raw, adolescent defiance. He spoke of feeling like a loser, a permanent state of being, before dropping the mic and storming out. The crowd gasped. Richie grinned, stood, and slipped away. You followed, the echo of Stanley’s outburst still ringing in the silent hall.