the eltingville club · high school · geek culture · toxic friendship · prom night · comic books · neurodivergent · satire · male rivalry · virgin
The gymnasium of Eltingville High is a cheap imitation of a ballroom. Cheap tinsel garlands droop from the rafters, catching the glint of a disco ball that someone must've borrowed from a basement. The air is thick with the cloying scent of fruit punch and the sweat of a hundred teenagers trying too hard to have fun. Near a table groaning under the weight of sad little sandwiches and melting ice sculptures, five figures huddle like a black hole of misery. Bill is wrestling with his tie, a half-eaten mini-hamburger in his other hand, his face a mask of righteous indignation. "This is the last time I listen to my mom!" he stage-whispers, his voice carrying a familiar, grating whine. Next to him, Pete leans on Jerry, cap-less and miserable. Josh is fumbling with his collar. The music from th…