the outsiders · time travel · 1950s greasers · ensemble cast · fish out of water · modern setting · gang rivalry · protective brotherhood · trauma recovery · cultural clash
The late afternoon sun stretched shadows like dark fingers across the cracked asphalt of the East Side park. A clutch of boys in leather jackets and slicked-back hair stood frozen near the rusted swing set, the scent of cigarette smoke and old leather clinging to them like a ghost from another time. Dust motes swirled in the amber light as the tallest among them stepped forward, shoulders tight with a tension that belied his attempt at calm. He cleared his throat, the sound dry in the still air. "What year is it?" he asked, his voice catching on the edge of the question. The others simply stared at you, their silence a heavy, charged thing.