This is unedited and drawn from something I made three years ago. I just shit out the past three years.
“I am trying to describe the people in our quarter, not for the mere curiosity, but, because they are all part of the story.” George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London
Some working titles:
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Topher
-or-
Topher Soup for the Human Soul: A Depressing Ordeal
My mother was a dairy princess and my sister wore combat boots:
Tales of teen angst in South Dakota
BIRTH- family(?) self(?)
conception story – sick child – no speech till five – church vomit – calamitous occasions – deep thoughts (who will bury the last person? who were the grandchildren of adam and eve?) – near death experiences
BLAKE
tiny tot – consciousness formed – hints of personality
JOEY
first -> fourth grade – early depression – death of aunt Shari – death of uncle Dave – Brandi’s depression spilling over – Mac’s burns down – journal entries and birthday parties
JUSTIN
fifth-six grade – fatness – rob jorenby – Alex/Tucker – Egypt – middle school hell begins
JON
summer after sixth grade – camp – jealousy – Magic the Gathering at Brost’s Aquarium and Hobby – unreal expectations – ass-friendship – the folly of the “best” friend – advance and retreat – Brost’s – Ben & Jacobsens, false hopes summer before Eight – EUROPE – freshman fallout – Ben & gayness – testosterone -Alexander – sophomore year – English “who raped you?” – TAIWAN – missed opportunity
ALEX
plays & interp – Emma – post-Jacobsens – the first time – the first unrequited obsession – Kelsey & family restaurants – coffee – growth of anger – missed hints of darkness (Laura)
MAREN
journalism – past connections (Shakespeare soph year) – Sonya – X-mas party – Seth – Prom – Josh damnation – TRUTH – realization of mutuality – Valentine’s Day – Ty hickey
STEPH
Boy’s State/Journalism City – 17th Birthday – Tessa – Truth explodes – Kelsey & Clint – last camp – the beginnings of weight loss – Steph moves to Brookings – Apartmentland – sex, intimacy and co-dependence – the THRUPLE/triary – self destruction – Alex conflict – senior year & journalism – Aberdeen trips & the new self – State interp and Paradise Lost – New Years and Steph’s move home
ANDY
X-mas party 2002 – Ty – gay.com – the thirteen year old girl – the friendgroup shatters (let the circle be broken) – Snow White – the extreme naivety of first love online for three months – Brandi, Omaha, Flogging Molly and missed opportunities – Prom & the breakup – carnal needs/return to Alex – dark desire -> lost in Tyrell’s kiss -> a brief encounter with a v-belt and Derick! – college
MIKE
a first and only friend – Bud & false impressions – shadowy cyber life/search for confirmation – awkward meetings – Ty and “the open relationship” – new broken records – Maria, the comfort of home – R. – the confusion of the new – Halloween – Mike disappears – November was fucked up – Steph moves in with Maria – Ty, Matt, love triangles and French words I can’t spell – gay bowling – lesbian cheering section – QSU
JET
sterile x-mas break – glimpses of Maren(?) – V-Day conference in pleather – R. obsession – Rape – Spring Break & Medical concerns – Not learning from mistakes / hotornot / Skroller – the Von Dutch hat – Syphilis scare – HIV test in the photo darkroom – Jet, coffee, truth, USUQ – interpretive drag dance – volunteerism
STEPH, ALEX, EMMA
summer – jaunty Alex – Ryan – clean kitchen – celibacy – road trips – the Brookings Register – Maren visit – Duluth visit
MIKE (redux) / ENGLAND
canoe building in the Lake District – quiet obsession – sleepovers – naps – 1st trip to London, alone – Thanksgiving w/Heather in Berlin – Tom fiasco – Selley Sausage – Christmas – familial disconnect – Maren auf Italia – food poisoning and breakup – social maladjustment – Prague Budapest and the pain of Mike – Aarhus – Berlin – Lyn – Spring – solo bon voyage (Rome) – brain dead – revision – memoir – Fred
NATE
Summer of Sylvia Plath – working at the Library – listening to the Decemberists on an air mattress – zine – zombie blood – living with Bud – learning to paint – the Wasteland – melting cows – reconnecting to Matt – “I’ve never dated someone who wasn’t an asshole before” – dating Nate – something worth fighting for – text-message breakup – destroying home for Thanksgiving
CHAD
Christmas in Mound – the townhome – Henrik on Myspace – Witch’s Hat / romanticizing the crash – trips to Minneapolis – rushing from the dragshow to the Reindeer Monologues – sleeping with Matt to forget – conquering Art + Design at UMD – job at the Tweed
MATT
21st birthday and getting ditched by everyone but Matt – five days and a new relationship with the past – living with Jill – RT’s, Pizza Luce, and learning to drink – cramming everything into three semesters – Art Guild
IAN
balancing friends and a relationship – Ian – a new straight obsession – tacos – dating the devil(‘s advocate) – Maren’s wedding – Amos – hell – choosing Matt – graduation – life after in Duluth – Chicago
CHICAGO
life with Bud and in his shadow, again – unemployment – summer alone – gay.com 2.0 – stan, steven, mark – forgetting to mention Matt – continued unemployment – Matt’s move to Chicago – old fights die hard – Cameron – vague attempts to enter adulthood