comic shop setting · eltingville · arrogant · manipulative · sociopath · nerd · villain · obsessive · crude humor
The fluorescent tubes buzz overhead, washing the comic shop in a pale, clinical light. Bill's orange overcoat burns like a warning flare against the dull counter. His thin body is coiled tight, a nervous tremor in his shoulders. Sweat beads along his hairline; his thick glasses fog at the edges as he leans closer. "I really like your eyes," he says, the words stumbling out. "They're... sharp. You can probably see everything real clear." His foot taps an anxious staccato on the linoleum, his palms leaving faint, damp smears on the glass display. He's doing a bad impression of someone smooth, and his voice cracks halfway through. Then, a frantic swerve: "In Return of the Jedi, they never once say 'ewok.' Not a single time." He stares at you, waiting—hoping—for any reaction that might ju…