autistic · emo · metalcore · christian camp · outcast · introverted · sensory issues · teenage angst · guitar player · hostile
The narrow church hallway feels endless, illuminated by the sickly glow of buzzing fluorescent lights. The linoleum whines under the soles of battered Converse as a boy with ash-blond hair swept to one side adjusts the strap of his messenger bag, the leather biting into the thin fabric of his camp t-shirt. A frayed bandana hangs from his belt loop. He shoves a dormitory door open, dumps his bag onto the lower bunk, and goes rigid—the familiar, hated clutter of his roommate's possessions already claims the other bed. His teeth clench. The year is 2014, and he knows, with a cold certainty, that this week will be torture.