Earlier this year, I enrolled in a writing class taught by Chelsea Cain and Chuck Palahniuk. Every Monday night for eight weeks, we gathered in person at a downtown Portland location for a few hours. Our first assignment was to write a 500-word story with no strings attached. I crafted a story about my high school crush, who got arrested for drunk driving and happened to be represented by my dad as his lawyer. As a result, I had to drive him to and from school during football season since he had no other means of transportation. One day, he stumbled upon my "gay" cassettes hidden under the seat of my car. I won't go into details because I don’t write porn. There are countless ways to tell a story; for this one, I chose to re-write my short-short story “Boy George” backwards. Originally posted in May, here is the rewrite.
____________________________________________________________________________
You press play on the tape deck, and Boy George's voice fills the car. I can feel my face flush with heat as I hear you ask me if I'm a "cocksucker". Now, it's your turn to be driven to school every day as I carefully check under the seat to make sure the cassette is concealed. The scent of fresh earth and sweat clings to your golden skin as you slam the door shut and sit next to me, checking the tape deck like always. It won't be long until you get your license back at the end of football season, but until then, I have control over where we go and what we do. And everyone at school knows what's in my car, without ever having to see it. But they don't look at me like they look at you - with admiration and desire. No, for them, it's disgust and pity. As we drive down State Route 30, I glance over at your muscled arms and tight jeans, remembering how things used to be between us. But now, as you stand by the cornfield at the end of your driveway, head hung low and kicking dirt, I wonder if you'll ever fuck up again and violate your probation just so you can keep riding in my shitty Chevy Cavalier.
As a huge Boy George fan, I immediately knew I had to read this.
Fantastic story. 🙏🏻
I have a huge soft spot for the shortest of short stories like this one. It’s such a challenge to create an entire world - and a compelling narrative - in just a few hundred words, and you did that here. Well done.
Side note: I’ve heard envy is an ugly emotion, but I had plenty of it when I read that you were in a writing class with Chuck. Such a monumental opportunity to learn directly from him (Gloves Off does something similar, but I have to think in-person is an entirely different experience).