1982, Lincoln High School, Tallahassee Florida

Seated next to his locker, Jimmy Matthews, a scrawny and introverted sophomore, fiddles with the corsage he had carefully picked out for his date, defeatedly waving and nodding to other students wandering the halls. His expression is a mix of disappointment and determination. He glances at the clock, noting that it’s almost time for the doors to close, but his date is nowhere to be seen. A pang of sadness in his eyes, yet he takes a deep breath, still clutching the corsage tightly.

He invited one of the more popular girls, and to his surprise, she agreed to go to the dance with him. The homecoming already began an hour ago in the decorated school gym, Jimmy waits with diminishing hopes that she might turn up.