CFTurner

OPENING SCENE - Introduces protagonist, stakes, setting, and tone 1 BREAKUP Drip, drip was all I could hear in the bathroom, amidst the Ralph Lauren cologne, terry cloth navy bathrobe, and bath towels that needed to be washed. Shouldn’t I be more torn up, I thought. Shouldn’t I be crying? It was over. After three years, I no longer had a girlfriend. “We shouldn’t be together, Asher,” Blaire had said, tears in her eyes. “No, we shouldn’t be,” I said. The moment the words left my lips, I knew it was true. I looked out at the sun setting over the University of Arkansas campus, with its red-brick buildings and skeletal trees. There were a few students walking around, wearing North Face and Patagonia jackets, their lips slightly chapped from the cool January air. As they spoke, one could see their breath billow out in waves. A stumpy older man with unkempt white hair in a black peacoat and olive gloves currently hunched over on one of the benches close by, scanning the campus as he shivered with a copy of The Arkansas Democrat Gazette in his hands. By the way he feverishly looked around, it seemed like he was waiting for someone, and that someone was running late. Red blotches covered Blaire’s neck, strips of chestnut hair hanging loosely before her emerald eyes, disbelief in her features. “Are you even going to put up a fight?” she asked. “Why should I?” I asked. “This hasn’t worked for a while. You and I both know it.” As I said this, I caught my reflection in the mirror–indifferent hazel eyes, with short blond hair and a medium build. I had started working out a lot more since we started dating. It had paid off in the long run because now I could bench press at least 160 pounds. She shook her head, chest heaving beneath her off-white Vince Camuto neck sweater. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Brooks, does it?” My heart raced. “Your brother? What are you talking about?” But deep down, I already knew what she was hinting at. I just couldn’t admit it to myself yet. “You know what I’m talking about. I’ve caught you staring at him every chance you get.” “What?” “Yeah. That time he was working out, and we were about to go to the Alabama game. I saw the look in your eyes, but I decided to ignore it.” “What look?” She took a step toward me. “You were ogling him like he was fresh meat!” My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest, but I couldn’t let on that she was on point with my attraction. “No I wasn’t! Blaire, I can’t believe you’re accusing me of ogling your brother. I’ll admit, he’s handsome, but–” “--So you admit it, then! You think my brother is attractive.” Her eyes were practically bursting out from their sockets. “I said he was handsome. That doesn’t mean I’m going to sleep with him!” “But you want to, right? Asher, why don’t you stop lying to yourself and just admit what we both know to be true!” “Which is what?” She looked at me as if I had started growing a second head. “Are you serious right now?” I shook my head, blinking a bit too fast. “What?” “You’re gay! Can you really not see it?” “Oh my gosh. Not you, too.” “I admit. I have seen a lot of delusion in my life, but this one tops them all.” “Blaire, I’ve literally been with you for over two years. Are you really accusing me of being gay? That makes no sense.” She shook her head as the fight left her for the last time. “My Dad warned me.” She laughed, mirthless. “Even Brooks warned me. Said he caught you staring at him countless times, but I defended you. Every. Single. Time.” “They think I’m gay, too? I don’t understand.” She made her way to the door. “Yeah, and that’s the part that worries me–that you don’t understand.” She reached for the handle. “Tell me this then,” I said. “If you suspected this for so long, why did you stay with me?” She looked down at the handle as she delivered her last words. “Because I was delusional, too.” Her lips parted before her jaw set—and she left. As she descended the stairs of my dorm, it set in: I wouldn’t go after her. I didn’t even want to cry. I wanted to sing, to dance. I would no longer be tethered to another person for every major decision. The world had been open to me before, but now, I was unlimited in my ambitions. I looked back out on the campus to see that the man in the peacoat had been joined by a slightly younger man in a sleek navy puffer jacket and jeans. They embraced each other, but it seemed like the gesture was more than a simple hug. As they observed one another, the older man cupped the younger man’s chin with his hand, staring at him as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. And then they walked away, hand in hand, but not without looking over their shoulders every once and a while. In 2015, Fayetteville was more progressive than most of the state, but two men holding hands still weren’t completely afforded a reasonable expectation to respect in a state that saw their kind as less-than.

Story Statement - Twenty-year old English student Asher Townsend is humiliated after being outed by his ultra-religious ex-girlfriend Blaire Gates for having eyes for her older brother. In an attempt to gain control of his narrative at the University of Arkansas, he leaves the state to study abroad in Europe, hoping that by the time he comes back, everyone will have forgotten about his seeming unfaithfulness to Blaire. While in Europe, he falls for two frat boys, Cain Duncan, a seemingly innocent church boy, and Trace Cunningham, a mysterious but wealthy playboy. After a series of events with Cain Duncan, Asher finds himself on the butt end of his own narrative yet again, all because of his sexuality. To gain control once and for all, he teams up with a powerful adversary–Jack Cunningham, the Father of Trace Cunningham and a powerful oil magnate with his eye on the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. Through this unholy partnership, Asher hopes to ensure that he maintains control of his and all LGBTQ people’s narratives once and for all–but not without paying the ultimate price, his soul. Antagonists - The antagonists are Cain Duncan, who seems innocent at first. He comes from a large, Christian family very involved at the Fayetteville Baptist Church. Only when he attempts to sexually coerce Asher does he reveal his true colors–a closeted gay man who resents his own existence. He is jealous that Asher was able to nab Blaire, who would have set him up for the picture-perfect life in Arkansas that he had been primed to pursue by his church and family. When Asher is able to reveal Cain’s true motives to the rest of the group, his resentment of Asher grows to the point that he makes his life a living hell. After going missing, he stalks Asher and threatens to destroy his reputation. The other antagonist is Jack Cunningham, whose immense wealth, influence, and access make him a formidable adversary but also an uncommon ally when he agrees to soften Asher’s reputation if he helps him steal the governorship from a newly-elected Arkansas Governor. His conservative policies are largely antithetical to Asher’s in terms of LGBTQ rights, but he is the only one who can get an outsider like Asher within the inner circle of political power in Arkansas. Breakout Title - American Gay, The Gay Politician, Powerless Genre and Comparables - Yes Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage for protagonist navigating sexuality around highly religious actors and similar tone and Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller for navigation of sexuality through lens of power, influence, and social expectations as well as similar romance aspects (LGBTQ Fiction) Core Wound and Primary Conflict - Asher Townsend must restore his name and reputation after antagonistic forces humiliate him by painting him out to be unfaithful, manipulative, and even evil based on how he navigates his own sexuality. Other Matters of Conflict: Two More Levels - Asher must contend with accepting his own sexuality after he is accused of having eyes for his ex-girlfriend’s older brother, as well as two men on his study abroad trip. Once he starts to have sex dreams about both of the boys on his trip and he is confronted by an outwardly gay student for being a hypocrite around sexuality, he must come to terms with whether he is lying to himself about being straight or accept that he is, indeed, gay. Even after he accepts this aspect about himself, he must do so while realizing that his Southern family, who is overtly religious, may disown him even though this isn’t something he has any control over. Setting - The story starts at the University of Arkansas campus in 2014, pre-legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S. This serves as a visual representation of the political and cultural aspects of LGBTQ identity and the social expectations attached in an area still widely behind the rest of the country in terms of acceptance. The rest of the story mainly occurs in Spain, which allows the protagonist room to navigate aspects of himself without the social pressures of family, religion, and social expectations dogging him.