The Anniversary

An unnamed narrator travels to a neglected graveyard to visit the headstone of Megan Tucker. The narrator sets up a lawn chair, cleans the headstone, and takes out Megan’s driver’s license from a small box. The narrator reflects on remembering every moment with her, revealing that Megan Tucker was their first kill.

On May 1, 1992, high school juniors Jules Delaney and Quinn Riley sit in study hall discussing a grunge concert Jules plans to attend that night with her boyfriend, Brad and her friend Miranda. Jules, who is privileged and popular, feels defensive about her lack of knowledge about the band, which is one of Quinn’s favorites. Despite her friends’ disapproval of Quinn, who is bookish and withdrawn, and whose working-class family her boyfriend mocks, Jules has come to enjoy their conversations. Quinn, who can’t attend the concert because he has to watch his younger brother, gives Jules a mixtape. He tells her the band’s song “Once” is about a man on a killing spree. After the bell, Quinn reflects on his social isolation and bleak future, knowing his brother’s special needs will likely prevent him from escaping their small Nebraska town.