The Elements: A Novel

Evan Keogh dreams of dreaming about the soil from the island. When he wakes, he receives a text from his teammate, Robbie, telling him he is counting on him. Then, Evan’s father calls him, making him anxious. He and Evan’s mother are there for the trial. Evan is a talented football player with every privilege that status offers, but he hates it, cursing his talented feet. The team wants him to have a girlfriend, but none of his relationships last. He remembers when he and his former friend, Cormac, were close.

He orders a cab. The man driving the cab tells Evan that he is on his side, and that he does not believe the girl who claims she was raped. The man offers to drive him every day and gives him his card. When Evan arrives at the courthouse, he is furious and throws the card away.

When Evan left the island, he settled at first in South Wales, where he found a job as a seasonal worker on a farm. He bought a new phone and called his parents. His father was furious and called him gay for wanting to paint. Evan nearly told him that he is gay, but did not want to get Cormac in trouble.