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Debra: okayy. But if it is okay, i’d like to go with y’all this weekend

Eli: YES!!!

Debra asked Eli for a ride and logged off.

That Saturday, Eli picked up Raj and Debra, who immediately unplugged Eli’s iPod and replaced it with hers. They met Ashley at the mall. Eli had been discouraged that only three of eleven of his supposedly closest friends had shown up, but what was worse, the three were unenthusiastic. When Eli attempted to keep the conversation flowing, someone inevitably talked over him.

Eli found himself walking behind the others, who traipsed through the crowded walkways side by side. Whenever Eli tried to step into their line, Raj shifted so that Eli couldn’t squeeze in. On one such attempt, Raj said, “He’s so socially awkward!” to the others in a voice he knew Eli could hear. I was nice enough to give you a ride, and that’s how you treat me? Eli thought.

After Debra and Ashley veered off to check out a girls’ store, Eli followed Raj into The North Face. Eli was at the mall for the company; he hadn’t planned to shop. He trailed Raj around the store, expecting to chat. As Raj thumbed a jacket, he turned to Eli and said, “Why don’t you just go look around yourself?” When Eli obliged, Raj meandered toward another store, leaving Eli feeling awkward because they had told the girls they would be in The North Face and Eli thought it would be “tacky” to make them search the mall.

Eventually the group rendezvoused at Barnes & Noble so Eli could buy a new biography. Undeterred by his friends’ arguments that fiction was a much better genre, he picked up a biography that interested him. “What is that?!” Debra asked.

“A Grace Kelly book.” Eli liked Grace Kelly because she had been in Hitchcock films.

“You are such a movie junkie. ‘Oh, I won’t watch anything after 1970.’ ”

“I just think most of the good movies were made before 1970,” Eli said. He asked Debra, “Have you seen any Hitchcock movies?” She hadn’t. “Okay, you haven’t seen a movie until you’ve seen a Hitchcock movie.” Eli mentioned a few specific Hitchcock films he loved.

“We get it,” she said. “You like Hitchcock. I don’t understand why you don’t like any recent movies. They’re so good!”

Later that weekend, Eli pondered his disenchantment over what should have been his big social outing. The mall trip had reaffirmed his desire to get as far from home as possible, as quickly as he could. “I’ve been wondering,” he mused, “am I really cynical toward society? Is there even a place for me? What is it even like to have friends? I feel really isolated because there isn’t anyone who identifies with me. I have a few strong ideals and interests: adventurous travel, old movies, conservatism, Agatha Christie books, British music. But there isn’t a single person who seems to relate with me on any level, especially when taking those interests into account. I guess part of the reason I want to get out of Virginia is to leave everything behind.”

Soon afterward, Eli was rummaging through the mail on his father’s kitchen table when an envelope caught his eye. The return address label read “Westcoast University Admissions.” Eli held his breath. Uh-oh, he thought, the envelope is super-thin. He skipped to the end of the letter to determine whether he wanted to read the beginning. He saw a line about sending him more information in the mail at a later date. He began to get excited. Finally he forced himself to read the first line of the letter. “Congratulations!” Wow, this is it! he thought. It’s all over. I never have to live in Virginia again. He couldn’t wait to make the move.

______

THE OUTCAST SUCCESS STORY

In 2010, press headlines crowed about Lady Gaga’s sudden meteoric rise to iconic stardom. Known as much for her unique apparel and outrageous performances as for her music, the singer and shock artist debuted at number four on Forbes Celebrity 100: The World’s Most Powerful Celebrities. Time also included her on its 2010 list, prompting Cyndi Lauper to observe, “When I see somebody like Gaga, I sit back in admiration. . . . I did an