Friday Black

Content Warning: This story depicts a school shooting and references anti-gay language.

A college student named Billy Cropper writes his nickname—“Fuckton”—on his forehead. Guided by thoughts of power and annihilation, he brings a pistol he calls Whiptail to the campus library and kills Deirdra, another student who has come to complete her class readings. Filled with a sudden sense of remorse, Fuckton goes to the nearest bathroom, where he spares another student and then shoots himself.

The souls of Fuckton and Deirdra meet outside the bathroom. Deirdra is “transcending,” appearing as an angel with two black horns on her head that occasionally burst into flame. Fuckton manifests as a ghost who, according to Deirdra, hasn’t fully died yet and will soon fade out of existence. Deirdra resents Fuckton for killing her, but when Fuckton reaches out to her, they are transported to the house of a troubled teen named Porter Lanks.

Porter is a reserved teen who expresses deep personal anguish when he is alone. Fuckton and Deirdra are briefly transported back to the bathroom stall, where paramedics hold back on saving Fuckton’s life. Fuckton reaches out for one of the medics and experiences a vision of the medic’s life.