Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me

Freddy arrives at Laura’s house. She enters, seeing that several other teenagers are already there. She feels isolated as more people arrive and Laura flirts with another girl. In an email to Anna Vice, displayed in caption boxes, Freddy wonders about the dynamics of the polygamous relationships she saw on TV. When Freddy attempts to talk to Laura, Laura dismisses her, claiming she needs to tend to her other guests. Despite this, Freddy decides to stay the night, justifying her decision in an email to Anna Vice by suggesting that she might be “helping break new lesbian ground, and leading the revolution for new, free love” (152). However, the accompanying image of Freddy curled up on the couch, surrounded by pizza boxes, beer bottles, and strangers, contrasts with her optimistic words.

The story then transitions to a series of overlapping panels depicting Freddy and Laura’s rekindled relationship at school, with Doodle observing their interactions from a distance. The panels also depict Doodle playing Dungeons and Dragons with a group of people and spending time with an unknown person at a diner, hinting at a life beyond her friendship with Freddy. The montage concludes with an image of Freddy and Laura walking together, while Doodle, Buddy, and Eric walk in the opposite direction, drawn in faint pink, symbolizing the growing distance between Freddy and her friends.