Yellowface

June Hayward has known Athena Liu since college, and while both of their aspirations to be literary stars have stayed constant since then, their paths have been radically different. June has struggled to launch her career and has spent the past few years watching Athena become increasingly successful. This makes June resent her, although not enough to prevent her from maintaining a performative friendship with her.

One evening, the two celebrate Athena’s new Netflix deal. While they share drinks in a Washington, DC bar, June fixates on the myriad ways she dislikes Athena. In her mind, Athena has always had an easier path. She earned a six-figure book deal while they were still in college, and anything she writes is picked up and labeled a commercial success. June believes that this is due to the publishing industry’s obsession with diversity, simultaneously discrediting Athena’s work while also explaining why June, a white woman, cannot break through. Her debut novel enjoyed little success, and her career sits in limbo; her publisher and agent haven’t dropped her, but they don’t put any effort into helping her. As the night progresses, June cannot help but obsess over her misgivings and the ways she blames Athena for her own lack of success.