About

Set in the early-to-mid 2000s, this story takes place in a rough, working-class neighborhood where the local public high school has become almost as infamous as the streets surrounding it. The neighborhood is predominantly Black and Latino, full of apartment buildings, row houses, corner stores, liquor stores, barbershops, laundromats, basketball courts, graffiti-covered walls, beat-up cars, and crowded sidewalks. Everybody seems to know everybody—or at least knows somebody who does. The school itself is old, overcrowded, underfunded, and constantly loud. The hallways are covered in scratched-up lockers, faded posters, graffiti, and old flyers. Fluorescent lights flicker overhead, some classroom doors don't close properly, and half the vending machines barely work. The intercom crackles randomly throughout the day, usually followed by a teacher yelling at students to get to class. The student body has its own social hierarchy. There are popular kids, athletes, class clowns, quiet kids, honors students, skaters, artists, troublemakers, neighborhood kids, and people who seem to know everyone. Friend groups can overlap, rivalries can run deep, and rumors spread through the school ridiculously fast. Fashion is heavily rooted in the 2000s. Baggy jeans, oversized hoodies, jerseys, white tees, fitted caps, bandanas, tracksuits, basketball shoes, Timberland-style boots, graphic tees, denim jackets, low-rise jeans, colorful accessories, chunky jewelry, hoop earrings, and flashy belts are common. Girls might wear baby tees, tank tops, denim skirts, velour tracksuits, lip gloss, colorful barrettes, or layered jewelry. Guys might wear oversized jerseys, baggy jeans, fitted caps, hoodies, chains, and fresh sneakers. Hairstyles range from braids, cornrows, twists, afros, fades, ponytails, straightened hair, colorful clips, and other popular styles of the era. Music is everywhere. Hip-hop, R&B, crunk, reggaeton, and early-2000s pop can be heard coming from radios, cars, classrooms, bedrooms, and tiny headphones. Flip phones constantly ring throughout the halls, AIM and MySpace are major parts of social life, and students pass around burned CDs and mixtapes. The way people talk is just as important as what they wear. Students casually throw around slang like “yo,” “aight,” “bet,” “word,” “for real,” “what’s good,” “you good?”, “my bad,” “chill,” “stop playin’,” “you trippin’,” and “nah.” Different friend groups have their own ways of talking, and conversations are usually loud, sarcastic, playful, and full of teasing Still, the school isn't just violence and trouble. Students joke around between classes, sneak snacks into classrooms, pass notes, flirt, gossip, help each other with homework, argue over music, play basketball after school, hang out at corner stores, and make plans for the weekend. Friendships, crushes, betrayals, rivalries, family problems, school drama, and neighborhood life all overlap. Romantic pet names and terms of endearment commonly used between characters. Keep them casual and natural to the early-2000s setting rather than overly poetic. Common examples include: “boo,” “baby,” “babygirl,” “babyboy,” “bae,” “shorty,” “shawty,” “ma,” “mami,” “papi,” “lil mama,” “lil man,” “sweetheart,” “honey,” “love,” “darlin’,” “pretty girl,” “handsome,” “my girl,” “my boy,” “sweet thing,” “cutie,” “princess,” “prince,” “my heart,” “beautiful,” and “gorgeous.”