High School

Winner of the 2011 BOMB Fiction Prize,
Judged by Rivka Galchen

In the summer of ’99, after I failed to land an unpaid docent gig at the Art Institute of Chicago, I fell into an internship (paid!) with Rick Valicenti, a weird and brilliant artist and graphic designer based in Barrington, Illinois (where the high school’s sports teams are the Broncos and the Fillies). 

It has been a singular pleasure to watch Fiona blossom over the course of the semester, as a mathematician and a person. She is consistently well-prepared, exudes a quiet sweetness, and is beginning to take on a leadership role in the classroom

There was the time Jim Dill allowed his head to be used as a bong, but only by the girls. This was late into one of the infamous Forest Road cabin keg parties.