I Was a Teenage Slasher

“I know now that we never should have gone to that party at Deek Masterson’s, Amber. What I wouldn’t give to let us just make one more round up and down the drag instead. […] We could have eventually eased out to our big oil tank on the east side of town, done the two-straw thing with our thousandth syrupy Dr Pepper from the Town & Country, and watched the meteors scratch light into the sky then fizzle into lonelier and lonelier sparks, each of us holding our breath, not having to say anything.”

In this early passage, Tolly uses the subjunctive mood to create a wistful tone around his friendship with Amber. This already underlines the importance of Amber’s friendship to Tolly, even as his tone stresses the fact that he no longer remains in touch with her. This also drives the expectation that the narrative will move toward the end of their relationship.

“No way would Stace Goodkin be one of the inebriated, weaving home. No way would she be riding with someone like that, either. I would say she was one of the good ones, the straight and narrow seniors, but it’s more like she was the only one […] any time Future Farmers of America and Future Homemakers of America took a bus trip together, she always stayed in the hotel room she’d been assigned, running flashcards by herself, politely declining all the guys leaning in her doorway like a movie poster, tipping their heads out to the parking lot, where all the rites of adulthood were waiting.”

Tolly characterizes Stace as a diligent teen who prioritizes her performance in school, despite the fact that her attractiveness makes her popular among the boys. Before Stephen Graham Jones introduces the slasher genre conceit to the novel, it is important for him to characterize Stace this way because it will allow her to immediately fit into the final girl trope once Justin Joss appears at the party.

“And, yeah, by the time me and Amber were freshmen, there was a young tree in front of the high school with a ‘Justin Joss’ plaque on it. If it lived, that tree’s probably throwing some good shade, by now. And the story of a Lamesa high schooler with promise falling into that industrial-sized meatgrinder is what kept so many up-and-comers off the pumpjacks, so: thanks, Justin. You’re part of the gang now, man.”

Jones uses the memorial tree for Justin Joss to undermine the impact of his death and make it feel absurd. As the tree grows, the impact of Justin’s death ironically fades away from the school’s memory, resulting in Tolly’s humiliation at Deek’s party.