Blackout

Grace, the narrator of the story, is sitting in a car on her way to a block party in Brooklyn. The driver is listening to a podcast about philosophy, which she asks him to turn down. She is focused on the texts she is receiving from her friend Lana, who is already at the party. Lana gives her regular updates about the whereabouts of Grace’s ex, Derrick, who is also at the party. Lana reports that Derrick’s new girlfriend, Trish, is also present.

The first-person narration shifts to the driver, Seymour. He cannot help but notice that his passenger, Grace, is a beautiful girl. While trying not to look at her, Seymour gets a call from his childhood best friend, Tommy, who asks if he wants to hang out later. Seymour declines the offer and lies about having to work. When he hangs up, he reflects on his increasingly distant relationship with Tommy, who went off to college while Seymour stayed home to help support his widowed mother. He focuses back on Grace, who tells him she is meeting her boyfriend at the block party. Noticing her accent, he learns that she is originally from Jamaica.