Lance Hendricks is approaching the most important week of his life
WILDMAN
by J.C. Geiger
Hyperion, Summer 2016
Lance Hendricks has arranged a chain of upcoming events with Rube Goldberg precision: He’ll sleep with his girlfriend at an epic graduation party, deliver his valedictorian speech to Bend High’s senior class, then rocket into the sunset of a full-ride academic scholarship. Everyone expects him to succeed. He is Lancelot.
But on the eve of Lance’s Week of Consequence, his car breaks down in a backwater town 400 miles from Bend. While waiting for a mechanic, he witnesses a terrible car wreck. Lance tries to help and inadvertently starts a fist fight. Mistakes are made – his behavior attracts the attention of the police. And a girl. The people who know Lance from the crime scene call him Wildman. And he likes it.
Five days later, Lance’s car is still broken and he’s staying at the Trainsong Motel. His mother keeps calling. His girlfriend is crying. His friends tell him he can’t stay gone forever, and they’re right. At the end of the week, Lance’s two identities will collide, and one version will emerge. One future, one girl. Lancelot or The Wildman.