Speaking of social anxiety, here’s a story in Vol. 1 Brooklyn: Camera Obscura by Amy DeBellis. It’s about that, gender expectations, and a probably shitty boyfriend. Here we go:

The party was held in a small apartment building that looked, from the street, like it might be about to topple over in any direction. “The leaning tower of pizza,” Jade said, because they had just passed a pizza place on the same block, but Will looked at her blankly. She thought of explaining, and then decided against it.  

The elevator was broken, so they walked up the stairs, which smelled like sawdust and paint. “Are you sure we’re at the right place?” Jade asked more than once. She was aware of how annoying she sounded yet was helpless to stop herself, because she had drilled into her brain years ago that the only thing worse than being annoying was being too quiet. 

A young woman’s boyfriend takes her to a party full of his old friends. The host, Sam, is a girl, and it’s unclear if the boyfriend deliberately withheld that fact. I found this almost uncomfortably relatable.

Sam was one of those girls who never worried about how she came across. Why would she? Her entire life had been one positive feedback loop, meaning she had no reason to anticipate rejection or mockery.

I’m no good in groups of strangers (especially drunk ones), I hate small talk, and I overthink every single social interaction.

Her debut novel comes out next year, and she’s got a lot of other writing to check out. Here’s a good one in Emerge Literary Journal, called Reasons You Stopped Talking to Your Best Friend in the Summer of Tenth Grade.

---