Eighteen-year-old Zoe Kelly is an autistic intern at Bubble, an online media company. She is eager to put her hellish high school years behind her and start a new life as a confident adult. When she writes a piece about her high school datelessness and her awkward experiences with dating apps, it goes viral, and suddenly five of her former classmates message her to tell her they used to have crushes on her. On the urging of her coworkers and her boss Josef, Zoe decides to go on dates with all of them, and write an article about each.
Social Queue contains examples of:
- Bathroom Stall of Overheard Insults: At a wedding with Jake, Zoe becomes overwhelmed and escapes to the bathroom. There she overhears Gabe's ex Brooke talking about how obsessed she is with Gabe and accusing her of making things weird. Zoe, who was already worried that Gabe only put up with her out of pity, flees the wedding in shame.
- Career-Ending Injury: Zoe's dad was in an industrial accident five years ago, leaving her mom, a nurse, as the family breadwinner. For a long time her dad was depressed about not being able to contribute, complete with a Beard of Sorrow, but his mental health improved once he got into cooking.
- Car Ride Games: Zoe, her best friend Ari, and Ari's brother Gabe have made a game out of guessing the motivations of owners of vanity license plates.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Zoe eventually realizes that although Jake is nice, she doesn't really have feelings for him. She does have feelings for Gabe, who never got over his adolescent crush on her, and the two start dating.
- Dedication: "For Aggie & Arth."
- First Kiss: Zoe has hers with Jake Jones, the third boy on the list, during a rainy hike in Lamington National Park. It makes her feel warm and nice, and with nothing to compare it to, she decides it was a solid first experience.
- Headphones Equal Isolation: Zoe wears headphones on the train even when she doesn't feel like listening to anything so people won't talk to her.
- How Dad Met Mom:
- Zoe's mom was supposed to go on a date with her future husband's coworker Gerard. Gerard was clearly more interested in being seen with her than in actually being with her, so Zoe's dad asked her if she wanted to go on a date with him instead. She said yes, and they've been together ever since.
- When she asks Gabe how his parents met, he tells her they met on a chat room for a show they liked in 2000.
- I Need to Go Iron My Dog: Zoe often uses "I have to go to the bathroom" to get out of overwhelming situations.
- Loving Bully: Zoe's second date is with Aidan Miller, one of her high school bullies. To her shock, Aidan tells her that he picked on her because he had a crush on her, and his behavior was a response to what he thought was rejection. Zoe is so startled that she has an anxiety attack, flees the restaurant, and ends up crying over ice cream. In her article, she attributes his belief that bullying is an acceptable way of expressing romantic feelings to toxic masculinity.
- Portmanteau Couple Name: In-universe example. After Zoe publishes an article about her successful date with Jake, whom she refers to in the article as John, commenters start shipping "Joey."
- Shower of Angst: After her disastrous date with Aidan, Zoe is so drained that it takes her hours to work up the energy to get into the shower. Once she does, she spends a long time sitting down, feeling like the water is washing away her shame and conflicted feelings.
- Sleep Mask: Zoe sleeps with one.
