Wyl Villacres is a bartender from Chicago. He's the author of Bottom of the Ninth (WhiskeyPaper) and the forthcoming "Here Is Where I Was Lost" (Wyvern Press 2016). His stories have been featured in McSweeney's, Hobart Pulp, and One Throne Magazine, among others. Wyl's work has been included in the Best of the Net 2014 anthology and was called notable in Best American Essays 2015. Find out more at wylvillacres.net or hit him up on Twitter: @Wyllinois.
The tanner you are, the darker the features, the more people ask, “What are you?” or tell you that you look “exotic,” hoping you’ll be prompted into telling them why your face looks that way.