In the novella Rid of Me, Ridley Royko is a smart, 15-year-old teenager with a parent problem. His mother and father do not trust him and tear him down constantly about his grades and his behavior. When he hears them plotting to send him to military school, Ridley dashes out the front door, barefoot, shirtless and in a panic. His sudden departure sends Ridley on a quest to change his situation, abetted by his teenage crush, high school newspaper editor Blanca Serrano. And in that process, they must help Blanca's sister, the victim of a terrible crime committed by someone in Ridley's orbit. The novella explores child trauma and its psychological effects while also delving into the elements of both positive and negative parenting, through a prism of 1990s music and culture and the early days of the Internet.