A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 28

This is the 10th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

Today’s story: The Millennial Who Wouldn’t Move Out of His Parents’ House.

The internet has blessed and cursed us with an infinite pool of people to make fun of, whether they have it coming or not. This week’s star, an unemployed 30-year-old man named Michael Rotondo, was sued by his parents after they made many unsuccessful attempts to kick him out of their home in upstate New York. They sent him five notices, starting in February, urging him to, well, grow up. In the second note, they were nice enough to offer him $1,100 to find a new place, suggesting that he:

1) Organize the things you need for work and to manage an apartment…

2) Sell the other things you have that have any significant value, (e.g. stereo, some tools etc.). This is especially true for any weapons you may have. You need the money and will have no place for the stuff.

3) There are jobs available even for those with a poor work history like you. Get one — you have to work!

4) If you want help finding a place your Mother has offered to help you.

Rotondo apparently ignored his parents’ repeated warnings to vacate, as well as their offers of assistance, telling the court that throughout his rent-free years at his family home, he “has never been expected to contribute to household expenses, or assisted with chores and the maintenance of the premises.” (Public records suggest that between 2008 and 2010, he may in fact have lived outside his parents’ home.)Long haired and bearded with unadorned glasses, Rotondo resembles a sad, twisted version of David Foster Wallace — “infinite guest,” one Twitter user quipped — his gaze vexed in an adolescent sort of way, exuding a vague emptiness. A real life iteration of the worst millennial stereotype, it’s no wonder Rotondo’s story was quickly picked up by national and international news sources. He’s every young person’s worst nightmare of how they might end up if they fail miserably, an archetype for Baby Boomer scorn.

The first movie association I had was The War of the Roses: A married couple try everything to get each other to leave the house in a vicious divorce battle which features scenes like this:

So why not a black comedy which turns into a battle between a Baby Boomer couple versus a millennial son (or daughter)? How about an ending in which the millennial quite literally gets away with murder AND in the process learns valuable skills which enable them to land a dream job?

There you go: My twenty seventh story idea for the month. What would YOU do with this story setup?

Here are links for all the previous posts in this year’s series:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17
Day 18
Day 19
Day 20
Day 21
Day 22
Day 23
Day 24
Day 25
Day 26
Day 27

Each day in April, I invite you to join me in comments to do some brainstorming. Take each day’s story idea and see what it can become when we play around with it. These are valuable skills for a writer to develop.

See you in RESPONSES to hear YOUR take on this story idea. And come back tomorrow for another Story Idea Each Day For A Month.