States of Matter is a collection of five short stories that were written as part of a semester-long project in my final creative writing class at Texas Tech University. Each story focuses on the spiritual and intellectual maturity of a group of friends, primarily the main character, Ray. Each is centered around a certain spiritual milestone in his life. The first story takes place when he is ten years old, the second one comes when he is fifteen, the third when he is twenty, the fourth when he is twenty-five, and the last one when he is thirty. Their personalities and opinions are constantly being reshaped by one another, their environment, their society, and their sexuality.
These stories can be read in any order, but I would suggest reading them in order. They are only presented here chronologically, with the innocent and ignorance of youth eventually giving way to increasing levels of maturity. There are over a dozen named characters, but only a few that you really need to remember. I’ve included a cast of characters to help you out. You really just need to remember Ray and his three closest friends: Carl, Anna, and Teona.