Benny

Benny slices through the Kennedy Center balcony's champagne haze, hurling a casual 'Hey, Sam' that Sam intercepts with clipped acknowledgment—'Benny.' This razor-thin greeting amid clinking glasses and forced smiles brands Benny as a peripheral acquaintance in Sam's orbit, one of three male guests piercing the deputy communications director's brittle poise. His unforced hail contrasts the night's coiled tensions, spotlighting Sam's isolation even in festivity's crush, where old scandals and fresh jealousies simmer beneath superficial nods.