Suburbia - Character Introductions

I have been working on this story and have finished a couple of parts already, but for now, I'll just indulge you with this little taster of what is to come.

First off let me introduce you to six friends who have just left college and moved to the suburbs, for reasons that are, as yet, unknown.

The first of these friends is Dana Wilson, her parents the founders of MiRE furnishings, provided her the spoilt childhood of any rich kid. Her high school days helped to ground her rather than promote her ego which is common during that age period. And as such she was left to be unique and alone, until she met the five people that were soon to become her family.

Dana is very hung up about her appearance, she realises that a lot counts on first impressions, even though past experience has told her not to judge people, she knows that people: employers, future boyfriends, etc. will judge based on appearances.

She also, having grown up as that spoilt rich kid, likes to indulge in expensive clothes and jewellery.

This is Colin Mitchell, he and Dana have been together ever since the group first formed, there have been no formal commitments made but Colin is hoping to propose very soon.

Colin grew up in a dingy, cramped appartment. He saw his mother wither in front of him as she was plagued with mental disabilities, Colin took care of his mother from a young age and became a reserved, mature child... he changed though, he met Dana, and through her, he met the rest of the group; he opened up, explained what he had been through in life - he let go when his mother passed away and evolved, he became what he never could be - a normal child.

Colin relieves stress by exercising. He has constant memories flashing through his mind as he sees his crippling past over and over again. Running helps him to put it out of mind, helps him to regain a sense of humanity. He sweats and along with this his inner demons leave his mind - if only they would stay away.

This is Tom Davis, he was the one who everyone took a liking to straight away, he was the cool dude, the one who wore baggy jeans and let his hair grow long. He grew up after and cut it short, but his laid back approach to work and his love of music made him easily likeable.

Tom was also the kind of person who had rich parents, but they cut him off when he decided to take up music professionally instead of taking part in the prostigious law firm they had built from scratch.

Because of his parents' attitude toward his dream, Tom ran away from home at sixteen and moved in with his best friend, Mark. To this day they have been extremely close, it was almost as if they were brothers.

Tom has yet to be recognised as a professional musician and it can only get harder for him now he has moved to the suburbs.

This is Mark Roolsten. Tom's best friend.

Mark was the creative one, the one who was good at drawing, painting, writing.

It was he and Tom who persuaded the other, lonlier people in the school to be friends with them - and that was how the group was formed. Soon enough, everyone wanted to be in that, the people that judged on first impressions were jealous of the popularity of the group and the amount of influence they had over people in the school.

Mark had a relatively pleasant childhood, with his over-protective mother who try her hardest to provide him with everything he needed and wanted in life. His father who earned a fair wage at a nearby hardware store had managed to save up for Mark to go to college so he could pursue his dream of becoming a writer and an artist.

They had given him a good start in life and taught him what was right and wrong - for which he was eternally grateful.

This is Karl Morrisson, the "geek" of the group.

Karl had been a lonely child, being smart and having big glasses made him a big punchline for jokes made by the school bullies. This lonely and unique character, for he had normal social skills and was pleasant to be around, was pulled into the group of friends. This provided him with safety and he became a crucial part in the groups dynamics.

Karl grew up with loving, devoted parents. They however, were extremely poor and found it hard to keep up with bill payments and could definitely not afford to pay for Karl's tuition fees.

Karl grew up watching his parents scrape the bottom of the barrel for every penny they could to keep a roof over their heads. He promised himself after seeing this that he would never end up like them, that he would be able to support them when he was in a more secure financial situation.

He tried harder in school and his grades picked up, he survived college through scholarships and working two jobs. Now he is looking to find a long-term, secure job and go back and rescue his family from poverty.

And finally the last of the six friends, Clarissa.

Clarissa was the last member of the group to join, since she arrived at the school a few years after the group was formed. She had begun a shy girl who found it difficult to speak to anyone, natural for anyone starting a new school. This made it hard for her to make friends and she was left alone most of the time.

The group noticed her alone one lunch-time and invited her to join them. A short while later and they had broken her out of her shell and found five friends with whom she could share any secret and any dream that she might have.

Clarissa had grown up alone with her single mother, Anna. Her father had left a short while after finding out that Anna was pregnant. Anna had been a good mother, she managed well, but she suffered from depression and stopped eating. She eventually starved herself to death and Clarissa was left to live with her grandmother, who although gracious enough to offer her home to the child was unwilling to provide her with any love.

Clarissa had had to join a new school shortly after and this was when she met her new friends.

This isn't all of the characters by the way, there will be more to come in the next part.

Thanks for reading my Character Introductions and I hope you will read Part 1 when it comes out.