He is 34 years old with short and messy dark brown hair and blue eyes. He’s on the shorter side of the spectrum at only 5’9" and is extremely scrawny and pale. He mostly wears contacts, but sometimes switches over to glasses. He typically wears a lot of jackets, hoodies, and jeans or khakis. There’s usually some kind of dorky or nerdy t-shirt on underneath his overcoat when it’s the weekend and doesn’t teach.
At the age of 13, he was adopted from an orphanage he was kept in since age 9. He came from an abusive mother (his dad took off a year after he was born) who neglected him and had her numerous boyfriends sexually assault him. He came from a very poor household, and his mom only chose to feed her and the men in the house. She rarely left enough food for him. A teacher at his school discovered welts and bruises on his arms and legs when he was forced to dress for gym class after sitting out for a week.
His adoptive family already had two other kids: 12 year old [name_m]David[/name_m] and 8 year old [name_m]Jared[/name_m] (at the time). [name_m]David[/name_m] thought his mom adopting another son was weird, while [name_m]Jared[/name_m] took to him immediately. With only being a few months apart, [name_m]David[/name_m] and the narrator spent a lot of time together in school. They resolve their differences and begin to open up to each other.
The narrator grows up to become a music educator; he’s the assistant band director at a middle and high school in [name_f]Missouri[/name_f]. [name_f]Music[/name_f] was always his escape, and he can play a variety of instruments. Not only did he come from practically nothing and obtain a college degree, but he also has a family: a wife, a son, and a daughter.
He’s determined to make the most out of his life and is extremely optimistic at his 34 year old state. The story explores his childhood, adoption, and how he grew into being the person he is today. His adopted brother [name_m]David[/name_m]'s wife commits suicide, killing their child too when he isn’t home, and [name_m]David[/name_m] loses grip with the world around him. This sort of sends the narrator back to growing up, and it greatly effects his and his family’s life after the incident.
I really love the name [name_m]Judah[/name_m] for him, but I hate that it would be [name_m]Jared[/name_m], [name_m]Judah[/name_m], and [name_m]David[/name_m]. [name_m]Jared[/name_m] and [name_m]Judah[/name_m] are both five letters and start with the letter “J.” They’re a bit too similar for my taste.
I’m looking for names that are bit less obvious than [name_m]Jared[/name_m] and [name_m]David[/name_m] with a flare like [name_m]Judah[/name_m] has.
His last name is [name_m]Adler[/name_m].
Please suggest as many or as few names as you would like.
Thanks! 