East Marsh Academy, 12th Grade Philosophy Class (17-18 year olds, 25 students)
Mr. Ernest " Nesta " Christopher Tulloch "Mr. Nesta "
- Thomasina " Tommy " Claudette Overro-Lakeley
The second student is Tommy’s close friend and a fellow outcast, with the two’s friendship baffling many up until the scandal surrounding Tommy. She’s considered a delinquent by many - including some teachers, although they won’t say it aloud - on account of skipping classes when she feels like it, smoking on school grounds and arguing frequently with anyone who gets on her nerves: which isn’t always a difficult thing. Unlike Tommy she’s considered more of a “typical” manifestation of her personality type, her father being in prison for armed robbery, mother having abandoned her two children shortly after his conviction and their legal guardian - their maternal granny, Yvonne Sallinger - often finds herself preoccupied with her younger grandchild and this girl’s brother, who’s fourteen and has severe ADHD that means he requires a lot of support. Although she claims she enjoys her independence, she’s prone to self-isolating and never speaks about her feelings openly, unless it’s an expression of annoyance or a desire to be alone. She attends counseling at school but is still struggling to open up - having dealt with a lot of trauma on account of retaining vivid memories of her parents turbulent relationship and substance abuse issues - however Mr. Nesta’s class is allowing her to process her feelings in unique ways she finds beneficial. Often she’ll find an excuse to hang around after class to chat with him, usually about seemingly mundane topics, but it’s his kindness and consistent listening ear that make so much difference to her.
At 5’10" she’s very slim and quick, being a talented hockey player - although her rebellious nature means she’s been banned from the school team more than once. Her style is serious 90s/early 2000s grunge (featuring cargo pants, mesh sleeved tops, maxi skirts and platform boots) and her fine, straight, hazel brown hair is often worn mostly loose - with an exception of the odd bandana or braiding to expose more of her features: being very pasty in her complexion and her dark green eyes are intense when met. She’s got her naval pierced alongside her septum and - although it’s usually hidden - a dragonfly tattoo over her right ribs, the origins of which are classified information. Aside from hockey and running, she enjoys photography - typically finding beauty in unusual, bleak places that she feels a personal connection to; or listening to podcasts about psychology and mental health. Occasionally she’ll hear from her mom - who’s exact whereabouts are unclear to the family - and this always worsens her behaviour and attitude, typically sparking her bunking periods or just being snappish and withdrawn. Tommy and their other closest friend suspect she’s dealing with depression - based on her habit of sometimes sleeping for hours, missing school thanks to this some days - and deep down she agrees, but doesn’t want to get diagnosed yet as she’s afraid of worrying her granny, who she feels deals with enough as it is. Although some consider her moody, gruff demeanor scary, she’s an excellent listener when needs be and does her best to support Tommy considering recent events - as while she doesn’t approve of what happened, she does understand her friends’ feelings, especially those based in anger.
@moonwriteen Ahh the plot thickens and I love the added complexities! Seriously Tommy is brilliant in how you’ve crafted her with ties to the case which I must check out!