Wallace
Wallace wants to find the love that he felt he lost when his mother killed herself. His father was absent for the most part after his mother’s death. His dad couldn’t cope himself and he had no idea about how going about connecting with him. Aimless, Wallace looks to his grandmother for support. She gives him as much as she can but its hard since Wallace doesn’t live with her and his grandfather. Wallace, although he loved writing from a young age, really began to cling to it after his mother’s death. He found it as his only escape and had notebook after notebook filled with essays, poetry, and short stories. Wallace used this and breaking glasses in order to get out all of the anger and frustration that he felt. He is so full of love he just doesn’t know how or who to give it to.
Nina
Nina was a calming presence from a young age. She has an aura that makes you want to talk to her and you know that she is really listening to you. She makes you feel like you are the only person in the world that she wants to be talking. Although, she doesn’t realize how much of an amazing person she is. She has always felt overshadowed by her older sister. Nina was always the quieter one of the two and Lili would often pick on her for being “weird”. Nina, like Wallace, has a lot of love to give but she doesn’t know how or who to give it to. She tries her best to make sure that everyone feels listened to because she knows how important that can be.
Mother
Wallace’s mother couldn’t handle the pressure anymore. Whenever she was alone, she felt like everything was closing in on her. The only time she felt any kind of relief was when she was with Wallace. He helped keep her depressive thoughts at bay because of how happy and loving he was. She felt that she didn’t have much to offer the world anymore and that her youth disappeared from her. She doesn’t know how to find joy in life anymore. Her husband tries to help, but he can’t seem to reach her anymore. She is beginning to feel more and more untethered and she doesn’t know how to ground herself anymore.
Grandmother
Wallace’s grandmother although sad was not surprised at her daughter’s suicide. She could feel her slipping away no matter how hard she tried to bring her back. She just didn’t know what to do with Wallace. She even contemplated having Wallace come live with her. Her suspicions about hating her daughter’s husband were spot on. She watched as Wallace became angry and angsty without the presence of his father. She was the only reason Wallace went to therapy after she yelled at Wallace’s dad enough times. She just wants Wallace to be the man that she knows he can be.
Victoria
Victoria was always getting in trouble for being too loud and asking inappropriate questions. She was fearless from a young age and always wanted to travel the world instead of being stuck in class. She learned that she had to be outspoken in order to make her way in the world. She was intrigued by Wallace because of how awkward and quiet he was. She was always wondering what he was thinking mostly because she always said what she was thinking. Except when Wallace said that he loved her that was too much. She was freaked. They were just thirteen. How was he supposed to know what love was when she had zero idea.
Psychiatrist
The psychiatrist always wanted to help young kids. One of her best childhood friends committed suicide and she saw the damage it can do to young people. So she decided she wanted to help those scared, depressed kids because at one time in her life she was one of them. Wallace was nothing special. He was everything that she expected him to be after the death of a mother. All she wanted to do was help him, however, she did not know how to crack him. When he reappeared in her office five years later, she was surprised but also delighted. She was so happy that he finally came to get help. She could finally do the work with him that she wanted to do so long ago.
Sarah
Sarah is the smartest person in the grade. She is most definitely going to go to an ivy league school of some kind and probably going to be a professor. Sarah is interested in Wallace because of how quiet he is. They are in the school newspaper together and she is really interested by his writing. She feels like he is one of the only people in school that she really connects with and she feels like she can have an honest conversation with him. She just transferred into Wallace’s high school sophomore year. Her family moves around a decent amount because of her dad’s job so she has lived in most major cities in New Jersey. She is a quiet, thoughtful girl who loves to read and learn.
Lili
Lili has always had a magnetic personality. People have always been attracted to her because of how effortless she seems. Everything seems to be easy for her and she has gotten most things she wanted. She is no stranger to rumors, however, and often had them spread about her because of jealous school girls who wanted to be her. Although she wasn’t always the nicest, girls still wanted to be her and boys wanted to be with her. She loved the attention, but never really found anyone she truly connected with. She wanders by herself, much like a lone wolf.
Wendy
Wendy has always been the fun girl. She bops around from friend group to friend group and is only interested in having a good time. However, she never really felt seen or known. She is desperate to connect with someone and to really get to know someone. She finds those brief connections when she has sex with boys, but it is always fleeting and they never call her the next day. She feels as though sex is the only way for her to really make connections and is hoping that one day she will be good enough for a boy to call her back. Wendy is though. She is fun and thoughtful but hasn’t let this side of her show.