Mackenzie "Kenzie" Baker

[blastinus]

Name: Mackenzie Ariel Baker
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Grade: 12th
School: George Hunter High School
Hobbies and Interests: Fashion, drama club, singing

Appearance: Mackenzie stands at 5'3" and weighs 140 lbs. Her physique is average for her size, with a slim waist and a fair amount of muscle definition due to her dance practice and theater work. She is Caucasian with tanned skin, brown eyes, and wavy shoulder-length blonde hair. She has a rounded face with soft features and a generally warm complexion. Her clothing tends to vary depending on mood, but she trends towards designs featuring bright colors and loud patterns. She leans towards skirts over shorts, generally knee-length, and she loves to wear sleeveless shirts and high-cut t-shirts, along with fashionable sunglasses. No matter what the outfit, she is almost never seen without a distinctive purple straw hat which she decorates with various accessories like colorful flowers or bows or whatever strikes her fancy.

Biography: Mackenzie Baker was born into wealth to Arthur and Marie Baker, her father having inherited his wealth in turn. Her grandfather had made his fortune in stock trading and careful investments, leaving behind his stock portfolio to her father. Before she was born, her parents had used their wealth to live a carefree, adventurous life, constantly on the go, and determined as they were to maintain that lifestyle, they decided that they would leave Mackenzie in the care of a paid servant named Gloria Roberts.

As a result, Gloria effectively became Kenzie's mother, at least in her eyes. She knew that she had other parents; she saw them now and then when they came home to recuperate from their many trips. But they barely acknowledged that she was there. As far as her parents were concerned, as long as she was fed, entertained, and taken care of, that was the extent of their involvement with their child. They would leave a check to handle compensation and expenses, board a plane, and they'd be gone again. Mackenzie would come to resent them for it, and after the first few times of them ignoring her and telling Gloria to handle her like she was some piece of luggage, she simply grew to ignore them in return.

For her part, Gloria tried to make her childhood a happy one, taking her on excursions to parks and the zoo and other such places. She made sure that Kenzie's needs were met, she comforted her when she was feeling sad, and helped her with her education. She genuinely loved the child, who was growing up to be quite talkative and silly. Even as a young girl, she had a performer personality, and would love to play dress-up, pretending to be a princess or an adventurer, which Gloria would play along with and encourage. Her parenting was fairly lenient however, due to a fear of getting in trouble with Mackenzie's actual parents, and so there were very few occasions where outbursts were challenged or corrected. Since she was overall a sweet and kind girl, these outbursts were few and far between, and as she came to realize the pressure that Gloria was under, she cooperated with her and stayed well-behaved for her sake.

Her parents had decided against private schooling for a few reasons, chief of which was that they didn't wish to spare the money for it. Their constant globetrotting was a drain on their annual stipend, and as a result, they were relatively cheap with regards to anything that wasn't themselves. Since that meant that private tutoring was also out, Mackenzie was effectively left to fend for herself with only Gloria to give advice on friendships and school subjects. As a result, she tended to be awkward in social situations, which got her mocked and made fun of in return. Complaining bitterly to Gloria, she wished there that she could just disappear, but Gloria had a different thought. The problem, she theorized, was not that she was drawing too much attention, but that she didn't have enough experience with being the center of attention. Her solution, therefore, was to do something that wouldn't help but turn heads, and so she took Kenzie to find a hat that nobody could miss, which is where the purple straw hat came from; the very same hat that Kenzie wears to this day.

Going through school, Mackenzie began to find comfort in being distracting and odd, crafting an entire persona out of her colorful outfits and outspoken personality. Even after gaining the confidence that she needed, she still wears the hat as a symbol of her determination. She began to take part in the school theater, joining drama club in high school and learning how to sing and dance through self-study and a local dance instructor who she sees every week whenever she can manage it. Expressing herself before a wide audience makes her feel powerful, and she has never missed a practice, tackling the subject with extreme fervor. When she's not preparing for plays and recitals, she puts in the effort to study and learn her school material, performing B work with the occasional A in social studies courses. She's active in school events and loves to pitch in when she's got time for charity drives, since she feels like her privilege gives her a duty to help others who are less fortunate. She loves to interject into conversations to see if there's anything she can help with, because ultimately, it all drives attention back to her.

That being said, she has her issues too. Her new self-confidence has given way to carelessness in her speech, resulting in her saying things that are sometimes hurtful or even downright offensive without even realizing it, though she will apologize profusely once she realizes her error. She lacks subtlety and loves the sound of her voice a bit too much, making her untrustworthy when it comes to keeping secrets. She's a good actor, but has difficulty sharing the spotlight and will attempt to dominate every scene she's in, putting her at odds with her peers. Finally, while her hat is a great source of power for her, she's also quite defensive about it, and has a tendency to lose her temper when criticized for it. Her situation with her parents hasn't changed in recent years, resulting in her depending a lot on her peers for approval and recognition, which can dramatically affect her mood when they treat her poorly or make fun of her.

At George Hunter, Mackenzie has found comfort and security in the other rich kids attending there, having known many of the people living in the gated community since they were kids. She loves to discuss the places they've gone to and the experiences they've had, but she has a tendency to lie about her own, creating false tales of spending time with her parents and sharing lots of happy memories. This is firstly because she wants to impress her peers and not let them know that she's effectively been unwanted baggage all her childhood, but secondly because it's almost a comforting lie that she can believe herself. She's also connected with the people in drama club, practically intruding on their lives and wanting to know their experiences. In effect, she's almost like a social vampire, living exciting, dynamic lives vicariously through them.

Outside of school, Mackenzie still loves attending local events and taking trips to the zoo and the aquarium. She's an avid shopper and pops in to any number of places when the mood strikes her, though she's learned to budget for what she really wants, since her parents only leave her so much money to work with. She can often be seen in the local parks, practicing her singing in the great outdoors or just taking in the greenery. She's never been out of the city, so she instead explores around where she lives, fantasizing about the far-off places where her parents must be enjoying themselves.

Mackenzie has many dreams and ambitions, chief of which is a desire to make something of herself, independent of her parents' wealth. Having seen the decadence and self-centered behavior that can come from never having to work, she believes that she has to form her own career in theater and film. Though her parents have said nothing about her attending college, she's already made plans to apply to Juilliard and the American Academy of Performing Arts in New York, and from there, get herself discovered with her natural talent. She hasn't told her parents this, hoping that she can just make a clean break from them once she goes to college and never have to see them again. She doesn't know if she loves her parents or not, but as graduation looms, she's been feeling anxiety that she can't quite explain. She's contemplated opening up to them, telling them more about her own life experiences, but she doesn't want a repeat of the same pain she felt as a child, so she and they have continued ignoring one another.

Advantages: Mackenzie is charitable and kind, always willing to help others in need. She's a skilled actor and singer and has very little shame or hesitation when it comes to expressing herself.
Disadvantages: Mackenzie's personality may be grating on others, and she doesn't realize when she's offending people. She has a need for attention and acknowledgement and gets easily depressed or upset when criticized or ignored.