Mercedes Wilson

[ElTejon*]

Name: Mercedes Wilson
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Grade: Senior
School: Bayview Secondary School
Hobbies and Interests: Bicycling and swimming. Favorite subjects include Marine Biology and P.E.
Appearance: Mercedes is a petite, dark skinned African-American girl, about 5'5", and weighs 115 lbs at the most. She has a trim, athletic build with well-developed leg muscles, small, B-Cup breasts and long, shoulder-length hair that she wears back into a ponytail. Her eyes are large and almond-shaped, set under a pair of neatly plucked, softly arching eyebrows. Her mouth is small, but lips are full, and her teeth are relatively even and white, with a slight gap between her two front teeth being her most noticeable feature. She has broad facial features and her cheeks and forehead are dotted with whiteheads that her dark skin renders almost invisible.

She wears very little makeup, often choosing to gloss her lips and paint her short, closely-clipped nails black once every week or so. Jewelry is restricted to a small naval piercing she received on her sixteenth birthday. Since she enjoys exercising in her free time, she'll often come to school dressed like she's ready to go to the gym, often wearing the same pair of gym shorts for several days at a time.

Biography: For the past two years, Mercedes' home life has taken a turn for the worse. Before that, things seemed to be perfect, with two older sisters to hang out with and a pair of loving parents who doted on her every whim. She and her mother were especially close, since her father was often away at work, but the money that he pulled in from working as a dentist gave her a comfortable home life that she and her sisters sometimes took for granted. Even at such a young age, Mercedes was already developing a passion for the outdoors that kept her outside all day long, swimming in their outside pool and riding around on her bicycle while her sisters preferred to stay inside and watch TV. Her enthusiasms never seemed to change the entire time she was growing up, though she did occasionally branch out by joining up with a few of her elementary and middle school sports teams, but she never fails to spend at least one hour a day either swimming laps around her parents' pool or riding around her neighborhood on her bike.

Unfortunately, as of two years ago her home life has been on rocky ground, when her father confessed to having an affair with one of his patients. Although her parents haven't bothered to come right out and say it, the distance they've put between themselves makes it obvious to Mercedes and her sisters that they're on the verge of getting divorced. Whenever she went to talk to her mother about the growing tension between her and her husband, Mercedes was always assured that nothing around the house was going to change, and that a divorce was never going to happen -- words that rang hollow in light of the heated arguments that had been cropping up in the Wilson household over the past two years. Mercedes hasn't taken to the situation well, and she's become noticeably more depressed and moody on the days when things at home seem to be at their worst. Her and her boyfriend have been spending less and less time together as of late, with her sometimes brushing him off to go exercise and work off the stress and anxiety that she harbors deep inside her. Recently, her diet has also started getting worse, with her frequently skipping meals on her moody days and sometimes going on nothing more than a protein bar and a can of soda. When pressed about her terrible diet, she insists that the stress of making it through her senior year has just made her a little forgetful, but her friends and boyfriend are all worried that she's developing an eating disorder.

Still, in spite of the rough times she's going through, Mercedes has prided herself on being able to maintain her old confidence and passion for exercise. Much to her boyfriend's annoyance, she has a habit of counting calories and can't sit still for more than twenty minutes without become restless and fidgety. This has often gotten her in trouble at school with her teachers, who've all given her a least one citation for being disruptive in class, though she tends to do better in Biology and P.E., which both appeal to her enthusiasms for marine life and personal fitness. Marine biology is of particular interest interest for her because it ties in to her love of the ocean, and her goal in life is to become a Marine Biologist and going exploring under the sea like her idol, Jacques Cousteau. Failing that, the possibility of becoming a nurse or a personal trainer has always appealed to her, though she's well aware that she has plenty of time to decide what to do with herself once she's out of high school.

Advantages: Mercedes is the sort of girl you'd want to have on your team in any given sport. Her enthusiasm for bicycling and swimming has given her a great amount of stamina to work with, and she's got a well-developed lung capacity that lets her hold her breath for two to three minutes, which could be useful if she should ever need to hide from another student or play dead to catch an attacker off guard. Should it come right down to it, she would have no second thoughts about fighting her classmates just to stay alive. Also, there are students on the island who might be willing to join up with her, especially her boyfriend, but it remains to be seen just how strong her relationships will hold up in a kill-or-be-killed scenario.
Disadvantages: Mercedes' diminutive size and low upper body strength makes it difficult for her to lift heavy objects. Her depression and emotional fragility might cause her to become suicidal or suffer a nervous breakdown, and she hasn't been in a fight since the twelfth grade, so even though she's willing to defend herself, she won't do well on her own unless she comes into possession of a useful weapon or finds someone to back her up. The irregular eating habits she's displayed might also leave her a little low on energy at the start of the contest, and finding food will be a high priority for her if she's chosen that day to skimp on her breakfast.