Gilbert Pohlmann*

[rosbowag*]

Name: Gilbert Pohlmann
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Grade: Senior
School: Bayview Secondary School
Hobbies and Interests: Hockey, Family, Church, Drinking

Appearance: Gilbert is not the kind of guy who stands out in a crowd; he's not unattractive by any means, but not someone who you would call distinctive. He's slightly below average in height, with rumpled mousy brown hair that is almost always crushed under a Minnesota Golden Gophers cap; only in formal occasions will he go without it, and even then he sports hat-hair. He has a thick brow, and deep-set light brown eyes.

His body is usually concealed by ill-fitted gym shorts and sweatshirts, but underneath it all he is sturdy, well-fed Minnesota boy. Years of hockey have left him in solid athletic condition, but although he works hard, he's not the fittest guy on the team.

In short, Gilbert is practically indistinguishable from countless other high school athletes, a student that blends in with the masses in his day to day life.

Biography: As much as Gilbert is a non-entity at school, he is equally a presence in his home life. He was raised by a single mom in a hovel of a house out in the prairies of Minnesota, along with his two young sisters. Gilbert spends the majority of his free time doing housework. His father walked out when he was 4. He has vague memories, such sledding with a man with a mustache and flannel shirt, but he couldn't put a face on his father if he tried. Because of his inability to personalize his father he feels no resentment towards the stranger. He only recognizes it as an unfortunate event that made him and beloved family's lives that much harder. His mother works long hours, and he feels both proud of and trapped by his role as "man of the house" at the same time. His only outlet is hockey. When he can escape from his responsibilities, he works shifts at the local Wal-Mart to pay for equipment. Hockey is the one thing Gilbert has allowed himself to be passionate about and he won't let anything hold him back at it.

The reason behind Gilbert's lack of reputation is not complicated; he merely keeps to himself. He moves from class to class with his eyes set straight, not saying much. His few friends from his team are some of the most popular guys in the school, but to all others Gilbert is just "that guy who hangs out with Tucker, Rob, Brent, and Wes." And Gilbert has no desire to be anything more than that. He is polite, and reciprocates conversation when approached, but never seeks it out. He does his best in his classes; his habit is to coast but if things look grim he'll work until he's guaranteed to pass. He never fails, but has a few C's here and there. The classes he does best at are sciences, where the meticulous memorization of facts complements his personality. There are certain girls in his classes that he finds ridiculously attractive, but would never be able to verbalize those emotions.

Gilbert finds a great deal of comfort in his Church. His mother is very religious, and started taking her children to Sunday mass weekly when they were babies. Although it was a chore at first for Gilbert, it became a release once his family moved from the prairies into an apartment in St. Paul. The family switched churches from a stodgy, formal church to a newer, more vibrant one that really encouraged its congregation to seek salvation through their own means. He now takes pride in his religion, and does his best to go through life as close to God as he can, although he does give in to temptation here and there.

Although so much positive energy is channeled into his sport, family, and religion, Gilbert has recently developed one major vice. In the past couple months, a group of his teammates started inviting him out more. Gilbert,not having much of a social life, eagerly tagged along. It wasn't long before he was edging down a slippery path as he drank and partied with them. It was all new to Gilbert. He didn't even mind that they treated him awfully, and used him for favors. Gilbert was happy to just be one of the guys. His shyness prevented him from pulling himself out of this rut.

Currently, he is in a state of inner turmoil between the morals that mean so much to him and the temptation and quick fix that his uncouth new friends offer.

Advantages: Gilbert is very athletic, has high endurance, and can be driven and focused as long as there aren't too many distractions.
Disadvantages: He is shy to the point of social paralysis, and easily swayed by others. Essentially, due to inexperiance, Gilbert is naive and trusts easily. If someone treated him positively for the sake of taking advantage of him, he would have a hard time seeing through that. He hopes his Christianity will see him through all obstacles, but it might in fact be a disadvantage as it will leave him less ruthless than some of his peers.