Abigail Atkins

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Name: Abigail Atkins
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Grade: 12th
School: Bayview Secondary School

Hobbies and Interests: Debate team, Student council, Honor society, Sewing

Appearance: Abigail is rather short, standing at about 5'4'' and weighs about 145 pounds. Some of her more critical classmates would call her unattractive, but it would be fairer to say that Abigail is rather unconcerned with the way she presents herself. Her long dark brown hair falls past her shoulders and is very thick, to the point of being impossible to tame – it's usually all over the place, though Abigail will sometimes attempt to wear it in a ponytail. Her hair combined with her rather large, upturned nose and protuberant brown eyes give her a generally squirrel-like appearance. Her skin is rather pale, and heavily freckled. For Abigail, classes have always come first, somewhat at the cost of her physical appearance, for she has recently gained weight and the chub is beginning to show. She is, however, known for being very well-dressed, sometimes even making her own pieces of clothing. On the day she was kidnapped, Abigail was wearing a simple white blouse, a knee-length floral patterned skirt she made herself, and heels.

Biography: Known by some as the curve killer, by others as leader of the debate team, and to some simply as ‘that smart girl', anyone around the school that knows Abigail will usually describe her first by her grades. An active member of the student council, the debate team and the honor society, the first thing on Abigail's list of priorities has always been her grades, and more importantly, her college transcript. She plans to become a pre-med student, and dreams of being accepted at an ivy league school like Harvard, although any school with a good pre-med program and reputation would suit her desires just as well. Her parents have similar dreams for her. Her father owns a very successful local restaurant and her mother is a nurse, and they have been saving for her college education practically since Abigail's conception.

One of Abigail's earliest memories of school was being scolded by her mother in first grade, the day she returned a spelling paper home, only half of the words spelled right. "You need to make sure you do your work well if you want to grow up to be smart person," she had told Abigail. Perhaps her mother should have worded this more carefully, because the idea that her mother didn't think she was smart was wedged into her head, and it was devastating to the young Abigail. She practiced spelling in her room all night, writing the words over and over and over. Abigail made sure she got a perfect score on every spelling test after that, and on any other piece of homework the teacher assigned her. Neither of her parents ever scolded her again that year, and Abigail made a promise to herself to make sure that they never had another reason to. She would be smart for them. As she grew older, Abigail continued to improve her work habits, dedicated specific nights each week to studying and practicing. It wasn't long before her classmates and teachers finally began referring to her as "smart", and she would swell with pride every time she heard it. Abigail found that she thrived on the approval of authority figures in general – her parents, her teachers, her principal – and she was eager to work harder and harder to appease them as she continued to grow older. Her parents, seeing her potential to do great things upon graduating from school, praised her every step of the way, and encouraged her to get involved in extracurricular activities, as well. Abigail was inducted into her school's honor society, and joined the student council quite early in her school career, as well. Upon reaching high school, Abigail discovered the debate team, which, to her, seemed like the ideal way to prove her intelligence. It also gave her a sense of confidence in herself, and an eloquence and affinity for public speaking.

This is not to say that Abigail's family caused her constant unhappiness. Her home environment was always very loving, and her parents have always been very supportive of her, although they also pushed her quite hard to succeed. They instilled in her a great work ethic, a sense of responsibility and most importantly, honesty. Abigail has made it a point to lie as little as possible, particularly to her parents, even in situations where it would be more convenient for her to fudge the truth somewhat. Her sense of duty towards her family is compounded by her younger brother, Abraham, whom she grew up looking out for, and feels obligated to set a good example for. So much of Abigail's identity and self-esteem is rooted in her family and their approval that she has developed a crippling fear of disappointing them, as well as most authority figures, though Abigail herself isn't completely aware of her dependency.

Abigail isn't a completely anti-social shut-in, devoting all of her time to her studies, either. Although she devotes a fair amount of her time to schoolwork, Abigail still makes time for her own group of friends as well. Debate team has given her a sharp wit, which lends itself to a natural sense of humor. This, her acute sense of style and generally sunny disposition has helped Abigail to gain a tight-knit group of friends, a few of which have even formed a small sewing circle. Although she does have a tendency to snap at people due to the amount of stress schoolwork causes her, Abigail is generally still a very optimistic, approachable girl. She has never had a real boyfriend, which can probably be attributed to both a combination of her somewhat plain looks and tendency to become very nervous around boys she is attracted to, but this doesn't particularly faze Abigail – grades come first, anyway. Naturally, her obscenely high grades have also gained her some resentment from her fellow students, but Abigail will usually take it all in stride. Just so long as the disapproval doesn't come from a teacher or her family, Abigail won't worry too hard about it.

Advantages: Being on the debate team means that Abigail can talk her way out of a tough situation. Her disposition also tends to make her more allies than enemies.

Disadvantages: Abigail is not in particularly good shape, and not much of a sprinter. She has no real knowledge of how to use any weapon, and is far too sweet and idealistic to actually kill. Because of her need for approval, she has a tendency to be needy and clingy at times, and is a bit lost without an authority figure.