S014 - Reid, Juanita

[Deamon]

Name: Juanita Reid
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Grade: 12
School: John Endecott Memorial Academy
Hobbies and Interests: Classic video games, Christian club, Body Improvement club, Pokemon Go.

Appearance: Juanita is of Irish descent, with fair skin and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks. She stands at an average height of 5’5”, weighing around 130 pounds. She has a slim and athletic yet feminine build with long limbs and a slightly pronounced hourglass body shape, giving her a slender waist, wide-set hips, and a large bust. She usually downplays that last feature with a hunched posture or baggy clothes. She has a lot of faded scars on her legs and forearms, mostly gained from playing outdoors or doing athletic activities. Her athletic interests have given her a decent amount of muscle tone, though her recent period of inactivity has softened their definition somewhat.

Her face can be described as boyish and androgynous, and with her choppy hairstyle she could be mistaken for a boy at first glance. Juanita rarely wears makeup, so her slightly squared jawline and sharp features are quite prominent. Her nose is a little bit wide and comes to a slight point. Her mouth is an average size, though her relatively thin lips make it look slightly bigger. Her eyes are brown with a reddish tint to them. Juanita’s hair is naturally dark brown, but is currently dyed a lighter hue. Its style vaguely resembles a pixie cut, though it’s grown out a bit and her darker roots have clearly begun to show. She doesn’t do much to maintain it, beyond keeping it clean and conditioned.

Subconsciously Juanita tends to hunch forward a bit, both as a means of hiding her form and alleviating some of the back pain it causes. She tore her ACL back in March, and she still occasionally has to wear a black knee brace on her right leg. Her sense of fashion is relatively bland; she hates girly clothing, and prefers to dress in baggy clothes or sweats.

She was wearing a casual layered outfit when she was abducted: a red tank top under a t-shirt under two thick zip-up hoodies, one thinner green one and a black wool-lined one overtop. She wore pajama pants underneath her jeans with her knee brace over her right leg, as well as shabby hand-me-down black winter boots. She was also wearing a knitted winter hat with a bobble on the top.

Biography: Juanita is the fourth child of Gary and Colleen Reid, a middle-aged Irish Catholic couple. She has three brothers, Jeremy (now 27), Daniel (now 25), and Patrick (now 24). The boys had been born almost exactly eighteen months apart, but Patrick was already halfway through kindergarten when Juanita was conceived. Gary and Colleen hadn't traveled much, on a whim they took a vacation to Cancun to celebrate Gary's 15th anniversary at work. They disliked the beach resort and the hot environment, and wound up spending most of the vacation in their hotel room. They struck up a friendship with the hotel's day concierge, a young woman named Juanita. When Colleen unexpectedly became pregnant, the couple chose to name their daughter after her to commemorate the experience.

The Reids’ house was somewhat too small for all of the children, but their mortgage was locked in. Colleen stayed at home with the kids. She hoped that Juanita would add some femininity to the house, but Juanita had no interest in dolls or girly clothing. She was more interested in playing with her brothers, but they had little interest in her, due to their age and gender differences.

Juanita and her brothers were often left to play outside, spending their time at side streets and playgrounds so their mother could hear herself think. The boys were now in the phase of life where nicknames mattered. They called each other Jer and Dan and Pat, and on days where they let Juanita joined in, they called her Juan. Most other days, however, they ran off without her, and she was forced to walk home by herself to play in the front yard.

In school, Juanita was an average student. She liked other kids, and often enjoyed participating in group activities. She wasn’t a gifted student, and lagged behind in reading and writing. She did her best to keep up with things she was supposed to learn, but was driven less by interest than a fear of failing. Juanita disliked being cooped up in a classroom. The only parts of school she enjoyed were recess and gym class, because they gave her excuses to go out and run.

Juanita’s parents signed her up for soccer when she was nine. She loved having an excuse to run as fast as she could, and loved being cheered for. Her teammates called her by her nickname, Juan, which she took as a sign of respect. She sometimes was overly aggressive in pursuit of the ball, and had to be reminded that soccer was a team sport. Over a few seasons, she managed to curb her competitive spirit and become more of a team player.

This period brought some changes to the Reid family dynamic. Jer had graduated and moved out to attend trade school, and Dan planned to move in with him after graduation. Pat was sixteen, and making a name for himself as a party animal. The boys were rarely at home, but they occasionally made time for Juanita. Pat was the one who taught her to play video games. Colleen wasn’t a fan of electronic entertainment or video games in particular, but the boys had been gifted an old Super Nintendo. Juanita preferred co-operative games with her brothers, including Super Mario World, Goof Troop, and the Donkey Kong series. She's also pretty good at competitive games like Mario Kart and Bomberman, but lags far behind her brothers' skill level. The boys have since moved on to newer consoles, but Juanita still prefers the classics she grew up with.

When she got into middle school, Juanita encountered lacrosse for the first time. She loved the strategy and precision it required, and soon convinced her parents to allow her to make the switch from soccer to a youth lacrosse league.

Middle school brought a lot of challenges for Juanita. Her Catholic upbringing occasionally led her into conflict with other students, as she was a strident rule-follower and didn’t like to see other people breaking rules. Since the children were old enough, Colleen went back to work. She became a part-time classroom assistant, helping a number of special needs students at Juanita's school. This caused Juanita some embarrassment, and she asked her mother not to talk to her during the school day.

Around this time Juanita's body sprouted and she developed a large bust, which caused her a number of difficulties. Her back hurt from the weight of her chest and she often struggled to find clothes that fit; boys gave her unwanted attention, and some girls spread nasty rumors about her. Some of these rumors used her nickname, Juan, pejoratively to imply she was transgender. She has stopped using it as a result. Juanita reported the bullying, which got her labeled a snitch, but got the rumors to die down a little. She started wearing baggy clothes and avoided talking to most boys in class, which eventually got the bullies to move on to other targets. Since then, she's almost always dressed in loose clothes unless she's working out, and goes out of her way to change in private. She reacts poorly to comments about her body or her appearance, and remains skeptical of boys who show interest in her.

In high school, Juanita tried out for John Endecott Memorial’s lacrosse team, and became a midfielder. The sport occupied most of her free time and gave her a sense of belonging. She was proud to be part of a successful team, and got along well with her teammates. She didn’t do much to draw attention to herself outside of the team, not wanting to repeat her experiences in middle school. Her grades remained average, and she struggled in both math and science.

During this period, Juanita found herself as the only child consistently at home. Jeremy married and moved out of the place he shared with Daniel. Patrick still lived at home, but was studying at community college in Danvers, and often stayed with classmates instead of commuting back to Salem. This dynamic changed during the pandemic. Dan was laid off and moved back home, and a lack of in-person classes both eliminated Colleen's job and sent Patrick home. The family was forced to get by on Gary's income from the grocery store, supplemented with Dan's unemployment. Colleen occasionally worked as a tutor, but the hours were unsteady.

Juanita found the home situation stifling and took walks whenever she could. She downloaded Pokemon Go to give herself an excuse to get out and about. She initially had little attachment to the game, and only saw it as an excuse to get outside. But she found the creatures cute, and enjoyed collecting them. She developed a genuine interest, and still plays the game whenever she goes for a walk.

When she wasn't out walking, Juanita invested some of her free time figuring out her college prospects. She tried to secure a lacrosse scholarship, hoping to play in Division I. She signed up for a recruiting site and contacted a number of college and university coaches. Juanita was disappointed to find out that scholarships were limited and often covered only a small portion of tuition. She was turned down by every Division I school she applied to, but was offered a shot at a scholarship at Assumption University in Division II. Though she disappointed not to make Division I, Assumption was a Catholic school and comparatively affordable, so she believed God was leading her there. She began to work harder in her studies, to increase her chances of being accepted.

Unfortunately, Juanita’s plans were derailed in early April of 2021. During a lacrosse game she tore the ACL in her right leg. The injury was bad enough to require surgery. Gary's job didn’t offer much in the way of health insurance, and the operation put a significant strain on the family’s finances. Her surgery went fine, but her recovery was slow and painful. She was on crutches longer than most patients, and the swelling in her knee persisted. Juanita hated being cooped up in her house and grew impatient. She often walked further than she was supposed to, pretending that she'd just gotten caught up in Pokemon Go and lost track. But the truth was that she thought she was strong enough to push the limits of her therapy and could recover faster. This mindset only hindered the process and made her pain worse.

When Juanita's pain didn't subside, doctors concluded that there were two problems. Juanita had opted for a hamstring graft, hoping that it would let her back on the field sooner. This procedure harvested tendons from elsewhere in her knee, but these tendons weren't properly adhering to the bone. This problem was compounded by excess pressure on the ACL; removing tendons from other muscle units forced the new joint to handle more than it was capable of. In June she had another surgery to correct these problems using allograft. This corrected most of her issues, and by August she was able to jog again with a knee brace. However, with the new graft she wouldn’t be returning to lacrosse for at least a year, and her scholarship was withdrawn. She still has to wear the knee brace when running, jogging, or standing for extended periods. Even though she is well into recovery, her knee still occasionally causes her pain. Her doctors have suggested that these pains are psychosomatic. Juanita is terrified of another graft failure; she tries to minimize what she feels, ignoring or pushing through the pain as best as she can.

Juanita doesn’t associate much with her old teammates, or Endecott’s athletes in general aside from Body Improvement club. It’s emotionally painful for her not to be able to be a part of that world anymore, and those emotions can trigger her knee pain. The team had been her primary social circle, so Juanita is now taking steps to be more social outside of it. This process has been somewhat awkward for Juanita. She attends parties when she's invited, but she doesn't drink and often leaves early. Juanita still doesn't like to attract attention, but she's friendly and enjoys talking to her classmates, often eating lunch with one or two classmates. She tends to be a bit of a social butterfly; she's not afraid to join conversations she finds interesting, and likes to meet new people. She has a good sense of humor, and is quick to laugh at other people's jokes. However, she finds it difficult to make actual friends, and because of her experiences getting bullied she is guarded in going beyond acquaintanceships. It takes a lot of trust for her to talk to someone about sports or her leg. On days when she's feeling brave she might occasionally seek out other people with injuries or struggles, hoping to learn from their perspective and get better at coping.

Romance isn't something Juanita thinks about often. She is highly cautious in this area. She's gone on a few practice dates with boys who seemed safe enough. These experiments all fizzled out, due to lack of connection or when it became clear that Juanita had no interest in getting physical before marriage. She does find some boys in school attractive, but she tends to be into athletic guys and doesn't think she has much to offer them. She might gossip about finding certain guys hot, but she's too self-conscious to ever do anything further. She also tends to assume that boys are only interested in her for her body, and that this is the reason any guy would ask her out.

Juanita has maintained her Catholic faith and morals, but she’s currently very angry with God, and doesn’t understand why He would allow her life to be ruined the way it was. This has created some friction with her parents. Colleen thinks Juanita just needs to pray through her pain and anger, and Gary is distant. He is a meek sort of man, kind-hearted but out of his depth with Juanita's struggles. Gary handles closing shifts at the market, so he isn’t around very much. He doesn't relate to Juanita well, and they don't talk about anything in depth. Juanita's relationships with her brothers are better: Jer is off doing his own thing, but they Zoom sometimes. Dan is actively looking for jobs, and grouchy with the rest of the family, but he and Patrick both enjoy gaming with her. She's still not at the boys' level, especially when they goad her into playing newer Halo games or other shooters, but can give them a good run at SNES games. Game duels remain the Reid siblings' primary method of resolving disputes over chores or making wagers. She enjoys these times with her brothers, feeling that the age gap has been collapsed a bit in their adulthood and made them easier to relate to. All three of them struggle, and in the rare times they talk about it, the others listen.

Juanita signed up for Worship and Prayers club at the start of high school, thinking it would be good to have connections to fellow believers. She still attends, mostly as a way of trying to stay faithful while working through her frustration and confusion. During prayer time Juanita will talk about her leg and how frustrated she is. The group can't offer her anything but thoughts and prayers; she accepts these but privately doesn't think they help. She enjoys hearing other people's struggles, since it makes her feel like she isn't the only one who questions what God is doing, and is often happy to pray for others. She tries to do so every night, but sometimes forgets or is too frustrated to feel like doing it.

She’s also an infrequent member of the Body Improvement club, which she joined in May. The club promotes body conditioning and good health, with a slight lean towards military recruiting. Juanita is uninterested in the military, but thought the club would provide a social support for her therapy. Even after her setback and the loss of her scholarship, Juanita still uses the club as an accountability system, checking in with them to report how she's recovering physically. It helps her to still feel like an athlete without triggering the pain that her old clubs do.

Juanita’s not sure what she wants to do when she grows up. With athletics scholarships out of reach, her grades aren’t good enough to get by on academics. There’s nothing else she feels passionate enough about to risk taking on a full load of student loan debt. She’ll have to make a decision soon enough about whether to apply. If she does, she’ll want to go to a Christian school, most likely Gordon College. Currently she’s leaning towards taking a gap year and earning some money to see if she can afford it.

Advantages: Juanita’s sports background has given her very good strategic and spatial abilities. She’s instinctively good at tracking large numbers of people and objects at once, anticipating how they’ll move and responding accordingly. She has high endurance, and can stay active for long periods of time. She’s also used to performing under pressure and can keep a level head in most situations.
Disadvantages: Juanita has an obvious weak spot in her injured leg, and is at a severe disadvantage when it comes to maneuvering, jumping, or climbing. Walking for extended periods will put her in pain. Her knee brace will allow her to run, but only in a straight line; she has little or no agility and if she’s forced to dodge around trees or objects she’ll be in a lot of trouble.

Designated Number: Student No. 014

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Designated Weapon: Haladie

Conclusion: Do you know what they say about one-legged girls in murder contests? They fucking die. - Josie Knight