Post by `camilla kae malang on Jun 9, 2009 18:57:09 GMT -5
Character's Name: Camilla Kae Malang
Gender: Female
Age: Seventeen
Grade: Senior
Job (If Applicable): None
Wealth: Poor
Impulse: Greed
Association: Neutral
Appearance: Camilla is a direct mixture of her mother and father - Filipino features from her mother, mixed with black features from her father. Her lips are very plump, and she makes sure they stand out by coating them with lip gloss and lipstick. Her eyes, which happen to be her favorite feature, are slightly slanted and usually outlined with thick eyeliner and eyeshadow. Her nose is wide and flat, and usually heavily powdered to hide the blemishes. Camilla’s cheekbones are quite high. Her face itself is not very round, but it appears to be because of her chosen hairstyle. Her hair is long and thick; very dark brown in color. It is slightly kinky, but she usually straightens it.
Personality: Camilla is able to adapt to any situation you can think of. If she’s at school; she can be nice, smart, and well-spoken. If she’s at a party; she can be loud, flirty, and uninhibited. She never acts the same for any given situation - she changes the superficial aspects of her personality at a moment’s notice in order to get as much as she can. At school, she gets extra bathroom passes and more leeway to break the rules by acting like the perfect student. At parties, she gets more guys by acting flirty and loose. But, many people think that she is fake and acts like everyone else is just to fit in. But in reality, she just unconsciously mirrors how other people act, and then does what they do. It isn’t that she isn’t happy with her own personality, she just prefers to fit in to get extra benefits.
Camilla is very resilient. She is very good at hiding things and pretending like she doesn’t care. She never gets “depressed” and she always has hope that things will get better, even when it is obvious nothing will change. When she was a little girl, it was necessary to be optimistic; or she would never have anything to live for. She hardly ever cries, and when she does, it is in the privacy of her own room. Javi is the only person who is allowed to see her sad, and if someone notices that she isn’t happy, she denies everything. It isn’t very healthy to hide your feelings like that, but Camilla doesn’t know any other way. Her grandmother used to slap her when she would cry; telling her to grow up and be a big girl.
Camilla never really thinks about the consequences of her actions. She doesn’t think about what effect it will have on anyone but herself, and even then, she tends to do it anyway. She has the stereotypical teenage attitude that “it won’t happen to me”. She doesn’t think about what might happen, or why she shouldn’t do it. She does what makes her feel good, and she doesn’t think about what will happen. She does what she wants, not what will benefit the “greater good”. She often finds herself laughing at anyone who plans out the effects and what will happen because of something they do.
Camilla is quite the selfish little girl. She thinks about herself and her pleasure and happiness. She doesn’t think about what happens to other people because of what she does; if she is happy, she’s perfectly fine. She likes to have the best of everything; and doesn’t care what she has to do to get it, whether it’s jumping someone with a lot of money or stealing from her mother’s boyfriend. She always has to have more; nothing ever satisfies her. This may or may not be because she never had anything when she was a little girl, but she prefers not to think about those things. All she knows is that she never wants to be so poor and forlorn again, and she doesn’t care what she has to do to achieve that goal.
History/Life: Camilla Kae Malang was born to a mother that didn’t want her, and a father that didn’t know of her existence. Her mother saw her as the reminder of the boy that broke her heart and couldn‘t stand to look at her. She wasn’t old enough or mature enough for a baby; at thirteen years old, she was still a baby herself. Camilla’s mother allowed her own mother to adopt her baby; while she fell into drugs and partying to forget about Camilla and her father. Camilla’s grandmother never wanted a baby; Camilla’s own mother was a mistake, and now she was being saddled with another baby. She quite obviously resented both Camilla and Lani.
When Camilla was five, she started kindergarten at which would be classified as an “inner-city” school. There were better schools in the vicinity, but neither Lani nor Camilla’s grandmother could be bothered to take the time out to drive Camilla to and from that school. Lani had a habit of staying out until Camilla woke up for school, and sleeping until after she got home. Camilla’s grandmother left for work before Camilla woke up; and got home from work well after ten at night. Neither wanted to take the time to change their schedules to accommodate Camilla. And so she began kindergarten getting herself ready in the morning and making sure she made it to the bus stop on time. She usually ordered pizza for supper; by the time she was four she’d known the number for Domino’s and how to order what she wanted.
At age six, Camilla could bathe herself, feed herself, get herself to school, clean the house, and knew exactly how to cure her mother’s hangovers. She often woke up to find a strange man in her kitchen, who usually was eating the leftover pizza and lying on her couch watching TV. This disrupted her routine; she usually picked her clothes out of the laundry room and then got dressed while watching cartoons. The men on her couch confused her; she didn’t know why or how they got there and she was too afraid of Lani to ask her. She inferred that her mother was helping homeless men, and soon got into the habit of offering to make them eggs or what-have-you, so she could be a helpful person like she thought her mother was.
Soon after she entered the first grade, Camilla’s mother moved out, leaving Camilla with her grandmother. Camilla was left alone now more than ever, and she developed a hobby - walking. She would come home, order a pizza, do her homework, then grab her jacket and walk around the neighborhood until midnight. Her grandmother saw it as a godsend; she now had to deal with Camilla even less. Camilla herself was learning new things every day - she learned that Gabe Varela, a boy in her class, lived next door to her. She learned that girls like to kiss boys in the back of the neighborhood, and that this often involved them removing their shirts. She saw her mother often; walking in large groups of loud grown-ups, and she was often holding on to a bottle with one hand with the other arm wrapped around a man. Camilla never approached Lani; she was too afraid that her mother wouldn’t recognize her.
When Camilla turned seven, she discovered that it was much more fun to go on walking expeditions with a friend. She recruited Gabe Varela for the task. He was the same age as her, and his mother was nice. That was the main reason Camilla chose him and not the boy who lived in the apartment on the side of her, who was cuter and older than Gabe. Javi’s mother was a lot like her own, and Camilla didn’t want to have to interact with her. And so she chose Gabe, who’s mother was large and warm, who actually acted like a mother. Gabe, though, had to be back at his house by dark, while Camilla could stay out as late as she wanted as long as she showed up to school in the morning. That was the agreement her and her grandmother had. “I don’t want to go to jail because you ain’t smart enough to get yourself to school every morning” was how Camilla’s grandmother put the situation. And since Camilla didn’t mind school, she had no problem with it.
Eventually, Camillatired of Gabe. He was too good for her; he didn’t want to help her steal candy from the gas station, and he was always so worried about getting home late. Camilla soon dropped him for someone more accommodating to her idea of a walking expedition. And that person happened to be Javi. She had completely lost her urge for a motherly figure in her life, and Javi was much more well-versed in the art of stealing. And he didn’t have a curfew either. They became fast friends; they were both no more than lonely little kids, no matter how much they pretended to be tough and hard. Camilla got in her first fight with Javi - there was an older boy that lived above Camilla who was always obnoxious to her and Javi. He had a father and a mother, and they weren’t even poor, according to him. Neither Camilla nor Javi believed him about that part; why would he live here if he was so rich? But anyway, he was quite the snotty little kid. One day as he was walking home from school, Javi and Camilla jumped on him and attempted to beat the shit out of him. They only succeeded in getting a few punches in before his father jumped in. The man attempted to get both Camilla and Javi in serious trouble with their parents; but failed. Neither Javi’s mother nor Camilla’s grandmother cared enough to punish the kids.
As Camilla got older, she progressed from stealing candy to stealing cars, and slapping little kids to jumping teenagers and stealing their wallets. Her and Javi were best friends; he was the figurative peanut butter to her jelly, the salt to her pepper. They were inseparable. The first time they tried to steal a car failed miserably. They used a movie as their guide, which caused them to immediately set off the alarm and attract the owner, who chased them around the neighborhood for at least an hour. They didn’t attempt it again until they found a reliable teacher: Javi’s older brother. He showed them the correct way to jimmy a lock, how to hotwire the car, and how to drive. Camilla developed a crush on him, but of course it went nowhere. No seventeen year old boy pursues a twelve year old girl.
When Camilla was thirteen, her and Javi began growing pot behind the apartment complex and selling it to people in their neighborhood. One of their regular customers was Lani, Camilla’s mother. She’d downgraded from smoking crack to smoking pot, and was living with her steady boyfriend a few blocks down from where Camilla lived. Camilla was expecting Lani to offer her a place to live; the situation with her grandmother was becoming increasingly worse. But Lani still didn’t want her; she was trying to have a real baby with her new boyfriend, which is how she explained it to Camilla, who pretended not to care until she was alone with Javi and cried for hours on his shoulder.
When Camilla was fourteen, her and Javi discovered gangs. They’d both known of their existence; but never contemplated becoming involved with one. Camilla was tentative about becoming permanently involved with such violent people, and Javi didn’t think he would like having to answer to them. But then one night (or morning, depending on how you look at it) as Camilla and Javi were laying on the train tracks smoking pot complaining about their mothers, it seemed like a great idea; they could finally have a family, somewhere to belong. The very next day they skipped school to go talk to Gabe, Camilla’s former walking buddy, who was now the leader of a very small gang. Camilla wouldn’t be allowed into the gang officially; as it was for boys only, but she could be affiliated and considered a part of the family. Which was fine by her. She hadn’t exactly been looking forward to getting jumped in.
Soon, the gang became everything to Camilla. Her entire life revolved around the family. Her and Javi hardly ever did anything that wasn’t related to it. Camilla stopped hanging out with the girls at school; she preferred to stay with the girls that were a part of the family. She only dated guys that were in the gang. Camilla’s grandma disapproved of the family - she didn’t like that there was always a risk of someone shooting up their house. When Camilla turned fifteen, she moved in with Javi. As much as she hated her grandmother, she didn’t want her to die. And if she did have to die, Camilla didn’t want her to get shot because of the family. Javi’s mother didn’t care; she was hardly ever home anyway. Soon, Javi’s house became a major place for the family - it was used as a meeting place, or what-have-you. Camilla enjoyed the new life she had; finally there were people who cared about her, people who would do anything to protect her.
At sixteen years old, Camilla still did not know anything about her father. Her mother and grandmother never, not once, mentioned him. She didn’t much care; she’d gotten this far without a parent, and she didn’t expect she would need someone anytime soon. But still, just for curiosity’s sake, Camilla dragged out his name and where he lived from her grandmother. It wasn’t that far from where she had grown up; Camilla was surprised that she had never seen him before. He was short but muscular; and Camilla absolutely adored him from the first time they met. He was surprised and apprehensive about discovering that he had a almost-seventeen year old daughter. Camilla, however, was so excited to finally have a daddy that she began planning their life together. He would have to support the family, of course, and he could move into the apartment next to Javi’s. She would cook for him and clean, and they would be a real family.
But Camilla’s father did not buy into the whole “daddy” thing. He had no problem hanging out with Camilla, but he did not want to have the responsibility of caring for a teenage girl. One day, when Camilla went to visit him, he was gone. His house was empty, and his car wasn’t parked in the driveway. Camilla was devastated - but of course she didn’t show it t anyone, not even Javi. She didn’t attempt to find or contact her father, and she cut off all ties with her mother and baby sister. She never spoke to her grandmother anyway; but she promised herself that she would never approach anyone - not her mother, her new step-dad, her baby sister, her father, her grandmother, her many uncles and aunts and cousins. She was going to cut off all ties with them forever.
When Camilla was seventeen, that promise was broken when her mother came to visit her. Lani was different now; at least, she seemed different to Camilla. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, and her clothes weren’t too skanky. She didn’t appear to be drunk or stoned, and her arms were free of tracks. Camilla didn’t know how to react - this Lani was different from the Lani she had swore never to speak to again. Lani didn’t offer to let Camilla move in with her or anything, and Camilla found she was okay with that. She didn’t need her mother anymore. Lani needed a babysitter for Camilla’s baby sister, Adriana. Cassie broke the promise and accepted the offer. She found that she enjoyed having a responsibility; somewhere to go.
Roleplaying Example: Melody took one last puff of the joint before passing it to Daniel. It was bad weed; she'd had to take four hits before feeling even remotely high. But that was fine. She didn't want to get crazy high now; she had to go pick up Michael and Gavin from school in a little while. "I'm leaving," she told Daniel, who simply nodded and passed the joint to Jirayu. "Bye, Jay," she waved bye to him too, before leaving. She sniffed her hair experimentally; the smell wasn't too strong. She was sure no one would be able to smell her, unless they shoved their nose in her hair. She pushed her sunglasses over her eyes to hide their redness and walked away down the sidewalk. She knew she should probably be getting back home so she could get the car to pick up Gavin and Michael. But walking around outside was always funner when you were high, and she wasn't sure when she would get another chance. Dad and his girlfriend were going on a cruise or some shit, ad the neighbors were going away too. So Melody would have to watch them all weekend, which she wasn't exactly happy about. But whatever. Being high, she was unable to hold on to any resentment, even to the man she hated more than anyone and the woman she disliked immensely.
Melody wandered around aimlessly for a few minutes, just watching the sky and laughing at the people that passed by. She didn't want to go home just yet, but she wanted to go sit somewhere, or something. Her legs were getting tired and she needed something to drink. Unfortunately, she didn't have any money. And besides, she had learned not to go to the store while she was high. It always seemed much more intelligent to simply dink straight out of a carton or milk or something, then put it back on the shelf, instead of buying a coke or something. She tried to think of other places to go, but it wasn't working very well. She kept getting distracted by the flowers, or the cars, or the people. Even the sky seemed more interesting at the moment then locating something to drink. But, there was..Melody grinned. The science center! There was a fountain there, and she was almost positive she was allowed to drink the water from it. She wasn't far from the science center, and didn't mind walking now that she had a place to be. And, the science center was only a little ways away from home. And since she had to pick up the boys from school in an hour, she knew she could be there in time.
She laughed out loud and skipped to the fountain. It was so bright, and looked so fun, with all the little kids running around in the water. She cupped her hands and brought a handful of water to her lips before she did anything; she was getting some hardcore cottonmouth. After she did that, it seemed perfectly logical to wet her entire body and scream as loud as she could. It wasn't as fun as shed hoped it would be; but it was still pretty enjoyable. But, she was getting kind of cold, and her high was fading fast - apparently Daniel's weed didn't last long. She made a mental note to find a new dealer, and sat down on the hot cement to dry off a bit before going home. Dad and his girlfriend would be there, and she didn't want them asking questions.
