Jesse James Childs

Athletic, tall and lanky

Lean muscle, long limbs, broad shoulders

Large forehead, small chin, wide mouth with thin lips, round blue eyes, freckles on cheeks and across bridge of nose, prominent cheekbones, large Adam's apple

Height, floppy hair, Polo shirts

Paces when anxious

Runs fast, powerful right hook, good at baseball (pitching and hitting)

Polo shirts, jeans, cargo shorts, running shoes

Jesse was the first born child and only son of Jack and Elizabeth Childs. His conception was planned and highly anticipated. Jack longed for a son and while Elizabeth hoped for a daughter, that hope dissolved into tears of happiness when the ultrasound revealed Jesse's gender. Elizabeth felt an intense bond with her son the first time she felt him move in her womb, and that bond continued to grow as he did. The first time she held him in her arms and brought him to her breast, she wondered how she could love another child as much as she loved him. Jesse was the joy of his parents' world, and for the first year of his life he enjoyed their affection as an only child. But Elizabeth felt it would be unfair to let Jesse grow up without a sibling so she and Jack began trying for another child. Soon after, Elizabeth became pregnant with her daughter, Danica. Unfortunately, Jesse and Danica bickered often and rarely got along. Jesse resented Danica and wanted to be an only child, or at least have a brother to play with rather than an annoying kid sister. When his mother became pregnant again, he hoped for a brother but instead got another sister (Willa). The closest thing to a brother Jesse had growing up was his cousin Ritchie. The two boys were close until an incident involving a stolen Nintendo DS, after which Jesse's parents said he was no longer allowed to hang around Ritchie because the boy was a thief and a bad influence. Besides a brother, Jesse also desperately wanted a dog but his mother refused to allow any animal in the house. Jesse was an excellent student in school and a natural born athlete. He had a competitive streak and played every youth sport he could get into. When Jesse was thirteen, his father died suddenly of a heart attack. Jesse was devastated but he only expressed his emotions in private, crying in his bed or in the shower. The rest of the time, he bottled up his feelings and put on a brave face. He wanted to be strong for his mother, who was shattered, and he wanted to be a man like his father, whom he had never seen cry. Jesse took his father's expectations of him to heart and strived to make him proud from beyond the grave, beating himself up for every failure no matter how slight. Elizabeth relied heavily on Jesse for emotional support after Jack's death and he essentially became the man in her life. Jesse loved his mother dearly and did everything he could to please her, but he couldn't help but feel suffocated by her neediness and constant attention. To distract himself from his personal, private misery, Jesse poured himself into school and sports, refusing to accept any grade lower than 100% and any rank lower than first. His athletic prowess earned him the approval of the popular jocks at his school. Popularity became very important to Jesse and he worried that his weird and nerdy sister Danica would embarrass him and ruin his social standing, so he pretended not to know her at school and asked her not to associate with him outside of their home. Jesse rekindled his friendship with Ritchie during the winter of his junior year of high school. After asking Elizabeth if he could borrow the car to hang out with his friends, she said he could only if he dropped off a package to her sister, Victoria. When Jesse arrived to his aunt's house, he walked in on an uproar between Ritchie and Ritchie's stepfather, Howard. Victoria told Ritchie to leave and never come back. Jesse offered to drive Ritchie wherever he needed to go and Ritchie accepted. After that, Jesse and Ritchie spent more and more time together and talked about everything. However, Jesse kept his relationship with Ritchie a secret from his family for fear of their disapproval and judgement. Ritchie's friend Marv offered Jesse a job working under the table at his auto repair shop, which he also kept secret. In the spring of that year, Willa was diagnosed with a terminal heart condition and Jesse felt the same grief he experienced after the death of his father. He withdrew from his school friends and spent most of his time with Ritchie, whom he felt understood him better than his peers. Jesse began drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis with Ritchie, which allowed him to open up emotionally like never before and strengthened the bond between them, which helped Jesse tremendously in those dark and uncertain days.

Male

Heterosexual

Finished junior year of high school with 4.0 GPA

Works summers as a lifeguard, mows lawns, shovels snow in the wintertime, under the table mechanic at Marv's Garage, brief job as a concession stand worker at Swimworld public pool.

Several trophies, medals, and ribbons for baseball, wrestling, swimming, and track and field. Scholar athlete awards and honor roll.

Death of father. Mother's emotional dependence on him.

Excels in school, particularly in math and science. Enjoys puzzles and games of strategy as well as physical sports.

Believes in God and human goodness but is wary of strangers. Roots for justice always.

Rape and murder, harm to his family members

Success, proving himself, protecting the ones he cares about most.

Good at school and sports, good with cars, certified in First Aid, CPR, and BLS.   Not so great with women or conflict resolution.

Likes: pizza, Veritas Verbatim, Mr. Pibb, girls, muscle cars, baseball, polo shirts, beer, cannabis on occasion, success, and approval   Dislikes: fruit, Howard Kulp, humiliation, wasting time, itchy clothing, being talked down to or not taken seriously, failure, and disapproval

Loyalty, empathy, compassion, determination, dedication, protectiveness, fast learning, strong moral convictions.

Deep-seeded insecurity, pride, fear of failure, short temper, stubbornness, occasional knowitallism

Normally tight-lipped about thoughts and feelings but becomes a babbling brook when intoxicated. Takes very long showers.

Showers regularly and wears cologne. Good oral hygiene. Does not use any hair product besides shampoo.

Parents: Jack William Childs and Elizabeth Mary (Knox) Childs Siblings: Danica Childs and Willa Childs Extended Family: Aunt Victoria Anne (Knox) Kulp, Cousin Ritchie Knox

Great-great-great grandson of Evelyn Winthrop, great-great grandson Thomas Winthrop Crowley and Moira Kelly, distant cousin of Dominic Vida.

Christian

Well-liked by teachers and peers.

Speaks politely around elders and females. Has a seriousness that makes him seem uptight but can be silly when he lets his guard down.

No pets but has always wanted a dog. Hobbies are reading, listening to music, playing baseball, swimming, studying.

Midwestern accent. A mix of properness and slang. Uses old turns of phrase his father used to say.

Family is middle class. Has a decent sized savings account.