Post by Lori on Jul 27, 2015 22:09:00 GMT -5
BASICS
Full Name:
Carla Jane Davenfourth
Nicknames:
The only real 'nickname' she'll answer to is Carls, even though it's not much different. Her brother has also bestowed upon her the name Bookworm.
Age/Birthday:
19; born on January 7 at 12:10 a.m.
Reputation:
Growing up she's usually just been the nerd. Some people probably think she's antisocial even though most of the time she just prefers to stick by herself. Most of the time Carla will just be the girl sitting around writing in her notebook and taking notes on all the happenings throughout campus.
Job:
During high school Carla held a part-time job at Wendy's. She mostly worked weekends and one or two weeknights during the school year as well as her entire summer. She applies to part-time jobs in fast food and retail every once in a while, but her main focus is school. And given the change in the load of coursework from high school, she'd rather not anything interfere with her grades.
SCHOOL/LIFE
Class:
Carla is a sophomore at Metric College. Though she worked hard throughout high school to earn a scholarship her father actually paid for almost everything for her to be there.
Major:
English with a concentration in writing. Aside from loving to read Carla is somewhat of an aspiring writer. In not being a very social person she spent some of her time observing people or her surroundings and taking notes. She found it interesting to see how certain people interacted with each other; how a scene could affect a person; or what a dog might be doing at the park and wondering what they're thinking. Carla hopes to expand on her writing skills and be able to apply that to her future.
Grades:
Mainly A's with a couple of B's here and there. Carla prides herself in her schoolwork and takes her studies extremely seriously. She tries to be the best student she can be and never claims to be a perfect one nor a teacher's pet. Whenever she gets a B grade she does everything she can to raise it to at least an A-. School is Carla's top priority and always has been.
Friends:
Carla is friendly but she's not the most social person. The one person she's met at Metric who she'd consider a friend is Rory Finnegan; they're in the same major and have a lot of the same classes. Carla likes that they think similarly and have a bit in common. Though he maybe sorta kinda (she thinks) hinted about going out once, Carla thought nothing of it; she just sees Rory as a friend.
Enemies/Rivals:
Hoping for none, though she doesn't quite get on well with most of her suitemates.
Relationship Status:
Single. Carla's grades are more important to her than anything. She's always been of the mindset, it'll happen when it happens. Honestly though? Carla could care less if anyone asked her out or if she had a boyfriend - heck if she'd even know what to do with a relationship!
APPEARANCE
Body:
Just short of five foot three. Kind of on the skinny side and slightly underweight. She's not physically strong by any means and, even though she's never broken anything, Carla takes calcium supplement tablets to help with her 'weak bones' (doctors' words, not hers). Her cocoa skin tone matches her brother's perfectly, but unlike Chase her smile is smaller and her cheeks a little bit 'chubbier'. She could thank her father for the latter.
Eye Color:
Brown
Hair:
Carla's brown hair matches her brother's in shade and thickness almost perfectly. However, unlike his wild curls, her hair has more of a wave to it. She doesn't care to do too much with it other than tie it back somehow due to its thickness. If it's not tied back and she wants to do something with it, she'll throw on a headband. Lengthwise it falls just past her shoulders, though appears longer when straightened (which she'll only do for special occasions or when/if she has any patience and nothing else to do).
Style:
Carla presents herself as someone who takes herself and all she does seriously. She tries to reflect that in her attire. She mostly wears sweater vests, blouses and button-down shirts. She has a couple of dresses in her closet but prefers skirts or pants. She keeps capris for the warmer weather rather than shorts. She cannot walk in heels to save her life so all of her shoes are flats. Occasionally she can be seen wearing a scarf or bandana. Jewelry and makeup are not really her thing.
Ethnicity:
African-American
PERSONALITY
Positive Traits:
Smart; Down-to-earth; Polite; Open-minded; Stubborn; Independent; Hard worker; Good listener
Negative Traits:
Quiet; Overthinks/Jumps to conclusions; Serious; Straight-forward; Impatient; Doesn't open up easily; Antisocial (though not always on purpose)
Likes:
Reading; Chocolate; Learning; Writing; Some sciences; Competition shows; Animals; School; Headbands; Notebooks; Different takes on fairy tales
Dislikes:
Sports; Milk; Mean people; Horror movies; Cigarettes/Smoke; Drinking; Needles; Makeovers; Violence; Anyone messing with her brother (but don't tell him)
FAMILY/BACKSTORY
Family:
Father - Charles Davenfourth, CEO - Mr. D, as he prefers to be called, has always been a big businessman. Carla admires that he's a hard worker but doesn't quiet agree with his lifestyle nor parenting ways. She doesn't like that he's had a number of girlfriends and actually had some of them move in after who-kn0ws-how-long, let alone even know if they dated Charles for him or for his money and status. How could he even think to bring strange women around his kids? His current girlfriend is decent enough, Carla supposes; she doesn't purposefully try to be a mother to them but tends to intervene at times. Like convincing Chase and Carla to drive to and from school together or having more meals together. It got old fast. Carla also didn't approve of how Charles seemed to buy Chase's love with money. Maybe Carla gave in a few times when she was younger but it didn't last. The only time she really accepted her father's money was to attend Metric and pursue her writing passion. Carla doesn't hold any ill will towards her father and knows that her parents splitting up was for the best, but she would rather spend as little time with him as possible. Like those father/daughter events in elementary school? She could go without.
Mother - Whitney Prong (formally Davenfourth), Various Positions - Carla very much looks up to her mother. Even though Whitney couldn't get any full time work and her hectic part-time schedules kept her away from the house a lot, Carla knows very well it was done for her and Chase's benefit. They had to keep both roofs over their heads somehow. Whitney had always done what she needed to for her family and almost never took a job below her. She was the person who instilled the strong work ethic in Carla. She taught her daughter that no matter what she does, to apply herself to the best of her ability and to work hard. Even though Carla held down most of the responsibilities in Whitney's house, she preferred it to Charles' house where she felt all she could do was sit around. Yes, Charles could financially provide for them much better and whether that was the reason for Chase wanting to spend more time there or not, Carla knows that desire hurt her mother. She swore she would never do that and would be around her mother for as long as possible. As far as Carla's considered, Whitney's constant working and providing meant more than her father's money even if it meant she wasn't physically around. Carla worries about Whitney being on her own even though it was Whitney who encouraged Carla to go along with this rather than stay home and go to the community college where almost anyone got in. Carla maintains contact with her mother at least once a week.
Brother - Chase Davenfourth, Student - Carla hardly gets along with her brother. Though they share similar personality traits they couldn't seem more different. Carla's heard it all; she should be happy to have a brother, he's always there, he's family. But they just butt heads so much. Even though she's younger, shorter and weaker, Carla knows she's intellectually superior though she won't hold it over his head. However, he won't hesitate to hold anything she does over her head. All she does is sit with a book, she should go out more, everything's passing her by.... It gets old fast. As much as she hates to admit it, though, deep down she does care about Chase. If she sees something fishy on campus and if affects him, she won't hesitate to keep her eyes open and find out what's going on. However, if it has anything to do with one of his little 'pranks', she'll be more than happy to keep her distance. Not her fault if he gets in trouble. Again.
Backstory:
It's not like Carla has a sob story or was traumatized by anything in her life. Granted, most people probably don't like growing up with divorced parents. But it just happens to be part of her story. She barely recalls a time when they lived in a peaceful two-parent household anyway, so the separation really was for the best.
Carla was born thirteen minutes after her brother, at 12:10 a.m. on July 7 in New York.She would probably be considered the 'weird' sibling. Unlike most kids who enjoyed running around or trips to the park/toy store/zoo, Carla spent her days watching what everyone else was doing. She'd always been the observant person; nowhere near as oblivious as Chase was to their parents' situation. Even through the divorce, aside from her brother always being there, reading was the one consistent thing for Carla. She liked being taken on different adventures and transported to all those different worlds. She almost never left either house without a book in hand. That was probably how Chase came up with the name Bookworm for her. So her love of reading made her a bookworm and her desire to learn classified her as a nerd. Whatever.
Growing up in separate homes, Carla gravitated more towards her mother. Even though Whitney had been dealt a sucky hand - having to work multiple jobs to slightly support two kids, feed the three of them, hold down a household and keep everything going - she handled it the best way possible and did everything in her power she had to for her kids. Carla found that extremely admirable in her mother. When the time came that she felt she could speak up - or maybe Chase opened his big mouth first - Carla wanted to spend more time at her mother's. Ok, so she couldn't stay there full time any more than Chase wanted to be with Charles full time. That wasn't part of the agreement. But if Carla could go a weekend without going back and forth, she would. She just felt more comfortable with her mother, more structured if you will. She found it difficult to comprehend how Chase enjoyed being waited on by their father or whoever and spending all that money when it was really the hard work that went into earning everything was more important. That may have been why Carla started looking for work as soon as she could. She started working at a Wendy's in their area when she was sixteen and a half. No, she didn't really contribute to her mother's house or bills other than putting in for her own cell phone. But that was Whitney's wish for her. It was best to start saving money as early as possible. Overall the idea pleased Carla, as it meant she could not only buy things she wanted or needed on her own but she didn't have to ask her father for support either.
It's hard to pinpoint the exact point when Carla became interested in writing. She had always liked school in general, and writing and English classes were no exception. Maybe it started when she was just watching people. At one point or another she had to have decided to record her sightings in a notebook or something. Maybe it was the logical part of her mind talking, but she much rather would sit on the sidelines and watch what was happening instead of experiencing it. She wanted to see everything for herself and get down as many ideas as she could. She had to be able to read her recordings and bring herself into a different world just like she went to in all of the stories she enjoyed. Every little detail she could get down, she did. Maybe somewhere in those notebooks there were glimpses of how she saw the world rather than just writing other peoples' stories. It wasn't much of a way of expressing herself but it was close enough.
Whatever classes she took, whatever she did in them and whatever she took away, Carla always focused on school before anything else. While she had never been certain of the exact direction she wanted to take in life, she knew it somehow related to writing. And as the writing field was extremely difficult to make a living out of, Carla wanted to get the best grades possible to get into the best college she could. It was the best way to guarantee her a good future. She did most of the research on colleges and narrowed it down to the schools with the best liberal arts programs. The trick would be getting in with a scholarship, as Carla did not want to ask her father to pay for college for her. But she knew it was far out of her mother's range financially. Metric College was one of the universities she applied to. Carla was surprised to receive an acceptance letter but, again, it was very expensive. There was a high probability that she'd turn them down and end up going to a local, cheaper college after all. But when she found out that Charles was going to pay to - more or less - get Chase into Metric, that was the last straw. There was no way Chase understood what a big deal this place was. And he never even wanted to go to college in the first place. Why should he get to go to someplace that she should be thriving in? Carla ended up putting up a fight with her father about it. Chase fought against her going in the process. She couldn't blame him, probably; they'd dealt enough with each other growing up so why should they continue torturing themselves by going to the same school again? To Carla's surprise, it was actually Charles' current girlfriend that convinced him to let Carla attend. It was only fair, considering all the strings he probably had to pull with Chase and it was something that Carla really wanted. That would be the only major time in her life that Carla had asked her father for money. He was happy to do it for his daughter, which Carla was thankful for. But it still put a dent in her pride that she had to stoop to that level. Sure, she'd most likely have to continue spending more time with Chase but a win is a win. At least now Carla can say she's following her aspirations and that's probably more than a lot of people can say.
She doesn't have a big life at Metric outside of her schoolwork. Nothing for Carla really changed from high school. She still spends the majority of her time in her room or at the library when she's not in class. Or eating; that's probably important. While her brother is living the more social aspect of college, Carla is handling the learning aspect. Most people probably don't even see Carla as they're walking by, which she's totally ok with. She doesn't care for the parties or the large groups of friends or sororities or whatever. Watching what everyone else is doing and learning about the world around her is enough. And if Chase still somehow drags her to a dance or party? She'll just take a small corner with her book.
OOC NOTES
Random:
•Her mother is Jewish and her father is Catholic. Carla considers herself Jewish, though it is her choice as opposed to the closeness she shares with her mother. While not very religious, Carla loves the history - especially when it comes to learning about the Holocaust.
•Carla has a driver's license but no car. And no, she will not share Chase's Jeep. It's a bit much for her to handle and it gobbles up gas like it's going out of style.
•She does not smoke or drink. If she can avoid stepping into a bar, she will. She also will not curse. Basically if she ever got invited to play Never Have I Ever, she'd too too squeaky clean for everyone else's taste.
•Carla had a pet hamster back in high school. She considered him her best friend. She named him Atticus; he was brown with tan markings. Then Chase goofed and lost him. She still bugs him about owing her a new hamster.
•A lot of the stuff Carla has is color-coded. Her notebooks are color-coded for each class, her notebooks with observations are color-coded for each semester, she uses sticky notes for like items.... While not specifically a neat freak, Carla needs her schoolwork and notes organized as perfect as possible.
•Carla has never even been on a date. As school is her top priority she believes dating would be a distraction. Just another way for her to be considered weird or for Chase to comment on how much she's missing out on.
•Since she's not the most social person, there can be instances where she might be considered socially awkward on some level. So if she ever walked in on a wild college party and saw two people heavily making out? She'd freak out and cover her eyes. Or if anyone tried to overly flirt or dance with her, she'd smack them with her book.
Her Music:
- Try - Colbie Caillat
- The Beatles
- Celine Dion
- Work of Art - Demi Lovato
- Home - Phil Phillips
- Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield