Jessica Lee*

[Mandy Rin†]

Name: Jessica Lee
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Grade: 12
School: Bayview Secondary School
Hobbies and Interests: Gymnastics, Sunday School assistant teacher, reading, drawing, writing, drama

Appearance: Jessica is of East Asian decent – Hong Kong, to be more precise. Very short at only 5 feet, she had the ideal build of a gymnast, but as she has matured, her body filled out in curves and breasts while still retaining her slim appearance. Her long, layered black hair falls to the small of her back, and would be beautiful if she bothered to spend time on it. As she aimed to become a law student, however, she just needed it out of the way while she studied, so tied it in a high ponytail, which split naturally, falling on both sides of her neck and resting on her shoulders. She has unusually wide brown eyes, but doesn't bother with much make-up for the same reason she neglects her hair. A simple tinted moisturizer and maybe a lip gloss when she feels like dressing up a bit. She wears skinny blue jeans with a wide, brown studded belt, her lace-up black Doc Marten boots and a dark, olive green turtleneck over which she wears a black leather jacket. She wears very low powered glasses – she can still see without them, but may get a mild headache.

Jessica's sexuality tends to make her uncomfortable - she is slightly awkward in with her body. She is a typical 'little sister' or best female friend. At most, she could be labelled 'cute'.

Biography: Jessica is a quiet, well-spoken girl who usually depends on others for guidance. Brought up to respect her elders, she is typically obedient. Always sitting up the front of the class, she is studious and puts her whole heart and mind into the task at hand. She is kind and loyal, and has very strong morals due to her religious beliefs, though she thinks that she wouldn't prescribe to them if she weren't a Christian. She can be loyal to a fault, resulting in her excusing behavior that is unacceptable most often in the subject of her loyalty, but sometimes in herself. She is kind to everyone, and also rather inquisitive - she likes knowing what is happening around her, even if she isn't necessarily a part of it.

Jessica's pre-adolescent life was fairly typical. Her father was a lawyer, and her mother a housewife, and both were happily married to each other. Born the second youngest of two boys and two girls, she relied heavily on her siblings for a sense of self. Unfortunately, rather than striking out and forming her own identity under her own merits, she echoed her siblings, drifting from one to another and alternating between their hobbies without any real interest. This largely went unnoticed by friends and family alike. In an attempt to rectify this, and become somewhat independent, Jessica took up drama, and despite having difficulty expressing herself as required, stuck with it due to a reluctance to not finish something she had started.

She was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was 8, mostly absence seizures, but she is prone to having tonic clonic seizures under more extreme circumstances. As a result of this diagnosis, her family became very overprotective. She had to fight hard to continue her gymnastics lessons, and even then she was not allowed to progress to more advanced classes - she was to focus on floor exercises, and not touch any of the equipment. In order to prevent seizures, Jessica has become accustomed to sleeping early to get a lot of rest, eating regularly, getting regular exercise, and generally being healthy. She has to take medicine on a regular basis (in the morning and night), and does not smoke, drink or take unnecessary drugs.

Despite being permitted to continue gymnastics on a limited basis, other sports were out of the question, particularly team sports. She did learn to swim as a necessity, but was not allowed near a pool outside of lessons. As a result, she turned to more sedate hobbies, such as reading. She also taught herself to draw, and was soon writing her own stories and illustrating them.

Upon entering high school, Jessica took to the books with renewed fervour, hoping to get into a top college and become a lawyer like her father. She was friendly to everyone, leaving her on good terms with the entire grade, but she was closer to the quieter, more studious students, preferring to sit and talk with them during lunch rather than playing basketball or hockey. Despite her timidity in comparison to the rest of the grade, she was among the louder, more outgoing of the quieter students. Her quiet nature also made her a little bit of an outsider in her drama class.

Approximately 4 years ago, Jessica took up teaching Sunday School, after her pastor made a request for helpers. She found that that her ability to draw and the skills learnt in her drama classes assisted in entertaining the children. Jessica liked looking after children, and found that teaching them about the Bible and God reinforced her own beliefs.

Advantages: Jessica is rather agile, able to climb quickly and nimbly due partially to having done gymnastics, and has a sharp eye. She will eat almost anything, is a capable sprinter, and had a cursory knowledge of first aid. She took a short course in tae kwon do, however this was a long time ago and barely worth mentioning now - she got to yellow belt, and hasn't used these skills since. She is able to easily gain the trust of others via her accessible personality and reputation of honesty.
Disadvantages: Jessica's trusting nature and loyalty can easily be taken advantage of; she is easily fooled. This, coupled with her curiosity, could potentially frustrate those who would try to manipulate her and/or her allies. She is very indecisive, particularly about important decisions. Her brief flirtation with martial arts may leave her feeling more confident in her combative skills than warranted. She is a terrible long distance runner. Jessica's epilepsy is a serious disadvantage. Stress, flashing lights and lack of sleep all contribute to triggering seizures. If she were to have a seizure at an inopportune time, it could leave her defenceless to an attack, or cause her to fall off a cliff, drown, or inflict wounds upon herself in her convulsions. She also has to keep track of her medicine, which causes side effects such as drowsiness, fogginess, lethargy, memory problems and may cause nausea if taken on an empty stomach.