F20: SHIRLEY, RAMONA [DECEASED]

#1

DECEASED

Name: Ramona Shirley
Gender: Female
Age: 17
School: Alderbrook High School
Hobbies and Interests: Theatre, Soul Music (singing and listening), Cooking, Basketball, Jewellery and Jeweling

Appearance: Ramona stands proud at 5'6" and 148 pounds, only slightly above average for her age. Her nose is slightly larger than normal, her ears pointy and sticking out, her eyes large and hazel, and large red lips contrast her chocolate skin. She styles a mop of black hair in a low-maintanance afro, styled with an old-fashioned bow, far from the only accessory on her body - she has two pearl earrings, a silver necklace, a stud in her belly button and an emerald studded finger ring from her grandmother.

Ramona wears low-cost clothing, usually a white button-up top, navy jeans, and greying sneakers with frayed laces. Her face is usually made-up; light mascara, pink lipstick, and not too much in the way of acne or breakouts. She considers herself considerably lucky for that.

Biography: Ramona Shirley was born the only child to Cliff and Linda Shirley, a psychologist and jeweller respectively. She grew up in a relatively middle-class home life, nothing relatively interesting or out of the ordinary happening during her childhood. Her parents never spoilt her nor punished her acting out too harshly, and she never had any trouble with the other students at her elementary school. She made plenty of friends in her younger years thanks to her knack for making things out of almost nothing - paper planes, fake jewellery out of leaves and such, and even some origami. Sometimes she'd never even need instructions or a manual, she'd just guess and hope she was right.

Upon entering secondary school, Ramona began to experience the realities of life; not that she was too sheltered before, her friend group just happened to be pretty nice and her schoolwork enough to handle. For a while, she had to give up her hobbies such as crafting, since her parents made sure that she devoted most of her time to socialising and schoolwork. The other reality of life was that she wasn't perfect, and other girls tended to make fun of that - as a teenager, she was only slightly overweight, but the stick figures in the grades above her made sure to point out her plump figure as much as possible.

Her parents would tell her she was fine the way she was, but fine wasn't good enough for Ramona. This young pre-teen girl wanted to be known among the school as something more, since thanks to the teasing she was simply known as "that overweight black girl who makes stuff". Ramona accumulated a stead of clubs and extra-curricular activities under her belt in the following years, starting with the ones that would help her well being. She joined the school basketball team when she was 13, and this, combined with a reasonable diet, allowed her to replace some of her childhood fat with muscle. She'd never get a perfect figure, but she came to accept her body. Her dieting also helped her discover a passion for cooking, and how she could help her body just by making sure the right stuff went into it.

After a year or so, she decided to get her face out among the school by becoming a part of the well-renowned theatre group. It took a while to get used to the rigours of timing, projecting one's voice, and remembering line after line of dialogue, which made the basketball training she went through seem like child's play, but it was worth it - it helped Ramona discover her next passion: singing. She discovered she had a voice reminiscent of old soul singers such as Billie Holiday or Aeretha Franklin after she was forced onto the spotlight by her theatre friends. Ramona has since become passionate for the old songs and artists of the neighbour to the south.

After years of managing the balancing act that was her schoolwork, her clubs, and her social life, Ramona gradually began to regain her forgotten interest in jeweling. She started to watch her mother make the products she'd sell among the high-priced brands, and eventually started learning the art herself with her mother's tools. Nothing complicated or fancy, but little things for herself, such as her belly ring. She hoped she could one day learn the real art like her mother did, since it was something that made her happy over all of her other hobbies.

Ramona had changed a lot since her entry into high-school - when she entered, she was teased a lot for her habits and her looks. Her friends used to be just people who liked her for what she made, not for who she was. She's come a long way since then, what with a large amount of friends amongst different social groups and a passion for a large variety of things, which included making people happy. Her marks couldn't be better, and even people who don't know her tend to not have anything bad to say about her. To Ramona, life was as perfect as it could ever be.

Advantages: Ramona isn't the most athletic of her peers, but her basketball training has given her stamina and better reflexes. She has a lot of assured allies amongst her grade, and her years spent in theatre group have allowed her the ability to adapt to most situations as well as spin stories. While not a mechanic by any means, Ramona can make the most of what she has, and has retained a knack for making objects out of lesser things.
Disadvantages: An easy target, being bigger than most of her classmates, Ramona is well-known for not having a mean bone in her body, and as such an easy out in a blood sport such as this. She's easily trusting, naive, and helpful to anyone she comes across, and lacks any spirit for harming competitors. Ramona has never really been one for the outdoors, and as such she's not used to outdoor environments foreign to her way of life.

Designated Number: Female Student #20

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Designated Weapon: Wooden Oar
Conclusion: Well, girl, yer up a creek, but at least you've got a chance to paddle yer way out. Gotta be honest: I don't see ya lastin' too long. Sorry, girl. Just the way it is.

DECEASED