So I explained my DR a little bit in the last chapter, but now I have my script nearly finished and thought I'd share a little more, especially the people.
[disclaimer, if you are related to ANY of these people leave and forget you saw this]
Also I'm trusting you all to not like stalk me or anything :/
I am shifting to my town in summer of 1955, a few weeks before I start my freshman year of high school.
Me! '59
My name is Margaret Ruth Kendall, but I go by Peggy. I was born March 16, 1941 and have lived in the same small town in Washington my whole life. I live with my mom and dad and have no siblings. My family owns a small corner store on Main Street where I work on the weekends and summers to make some money. My moms parents live in town and so do both my uncles and their families. I am, more than anything, a people person. I love to talk to people and laugh and bond, and I'm the kind of person that everyone knows they can trust. A lot of people share with me and confide in me and I always give good advice and am there for them when they need me to be. I am also very stubborn and can be competitive and I hate letting people tell me what to do. I major in mathematics, which is a very male-dominated field and am one of the best in the class, better than most of the boys. I have no intention of settling down and being a housewife and plan on attending the UW and getting a job myself, working even when I do get married and have children. I am a very successful student and excel in my classes with ease, and am also involved in numerous activities. I am a co-founder of the drama club, get casted in good roles in nearly every play, am active in stunt and class dance, write and edit for the school paper, play the violin in the school orchestra, I'm a member of the Latineers, honor society, and Torch Tri-Hi-Y, I may go to a few Girls' Club meetings, and I am elected senior class vice-president. I love to dance at the Rec and school dances and I love Buddy Holly and Paul Anka. I enjoy having fun and sometimes might be a little reckless, but I always know where to draw the line and stand up for myself. Sometimes I worry too much and make myself miserable and sometimes I spiral, but my friends always pull me back. I love my friends and my family and I will always stand up for them and be there for them. I can get too stubborn sometimes and I'm scared that I'm too friendly and push people away. I dance around my room at night, I sing along to my favorite music, and I am one of the most sentimental people you will ever meet. I love people unconditionally and fully, and even if things don't work out I never stop loving them in a way. I trust too easily sometimes and it can lead to me getting hurt, but I always see the good in people. I am an optimist, and an idealist, and an imaginator.
My Family
My Dad
My Dad, Arthur Kendall, was born in 1918 and grew up in California. He had a little brother who died in World War II and his parents moved to Washington shortly after I was born. My grandma Kendall died when I was 11, but Grandpa Kendall still lives nearby. Shortly after I was born my dad had to go off and fight in World War II, but as soon as the war was over he came home to us. He likes to tell me about all the friends he made and the fun times they had, but he doesn't like to think about the sad parts. My dad can be a gruff man, he doesn't do well with first impressions and doesn't trust easily. He takes a lot of warming up, but once he likes someone he is a good friend to them. He can be very protective of me and often tries to intimidate my dates. He loves Karren and he doesn't care for Len at first, but he gets along with him and starts to see him as part of the family. He gets on well with Mike, Len's dad, and they're always off chatting in the sitting room when we get together for dinner. He takes a long time to warm up to Jerry, mainly because he can tell we aren't just friends, but Jerry never gives up and they end up having a good relationship. Even though my dad can upset me sometimes, scaring away my boyfriends and such, I love him so, so much.
My Mom
My mom, Margaret (Marge) Lawrence Kendall was born in 1919 and grew up in my hometown. She has two older brothers and was always the baby of the family. When she was my age she was involved in all sorts of school activities and she graduated from my high school in 1937. We are very alike in a lot of ways and we tend to butt heads because of how similar we are. We both can be very stubborn and if we get in a standoff we can stay mad at each other for a long time until my dad forces us to make up. She's a very nurturing person and loves to help people, which is why she balances out my dad so well because he is often gruff and closed off. She is bubbly and social, just like me, and is notorious for gossiping with the other moms. She is close friends with Karren and Len's moms and is involved in some mom's club. She always takes care of me, makes sure I'm up in time for school, she teaches me how to cook when I struggle in home ec, and she's proud of the path that I'm taking and my goals, and no matter what she always loves me.
Other Family?
My Grandpa Kendall lives nearby, but we don't see him too much. Like my dad he can be a bit of a loner, and they never had an amazing relationship so we only see him a few times aside from holidays. My Grandma and Grandpa Lawrence live only a few minutes away and I see them all the time. Grandpa Lawrence is a cheerful old man who loves to talk to me and joke around. Grandma Lawrence is much quieter and more reserved, but she always wants to know how schools going and what I've been up to. My mothers two brothers are also local. The oldest one has three children, all of whom are older than me. The oldest is Susie, who is six years older than me and graduated in 1953 and is a junior in college studying education. When we were younger she would say I was too little to play with her and go spend time with the grown-ups instead, but now that we're older she tells me all about college and the trends and what older kids do for fun. The middle child is Jack, who is five years older than me and just graduated a year ago in 1954. He is the typical middle child and always provoked me as a kid, teasing me and being mean. The youngest and closest to me is Dale, who is three years older. He is a senior and will graduate PHS in 1956, and he's always been the nicest to me. Probably because when I'm not Jack's target he is and he feels bad. My other Uncle is also married with kids, a son, Bobby, who is six years younger than me, and a daughter, June, who is eight years younger than me.
My Friends
Len '59
Len is my best friend. We meet in 7th grade when he is seated beside me in mathematics for the entire year. At first he gets on my nerves because he hardly does his work, opting instead to copy mine, but eventually we grow close. We spend a lot of time together and both our families become very intertwined. Our mothers are friends, our fathers are friends, and his brother gets on well with me too. I spend a lot of time at his house, he lives on the North side of the river and has a big yard and lots of land to explore. Even though we aren't children anymore we still enjoy playing around in the fields and forests. I like how free it is at his house, my house is on a residential street and I can't get far without my parents fussing. I eat dinner at his house usually once a week or more, and he does the same at mine. We both enjoy each other's mothers cooking. By freshman year we are absolutely inseparable, despite being very different people we mesh perfectly. We both love to be spontaneous and adventurous and have the best of times together. We are fun loving and all over the place, but we also ground each other in a way. I get him to open up and he keeps me from spiraling. He is the tallest guy in the whole school, which earns him the nickname Lanky Len, and is very active in sports. He plays football, basketball, and track freshman year and is on varsity basketball and track sophomore, junior, and senior years. He goes to state for discus in track junior and senior years and letters six or seven times to earn the silver victory award for athletics. He is a member of the Torch Hi-Y and serves as sergeant-at-arms (whatever that is).
Karren '59
Karren is my best friend from elementary school on. We have known each other since we were little and basically grew up together. She is the only person besides Len who could walk into my house unannounced without getting odd looks from my parents. She is the closest I have to a sister and my parents adore her. In the summer we go on a trip to the ocean and walk along the boardwalk, sipping sodas and flirting with boys on the beach. We stay up late nights talking on the phone gossiping or having sleepovers. She's high spirited and even bubblier than I am and always has a positive attitude. She is one of the kindest souls and would do anything for her friends. She's the best actress in our grade, probably the whole school, and is casted in lead roles almost every time. She's also very popular and heads the Girls Club, is a majorette, serves as senior class yell queen, is a member of the Latineers (the Latin club) and co-founds the drama club with me and a few other drama students. She is very bright and an honor roll student, one of the top 20 seniors, and wins the drama award senior year.
Jerry '59
I meet Jerry freshman year when we both help present the class stunt. He immediately takes charge and selects me to help run the entire project. Over the first three months of the school year Jerry and I basically manage all the different aspects of the stunt, staying late and working together closely to secure a win for our class. I think he's cute from the very beginning and can't help but like him, but I find myself in a similar situation with a guy on the class dance committee. Although any potential relationship might be slow to take off we quickly become friends. We are both interested in working for the school paper, and eventually do so. Jerry is a thoughtful, kind-hearted guy who is a friend to everyone. He's very popular and involved in all sorts of things. He plays football and baseball, writes the most out of everyone for the paper, serves as senior class president, is chosen for the UN Pilgrimage for Youth award junior year, is a repress at Boys State, is active in stunt and class dance, is a member of Quill and Scroll (the competitive club for journalism and yearbook participants) and honor society, is a member of Torch Hi-Y, and he wins a highly coveted $200 scholarship to the UW. He has a lot of friends, but the ones he is closest to are Karren, Len and I. We match very well and always get along. I am the person he leans on the most and he takes care of me and worries about me when I forget to. We bicker and squabble, but always laugh about it, and neither of us has the capacity to stay mad at the other. I am always worried for him and try my best to keep him out of harms way and I am the only person he fully trusts and can confide in.
Jerry's Family
I am pretty close with Jerry's siblings and they are around us a lot because their mom died in 1950 and their dad works, so Jerry is often in charge of them. He has a sister, Carol, who is one year younger than us. She is close with Karren and I through theatre and Torch Tri-Hi-Y and she is one of the sweetest girls ever. She's insanely pretty and kind and isn't very outgoing but has lots of friends because she's so nice. She tends to play mother for the family and always feels like she has to take care of their youngest brother. Jerry's first brother is Ken, who is three years younger than us, and he can be a moody teenager, but deep down he's a truly great person. He picks on their little brother a lot and can be cruel when it comes to his humor, but when he's really hurt someone he feels awful about it. Jerry always feels like he has to keep Ken in line and can be hard on him, but only because he worries. He plays basketball and looks up to Len and he's in Torch Hi-Y too. The youngest is Irving, the baby of the family. He is six years younger than us and is quiet and shy. He doesn't like to get too involved and doesn't make friends too easy, but once he is your friend he's a wonderful friend who will make you laugh. He and my cousin Bobby end up becoming friends after Jerry and I set it up.
Other People
Dan is Len's older brother, class of '57. He and I get along well since I am always at their house and we both have no problem making fun of Len. He plays football and does track but doesn't care for school much. His dream is to be a firefighter, and the day he turns 18 he signs up as a volunteer. Len likes to make fun of him for never actually getting to do anything more than pick up lunches and put away equipment, but I'm proud of him and excited for him. On September 20, 1956 Dan gets a call to a brush fire and while helping put it out there is an accident, killing him. His death is very hard on all of us, but I help Len get back to living life, even though we all miss him. (Even though I could script it out I don't want to change things, which is probably stupid and I'll be really upset, but it's what happened and I don't know what their lives would look like if it didn't)
Linda is Karren and I's closest girlfriend (aside from each other). She works the paper with Jerry and I, is in Quill and Scroll with us, is active in Stunt and the Class Dance, and does theatre with Karren and I. She's cheerful and popular and gets on great with everyone. She's a lot like me in the sense that she'll do whatever it takes to help people. The three of us spend a lot of time together in and outside of school and we often have late phone calls and sleepovers together.
Mike is one of the most prominent guys in our class. His family owns a dairy farm and he is an active FFA member, winning awards in the fair every year. Aside from that he is also active in class dance and stunt and is class president sophomore and junior years. He's very outgoing and friendly and easy to talk to, and he can be protective of me and the other girls in mathematics, especially when the other guys in the advanced classes are misogynistic towards us.
Reed is one of Len's basketball friends who always seems to be hanging around us. He also plays baseball and football with Jerry and is in Torch with Len and Jerry. He's the kind of guy who could have a whole line of girls waiting to dance with him at the Rec, but not one of them wants to date him. While he can be insecure about his shortfalls in relationships Reed has an amazing sense of humor and gives off major Jake Peralta energy. We click pretty well and have a relationship a lot like me and Len's, but more obnoxious and not as close.
Jerry J is another one of Len's basketball friends, but he also plays baseball with Jerry, is in Torch with both of them, briefly works on the paper with Jerry and I, and is active in Stunt and Dance. He's a really driven student and works really hard. He's also just naturally smart and skipped a grade. He's pretty sarcastic and cheerful and he and Reed are especially close. When a big group of us gets together he is almost always a part of it.
Robby is a guy I meet on the class dance committee freshman year. Right away I am interested in him, he's very good looking, and he's funny and outgoing. He plays basketball with Len freshman year and is a member of Torch Hi-Y with Len and Jerry. He's the kind of guy who can really sweep a girl off her feet, and we get along really well. We banter back and forth and click perfectly and have some really great times. He brings me out of my shell a little bit and loosens me up, makes me a little more laid back and spontaneous and less worried about repercussions and what people will think of me. (I don't mean this in a sexual way, I just mean in general as a person, I'm not gonna f him bruv, I'm a 14 year old in 1955). Anyway, our relationship reaches a sort of stand-still and Robby starts to feel too tied down and breaks it off. He basically breaks my heart, but eventually I move on and also Len definitely retaliates in some way. (Yes I'm scripting to get my heart broken don't judge it🤡)
Gary moves to our school from South Dakota sophomore year and I show him around school. We click, I think he's super sweet and he, I don't know, likes me for some reason? I enjoy his company a lot and he's a great gentleman, but he's not very open with me which is something I need in a relationship. My love language is emotional vulnerability and he doesn't do that at all. We also just don't have the same interests. He is an active member of the Voice of Christian Youth and rifle club and I am not very religious and don't like guns. I guess you could say I'm his Robby, I help him come out of his shell, but I'm just not as there for it as he is.