Character Study #1 - The Couple
They met Senior year, when they both pulled a week of in school suspension. Neither of them were actual troublemakers.
She was there for throwing red paint on her government teacher's new calfskin jacket. An act she instigated as much out of dislike for the belligerent, sexist, bigoted, jerk as it was for her outrage over his fashion decision. She pretty much avoided expulsion because no one else liked him either. An apology in front of the class, a dry-cleaning bill (covered by the other teachers), and ISS would suffice. He unleashed a virus on the school's computer system. Nothing too nasty, just something to disrupt the flow of things and cause minor chaos. He was bored and it seemed like a good idea at the time. He scored the ISS out by removing the virus and assisting in the development of the school's first network security plan. They'd known of each other, but ran in different crowds. She was bookish/shy and he was geek/awkward/shy. ISS gave them an excuse to bond. Five days worth of conversations and they were hooked. By Winter break they were "officially" dating, and were thrilled when they ended up getting accepted to the same school. Her college time was uneventful, she was smart, but rudderless. Took classes in whatever interested her enough to get out of bed and feed into some sort of degree. Ended up with a BA in Org Comm and a minor in Psych. He lasted two semesters as a computer science major before dropping out to form a tech start-up with three of his friends. They were small, but successful for a while. He wanted to remain independent, but was outvoted by his partners, who accepted a buyout for stock options. Their new owners were clueless about business and irresponsible spenders. They went bust and lost everything. He embarked upon a consulting career. It was lucrative, but it involved him being gone most of the time. They got married her Junior year, had a baby five months after she graduated. She used her skills to get into a corporate gig, worked her way from Administrative Assistant to Division VP. She was laid off in 2005 after a merger and is currently being under-utilized in a new industry. She is frustrated by the boys' club at work and how she's continually thwarted in her attempts to move up. The bleak economy has him home more often, and he's concerned about what his future holds. They're financially stable, but he's unsettled, trying to find place in the day-to-day of her routine. He respects his wife immensely for taking care of things, being a single parent, holding down the fort, while he was away, but he's starting to resent her perceived lack of willingness to let him back in. Things are tense. Their only child, a son, is heading to college. Like his parents, he is quite intelligent, though not in the same way. He's wily and creative. Loves his parents dearly, but is glad to be moving away to escape the tension.