Character name: Piper Whitley Face claim: Brittany O’Grady Character pronouns: she/her Age: 29 Gender: Cis woman Occupation: English teacher at the local high school Neighbourhood of residence: Downtown Place of Birth: Holden, Pennsylvania Length of residence: 29 years (except for university)
Piper affectionately known as Pip was born in Holden and grew up with the expectations and drama that were part of being the daughter of Professor Whitley, a well-loved published author. Her father was the renowned and wealthy Professor known for his writing and teaching at Holden University but most of all he was known for his best selling books. Though as much as Piper didn’t always see eye to eye with her father, she has always had a love for reading and writing. She has always had a creative side and loved reading and telling stories, a trait Piper has gained from Whitley. However, Piper has always been close to her mother, who owns a local inn and she spends a lot of her time there.
Piper is confident, bubbly and she has always been creative. She would sit in the garden or her mom's inn and read for hours, and scribble down ideas in her notebook that never left her side. Something that has followed her into her adulthood, she is always writing down words and phrases that pop into her head. When she was younger, writing gave her an escape from her home life. From the pressures she often felt about getting straight A’s in school, to the arguments between her parents which she pretended not to hear.
Piper was born in her father’s second marriage. Her half brother James is from Whitley’s brief first marriage. James lived with them throughout her childhood. Piper was close to her older brother growing up, and she depended on him a lot. She missed him when he moved away but she respected his decision, and Piper later followed in his footsteps when she left Holden for college herself. She was upset when her dad cheated on her mom but she wasn’t surprised... Whitley loved his stories. It was just another drama in his life, another chapter for his next book. She distanced herself from him in her teens, often having disagreements and moved into the inn with her mom.
Although she is pretty introverted by nature, she has always been bright and a little playful. Piper enjoyed school, even if she hated to admit it. But she thrived in the private schools that her dad sent her to. She loved the opportunities they gave her. She was artistic, passionate and smart. She won art and writing competitions, took part in school performances and she always knew she'd go to university. The young woman was excited to explore the adult world and her talents. Her strong education and extracurriculars secured her an ivy place and moved to study English and creative writing at Princeton. Although her dad had initially wanted her to stay at his university, he was not going to stop his daughter from that opportunity.
Piper fully embraced university life. Although she’d always been a little reserved, the new city brought her out of her shell. New experiences and friends encouraged her to become try new things, and she found herself editing for the college paper, singing at karaoke nights, and falling in love for the first time.
After university, Piper had no intention of moving back home, she spent some time working for a paper as an intern while studying her postgrad degree. She found she enjoyed tutoring and eventually went on to do her teaching qualification. Part of her wondered if she was making excuses not to write professionally, afraid she could never live up to her father's work but she really did enjoy teaching.
She'd been living with her ex partner in New Jersey and when things didn't work out, she decided to head home. With her degrees and experience, she is now head of English and arts at Holden High. She is 29 and she is trying her best to make a life. She’s a kind and dorky young woman and she makes the most of everything that she does.
Though with recent events in town... and even worse it being so closely connected to her brother, things in Holden are not so quiet at the moment. Maybe even worthy of a book...
