Emma Louise Bracken

-Played By Brooklyn-

Nickname(s): Em

Age: 17

Grade: Senior

Birthday: March 16th

Appearance: Emma has natural earthy looks, pretty, maybe even some would say beautiful, but she looks like your girl next door, not your catwalk model, or your heavily made up cheerleader. She is rarely even seen in make-up (except on stage). She dresses simply, but always neat, tending towards a skirt than say a pair of jeans. Her clothes are anything but revealing, and though you might upon close inspection realize that there is an attractive body underneath her clothes, Emma does very little to accentuate this fact. She is rather embarrassed about her figure, not thinking that there is anything wrong with it as such, but not having the confidence in herself to flaunt any of her so-called assets.

Her natural deep brown wavy hair sits at about the middle of her back, and it is a rare day that Emma will ever do anything fancy with it. She just doesn’t see the need to waste time in the bathroom, when you could spend that extra half an hour sleeping. She has no piercing's, and has never once died her hair. Her teeth are straight and white without ever having had to go to the dentist. Her nails are clean, and shaped, yet Emma never wears nail polish. Her jewellery is kept to a minimum and she favors delicate gold items over chunky and expensive pieces.

Personality: She is generally a quiet girl, yet she is not afraid to speak up in a class discussion. Just don’t expect that to flow over into her everyday life. Emma is more of a listener than a talker. The real her, is something that just about nobody knows, and it is likely to stay that way. She has built up so many walls in an effort to protect herself, that even she isn’t sure who she is anymore. She throws herself into clubs, and theatre, in an attempt to lose herself.

Emma is very secretive about her life, choosing never to enter a conversation about her family or her past. She seems to have a knack for turning the focus back onto the other person, and tends to hold many of her thoughts and feelings inside. Even those that may think they are close to Emma never get to know the inner workings of her mind. She's embarrassed in a way, feeling that if anybody knew that her own parents don't even love her, how could anyone else.

Many are under the misconception that she is strong. She doesn't feel that she is strong for coping with what she has had to face in her thus short life, and if anything, the burden has been so great that it weighs heavily on her mind and heart. She would give anything to turn back the clock, to have her brother back with her. To have her mother again, to have her father be the caring man that she knows he can be, rather than the over-worked, over protective person that seems to have aged ten years in only two.

She can often appear to be clingy, latching onto things perhaps out of a need for survival - a need to be loved by somebody. She will do her best to please others, and often gives more of herself than she actually has to give. Emma can be easily manipulated, and just as easily hurt by somebody else's actions. She does not believe in herself. Does not feel that she possesses any special qualities, and cannot understand why anybody would actually notice her, let alone care about her. Some days, she feels invisible. Others, she just wishes that she was.

In many ways, Emma has been denied the opportunity to grieve her brothers death. It seemed impossible to think that the world would continue to turn after Peter was gone, but soon she realized that somebody had to pay the bills, had to clean the house, buy the milk, and the responsibility for that fell on Emma's shoulders. With her father having to work to support the family, Emma has had to in many ways take on the role of mother and wife (as her own mother seems to be slipping away from the real world as every day passes) In so many ways she is wise beyond her years, having to grow up much too fast. In other ways, she's a naive little girl with much to learn about this world that she struggles to belong in.

Family: Emma’s family is a part of her life that she keeps very guarded. Her Dad, Stuart, is a bank manager at the Ridgefield bank, her mother – Josie – was a Secretary to the Vice President of a fairly large company based in Ridgefield, but after the death of Emma’s older brother Peter, Josie began to fall apart. She lost her job, and slowly lost her will to live. She has been in and out of hospital over the last two years, numerous suicide attempts, an addiction to prescription drugs, and alcoholism. Since Peter’s death, life has become almost unbearable. Her Dad tries to be extremely strict about what she does, and where she goes, but her mother doesn’t seem to be aware of her existence anymore.

-Josie Bracken- Emma's Mother	-Stuart Bracken- Emma's Father

Peter Bracken Emma's Brother (DEC.)

History: Emma had a rather a-typical small town upbringing for the first 15 years of her life. She lived in a middle class area of Ridgefield with Her parents, and until she was 14, with her brother Peter, who also attended Richmond High, but was a senior when Emma was a freshman. She practically idolized her brother, and got into acting, singing and dancing because of him. He was always the star of School Productions, and Emma has many fond memories of going to see him perform.

After Peter finished school, he decided to take the plunge, and moved to New York, attending NYU majoring in Theatre, and hoping to pursue a career in musical theatre, hoping one day to make it on Broadway, a life long dream of his.

Emma and her family stayed in close contact while Peter was away, and everything seemed to be running smoothly for him. He returned to Ridgefield, when Emma got her first major lead in a school production, and he was coming to see her perform for the first time on opening night. At first, Emma sensed a change in him, but she wasn’t willing to let it get to her, always blaming it on him being overworked.

The first time that anybody realized that something was seriously wrong, was the last. On the same day that the show opened, Emma’s mother Josie came home early to organize a surprise dinner for the family, before they would all head off to see Emma’s show. When she opened the door, Peter was sitting on the couch; his body slumped over, his head on the coffee table. It took a few minutes for everything to sink in, but reality hit when Josie saw the tourniquet, spoon, lighter and needle, and although she immediately tried to revive him – It was too late.

When Emma arrived home from school that afternoon, there was an ambulance parked in her driveway, and she walked in to discover her mother hugging Peter’s body, not wanting to let him go. Peter was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. That same night, Josie tried to take her own life.

For the last two years, this has been Emma’s life. Her family still refuses to discuss the circumstances that surround Peter’s death. Her mother has raised Peter up on a pedestal, breaking down at any given time, until one day she just stopped functioning. She now stays at home all day, watching videotapes of Peter’s productions, her head stuck in photo albums. Emma comes home from school, she cleans the house, she cooks dinner, and then her family who are in tatters sit down to a silent meal. Emma then locks herself in her bedroom for the remainder of the night, and so the cycle continues.

Neighborhood: Washington Park – A simple yet very well kept, single story home. Suffers a little from white picket fence syndrome, but still. The appearance leads people to believe that a very loving, completely together family would reside here. Appearances are often very deceiving.

Job: Waitress at the Rock n Roll Diner in the Downtown district. It was the closest thing to acting that she could find in a job.

Vehicle: None.

Best Friend(s): Though Emma has for some time now been considered a loner, this wasn't always the case. Back in Sophomore year, prior to the death of her brother she had a handful of people that she considered her friends. Though lifelong bonds were never made, these friends included Eben Redhail, Alanna Feller and Josh Townsend (Among others). They have drifted away in the last two years, partly because they weren't sure how to be there for her when she lost her brother but for the most part because Emma pulled away from them. She couldn't bare to see the way they looked at her anymore.

Dating Status: Single - Emma has rarely been one to let any guy close enough to date her. That doesn’t mean she hasn’t from time to time dated, but things usually end before they become too serious. Until her Senior Year the closest thing to a relationship she has ever had was holding hands with Eben at a movie (back in Sophomore Year). Since just before Senior Year started, Emma began dating resident playboy, Landon Carter. After a long time of having very little human contact with anyone his smooth words and gentle touch had been just what she was craving and Emma found herself falling very quickly. She tried to keep her family life hidden from him as much as possible (never bringing Landon home and refusing to tell her parents about their relationship). Emma struggled with the fact that Landon is a great deal more popular than she was and spent much of their relationship in fear of him finding somebody better and leaving her. Only when she had slowly begun to allow herself to believe in what they have did she discover that Landon had been cheating on her with Delta Carr. Little does she know that she is not the only girl that he had been seeing behind her back. She has no idea that Landon has never been faithful to her and is trying to deal with the loss of the only person that has provided her with any sense of security since the death of her brother.

Social Status: Drama club girl – which doesn’t exactly throw her into popularity, but it doesn’t make her unpopular either

Schedule:

Period1 - Honors World Literature
Period2 – Trigonometry
Period3 – TV, Film & Video
-Break-
Period4 – Honors Biology
Period5 – Drama
-Lunch-
Period6 – World History
Period7 – Physical Education
Period8 - French

Activities:

- Clubs: Drama, Dance, Choir.
- Sports: None

Other Information: Emma (as a rule) doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't cut school for no reason at all. She doesn't like to lie to her parents or do anything that people may consider rebellious. Some people things this makes her a square and so be it. Emma is however fairly easy to manipulate and if pressure is applied she will cave into somebody else's wants (even if she doesn't want to).

Likes: Movies – Emma would happily sit in a cinema all day and just watch movie after movie, and if not, Books – Anything that she can lose herself in. She likes music though if you were to ask her who her favorite artists are she would have trouble supplying you with an answer.

Emma's Music Playlist

Dislikes: Reality TV Shows – Especially Real Life. Drugs. Being so alone. Sometimes Emma just wishes that she had somebody who understood her, who truly seemed to care about her.

Quote: "Let me be empty and weightless and maybe I’ll find some peace tonight"

Any extra-curricular non-school activity: Youth drama group. Midnight Youth Theatre Company – for people aged between 13 and 25. Singing lessons. Dancing lessons. Work, anything that keeps her out of the house. She prefers to study in the library, and generally only comes home for meals, and sleep.