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Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    Character Sketches and Dialogue Practice by Haley Schultz

    Character 1

    Calliope isn’t like most girls; she’s herself. Calliope isn’t considered odd or strange; she’s just irrevocably herself, and doesn’t fall victim to societal conventions or restrictions. She is 5’6 and is happy that she is neither taller or shorter. Her hair is large, to say the least, and it parts whichever way it wants to, and the highlights within it make her hazel eyes seem like a spotlight. Her clothes exert whatever confidence she had lost in translation; everything hugging her figure, but not edging on the side of lewd. The boots she wears click when she walks so people know when she is coming, and are happy to see they were right. Her hands smell like the lotion she put on earlier today.

    Calliope is always ready to lend someone a hand, and she wants that hand to smell nice. To help emphasise that she is a friendly person she wears a friendship bracelet on her left wrist that is made entirely of happy colors. It’s usually the only jewelry she wears, but when there’s a special occasion she wears a necklace which slightly resembles a music note and has a diamond in the middle that spins. She walks the line between a waltz and stride when she crosses a room, and the people around her always wonder how she manages to do such a thing. Her walk matches her face which is stuck in a semi-permanent smile. She thinks she will get crow’s feet by the time she is thirty, but that doesn’t bother her; at least she smiles.

    She did some theater in high school so she thinks that’s already going to have an affect on her wrinkles. Theater taught her to express emotions intensely with your face, and that she does. Most people wear their heart on their sleeves, but she wears it on her face. Her nose is as normal as anyone’s nose. She doesn’t pay much attention to it, and never saw the point in piercing it either. Her lips are a medium size; her mother has small lips and her father has big lips. She likes to think that her genes fought over which one she would get until eventually they compromised. Her teeth are used for eating and she makes sure she brushes them regularly. She wouldn’t say that her teeth are perfect, but no one else would say they weren’t. Her personality can be summed up by this reluctance to find herself perfect. She knows she doesn’t need to be perfect and that being herself is enough. Her avoidance of this perfection makes her have an interest in chaos theory. Everything is unpredictable, but nothing is her fault per say. It helps remind her that in the scheme of things she’s not really alone. The world will throw her curve balls, but she will hit them the best she can and keep on going. All she wants in life is happiness and will do all she can to get that. Right now all she has is a cat named Eckles, and she loves Eckles, and that is a good start.

    Character 2
    Jessica is a short girl that borders on the line of being too skinny and being just right. She has short curly hair that resembles an “O” shape, and she likes it that way; it helps her feel less unhinged. Her eyes are green and they make her head seem like a woodland. Her green eyes being grass or leaves, and her dark hair being bark or a particularly dark part of the ground. Her clothes fit her comfortably and are always appropriate for the occasion. She is usually wearing a jacket no matter the time of the year. People think it’s for fashion purposes but it’s actually because she’s just cold. Her jeans fit her well, although she wishes she could buy a nice pair of jeans that weren’t on the tighter end of the spectrum, but also not bell-bottoms.  She wears nikes that are colorful; she thinks those represent her personality well. She has hands that are soft and gentle.

    Jessica likes this because she feels like they make people trust her more. She heard someone say that one time; that her soft hands help people trust her more, but she doesn’t remember where; all she remembers is that she heard it one time. She can always be found smiling, but when her emotions do change it is very noticeable that her face is not happy. Her default state is smiling so anything less is surprising. Jessica’s smile always throws people off because her mouth is so small. Other people expect her small mouth to mean a small smile but her smile seems to take up her entire face and illuminate an entire room. She is glad her smile is so big because her favorite quote is “Just keep swimming”, and her own smile helps her and others do that. If you smile so big that it takes up an entire room your body just makes you happy. Jessica loves to sing and will hum “just keep swimming” whenever she feels like she may stop, and she always continues to swim. All Jessica wants in life is to love and be loved in return and at the young age of 37 she has that, and she couldn’t be happier.  

     

    Dialogue

    Character One: Calliope

    Character Two: Jessica

    Scenario: Calliope and Jessica meet for the first time in a park.

    Jessica noticed that the other woman walked with a sort of stride that seemed to make people want to listen to her, Jessica narrowed her eyes and said, “Hello.” The other woman stopped her stride and turned to Jessica, “Hello to you as well. I’m Calliope.”

    “Jessica,” she said, grinning in response, her hand moving toward Calliope while she responded. Calliope gladly took Jessica’s hand and gently shook it.

    “So what brings you here?” Calliope asked.

    “A lot actually, but I normally come here to find a tranquility of some sort,” Jessica said as she indicated toward a tree toward their right. Calliope cocked her head slightly to the side, finally noticing the peace in the air around her,

    “I see what you mean; well at least I hear what you mean. It’s like one of those CDs that play forest noises so you can fall asleep. It’s comforting. Do you ever get sleepy sitting here?”

    “I haven’t ever fallen asleep but I know what you mean,” Jessica laughed in response. Calliope’s head was still cocked to the side; her eyes filled with wonder. “Why are you looking at me like that? Is there an existential quote I forgot to wipe off this morning?” It was Calliope’ turn to laugh.

    “No! I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was staring. You have pretty eyes, and I was looking at them. That’s not creepy, is it? I don’t plan on stealing them…” Jessica matched Calliope’s position of the head and said,

    “So you’re saying you wouldn’t steal my eyes, but you like them? Interesting. I’m assuming you won’t steal them because you’re morally opposed to such a thing. Would you buy them if you could?” Jessica said, her eyes and face smirking.

    Calliope seemed to think for a moment, her hand on her chin; “Are the eyes on sale? That’s what’s really important.”

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