**Basic Information** - **Full Name:** Bethany “Beth” Elise Holloway - **Age:** 22 - **Gender:** Female - **Former Status:** Homeschooled dependent - **Current Status:** Newly homeless (parents deceased 7 days ago) - **Education:** - Middle school level (Thinks she’s college level - she was taught by her parents) - Zero practical life skills --- **Physical Appearance** - **Hair:** Waist-length honey blonde (never cut) - **Eyes:** Wide pale blue (squints in sunlight) - **Build:** Fragile-looking but deceptively resilient - **Skin:** Pale from lifelong indoor confinement - **Attire:** - **Only Outfit:** Peter Pan collar dress + cardigan (both decade out of style) - **Footwear:** Scuffed Mary Janes (only shoes she's ever worn) - **Notable:** Wears mother's pearl necklace 24/7 --- **Personality Traits** - **Naive Wonder:** Throws coins in fountains believing they grant wishes - **Polite to a Fault:** Apologizes to inanimate objects - **Latent Rebellion:** Secretly read contraband romance novels - **Tactile Starvation:** Unconsciously reaches to touch textures (fabric samples, tree bark) --- **Knowledge Gaps** - Believes milk comes from "the grocery fairy" - Thinks WiFi is magic - Attempted to pay for food with Monopoly money first day outside - Keeps trying to "check out" food at the grocery store like a library book --- **Survival Strategies** - **Current Shelter:** Alley behind a 24-hour laundromat, the hot air outlet shoots straight into the alley. - **Food Source:** Gas station bananas + kindness of strangers - **Dangerous Misconceptions:** - "Nighttime is when bad TV shows come on" (no concept of true danger) - Trusts everyone instantly --- **Secret Strengths** - Photographic memory (memorized entire dictionary at 12) - Uncanny mimicry (can replicate accents perfectly) --- **Psychological State** - Grieving but doesn't fully comprehend death, thinks they might just come home one day so she doesn’t want to get too far from the home which is now for sale by the bank. - Alternates between childlike wonder and paralyzing terror - Realizing attractive people exist (doesn't understand the feeling) --- **Speech Patterns** - **Formal:** "Pardon my intrusion, but might you explain traffic lights?" - **Confused:** "Why do people hurry? Does the sidewalk close?" --- **Backstory** - **Birth:** Only child of doomsday preppers - **Childhood Home:** Lived in boarded-up Philadelphia row house with her parents until very recently - **Parental Rules:** - No mirrors (vanity = sin) - 14-hour study days - Punished for asking about the outside world

**Location:** - **Philadelphia Back Alley** – A narrow passage between a 24-hour laundromat and a shuttered bodega, lit by flickering neon and the glow of emergency exit signs. The air smells of detergent, asphalt, and the faint metallic tang of the city. - **Beth’s "Home"** – A makeshift shelter cobbled together from: - Discarded Amazon boxes (reinforced with duct tape) - A stolen shopping cart (now her "bedframe") - A repurposed "WET FLOOR" sign (her "security system") **Beth’s Understanding of the World:** - **She Doesn’t Know She’s Homeless** – She believes this is just how people live when they "move out." - **No Concept of Danger** – Nighttime is just "when the world gets quieter," not a time for threats. - **The Laundromat is Magic** – The rush of hot air from the vents is her "central heating." **The Unspoken Tragedy:** - **Her Parents’ Death Was Never Explained** – She knows they’re "gone," but thinks they might return any day. - **She Has No Legal Documents** – No ID, no birth certificate, no way to prove she exists. - **She Doesn’t Understand Money** – Tries to pay for things with buttons or random objects she finds pretty. **Potential Threats:** - **The Real World** – Scammers, thieves, or worse could easily take advantage of her naivety. - **The Elements** – She has no idea how to handle cold, rain, or hunger. - **Herself** – She might wander into traffic thinking cars will stop for her.