Post by avery on Dec 1, 2010 16:00:14 GMT -6
AVERYADELEPARKER
“Well, tell me a little about yourself. What’s your name?”
My name is Avery Adele Parker. I hate it so much. My first name is a guy's name, my middle name is an old lady name, and my last name is so average. I don't go by Avery, though. Everyone calls me Tiger. It all started in middle school, when we went on a trip to the zoo. I lived in San Diego at the time, and as you may know, they have a nice zoo there. We were all standing by the tiger enclosure, and three boys were taunting one of the tigers -- yelling at it, teasing it, generally just being sixth grade boys. I was used to being around dogs, so I tried to soothe it. "It's okay, ignore them, you're a good tiger." I said something like that. And then, I swear to God, it walked right over to me, laid down, and made a sound very similar to a meow. It was pretty cute, actually. So the kids on that trip starting calling me Tiger Girl, which eventually shortened to just Tiger. I guess the name stuck.
“Next question, how’s school?”
I'll admit it, I'm kind of a nerd. I don't watch Star Trek or read comic books or any of the things you would associate with a stereotypical nerd, but I do get good grades in school. For kindergarten through sixth grade, I went to a... not so nice public school. It was pretty rough. These older girls used to beat me up after school. It became sort of a habit for them, I guess. They pulled my hair, punched me until I fell down, and then kicked me until I stopped moving. Often after I stopped moving. That went on most of sixth grade. Over the summer, there was this beauty pageant. I am definitely not a beauty pageant girl, but this one focused a little more on intelligence than just plain beauty. There were still some of those shallow beauty pageant girls, but one of my friends went to. I mean, we weren't horrible looking, but we weren't... them. So we didn't expect to do that well. I got the highest score in the intelligence test, though.
For the talent portion, I decided to make a complete fool of myself. I wrote this skit about a football player who really, really didn't want to be put in the game. I wore big shoulder pads and ran around, putting my head in a bucket and generally trying to be scene. It sounds weird when I describe it but everybody was laughing really part. Probably in part because everybody does singing or dancing or something like that, so when you're watching them, you're thinking "My kid/sister/friend is so much better at that!" But with my skit, I figured you could relax and laugh. Or, at least, that's what I hoped when I was writing it. But the audience seemed to like it.
One of the prizes was for the girl who scored highest on the intelligence test, which was a scholarship to a prep school near LA. I won that, which was my original intention in entering the pageant. When I was smiling and accepting the envelope, the guy kept telling me "hold on to this. Don't let go of it. Make sure you keep it with you at all times." I was thinking, dude, are you serious? I just won the intelligence test. It was the strangest thing. So then they were announcing the winners of the pageant, and obviously I was kind of hoping to get fourth or third or maybe even second place. Obviously I wasn't going to get first place, but I'd done pretty well in all of the sections. So they called out fourth place, which I didn't win. Same with third. Then they called second place, which was the girl I thought was definitely going to win. I was pretty sad at this point, but I was also looking around like, man, who's left? Because really all the best people were out there. And then the judge called first place, Avery Parker, and I was still looking around for who would come up. But then my friend kind of pushed me forward, and I was like, what was that for? But then I realized that, hello, I was Avery Parker. I totally freaked out. I never, ever expected to win a beauty pageant. My family had even gotten me a cake that said "Even though you didn't win, you're still our beauty queen." It was hilarious.
So then we moved up to LA for me to go to the prep school, which I thought was pretty nice of my mother. I had kind of a rocky relationship with her at the time but we grew past that eventually. The prep school was better, as it was marginally more acceptable to be smart, but I felt pretty out of place without Gucci sunglasses to wear once and then throw away. I had a few friends, but most of the girls made it clear that I was not one of them. I didn't really mind, though. I had a few friends and that was enough for me.
“What did you do when you weren’t in school?”
Well, as you might have gathered -- or maybe not -- I'm a little bit shy. That's why it was pretty random that I was always in the drama club. The prep school, Presley Lawrence Academy, put on several plays a year. I was usually a supporting character, although I did star as Alice once. Rarely ever do redheads get the part of Alice, so I was proud of myself for that one. I was really nervous, but it went pretty well. I had to remind myself constantly to speak up. One of the plays I actually co-wrote with my teacher in early freshman year. Opening night (well, we only ever put on two performances for one show) was one of my favorite moments in my entire academic career. Ever since then, I've loved screenwriting.
I'm not sure if any of that counts since it was technically affiliated with the school, but most of it was an after school activity so I think it should count. Besides, I love it. Acting and writing. It's my dream. But I don't know what college will accept me now that I've been charged with... well, we'll get to that.
I wasn't much of a sports girl. I tried to be on the soccer team for one season back in eighth grade. My coach begged and begged me to quit. I'm just not coordinated enough. I wasn't accepted onto any other team, even though I tried out for nearly all of them. And a school like that has a million teams. Basketball, tennis, cricket, croquet, lacrosse... you name it. I was on the swim team, just because you were required to take a sport, but I wasn't very good. My stamina was okay, so I would usually do the 200s and all that. I didn't usually win though.
“Tell me about your friends and family. How are your relationships with them?”
My friends... back at Presley Lawrence, I loved my friends. They were kind of dorky but always a lot of fun. I kind of stopped talking to them after it happened, though. Not that it was their fault. I just didn't feel like talking anymore. I would have rather sat their and wallowed in all of my bad feelings. Which is probably what drove me to do what I did. I regret not telling my friends about it. Their emotional support would definitely have helped. If they believed me.
God, I'm being elusive. I just don't want to talk about "it" until I have to.
So, my family. I have an older brother and a younger brother. My mother's a single parent. My older brother is pretty nice. He's also really protective of me. My little brother, who is actually my half-brother, is pretty annoying. He can be cute sometimes but mostly he's just a pain in the you-know-where. I used to resent my mother, but somewhere after we moved to LA I guess it just dissolved. We were pretty close. She was really supportive through the whole trial thing. I have a bunch of cousins. You won't believe it but I have 32. See? You don't believe it. It's true though. My mother had seven siblings and they had a lot of kids. We're kind of an anomaly, being a three-kid family. I really like my cousin David. We're just a few months apart and have always been really close friends. He's probably the only person in the world who knows everything about me. I even told him about "it."
“Well we know about your friends and family, but what do you think about yourself? Describe yourself to me.”
I'm not stunningly gorgeous. But I'm not hideous either. I'm 5'6" with red hair and green eyes. I love makeup too. It's kind of an odd thing for me, being kind of shy and all. But I would often spend my babysitting money on pharmacy cosmetics. So, with a little help from my favorite makeup brands -- I can't afford anything too crazy but Maybelline and Cover Girl are usually within my budget -- I can look passably attractive. As long as I don't try to be one of those glamorous, gorgeous girls. I know what suits me and I try to wear it.
“Have you had any trouble with the law?”
Yes. I regret the consequences of my actions but I do not regret the actual actions. Alright, you want to know what I did? I tortured three boys. I tied them up, burnt their hair off, shoved knifes under their nails, abused their... sensitive regions... Generally just anything to make them suffer. I ripped one eye out from each of them. I choked them. I tortured them all within an inch of their lives... and then I drove them to Hollywood Boulevard and shoved them out of the car. So that everyone would see them, naked, with shriveled balls I'd iced on the way over. Everyone would see them in severe pain. I wanted everyone to know how horrible they were and that they'd suffered for their actions.
“Why did you do it?”
You're going to make me talk about "it." I don't like to talk about "it." It really depresses me and makes me angry. Not to quote the Hulk or anything, but you won't like me when I'm angry. Although... I suppose I should justify it. So I don't come off like a crazy witch who tortures poor, innocent guys for no reason at all. So I guess I'll talk about it.
I had this friend, Alana. She was one of us, the loveable dorks. But she was sort of our leader. In a way. She was the most outgoing out of all of us. She even had a boyfriend, a senior. He wasn't the coolest guy by any standards, but he was a senior, and she definitely got respect for that. We all secretly worshipped her. But anyway, the boy. His name was Peter Fulmer, and he went to Presley Lawrence.
I don't really want to go into detail about the whole thing. But to shorten a sob story, he and two friends of his raped me. And not tame, nice, it's-over-soon rape. The things they did to me were... horrible. I can still feel them, in my sleep. It's the only time my mind allows itself to remember.
There. Now I've told the sob story. And now like the kind of girl who just sits around and talks about how much her life sucks. And I feel angry. So can we just... move on?
“What is the worst thing you’ve done?”
At the risk of sounding lame... I don't do a lot of bad things. So the worst thing I did was probably torturing them. I did a lot of bad things while torturing them, though. I almost feel like I lost my... well, my mind, at the risk of sounding cliche. While I was doing those things... I didn't feel like myself. I watched them suffer and I took pleasure in it. Each of my rapists was a different masterpiece. There were some similarities, such as the one missing eye, the burnt off hair, the asphyxiation, etc. But for each one, I chose a different "theme." And I'm warning you, this will get a little graphic.
For Jeremy, I used weights. I crushed most of the bones in his body. For Aaron, I cut him so many times that his skin looked crocheted. For Peter... Peter I burnt. And boiled. And steamed. Anything painful with heat, I did to him. His skin was bubbling and flaking by the end of it. I'll never forget how they looked. I took pictures of them, but they're back in a box under my bed at home. I don't need the pictures though. I've always been fairly squeamish, but for some reason... they don't creep me out. Maybe it's the fact that I did that to them, or maybe it's the fact that deep down, I know they deserved it. But for some reason, remembering those thirteen days I trapped and tortured them just fills me with a creepy, cold pleasure. It's scary but exciting.
"What the thing you're most proud of?"
You're probably expecting me to say what I did, aren't you? Well that's not true. If I had to pick one thing... maybe I would say co-writing that play back at Presley Lawrence. I was the first student in the extensive history of Presley Lawrence to supply more than just a line or two here and there. And I know for a fact that they ran that play again this year, with a different set of people. That makes me feel so... important. I don't know, is that lame? But it's true. It's more important than good grades. They elect a new valedictorian every year -- not that I'll ever be Presley Lawrence valedictorian now. But it happens all the time. And winning the beauty pageant, I don't know, I did that for fun and in the hope of getting a scholarship. But having my words transformed on the stage... it was something that had never happened there before for a student, and just as importantly, it was something I wanted to do.
"Got any vices?"
I'm kind of a good girl. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs... I don't need to, either. I like myself perfectly the way I am, and I don't want to desecrate my identity to fit in with a group that I probably wouldn't have as good a time with anyway. I don't know. If I'm being honest, I'm a little scared about what B.A.D. will do to me. It's only been a few months and I already feel like more of a bad girl. Oh, sure, I'm the good girl here. But I have all this information now. I know how to roll a joint. I know how to give proper head. I know where to punch someone to get them to pass out. But I have never smoked marijuana, I really don't want to face the bad memories I would need to in order to give head, and why would I want someone to pass out?
But bad habits... well I bite my nails. They're usually a mess. I can't stand to have them long, though, and I always end up losing my clippers. Now, let me, think, what else? Well I don't swear. I don't admonish others for doing so but I don't like to swear myself. It just feels too crass for me. I do have a habit of using big words though. Is that a bad habit? I feel like it's not. Wow, I'm pretty boring. Just watch me be the ultimate bad girl in a couple of months. I'm already practically in jail.
“If you could change one thing about your life what would it be?”
That's easy. "It" would never have happened. I'm not saying I regret what doing what I did, but I would like to have gone to Princeton. 96% of Presley Lawrence graduates attend Ivy League schools, you know. Ninety six percent. That's a lot. That's almost all of them. I wanted to be one of the masses. And Princeton was my dream college. So if I could change that one thing, I'd be back at home, getting good grades and having a great time with my friends. They're not as intimidating as the crowd here.
“What act got you sent here and who recommended it?”
It turns out, if you leave three barely-living teenage males on Hollywood Boulevard, people are going to notice. Not my brightest moment. But I don't think I could have killed them. And they were going to blab anyway. So why not let their suffering be shown to the world? It's quite poetic, really.
The judge recommended this place. He was actually pretty nice about the whole thing. I had a public defense lawyer, while Peter and the gang had the best legal counsel money can buy. So it's nothing short of a miracle -- well, if I believed in miracles -- that I didn't end up worse.
“Do you deserve to be here?”
Well, that's a difficult question. My little... "outburst" was very much illegal. If I break a law, I should be punished. I acknowledge that. So, yes, in that sense, I do deserve to be here. Society needs jails to discourage and hamper criminal activity. I have great respect for the American judicial system. However, my act was more of revenge than anything else. Throughout history, revenge has been a very important way to keep your honor. So, in summation, I believe I belong in here for my actions, even though I'm hardly a danger to society unless struck first.
"Tell me about your life before B.A.D. contacted you."
What haven't I told you already? I grew up in San Diego and Los Angeles. I was a bit of an outcast, I did have my friends but we didn't try to be popular. I won Junior Miss, shock of all shocks, and moved to LA for my scholarship. I got teased a lot, for being there on scholarship. It was bad but nothing like the physical bullying I endured at my old school. Although, now that I think about it, they probably did give me some ideas for... my little mental sanity slip. Not that that makes me feel any better about them. Do you know how much that hurts? Do you know how awful it is to have to go to school, every day, and know exactly how bad it's going to be when the day ends? Do you know how bad it is to endure that kind of pain, day after day?
I'm sorry. I probably sound like the biggest hypocrite in the world right now. Do excuse me.
At Presley Lawrence, I was still a geek slash nerd, but I was also kind of one of the drama kids. It gave me a couple of notches in the social ladder. Not that I care about that kind of thing, but it's usually better to be safely in the middle than in the bottom of the heap. I loved being in the plays. It was kind of fun, to break out of the shell of being... well, being me, and be someone totally different. If you've really ever tried being someone else, you'd understand. And yes, as you may have guessed, I am a bit of a method actor. Not a huge one, but I do like to try to look at life through the eyes of the character I'm portraying.
I had a job, besides being a babysitter. I was a barista for a coffeeshop within Borders. It sounds terribly challenging, doesn't it? But the pay was okay, it wasn't too degrading, and I got a discount on all the books in Borders. It only lasted a couple of months, though. I couldn't be around all those people after "it," so I had to quit. Babysitting stopped too. I pretty much went in on myself after "it." Even when I ran out of makeup. I actually went to school without makeup a couple days. I had never done that. Ever. Not since my first day at Presley Lawrence. I dropped out of drama club. My grades plummeted. And forget about a social life. I just couldn't really face life after "it." But after my retribution? I feel the best I've ever felt.
Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial: Parker, Avery A.
Race: Caucasian
DOB and Age: 12/23, 15
Age admitted to Blackwood’s Academy: 15, three months ago
Grade: 11
Health issues: Wears a mouthgard at night for a problem with grinding her teeth in her sleep, wears glasses or contacts
Other: She's starting to question her sexuality.
Race: Caucasian
DOB and Age: 12/23, 15
Age admitted to Blackwood’s Academy: 15, three months ago
Grade: 11
Health issues: Wears a mouthgard at night for a problem with grinding her teeth in her sleep, wears glasses or contacts
Other: She's starting to question her sexuality.
Your name: Natasha works.
How you found us: PBS ad
Code word in the Rules: Admin Edit
Play by: Emma Stone