Valerie wears the typical Rutherford girls' uniform— White button-down shirt, sap green tie, and the blazer or sweatshirt when it's cold (she does not like the cardigan). She usually chooses to wear the skirt and rolls it up as much as she can (before she inevitably gets caught). She typically wears white converse and gold stud earrings. Other than the skirt-rolling, she does not make adjustments to the uniform and wears it crisply as intended. When it's cold, she adds black stockings and a black winter coat.

On "free-dress" Saturdays, Val usually wears high-waisted jeans (or shorts if it's hot) and crop tops, or patterned dresses. Her style of dressing is very much flattering, feminine, and on-trend. She intentionally pushes the limits of the dress code and is often getting sent out of class to go change. At home and unburdened by such rules, she dresses more revealingly and wears a lot of jewelry. She does not wear much makeup except for concealer and mascara.

Val has two "standard" recital dresses that she switches between. One is a dark cornflower blue, a-line cut, floor-length, and a lace bodice with Queen Anne neckline. The other is black with layers of tulle and embroidered flowers on the bodice and top of the skirt. She also has a simple black a-line dress for orchestra concerts, etc.

Val (by almost everyone), V (by Noah), Chicky (by her parents), Graves (by Cade)

Protagonist

16

Female, she/her

Val's hair is a bit above shoulder length, and mostly straight but curls at the ends. She straightens it fully for recitals, etc. On a day-to-day basis, she typically put it into a half-up, half-down style, because she likes the way her hair looks down but doesn't like having it in her face when she's playing cello. She has long-ish bangs are too short to tie up, so they hang around the side of her face.

Dark brown bordering on black but with warm undertones. She got highlights done in it at the beginning of the summer, though they've faded a bit by September.

5'5"

'Mongolian spot' birthmark on the back of her left thigh. About two and a half inches across, shaped vaguely like Florida.

Skinny but not bony, soft around the edges, unathletic— small-shouldered, flat-chested (which she often bemoans), wide hips ('pear' body type).

Oblong, pointed face, flat nose. Naturally fair but tanned, with warm yellowish undertones.

Human (Japanese-American)

Chocolate brown

She thinks most orchestra kids are antisocial nerds and privately views herself as superior. Because her school is a school for music, most people place, well, musical skill as the highest point of achievement. Val values things like looks, charm, and popularity more highly than many of her peers due to her years in public schools, and (sometimes subconsciously) looks down on others who don't care about such things.

It's not quite so severe as to be diagnosed (at least at this point in her life), but Val does have a somewhat unhealthy relationship with food. She is conscious about being healthy— well, what she thinks healthy means— and bounces around between various diets, skipping meals, etc. before inevitably giving up and eating half her weight in Lucky Charms at 3 am and crying on the floor. Her relatives (and Trish) are always trying to feed her.

Speaks quickly & loudly, turns sentences up at the ends like questions, gestures a lot when talking. Swears liberally. Grew up in CA, very Bay Area, says "hella", "like", starts sentences with "so". Looks people square in the eye when speaking to them, to the point where it's clearly a choice rather than a habit. Calls waiters, store clerks, etc by name right off the bat.

Loathes being talked down to or criticized. Would rather be respected than liked (in theory, not always in practice). Leans into her bitchiness because it's less scary to pretend that she doesn't care about being liked than admit that she does. Claims and acknowledges her negative traits— even fostering pride in them ("bitchiness is a talent!")— rather than putting in the work and self-examination for growth. Has the natural sense of competition that appears in every serious music student, but isn't as obsessive about being the best as Noah is. She mostly likes the ego boost that comes with being better than other people.

Stubborn, abrasive, "my way or the highway". Not the best team player, which makes her an unfortunate chamber group-mate or stand partner. Overly defensive, does not take kindly to criticism (she shares this trait with Cade— part of the reason she gets so annoyed at him about it is her own insecurities coming through). She can be cruel in the way that teenagers so often are, and finds no moral qualms in gossip. She's fiercely competitive, though nearly everyone at Rutherford is.

Plays cello and has done so since the age of 6. Piano since age 10. Likes to draw but doesn't have much in the way of technique, she mostly doodles fashion illustrations and copies other drawings she likes.

In her free time while at school, Val watches Netflix, practices cello/piano, doodles, or hangs out with her friends. During the summers, she does much the same and also helps out at her parent's store.

ENTJ-T, the commander.

Her family has a cat named Philip, who specifically is her favorite animal— not cats in general. Val's not the biggest animal person. She doesn't like the drooly, furry, scratchy, messiness.

Her cello, of course. Second to that is the jade ring that her grandma gave her when she was seven, or possibly her recital dresses.

She doesn't eat it often, but she has a nostalgic fondness for the mac & cheese at the diner in her neighborhood at home because it reminds her of the monthly family dinners she and her moms used to have there. She also likes sushi, but not raw fish. At Rutherford, she mostly eats salads, though she does appreciate the french toast at Sunday breakfast.

Red

Val is a student at Rutherford School of Music.

Val doesn't have an interest in or actively follow politics, she mostly subscribes to the ideologies of her left-leaning parents. What opinions she cultivates on her own follow much the same pattern.

Rutherford is not technically affiliated with any religion, but they do align their days off, etc. with the Christian holidays. They have a church and hold mass on Sundays. Val's parents are (her words) "atheist hippies" and wrote a strongly worded letter to the school exempting her from attending chapel, much to Noah's jealousy. Her family has a tree and presents on Christmas but there is no religious component.

Student

Val grew up in a condominium in a working-class neighborhood in Oakland, CA with her parents, Elena Graves and Hannah Okada. Val is the biological child of Hannah and an anonymous sperm donor. As a kid, Val cycled through a series of extracurriculars, including soccer, theater, and a brief and disastrous stint in ballet before settling on cello. Her parents pushed her to practice and do well but it wasn't all that competitive at first. She didn't talk about cello much with her school friends, even as it got more serious and she started doing festivals, competitions, etc., she found it kind of embarrassing.

When Val was ten, they moved to New Jersey because of Elena's job (much to Val's vocal unhappiness) and a difficult time making friends at her new school. Her grades dropped, she got into (mostly verbal) fights, and her strong personality garnered her a reputation as something of a bitch. She leaned into it after a while, made it her brand, though it still stung a little sometimes. Then, as discussed in education, she won a contest when she was in 8th grade and got a partial scholarship to Rutherford, and the rest is history.

Valerie went to public school up until 9th grade, which is the year she started at Rutherford. She is currently a junior and is only able to attend the school due to a scholarship she received after winning a young performers' contest at age 13.

October 23rd

At home: a large, patchy brown cat named Philip (Phil, Philster, Mr. Philly, etc.)