CHAPMAN, Lilith Eliza

[lilith eliza chapman]

LIITH ELIZA CHAPMAN

FULL NAME: Lilith Eliza Chapman.
NICKNAMES: None
AGE: 21
GENDER: Female
SEXUALITY: Straight
STATUS: Single.
GROUP: Student.
GRADE: Senior
MAJOR: Engineering.
JOB OCCUPATION: Barista at Java Hut.

HAIR: Dark brown, and curly. It takes a lot of work to keep it neat but Lilith happens to love having a routine for her hair.
EYES: Brown.
SCARS/BIRTHMARKS: She has a few from her years of acne, but often these are covered with light makeup.
TATTOOS: None. She’s afraid she’d get something cool now but in ten years hate it. She’s a fickle creature with many of her interests.
PIERCINGS: Ears the once.
PLAY-BY: Zendaya Coleman

LIKES: Old records, iced coffee, late night study groups that order food in, pizza with lots of toppings and extra cheese, wine, museums (but not with a tour guide), handmade gifts, tulips, knitting, soft wool, oversized cardigans, men in glasses, book club Thursdays, reading, people she can have a good conversation with, notebooks, Post-It notes, Sunday mornings in bed.
DISLIKES: Family fighting, people mocking/talking shit about her family, fake people, orange juice with bits, sweet popcorn, cold floors, headaches (she gets them when she’s tired), restrictive clothing, going too long without a night out, most of the internet (it’s just so toxic), cold gravy, heat rashes, sitting still for too long, talking to strangers on the phone, being left waiting.
FEARS: Losing her family, meeting her birth parents, her death involving any kind of fire or burning.
SECRETS: Lilith was adopted before she was even three. However, what she doesn’t mention is the pre-adoption life where she was abandoned during a storm. Someone left her at a bus depot in the pouring rain. Lilith was found a little while later by an employee.
PERSONALITY: Lilith is a very passionate person. When she’s talking about something she loves there’s a lot of hand gestures and eye contact. She’s also very curious about everything, but especially other people in her life. An impatient type, she doesn’t normally enjoy waiting on anything or someone holding back from her without good reason. Lilith will talk to just about anyone, but she feels a true connection with intellectuals and academics. She gets on well with other types, but those are the ones she finds she can talk to for hours without checking the time or thinking of something else. She’s a book lover who will read anything she can get her hands on - even the backs of shampoo bottles. A little hot-headed at times, Lilith can be prone to shouting at people out of the blue and snapping rather easily. She often apologises for that behaviour, but it will always happen again, as her friends well know. She’s thoughtful and appreciates that trait in others. She’d rather have a gift or a comment about something she cares about, than something that was just shiny and expensive. That’s part of the big deal for her when she’s in a relationship. She looks for a man who is mature and thinks outside of the box. Saying that, she also appreciates someone who is willing to let her live her life alongside his and not be one of those “We must do everything together” couples. Lilith likes her space sometimes, and enjoys having things that are just hers. She’ll often joke that it’s a side effect of how she grew up.

MOTHER: Norma Ann Chapman, 55.
FATHER: Craig Arthur Chapman, 59
SIBLINGS: Nicholas Ryan Chapman, 32.
Michael Scott Warrick, 29.
Ashleigh Amelia Chapman 28.
Briony Ella Viroux, 25.
Tyson Richard Orego, 23.
Kyle Andrew Chapman, 22.
Diamond Kate Kingsley, 19.
Charlene Piper Chapman, 17.
Orlando Justin Kingsley, 16.
Brendon Leon Chapman, 13.
Lia Amaya Chapman, 10.
Xavier Samson Chapman, 8.
OTHERS: Agatha Portia Watkins, 44, bio-mom.
Kingsley Isiah Rook, 45 bio-dad.
PETS: None.
HOMETOWN: Bellingham, Washington.
HISTORY: No one knew Agatha Watkins was pregnant. In her family it would be unseemly to be “knocked up” before a serious relationship and marriage. So, she hid it under baggy clothes and lots of time away. Her boyfriend, Kingsley Rook, only found out about it when she went into labour. They didn’t know what the hell to do and at first a distant cousin of Kingsley’s said she’d take the baby. They didn’t care at the time about what happened next. However, when the baby was less than a year old, it was handed back to them. The cousin who had taken her hadn’t been able to cope. Kingsley didn’t know how severely troubled she was, and how much medication she was supposed to be on daily. She wasn’t someone who could ever look after a kid. For a little while they tried to get someone else to take the infant, even tried to sell it for the right price. However, nothing came to be, and Kingsley one afternoon grew mad at the teething child and drove out to the bus depot and dumped the kid and carseat there. The baby girl had only a thin blanket for warmth, and the weather had taken a turn for the worst. Storms were coming in and the rain was beating down when someone finally found her screaming outside the employee’s entrance.

The baby girl was rushed to hospital and treated for exposure. The police launched an investigation, but Agatha and Kingsley skipped town, likely skipped the state, and no one could find them. The baby was only linked to Kingsley because of a DNA hit linked to a minor conviction he had to his name for a traffic incident. The baby girl went into the system, but was soon taken in by Norma and Craig Chapman. The couple had two sons of their own and three other adopted children. They lived in a big house on the outskirts of town. It was a house they had bought when it was basically a shell and transformed into a beautiful home. They had money from trusts and Norma had an inheritance from an aunt. That had built their home and then they had wanted a large family to fill it. Nicolas was their first child, born in the coldest winter. However, after that they struggled and Norma lost several babies. Then they looked at fostering and adoption. They fostered Michael and Ashleigh and soon adopted them once everything was cleared. Then the social worker approached them about Briony and again with Tyson. Norma didn’t know it but when the adoption of Tyson was going through, she was pregnant with her second son, Kyle. They planned to have a break then, but when the abandoned baby girl made national news, Norma just knew she needed to be her mommy. She couldn’t bear the thought of one of the “in it for the cash” families harming a child who had already been unwanted. So they adopted and named Lilith and then took their baby break!

It only lasted a few years before Norma felt that itch again. Craig laughed constantly, saying he wouldn’t have ever been able to keep up with this if they were all biological. Still, he shared Norma’s passion for a big family, loud and chaotic. They were known in Bellingham for their “good deed” of adopting children. There was often some comment made or a small news story ran about them. They tried to brush it off but people were often in awe of how well the children were, how polite and behaved they could be on an outing. This of course only helped further adoptions. Some came after others had moved out but there was always a full house until Craig called time on it thirteen kids in total later.

Lilith loved her big, mixed family. Some of the children kept (or reverted to) their birth names, but many of those who were adopted as infants took the name Chapman. She loved that they had different races and looks in their family. Some kids did try to make fun of it, but Lilith had tougher skin than that. Norma had prepared her for it, explaining that they were different – but not less – than other families. She also told Lilith about her pre-adoption life when she was just seven. She felt like Lilith ought to know since there were often requests for a “feel good” story about the abandoned baby who now had a loving family. It got worse on anniversaries, but the family handled it well. Lilith wasn’t the only adoptee of theirs who had a news story about their life. Ashleigh had been pulled out from a drug raid in her diaper, and Orlando was a miracle survivor of a car crash that had killed two sisters and their parents. Norma and Craig never let the kids dwell on their hard pasts though. They kept them focused on the future, on what they could do with their lives.

Lilith was always a science girl. She loved it over anything else in school. However, English was a close second. With so many children, Craig and Norma had decided that gaming set ups would be too expensive for all of them, so they made a room into a play area and gave them days and times to use the expensive systems. For the rest they encouraged sports, reading and other hobbies that could keep them occupied. Lilith loved her books and joining her mother as she knitted sweaters and cardigans for them all. It was cheaper than dragging them all on a shopping trip, which was an annual thing in the summer. Lilith learnt from her mother, and was genuinely the type who preferred the quieter moments over the screaming breakfasts and bathroom fights (though she adored those too because her family were all there).

Holidays and birthdays often came with homemade gifts from the children. It was a treat to make and receive these. Craig and Norma lived comfortably, but they didn’t want their children to be spoilt or think money was everything. They encouraged thoughtful gestures and treats over costly things. That wasn’t to say they didn’t treat them. They had trips to theme parks, allowances, and got some things bought for them. Craig, for example, bought Lilith a record player for her fourteenth birthday after she spent most of the year camped out with his, insisting on listening to everything he had in his collection.

Ultimately, Lilith’ school days passed with ease. She was confident, known for her family, and took no shit from anyone who tried to talk down to her or treat her like crap. She was a firm believer in her choices, and couldn’t wait to make her family proud. She excelled in science and boldly stated that she would be an engineer when she was just nine. It was a dream that didn’t waver. When it came to college she applied for Engineering courses. Ultimately, she settled on NYU, after deciding her older brothers Kyle and Tyson had made good choices in going across the country before her. Nicolas and Ashleigh had gone out of state for college, too, but they were back home, living no more than two hours from their parents and settling down with their own fresh families.

Leaving home was bittersweet. Lilith was excited for the adventures to come but she knew she’d miss home something terrible. She promised to come home in the summer and Thanksgiving and Christmas – which she did – and she called home at least twice a week even if it was just for ten minutes. She was always texting her siblings and getting little gifts in the mail or sending her own presents when she had the time for them. Family was never far from her mind even if there was a late night study group on or she was out at a party, blowing off some steam. Lilith was never reckless, but she also wasn’t hovering over a textbook 24/7. She got a job, joined a student book club, and spent time with her friends just hanging out and eating food they complained would kill them one day. Lilith was happiest when she was relaxed, and that came from a good balance of work and play.

Now, she’s a senior, completely clueless about what will come next. She’s been told post-graduate studies would be an idea for her, but at the same time she’s itching to make her life and move on from those college things. In a bit more time she might decide what’s best, but Lilith is honestly just content to see what life throws her way in the meantime.

YOUR ALIAS: Kim.
RULE WORDS: kidnappedbykim.
WHERE YOU FOUND US: I was out Chasing Waterfalls.
SAMPLE:

Bleh Bleh!

[kim]