Theodore Daniel Roberts
Nickname
Teddy or Theo
Age
Just Turned Sixteen
Program
The Musician Program
Sexuality
Asexual, Panromantic
^The Cello
^String Instruments
^Heights
^Climbing
^Composing
^Loud Noises
^Spicy Foods
^Mystery Novels
^Coffee
^Pacifism
^Riddles
vDancing
vSweet Things
vBeing Underground
vThe Dark
vComplete Silence
vDogs
vMeat
vSharing his compositions
vArrogance
vPerfection
vGuns
Fears
vTheo would loathe to admit it, but he has never gotten over that childish fear of the dark which comes with imagining demons in the shadows and such. He can't sleep with the lights off, unless they were turned off before he nodded off. For this reason, the young man has a little nightlight, disguised to look artsy, by his bed.
vAfter a rather nasty run-in with a very feisty, and quick to bite, dog, Theo has been incredibly cautious around canines of all shapes and sizes. His fear is hardly crippling, but the young man has a healthy amount of respect for the pain of a strong bite from a dog.
vWhile the young musician may not be the sort who is seen as Mr. Popular, he does try to have people around him whenever possible. This is less of an image thing and more of an insecurity thing. For anything dismissive he may say, Theodore is actually afraid of being left behind or alone- likely stemming from his parents' absence in his life.
Dreams
^A stereotypical dream though Theodore realizes it to be, he wishes to some day play his cello at Carnegie Hall, to prove himself towards someone that he can't quite identify.
^Theo is fascinated by the making of violins, cellos, and violas, and hopes to one day, after retiring from being a musician, learn to make them himself, and make the sort of beautiful instruments that are preserved until they are worth millions.
^Theodore would very much to travel the world someday, regardless of the means of doing so. He wants to see people and things- all the people and all the things.
Talents
|| Playing the Cello || Playing the Viola || Composing Music || Deductive Reasoning
Hobbies
|| Writing Music || Playing his Instruments || Sleeping || Climbing
Secrets
^His best friend in middle school shot up the school, killing four students and one teacher. No one seems to blame him, but he just doesn't like to talk about it with people, and thus keeps it under wraps. It's in the past, to some extent, after all. Of course, he has recurring dreams about it, even now.
^As was previously touched upon, Theodore is not proud of his fear of the dark, and thus tends to try and keep it somewhat under wraps, when at all possible.
^ Theodore has a cigarette addiction, smoking maybe a pack or so a day, typically. He's tried to kick it a few times, but consistently fails. Because it is against school regulations, and because he doesn't want people pestering him about it, Theodore doesn't really tell people.
Theodore's friends know him as the sort of person who moves quickly, both mentally and physically, and isn't really the sort to remember that other people aren't jumping subjects every five seconds. If he was at be described as a musical piece, he'd be full of staccato and unexpected key changes, the sort of song that would make first year musicians stare with a blank face. He's just not a particularly patient person, in most situations, and likes for things to always be moving and progressing- static isn't his style, and he gets easily bored when it comes to consistency. This personality seems to affect his music at some points, as he often plays very fast pieces, but at the same time, he can surprise someone by speaking a mile a minute at one point, and then sitting down and playing a song so slowly and sweetly that the melancholy of it seems to claim him as the source. In music, he is a phenomenal performer- one can always see his reaction to the music in his face, and he tends to sway or move around while he plays.
Of course, he tends to imagine scenes in his mind to go with the music, and this certainly helps the atmosphere. Theo has always had a very active imagination, ever since he was a very small child, and he never really lost that, maintaining a Peter Pan-esque ability to think up nearly everything, and then fool himself that it might be some version of reality. While this does mean that he is very creative, a definite bonus for his musical compositions, it can be a bit worrying at times. He tends to see monsters in the shadows, even now, and this imagination means that he can become a bit jumpy when left to his own devices. He is not the spacy sort, but rather the hyper-aware type of person- aware, and yet intermixing what he knows with things that he forgot were just fairy tales.
With his tendency to wander off topic-wise, and his somewhat short-seeming attention span, Theodore generally comes across as a rather childish individual. And in many ways, this word describes him quite well, though it is rather vague in nature. One aspect of childishness that he does not possess, however, and has not had since he was a very young boy, if even then, is naivete. Theo has never been the sort to believe anything he is told, or to easily trust and rely on people. He may be an extravert, drawing energy from being around people, but the young man is the type who keeps everything and anything important gripped tightly against his chest, viciously guarding it against anyone who may come near. Even those people who might be able to call him their friends will observe him to often seem almost distant, though he tries to hide this, and will, if they think about it, realize that he has never really told them anything about himself. He doesn't trust people, doesn't want to open up, doesn't see the point in sharing- all of these reasons explain his reluctance to let loose around anyone, even when he seems perfectly relaxed. And anyone who comes near will have to make it past the test of his relentless sarcasm, for the young man is very bad about that. At least 90% of what he says is sarcastic, and getting to know him is about trying to discern which things fall under that other 10%. This can be a difficult task, for even when he's not being sarcastic, his tone remains somewhat insincere. Chalk it up to a lack of normal human interaction as a child.
The inability to completely express himself is not alien to Theodore, though, nor is the tendency for inconsistency (perhaps the only thing in which he is consistent). While he doesn't have any mental disorders or anything like that, diagnosed anyway, he is clearly the sort of person to experience somewhat dramatic mood swings. They are not so often as to be completely insufferable, but they do happen, often influenced by his dreams or his mood that day. One day, he might treat everyone like his dearest friend, smiling with his dimples and invading people's personal space. Many of his friends consider this to be his preferred mood, because he is most agreeable in it. This is the him that will make sarcastic comments and such, but will smile and laugh and seem (only seem) more open. On other days, he can seem to shut down. He wants to be near people, and when they try to leave him alone will find ways to force them to stay, but he isn't really the best of company. He might sit in complete silence the whole time- not dazed, but at the same time not seeming to really notice anything. The worse times are when he is testy, though. These are usually prompted by especially bad dreams, and have become less frequent recently, thankfully. In these times, he will challenge everything, pick at every little flaw a person has until they shrink in self esteem, etc. He just seems angry. He was like this a lot during the end of middle school, but has gradually improved. Were this side of him more frequent, he likely would be seen by his friends as insufferable.
Regardless of his mood, however, Theodore will never hit a person. He will never hurt anything or anyone- at least not physically. Even if he wanted to, the young man would likely be incapable of doing it, freezing up just before impact. He might scream or yell, but he will never touch a person with intent to harm. His pacifism is something of a life choice, but more prevalently is something that has sunk into his bones completely, unable to separate from him. He hasn't hit a person since he was perhaps six- not intentionally, anyway, though he has of course accidentally opened doors into people and the like. He seems to expect this abstention from violence from others, as well, and detests nothing more than a person who resorts to violence. You will very rarely find him to be very civil towards someone who hits others when they are angry- he loathes it greatly.
Creative, temperamental, and sarcastic- these may be the traits of plenty of different people, but they nonetheless describe Theodore quite well. Another trait to consider adding to this list would be intelligent. There is a reason for his quick-paced manner and overly imaginative mind, and it has every bit to do with a mind that is constantly running, even when he wishes to just shut it off. He is not quite a genius, though at some times he may tell a person differently, but Theo is an incredibly intelligent individual, capable of absorbing a good deal of information right off the bat. He's that kid who never seems to study or do the homework, yet aces the tests. This is because he learns things the first time, and following that sees no need for extra practice. His mind works best in getting things done right away- he doesn't do gradual learning, not in most cases. Music is, as in all things with him, the exception to this rule- perhaps because it is one of the only things that has remain constant throughout his life, ever since childhood. And ever since childhood, he has had a need to have people around him. Perhaps partially to stimulate his mind, but primarily because he hates to be alone, suffering from some degree of abandonment issues, if truth be told. He can be downright clingy, like a child who is afraid that being left in the house alone means that their parents have elected to abandon them. When people blow him off or ignore him, Theo begins to feel nervous and insecure. He can be rather jealous over his friends and other people he considers himself close to, and has trouble dealing with the ending of a friendship, unless he is the one to instigate it.
Quick-Paced || Imaginative || Cynical || Sarcastic || Childish || Moody || Pacifistic || Intelligent || Clingy || Extraverted
Ft. Myers, Florida
History
Sarah Roberts was not prepared for the responsibility of rearing a child. She was hardly more than a child herself when she gave birth to Theodore, nineteen years old and terrified that she would not be able to experience the world in the way she had hoped for. She hated the child and herself for this situation, but most of all blamed the father, whose name she couldn't remember and never would. Still, the girl attempted to raise her son, at first, while going through college as well. It was quite a struggle, and Theodore was often left at home by himself, not an ideal condition for an infant, really. Finally, after around four years of trying and failing to make it work, Sarah gave in. She hadn't told her parents, miraculously, that she had given birth to a son. There wasn't really social media to snap a picture of the truth, and she had never been the sort of daughter to visit home a lot anyway- it wasn't overly obvious that she had been hiding something.
Until, of course, she showed up at her parents' doorstep in a community in Florida, with a four year old boy who had his mother's blond curls but a strangers dark brown eyes holding her hand. Obviously, there was a good deal of discussion, not all of it in quiet voices, between Sarah and her parents when they realized that their daughter had given birth without ever telling them about it. By the end of the week, though, Sarah had left, leaving behind Theodore to live with his grandparents. She had gotten a secretarial job at a PR firm in Washington, on the other side of the country. Theodore was almost too young to remember all of this, but remember he did- in a sort of suppressed way that might be responsible for his clingy tendencies in later life.
Victoria and William, Theodore's grandparents, were an older couple at this point. They had given birth to their daughter, and only child, somewhat later in life, after moving to Detroit from England in the 60s so that William could transfer to a job in the appliance industry. After a while, the couple had moved down to Florida, where William began to teach math at a local high school. That was where Sarah had spent the second half of her life, and would be where Theodore spent basically all of his after those first four years with his mother. Not liking the public schools in the area, but not being able to afford a private one, Victoria decided to homeschool her grandson, something also motivated by the fact that his language skills were less developed than the average child of that age due to less interaction with other people during his early developmental years. He began to learn very quickly, perhaps in an effort to please his grandmother, or in the hopes that his mother would return for him. Either way, life passed in a pattern of schooling and minimal interaction with his peers, for his neighborhood had no other children. The monotony was broken when Theodore turned seven years old, and William brought home a child's sized viola that he had found in an estate sale for a neighbor who had recently passed on. Theodore was immediately entranced by the instrument, and his grandparents arranged for him to have lessons.
He soon showed almost prodigal talent, seeming to process music much more easily than he could normal language. His studies in the viola also helped to improve his academic skills, stretching his mind and allowing him to easily express himself. Playing the viola helped him to occupy his creative hemispheres which had previously been occupied by conjuring up terrible creatures who lurked in the closet or behind the shower curtain. After he had shown his willingness to focus on the viola, demonstrating an attention span which he had previously seemed to lack to an even higher degree than most young children around his age, Victoria and William were happy to scrimp and save so that, by the time he was around ten years old, they had purchased a child-sized cello for the young boy, who was very short in his youth, and therefore able to continue using these smaller instruments for a few years. The viola proved to have been a gateway drug of sorts, and the cello was his true poison of choice- he became borderline obsessed with every aspect of the instrument. All he seemed to do in his freetime was play it, listen to cello solos, read about the making of the cello, and, after a while, begin to compose his own music for the instrument.
The summer before fourth grade, Victoria fell ill, and it was decided that she wouldn't be able to home school Theodore anymore- or at least not for the next year. Secretly, more motivated their decision to enroll him in public school than just her illness. They had become concerned that their grandson would not be able to properly deal with social situations. He still slept with a nightlight, would spend hours out of the house in the forest their house backed, just playing the viola (he didn't want to risk dirtying the cello), and he was a bit moody, to be honest. So, hoping that it would be good for him, they enrolled him in the local elementary school. In all honesty, the plan was not the success that they had hoped. He made only one friend all year, though one more than he previously had, and was labeled as strange by the other kids. This may have been because of his mood swings, or because he talked very quickly and, though he seemed childish, spoke with more mature words. He'd only ever had adults around him, after all. Besides, school proved dull for the young boy, who had advanced past this level studying with his grandmother. In the end, the only real success was that one friend he had made: James Leroy, a wisp of a boy who had an obsession with all things rocket.
They were hardly the dynamic duo, but the two grew close very quickly- even though Theodore became frustrated that James couldn't understand his love of music. Sixth and seventh grade were no better than fifth had been- worse, even. Theodore and James, as was previously mentioned, weren't exactly the shining example of popularity, and in the three years where social distinctions grew more obvious, and puberty made everyone a little bit terrible, the two were at the bottom of the pack- joined by a girl who spoke with a stutter, and in choppy sentences, because she hadn't learned to communicate with words until kindergarten. The girl was not part of their duo, though she might occasionally have sat near them during lunch. And as their school woefully lacked an orchestra program, Theodore was left without the niche in which he would have immediately fit, as an orchestra kid. In all honesty, everything seemed to be worse for James, who had family troubles besides their unfortunate stations in middle school. While Theodore continued to focus almost exclusively on his music above all else, writing like a madman during the weekend, what should have been James' retreat was always either empty or unwelcoming.
Towards the end of seventh grade, Victoria Roberts died- she had always been somewhat weak, physically, due to a hereditary heart condition. She died of this over Christmas break, causing Theodore's mood swings to worsen significantly. He even distanced himself from James somewhat, beginning to head straight home after school to practice, and going to an empty classroom during lunch to play there as well. Around this time, he picked up cigarette smoking, after taking a pack and lighter from his grandfather's nightstand. Music and monsters in the closet dominated his life- he couldn't sleep without all of the lights in his room being turned on. That year, he met his mother for the first time in several years at the funeral- he didn't recognize her, but she stood off to the side with a man, and had a ring on her finger. This only bred resentment.
During eighth grade, he set his sights on a music school, having found the brochure for it among his grandmother's things. He practiced more than ever, if that were possible, even skipping school some days if he had a particular piece that he wanted to focus on. He didn't skip school on February 3rd, however, though he came to wish that he had. On that day, James came into the school with a shotgun, and killed five people, injuring four others. He shot Theodore in the leg, giving Theo the slight limp that he has today, only missing a vital because someone tried to push him out of the way. James then shot himself. Theo was in recovery for a few weeks, primarily psychological. He felt more numb about the whole thing than anything else, but the mood swings came back a month or two later, like a sudden aftertaste he hadn't expected. It was around that time that he auditioned, and was later accepted, to Melrose Academy for the arts.
He came to associate being alone with misfortune, for it seemed that every time he isolated himself completely, bad things happen. Mixed with the loss of his grandmother, and having been left by his mother, he came to have a sort of monophobia. And then, he came to this school- set on improving himself somewhat- starting with finding people to hang out with and, in all honesty, holding on to them altogether too tightly. After coming to a place with people who can relate to his love for music, he has begun to have less angry mood swings, thankfully, showing a bit more of the dimpled smile, though he still keepsall of his secrets under lock and chain.
Theme Song
Anything else
He walks with a slight limp in his left leg after having been shot there.