Chad 'Reef' Kennedy:
Chad ‘Reef’ Kennedy is a young offender who was placed in North Hills group home, and was assigned to act as a volunteer at the Halifax Rehabilitation Center. He values nothing but the soft surfaces of the stones he comes across, and the memories of his grandmother who died of cancer. Often people wonder what his motives are to act the way he does, but it’s very clear it has everything to do with the fact that his only role model was his alcoholic grandfather, who’s only philosophy was negative views of the world. Not to mention the only one he loved, his grandmother had died of cancer. Frank Colville, who runs the group home at North Hills, has set out to make Reef talk about what’s bothering him. But Reef’s only goal is to break Frank Colville down, and spare him the psychological bullsh**. Other than angering Frank, the only other goal he has is to get his volunteer ‘s***’ over with, and get out. Other than his obvious interest with stones, Reef spends his time creating chaos, drinking, and smoking. What many people do not see, is that Reef is misunderstood. He’s angry and confused, not to mention depressed. People need to look past his mistakes, and see who he is underneath.
Quotes:
And, truth be told, Reef preferred working alone. That way, only he saw the mistakes he made. ( pg.117)
- · I think this quote defines what type of person Reef is, because it shows that he doesn’t like other people noticing his mistakes. He doesn’t want to be judged, or criticized, because he gets enough of that already.
The truth was, though, it didn't feel okay, though he wouldn't let Colville know that. (pg.137)
- · I think this quote defines what type of person Reef is, because he doesn’t like showing his true emotions. He bottles all that he feels inside, and doesn’t let it out. He doesn’t like showing signs of weakness, because he tries too hard to make people believe he doesn’t care about what people think of him.
For some reason, he wanted them to know what it was really like. (pg.150)
- · I think this quote defines what type of person Reef is, because after he saw all those people in the Rehabilitation center, he realized that you should take things seriously. He wanted to let his friends know that not everything in the world is a big joke. He wanted to make a point that even though it may seem funny to others, those people are going through endless amounts of pain.
Elizabeth 'Leeza' Hemming:
Elizabeth ‘Leeza’ Hemming is the victim of a horrendous car accident, and has to endure months of pain and agony in the Halifax Rehabilitation Center. The only thing she values is her next morphine drop, and the many more to come. Her goal is trying to mask the pain she is enduring by putting on a fake smile, and convincing her mother, of all people, that she is strong, and can make it through. But that’s not how it really is. Although people think she’s fine, there’s a monster crawling through her veins, and into her mind. Her motive, also known as depression. The pain from the accident is almost too much to bear, not to mention the emotional pain she has to sit through every night, because of the fact that cancer ate her sister away, until there was nothing left of her. Ever since her sister died, all she took interest in was helping out others that spend their days in hospital beds, due to illness’s that take over their lives. During her time in rehab, she met a friend. Reef Kennedy. He made her feel better. She hadn’t seen the outside world for months, but suddenly he appeared, and took her outside. She admired the flowers. Nature. Things she once loved. She found herself always wanting to talk to Reef. He was a good listener. He was going through something similar, and they found each other. Although she is depressed, and doesn’t want people to see her true emotions, she shows them to Reef.
Quotes:
I'm tired of every goddam part of every goddamn day in this place! But most of all, I'm tired of pretending to be strong. I did that enough for Ellen. I can't do it for you, too! (pg. 154)
- · I think this quote defines what type of person Leeza is, because she tries very hard to make people believe she’s strong. She never tells anyone how she really feels, because she doesn’t want to let people see her vulnerability.
Leeza smiled, feeling none of the warmth she pretended. (pg. 156)
- · I think this quote defines what type of person Leeza is, because she tries her best to convince people that she’s okay. She doesn’t want anybody to worry about her, because it would be a waste of time, and wouldn’t make the matter any better.
Leeza struggled to remember the last time she had laughed as hard, really laughed with no holding back, and a memory surfaced of Ellen on the day Leeza passed her driver's test.
- · I think this quote defines the type of person Leeza is, because it shows what an affect Ellen death has had on her. After her sister died, she became somewhat depressed, and hadn’t really lived life to its full potential. It proves that Leeza hasn’t been happy in quite some time.
