Nicole Gallagher

[Nicole Gallagher]

The easy S T U F F . . .

Name: Nicole Lee Gallagher (Atwood)
Nickname: Nika, Nickle, Cola, Coca-Cola, but mostly Cole.
Age: twenty-two
Member Group: Graduate Student (University of Vermont)
Power(s): Retrocognition

Nicole’s conscious is transported into the history of an object or person that she touches. At this point, having been trained at Hammel already, she has gained enough control to turn it on and off at will, though it does require concentration. She defaults to on. When in the memories, if the object is a part of her history, or she was in the memory of the person, she will see through her own sight at that point. However, otherwise, she sees it from the point of view of the object (as though the object had eyes) or person in whose memories she has travelled. She must remain in the memories until they have completely played out. This also means that her body remains in a subconscious state until she is out. However, the time difference is a factor of 60. Therefore, if she feels like it has been an hour in the memory, she has been staring for one minute. Her mind also feels as though it has been awake as long as the memory took. (say she spent 16 hours awake that day, and 5 hours in a memory. She will feel as though she has been awake for 21 hours, rather than 16).

Coming out of the memories is like waking up from an extremely vivid dream, and She also has a difficult time remembering what is a part of her own history, and what is a part of some history or memory that she has seen, and has trouble with time management around memories. For this reason, she has a watch on her all the time, and keeps a journal so she can double check what is and isn’t her actual memories.

Play By: Anna Maria Jagodzinska

Let it F L O W . . .

Admissions:
Name: Nicole Lee Gallagher
Age: Newborn Infant
Gender: Female
Report:

At approximately 1 am, emergency services was called to carry a woman who had gone into labor to the hospital. When she arrived, it appeared as though she was high on heroin, and begging for further medication to make the pain from labor leave. It however, was not apparent that the woman realized she was in labor, nor that she knew where she was, and her speech was significantly slurred from the drug abuse. She nodded all through the birth, and complications ensued due to neonatal drug withdrawal, and the infant was rushed into the NICU, and our staff was contacted, along with the police. Those with her admitted that the entire group had been using the drug, and in fact, used on a frequent basis. Some, including the woman, would also mix the heroin with intravenous cocaine, to “powerball.”

Due to the pre-mature nature of the infant, and the drug use throughout the pregnancy, Nicole was kept in the hospital where staff could monitor and care for her needs. However, the mother, in a paranoid state caused by withdrawal, ripped the side from the hospital bed, as she was handcuffed to prevent escape from the impending arrest, and took the baby from the NICU. The attempted removal of the infant from the premises was halted by hospital security, and deeming her clearly fit for incarceration, she was taken to prison to await her hearing.

The infant suffered from respiratory difficulties, irritation from bright lights and sometimes touch, and had a difficult time sleeping for long periods. She also appears to have a heart murmur, though whether this is related to the prenatal substance abuse, and whether there is any long term mental effects is yet to be determined. No father has stepped forward, and it is doubtful that, if he knows about the child, he is in a fit state to raise a child, especially one with the potential problems this one will face. Nicole Lee Gallagher is thus in need of temporary care until her mother becomes fit, following drug protocol, of which she has been advised, to care for her own daughter.

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Age 3:

“Hello?”
“Hi, Miss. Casey? It’s Mr. Fisher.”
“Well hello Mr. Fisher, how can I help you? Everything going well?”
“Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. We can’t keep Cole here any more.”
“Cole?”
“Sorry, Nicole. She’s getting out of hand. Her attention is everywhere, and she won’t sit still. She’s getting bigger, and my wife is finally pregnant. We can’t risk her hurting the baby with her antics. I’m really sorry for the inconvenience.”
“But whyyyy? What did I do wrong?”
“You’ve had her since she was born. Are you certain?”
“Yes, we’re sure. She can stay here until you’ve found another place, but we can’t have her after the baby arrives”
“We’ll make arrangements for another foster family then.”

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Grade Report, 2rd Grade:

Vocabulary - - - - - - -A
History - - - - - - -A
Science - - - - - - -C
Spelling - - - - - - -A
Math - - - - - - - - -D
Art - - - - - - -C
Reading - - - - - - -A
Comments: Keeps to herself most of the time, and puts effort into her work, but acts out in class, and has significant trouble and has trouble sharing with others and focusing on the lesson at hand. Nicole also seems to have extreme difficulties with mathematics that may be due to shifting teachers on such a regular basis, or perhaps is a learning difficulty. She has also arrived late from recess on a frequent basis, and still has trouble reading clocks when the task is given to her. However, she is clearly bright, as she excels in both English and History, and has been able to memorize passages given to her to read. I suggest a tutor for math, and perhaps a more consistent home life in order to alleviate the behavioral issues.

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(Age 8)
Police Report:

Due to issues with truancy, it became necessary to make a complete investigation into the whereabouts of one Nicole Lee Gallagher. We went to the address provided to the school upon registration, though the child had attended only a few times in the three weeks in which she’d been a student at PS 126. The address was, however, a vacant lot, and upon interviewing the home owners nearby, another address was obtained. This led to an evacuated, and condemned tenement building, where frequent drug busts have occurred. Inside, we found the child sitting in a the corner of a room filled with needles and other drug paraphernalia, as well as several adults and teenagers who appeared to be under the influence. There were a few dirty mattresses in the corners as well, one of which was home to the body of a woman who, upon further examination, had overdosed with what we assumed to be heroin. The squatters were arrested on charges of trespassing, the body was taken into custody, and the child was brought in for questioning before being sent to the social workers.

The woman was deemed to have died 3 days before she was found, and had extremely high levels of heroin, benzodiazepines, cocaine, and methadone in her system. The child was recognized by a social worker, Mr. Richard Levy, though she did not appear happy to see him, or in fact want anything to do with him. He informed us that she had only recently become his charge, and that she had had nearly 4 of them in the past five years, due to retirement, or moving, or simply a change of files. He also told us that her mother, the woman in the morgue, had recently finished rehab for drug abuse after her incarceration. Having finished all of the mandatory steps to get the child back, he had had no choice but to return Nicole to her biological mother. Nicole, who until then had refused to say anything, then, in a fit, kicked him and told us that her mother had remained sober for approximately 2 days, and with the arrival of friends (we can only assume this is the others found in the building) relapsed into the drug world. The suspects were charged with possession of illegal substances, use of illicit drugs, trespassing, child endangerment, and failure to report a crime. The girl was charged and convicted of truancy, and spent a few nights in a local juvenile detention facility before going with Mr. Levy.

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Age 11:

Seven “forever homes,” two group homes, and five social workers in my life, and honestly, I don’t see how they think I’m going to be excited that there is yet another couple who think they can handle me. Everyone else takes me for a while and eventually decides I’ve screwed up, or they’ve gotten enough money from the state, or I’m just not worth the effort, and they give up. Some of them never even start thinking they can deal with it. Those are the ones who don’t bother trying from the beginning. It’s fine though. I’m tough, I can handle it. I’ve always been able to handle it. Anyway, these new ‘parents’ have suggested that they want to adopt me. I don’t see why. They don’t know me, they don’t know anything about where I’m from or how I act or even if we’d fit anyway, an if they adopt me, they don’t get anything from the state like the fosters all have. Really, it would be so much easier to get to live on my own. I wouldn’t have to deal with people claiming to love me, or care about me, and I certainly wouldn’t have to be so damned disappointed all the time when they send me off to another home in another city, with another family. I’m so tired.
***
Arrived at the house today, bag with all the clothes in toe. They have a really big house, and a clean yard. They came out to meet me and the stupid case worker who hasn’t even bothered to realize that I can’t stand being called Nicky. The idiot woman introduced me to the couple with that name. Anyway, they said their names were Mary and Richard Atwood, and they have three children, all of whom have finished college, and they figured that, since they were lonely, and there were “so many children who needed loving homes” that they’d take one in. I’m their charity work. Woo fucking hoo. They continued to call me Nicky all day. I really should correct them at some point, but if I don’t end up staying here, there isn’t a whole lot of point, is there? On the upside, Mary offered to take me shopping. Get me new clothes. I guess that’s nice, although there is nothing wrong with the stuff I have. I told her that, and she said it didn’t hurt to have more, especially if I was going to be staying. I guess not…
***
Okay, so their paperwork is in. I’m officially their kid. I don’t really know how to feel about this. If they change their minds or whatever, that’s a whole lot of paperwork that I have to sit through. I’d really rather not have to go through that. I guess I should be thankful though. I mean, it’s a really nice home, even if I can’t tell them that. They also have been forcing me to attend school. It’s okay, I suppose. My English and history teachers are great, but I still can’t get any of the math right. The teacher suggested they get me a tutor, and so they did. It helps a little, I just don’t want to have to work this hard to make this all make sense. Why can’t math just be words? And the Atwoods made me go see this shrink. They said maybe it will help me open up, but really all that’s happened was he said I have dyscalculia (because of the math problems. Apparently it’s a legitimate thing though. It’s on Wikipedia) and ADD. So he gave me Adderall.
***

Age 12:

They actually got me a birthday cake. I think that’s a first that I can remember. And it was certainly more candles than I’ve ever blown out. Okay, okay, yeah technically that’s the point, but I mean, I only got one cupcake for myself once, and a few times I found some candles lying around the house, but there have been frequent times that I just lit and blew out a match or a cigarette lighter. I wished they wouldn’t give me away.
***
I called them mom and dad for the first time today. I mean, I’ve been officially adopted for more than a year now, and they really have been trying. I find myself actually, sort of, liking them. I’m not totally sure about their kids though. They didn’t seem to find me a whole hell of a great sibling to have, and I think one of them told me to “stop freeloading and find [my] own family.” They defended me, which is more than I can say about any of the fosters I remember. Anyway, I also told them that I don’t like being called Nicky, which they apologized for. They said it would be Nicole or Cole from then on, though at one point, Richard called me Cola. I don’t think I mind that so much. Math’s getting a little easier now.
***

Age 14:

Okay, so it was definitely really weird. I was coming down the stairs, and into the hall, and I think my fingers brushed a vase, and suddenly, I was the vase. Only I wasn’t in the house anymore, I was somewhere else. It was really dirty and hot, and someone was rubbing their hands all over me. And I couldn’t move to make them go away. It was dizzy and awful, and when I realized that I was staring off into space, it was like being hit with a train. I was dizzy and confused and my eyes hurt, and to catch my balance, I accidentally grabbed the vase and it may have smashed on the floor. Mom and Dad said it was fine, but I don’t know. I feel really guilty, and a little bit violated. I don’t know if it was a flashback or what. I just hope it doesn’t happen again.
***
So this recruiter guy came to the house. Oh yeah, sorry. Those flashbacks keep happening, but they’re not always the same one. I don’t know how to describe it, but the recruiter said I was a meta-human, and that it was likely I was touching into the memories of the things I was touching. Retrocognition, he called it. He said there was a place at this school, Hammel, for people like me, metas. Mom and Dad said perhaps that was best. And they said that they would move with me. I don’t know how it can get much more not-abandoned than that. They have no idea how grateful I really am for that.

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Age 18:

Congratulations!
You’ve been accepted early decision to University of California in Los Angelos! Due to the nature of the early decision application, you are required to enroll at our school unless financial burdens prove that to be impossible. We hope to see you on campus next fall.

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Age 20:
-Application to do research under a professor at her school as an undergraduate-

We are pleased to inform you that your initiative on beginning a study of the societal impact of meta-humans in various cultures, as submitted by your subject advisor, Dr. Shray, has been approved and awarded a grant of five thousand dollars. We hope that your endeavors prove useful to the field of anthropology.

Attached: Up-to-date Research paper on the study, though the professor passed away before the research could be completed, and Nicole graduated before the project was finished, the study thus ending in its current form.

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Proposal for Research Opportunity at University of Vermont’s graduate school of Anthropolgy:

I intend to study the causes of the meta-human gene, and the manifestation of such a gene now rather than before. I believe it may be possible that there were, in fact, subtle hints that such a gene existed, though significantly more rare, in ancient times, and that the greater manifestation now may be due to the increase in technological advancement, and thus the ability to see the gene. However, I would like to be able to research further the possible causes of the phenotype that is the meta-human, and how society’s interaction, and indeed, the reaction to the gene’s latest developments, may change the course of the gene in the future generations of those would inherit the genetic predisposition for meta-human status.

Behind the M A S K . . .

Name: Sera
Age: Almost twenty
RP Experience: Forever and a day
How did you find us?: Your mom, last night. (Angel)

Show your S K I L L S . . .

Gia Elliot

[Admin!]

Accepted
You know what to do now! Don't forget to hit up the CLAIMS and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

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