Floor Plan + Appearance + The Family

[Noralei Harris]

Visual Guide

Overall:
The floor plan of the house lets in a lot of light and allows for good airflow throughout the building. It should be noted that there is also a small basement, the door to which can be found under the stairs. This houses the central air and the water heater, but little else. It is very damp and mildewy, so the door remains closed. The floors all all hardwood, except for the bathroom, which is tiled.

Porch
The porch walls are marked as dashed because, even through the porch is closed, the walls are made only of pillars, a wood barrier up to the waist, and screened windows. The pillars are set into the concrete floor in order to hold up the roof above it.

Living Room
The open floor plan of the living room allows for all over rooms to connect to it. Due to the many doors across the room, the drawback is that the living area itself falls prey to becoming the primary path through the house.

Kitchen / Dining Room
The kitchen is large, equipped with a refrigerator, stove and oven, pantry, plenty of counter space, plus a dishwasher. The window on the Eastern wall is directly over the sink, while the windows in front overlook a blank space on the wall. They are designed to be opened in order to help cool the room when it gets hot. The stove and refrigerator are located on the North wall. The pantry and cabinet space line the East Wall. The dining room table is set in the middle of the room.

Bathroom
The bathroom and laundry are built next to each other for a purpose- a small cabinet on the west wall with no bottom is a disguise for a laundry chute. The bathtub and shower are on the northeast of the room, and the toilet is located in front of the window. The bathroom sink is to the left of the laundry chute. The door to the bathroom swings inward, to the right. However, the hinges only allow it to open up to 100 degrees.

Back Room
The back room is where all the pets are fed and kenneled, as well as where the door to the backyard sits. There is only an open space between it and the living room, and a curtain is hung there in the winter to keep the cold out. When leaving the living room, there is a step down, so watch your footing.

Laundry Room
The laundry has a step up from the back room, and has a very narrow doorway. The north wall is where the washer and dryer are set up, and a cabinet hangs over them to hold all the detergent and clean bed linens. The south wall has a fold out ironing board, and the east wall has the hampers that collect the dirty laundry under the chute from the bathroom.

Landing / Playroom / Office
The stairs lead up to an open room, which houses the desktop computer of the household as well as many of Guylan's toys.

Guylan's Room
The smallest bedroom. It is painted an olive green color. It has no real closet, which suggests the room as only recently converted into a bedroom. Not very clean, for obvious reasons.

Noralei's Room
Originally shared by Noralei and Marilee, the room is painted a light purple. The ceiling is covered in plastic stars and the woodwork around the windowsills are covered in writing. The North wall hosts a rectangular wooden dresser and a TV, complete with a PS2 for a DVD player and gaming system. (It's mostly used for the former.) Beside the dresser and to the right of the door is a hammock, which is used as Nora's bed. Yes. She has a hammock for a bed. You read that right. The south-facing window has access to the porch roof, which makes it a good passage to sneak in and out of. The southern wall has a desk with a lamp and chair, and the western wall has a futon tucked into the corner for when friends sleep over. (It was Marilee's old bed.) The center of the room is relatively clear, minus a few beanbag chairs.

Master Bedroom
Mr. and Mrs. Harris's room. Do not disturb.

[Noralei Harris]

The Family

Allen Jacob Harris
-Allen was born in Rhode Island. His family moved to New York City when he was seven, then up to lower Vermont when he was twelve. His mother died in a car crash when he was fourteen while coming home from the grocery store late one night. Her car was struck by another car, driven by a drunken teenager. Both of the drivers were killed. After he graduated high school, Allen moved to Ohio to live with his Uncle and work on his farm. It was there that he met Soledad. His father died when Nora was five, from heart failure.
-He has one sister, Ruth. She lives in Maine with her husband and two children, and they see each other quite often.
-Allen works as a mailman in Pilot Ridge and delivers mail to the west side of town.
-He is fifty two years old.

Soledad Tierra Harris (né Marquina)
-Soledad was born in New Mexico, the last child born in her family and the first child born in the U.S.A. Her parents were immigrants from Guatemala. They had come to the country legally after a four year battle against U.S. policy. Soledad learned English from her Aunt, who was already settled in the country. She was raised bilingually. She graduated high school at the top of her class, but was denied entry to the college she wanted to go to. Her eldest sister died of cancer when she was twenty one, and Soledad moved to Ohio a year later to go to school. It was there that she met she met Allen. Two years later, they married and moved back to Vermont.
-Soledad has four brothers and sisters, Rio, Esperanza, Julian, and Lazaro. Rio is married with two girls, and Lazaro is still on his own. They both still live in New Mexico; as do their parents. Julian lives in California with his second wife and his step-son. Esperanza lives in Colorado with her boyfriend of four years. They’re getting married in the fall.
-Soledad works as a sales rep for the jewelry store in the mall, and also negotiates with Spanish speaking suppliers over the phone.
-She is 47 years old.

Marilee Vanessa Harris
-Marilee is Nora’s older sister. She was the popular one in school and was also very good at sports. She played soccer all through elementary and part of the way through middle school. She left the team in seventh grade after the team went under new management by a coach looking only to promote his own daughter. She excelled in gym and took up lacrosse in eighth grade. She was a natural at it. She lived and breathed lacrosse. She was made team captain her senior year and went on to win the state lacrosse championship, then made up third team of the All-American women’s lacrosse team that same year. She was accepted into John’s Hopkins University in Baltimore on a lacrosse scholarship and is currently going into her third year.
-She has a boyfriend, but her parents have never met him; his name is Raoul and he’s a Political Science major.
-Marilee is currently majoring in Secondary Education and History.
-She is 20 years old.

Guylan Matthew Harris
-Guylan is Nora’s younger brother. His favorite things in the world are playing outside and his sister Nora. He does not like gun toys, but does like dinosaur toys, which he plays with a lot when his Dad can also play. He is shy when he doesn’t know someone but once he does know them he will talk their ear off.
-Due to the overwhelming presence of Nora’s many nerdy friends, Guylan has learned a great many odd things. One of these things is the Vulcan ‘Live long and prosper’ accompanied with the appropriate hand sign. He also repeats this when occasionally playing with his dinosaurs. Also, he knows the tune to every Beatles song in existence.
-The picture in place of a photograph is a drawing one of Nora’s friends made of him. This is based on a real event.
-He is four years old and will be turning five in August just before he goes to Kindergarten.