This is my first attempt at a fanfic, or really a story of any kind. However, I have a lot of ideas and some good autobiographical memories of high school and college that I plan on incorporating into this work. I am starting this story in the summer before their freshman year of high school. After the characterization bits, the story will start with a dance at Harbor High School for the year's freshman and next year's incoming freshman.
Ryan: Ryan has not yet gone to live with the Cohens. He is currently living with his deadbeat family in Chino, but unlike most of the Chino population, he has not yet lost his dreams of the future. If anything, his dreams have been renewed because of the news he has just received. Ryan was an exemplary student at Chino Hills Academy and had scored in the 99th percentile of regent exams. He was also an extraordinary athlete, playing both basketball and soccer while maintaining his grades. It was his well rounded aptitude that drew his coach to recommend his name to the coaches at Harbor, not knowing that the principal had been in contact with Harbor's dean as well. Ryan was exactly the type of student that Harbor was looking for for their newly endowed Caleb Nichol scholarship fund (Cal got in legal troubles, to save his image Sandy convinces him to fund a scholarship for extraordinary, yet underprivileged children). With this scholarship, Ryan has a free ride to Orange County's most prestigious secondary school. While he is thrilled about this news, A.J., his mother's alcoholic boyfriend has not taken it so well and barely hides his jealousy and contempt of the fourteen year old that has been given a chance at a future.
Seth: Seth is the only child of Sandy and Kirsten Cohen. Seth is an outsider, much of his own volition as the other students since he never really understood the materialistic nature of the adolescent social scene. He is an avid surfer, something he picked up from his father and a hack golfer, again only to serve as a bond between father and son. Seth is not a traditional athlete, but has been unable to withstand the siren song of the ocean. Besides the irreplaceable Cap'n Oats and beloved PS2, his most prized possession is the Summer Breeze, his 16 foot Hobie catamaran. Because of his love of the water, Seth has developed interest in Harbor's crew (rowing) team, hoping this will give him a life beyond video games and a plastic horse.
Luke: Luke is the proverbial 'golden boy,' yet he feels a strange discomfort with his role. Throughout middle school, he did every athletic venture he could. He was an outstanding swimmer, as well as the star of the basketball and soccer teams. While never having golfed competitively, he is a scratch golfer who uses the golf course as his escape, just as Seth does by surfing or sailing the ocean's waves. Luke is looking forward to entering a new phase of his life at Harbor, one where he can be himself rather than the person everyone else wants him to be. Because of this desire, he knows he will not look to play basketball or swim competitively, and is as yet still undecided on soccer. He does plan on looking at some of the other, more team-oriented sports that Harbor has to offer in order to maintain his athletic prowess. Luke's new persona will be somewhat of a surprise to the majority of the people in his life, which will surely stir up some drama.
Marissa: Still the beautiful, willowy sandy blonde, yet naively she does not think of herself as anything special. Rather, Marissa has grown up with an inferiority complex thanks to the pressures of her parents and Newport society. While not the 'queen bee' she certainly is a member of the more elite social circles, where she does not feel entirely at home. She knows she wants something more fulfilling out of her life than becoming another Newpsie, but she is lost how to get there. She is planning on getting extremely involved in activities at Harbor in order to meet new friends and look for answers to her life questions.
Summer: Summer is the epitome of a high-class rich bitch and she knows it. Since her mother ran off when she was ten, her father has tried to make up for this lack of parenting skills the only way he knows how, by spoiling her and giving her anything she wants. However, this strong overbearing persona of the spoiled brat is only a façade that Summer uses to make her insecurities and fears. Marissa, her best friend since kindergarten is the only one who really knows the Summer that is hidden from the rest of the world. Summer has no real aspirations for high school beyond making sure she and Marissa stay close. She is torn between continuing to live the party girl life or to begin to address the identity crisis brewing inside her.
Anna: Anna does not fit the mold of Orange County in the slightest. She was born and raised on the east coast, in the small city of Erie, PA (I know it's Pittsburgh on the show, but I am from Erie, so I gotta put it in there.) She moved to Newport with her parents when they retired early looking for sun and a more posh arena to spend their money. Her family has maintained a house on the shore of Lake Erie for her future, but they have no plan of moving back east themselves. Her parents were rather attentive to her wants and needs while back east, however with the move to Newport, they have focused solely on their own lives and largely left their daughter to her own devices.
Sandy and Kirsten: Sandy is a top notch defense lawyer with his own practice (I loved the beach side office… so I'm bringing it back), but he has not forgotten his roots as a public defender. He does a lot of pro bono work for clients in need and still takes on cases for the PD's office when they get overloaded. With Caleb's legal troubles, Kirsten has risen to the position of CEO within the Newport Group. Caleb however, has not completely left the business and remains a highly priced consultant to the company.
A/N: There will be other characters who will play secondary roles in the story, but I haven't completely fleshed out how important they will be. I will do my best to develop these characters in the story arcs in which they are present. You can certainly expect to see some teenagers to fill out the social scene of the core six as well as the parental figures of the six. Jimmy and Julie will have an impact of course, but it as yet undetermined how this will play out.