Archie Hopper was an orphan. He only found it slightly horrible to say he wished he had become one earlier in life. His childhood was hadn't exactly been charming. What was one to expect with certified con artists as parents?
He never lived in one place more than three years, they were constantly moving around. So he didn't really have friends. Each time he graduated, it was among strangers.
He hated every moment of it. Yes, they put a roof over his head, clothes on his back, and an education. But beyond the bare essentials, they didn't care about him. Unless, of course they needed him for a con.
At first he didn't know better, he thought it was fun. But slowly the truth of his parents; "jobs" dawned on him. And he started to say no. He got a conscience. He tried to convince himself that he wasn't a bad person, he just had bad parents. Archie tried his hardest to distance himself from his parents. He busied himself with school work, planning to get as far as possible from them.
College finally rolled around and Archie packed himself up, fully intending to pay for his entire ride himself. He hadn't even asked his parents for money. He knew they had the money, money from cons. Besides his parents used their money on vacations that they never invited him on. Better that way, he didn't care.
At college, Archie was able to reinvent his image. No more was he the strange kid who sat alone with his head in a book. His classmates and roommates became his family and he could ask for better people.
They had similar interests, hobbies and backstories. They were all running from horrible home situations. They had all hoped to make a better life for themselves through college.
After much deliberation and endless hours with his advisor, Archie chose to major in psychology. The mind and the way it processed information fascinated him. And he also wanted to help others. Something his parents never wanted to do.
Speaking of his parents, he hadn't seen them since leaving for college. He never went home for weekends and spent holidays and breaks with friends. But tragedy, or life as he called it, stuck a week before graduation. He received a call from the police in his parents' current home town. They were found face down in a back alley. Their unlawful lives had finally caught up with them. Archie only grieved a moment, that's all he allowed himself. He took the trip to identify the bodies then he had them cremated. Their massive debt shouldn't have surprised him.
But he still graduated with honors and surrounded by the people he considered his real family.
Now to find a job to pay off his parents' debt and get himself on his feet. A friend of a friend offered him a spot at a small psychology office. For the first time in his life, Archie Hopper felt he was home.