Character Sketches

Here are some character sketches I wrote a while back...

Oblivious to the world:
She sits on the bus listening to her ipod cranked up loud; the passengers around her can hear her music. She pays no attention to them. Keeps a beat with her foot and stares out the window. She is young and unaware of her surroundings. Her jeans are tattered around her right knee. She wears a band t-shirt and black converse shoes. Her backpack forces her to sit on the edge of her seat as she anxiously awaits her stop. She pulls the string abruptly, gets up and walks off the bus.

Unconscious actions:
About 5 9’ this older man walks with heavy footsteps. He has a huge gut but doesn’t seem to be affected by it. The sun is making him uncomfortable, he stares at it as if he were going to curse at the sun, he is sweating. The sweat drips down his face, along his ears and at the back of his neck. He walks through the crowd not moving out of the way for anyone. The sweat begins to bother him so he pulls up his shirt, reveals his big belly to all the people around him and begins to wipe his face. He takes his time and reaches for the back of his neck. The crosswalk turns to walk as he puts down his shirt and makes his way across to the other side.

A shadow of innocence:
She is nervous as other dogs come to greet her. Staying close to her dad, making sure he is in reach at all times. She is small and wearing a purple sun dress. She smiles at her dog and goes to pet it but backs away once another dog notices her.
She carefully places her foot in the water to reach a stick and throws it for her dog. Her brown hair gets caught in the breeze and blows into her face. She pushes it out of the way and looks for her sister. Slowly and cautiously she moves towards her sister. It seems as though her worries disappear as she begins to play around the water with her. She laughs and follows her sister like a shadow.

And they’re OFF:
He sees this is his chance to cross, he hobbles along with a bag hanging from one hand and a cane firmly griped in the other. His movements are awkward and almost look painful until you notice the smile on his face. Seeing as the light is still red he continues to hobble across the street, his expression turns to one of concentration. He focuses on the ground and watches his step. Ever few steps he looks up to see how much time he has left to cross. The hand is now flashing. He picks up his pace, moves a little quicker and makes it to the other side just as the light turns green and the cars accelerate. He slows his pace, relaxes his grip on his cane and continues his walk.

Contradicting behavior
He sits in the driver seat with a glare in his eye. Parked on the side of the road he waits. His music is on, he listens to the radio. He has a faded black baseball hat on his head and a white t-shirt with some printing on it. He picks up his phone and appears to be frustrated at the person on the other end. His hand begins taping on the rolled down window ledge. He throws the phone on the seat beside him as his taping hand increases speed. Faster and faster. He looks over to the passenger seat to see a girl running towards him. His hand slows and then stops. He unlocks the door and smiles as the girl jumps in beside him. He kisses her, shifts into drive and pulls into traffic.