Mike Afton

Michael Afton in his school years is a living hurricane on skinny legs.

Appearance: Tall and skinny as a pole, with chestnut-colored hair that always stuck out in all directions (he never combed it on purpose). His face was sharp, freckled, with a bloody nose from fights and a cheeky squint in his brown eyes. He dressed casually: baggy T-shirts with rock band prints, jeans with holes in the knees, and sneakers that were always untied. He was always chewing gum or a toothpick, even in class.

Personality: A charming, cheeky fellow. He wasn't mean, but he loved to provoke: trip someone up, steal a grade book, or make a loud joke at a teacher's expense. He did it with a genuine smile that made it hard to stay angry—he knew how to wriggle out of it and make even his target laugh. The younger students chased him, he was the life and soul of any party. At the same time, he desperately sought the attention of his father, who was always absent, and compensated for this with recklessness.

Fame and the Family Name: Being an Afton in this town is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, his father owned a popular pizzeria, so everyone knew Michael, and he always got free lemonade at his table. This gave him a kind of "immunity": teachers turned a blind eye to his antics, and high school students were wary of getting involved with him—the shadow of the family business loomed large. On the other hand, the Afton name was whisperedly associated with oddities: rumors of broken animatronics and missing children (though at the time, these seemed like mere urban legends). This infuriated Michael himself, and he deliberately acted even louder and more brazen to drown out the gossip. He was feared, respected, envied, and adored all at once—he was the kind of "bad company" everyone dreamed of joining.