Bethany Summers
Bethany Summers is a classmate of Scarlet Jusenkyou and was presumed to be the latter's best friend.
Family Life
Bethany's father is an attorney. His name is Carter and he makes 129,000 wingbeats per year (which is quite a bit by New Arindell standards for a single-earner), but is a consummate work-acholic. A full partner in his firm, he typically puts in 60-80 hours a week and is practically a stranger to his daughter. Bethany's mother, Susan, is called a "home maker", which here means she is "a bit of a lush". She has a much older brother, Jack, who has "issues", and a younger sister, Aura, who has magical potential and is the obvious family favorite. Despite having a stay-at-home "mom", Bethany has very little parental oversight. She derisively calls her sister "Aura the Auramancer" and typically gets scolded for this.
The family lives two streets over from 4826 Maple Dew in a modern 5-bedroom home with two storeys and a 3-car garage. Other luxury features include an in-ground hot tub in an enclosed patio room and sauna. It is among the nicer houses in the neighborhood and sees frequent upgrades and a fresh coat of paint annually.
Parental Background
Carter (born N.D. 450) originally worked for the Trans-Draconic Federation intending to be an attorney within High Mountain Bank and Trust, but quit before he could be fired due to certain irregularities in accounts to which he had access. Since being fired by the dragons is sometimes considerably more literal than with other employers, he chose to steer well clear of the banking and financial circuits after that, going instead into profession as a criminal defense attorney. Though not as lucrative in the long run, this provided much more substantial short-term gains.
While already a high earner, he met his wife in N.D. 486, having his first child with her in 489. They were married in 490. Susan was a trophy girlfriend and little more than a trophy wife, something to look good on Carter's arm at cocktail parties. Their second child (Bethany) was born in 500, and their third in 504.
Susan (born N.D. 460) has a degree in communications, and was working in experiential marketing when she met her second husband in 486. She moved in with him and continued to work sporadically until her first pregnancy. Though nominally a stay-at-home mom, most of her time and energy was focused on staying fit and trim, with a fair amount of drinking on the side. She enjoyed the good life being a successful attorney's wife gave her, and despite a bit of a wandering eye the marriage remained intact. Though Carter works late most evenings, Susan is a frequent fixture at the neighborhood clubhouse where she sometimes socialized with Roy and Ann.
Bethany's Early Life
Bethany was born in her family's home in Arindell under the watchful eye of a local midwife (a common practice in the city). Though her family had money, she was sent to the local public schools (except for private kindergarten) as a matter of course. Like most children her life mainly revolved around the local rec center, where she participated in a wide variety of activities. Soccer and swimming were her favorites, where she initially met Scarlet Jusenkyou. Aside from shared activities and attending the same schools, the two had little in common, though were frequently brought together by their mothers. Scarlet attended every one of Bethany's birthday parties from the time they were 3 until the age of 13. Bethany would later comment she "liked having Scarlet at parties because she always brought expensive gifts, until I turned about 9 when she suddenly started bringing me weird books about old dead people". For her part, Bethany never considered Scarlet a "friend" in the conventional sense, and just thought of her as one of the various girls who lived in the neighborhood.
Despite the well-kept exterior and immaculate interior, the Summers household was a fairly unhappy place. Between her mother's drinking, her father's absences, and her brother's mental health, dinners frequently involved a lot of shouting. From the age of 10, Bethany would typically eat at one of her various friends' houses. Despite her later claims, Bethany did eat with the Jusenkyous on more than one occasion. The family does not take vacations together. The father is always working, so every summer he continues to work, Bethany and Aura go to summer camp, Jack goes to rehab, and Susan takes a lavish holiday by herself.
From the ages of 5 onward, Bethany spent at least 2 weeks every summer at a sleepaway camp, including four visits to Camp Shababadahs. The rest of the summer she was enrolled in day activities at the rec center, which typically offers a wide range of all-day activities and lunch during the summer school holiday.
Middle School Years
Bethanny was a bit of an early bloomer and began dating Chet Raider when she was 12 and the latter was 13. She thought the (slightly) older boy was more mature and was impressed that he attended a prestigious private school (apparently unaware that Briarwood Boys School was a for-profit prison for troubled boys with rich parents).