Almond grew up in Ransom Canyon, Texas with his two adoptive mothers. Living in such a small town left him with little to do, but his parents were constantly pushing him to socialize more. They’d make him join clubs, but he always left soon after due to being uninterested. Any time there was an event in town his parents would hope he’d come back with a new friend, but that was rarely the case. Almond’s only interest when he was young was to be good in school. He always felt compelled to do well in anything he did to not disappoint his parents. Although he was adored and loved by his parents, he always felt indebted to them. Since leaving the orphanage and being raised by his two moms, he felt it was his duty to never disappoint or be delinquent. He was a rule follower from day one, and did anything his parents told him to do, even if he thought they were lame and unnecessary. His only hobbies included reading novels and writing, which are usually not the most exciting things to do…. Especially when kids his age either played with toys or outside with friends. Often this would worry his moms and was seen as a little unusual.

Luckily, Almond got along with at least one kid his age. Clay, another kid who lived close in town, was pretty much the only other person Almond interacted with other than his parents and teachers at school. Almond’s parents and Clay’s mom were all friends, so the two always ended up together. They’d hang out after school to read books or look at bugs. The two of them were quiet kids and often didn’t need supervision when they were with each other. The two were a year apart- Almond being younger and Clay being older- but eventually ended up in the same grade. Almond’s academic success let him skip a grade, allowing them to work on schoolwork and projects together.

During winter break, his parents signed him up for Boy Scouts on his birthday, in hopes of him discovering new interests and skills. Almond didn’t really get a say in whether he wanted to join or not, but didn’t make a big deal of it. In just a month, he learned the confusing knots, basic first aid, simple cooking recipes, and all the boy scout values that came along with the experience. A few weeks into the second semester of 6th grade, Almond earned almost every merit badge a Boy Scout could earn. No one was really sure how he did it in such a short amount of time- especially when he showed little enthusiasm for them in the first place- but after accomplishing all of that, he figured he was good to go. His only goal when in boy scouts was to simply complete everything… So he left after a month of being a scout- and that was that. He left just in time for it to hardly affect his time for school, and didn’t stay long enough to make any lasting friendships with any of the other troop members. Luckily, Almond developed new skills and became more interested in other hobbies. Having to work for every badge in the book meant he had to experience new things and try out stuff he usually wouldn’t. He started listening to new music, and considered learning an instrument. Unfortunately it would take time away from his studies, so he never did. He did however find an interest in romance novels and shows.

As 7th grade started, he became a little bit more social with his other classmates. This was also the year students decided to start bullying him. He was made fun of for his name, his gay parents, his dumb severe nut allergy, and for simply being a nerd. He hardly showed that it bothered him though. In fact, he rarely displayed his emotions ever. He had a hard time expressing his feelings and was usually blunt when he spoke. His resting face always looked displeased, unless he was actually enjoying something. Thankfully, Clay was always there to back him up and beat up bullies when needed. He was pretty much the only person Almond could rely on since he refused to inform his parents about any of his problems.

Unfortunately during the school year, Clay’s mother died, leaving the two of them in an awkward relationship for a while. Almond wasn’t the best at expressing his emotions or comforting others, but understood his friend was going through a really tough time. Clay’s grades began to decline, and began losing interest in his usual hobbies. Almond did his best to help Clay with his studies, encouraging him to keep trying and not lose motivation. It was during this time he learned how to be more considerate and responsive to others. While the end of 7th grade approached them, Almond spent almost all his free time just giving Clay company. His parents often invited Clay over and tried their best to lift his spirits. Sadly, Clay ended up moving away for 8th grade, putting their friendship on hiatus.

His last year of middle school was just as rough as he expected. His only friend no longer attended the same school, and didn’t have anyone to share his interests with. He was back to only focusing on his grades and keeping his parents proud. He joined the student council as an attempt to socialize, and ended up becoming the student body president. He genuinely regretted signing up once getting the position. He had so much extra work to do, more responsibilities, and the other student body and cabinet members were annoying. His parents began to worry, seeing him take on so many tasks and never seeing him have fun. By the end of middle school, his parents were literally encouraging him to slack off a bit and relax. They wanted him to do something other than study and read books, so occasionally they’d purposefully make him miss the bus so the family could go out and have fun instead. Of course Almond just went along with it.

Once Almond started highschool, his parents urged him to take it easy and focus more on socializing and taking on new hobbies. To his luck, he made a few friends and somehow ended up taking an interest in baking. Although the home economics class was absolutely terrible when it came to dealing with a fake baby, the cooking and baking part was fun. His parents somehow convinced Almond to try out for the football team his sophomore year- despite Almond very much hating sports- and by some outrageous “luck” he made the team as the quarterback. The coaches were fascinated with him- they had no idea how some kid with little athletic ability could understand the sport so well and perform like it was no big deal. He was quickly put on the varsity team his junior year, and decided to take some easier classes to lessen the workload.

The school quickly learned of his name as he built a reputation for himself unknowingly. His teammates were always buddy-buddy with him, and of course dragged him along to their team’s events and parties. He was still teased about his name and being a total nerd, but his status on the football team typically protected him from any actual bullies. If it weren’t for him, the school’s team wouldn’t have won every game.

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When he’s not at school and not at football practice or studying, he’s at his part time job at sonic. Why did he choose to work there…. No one knows. It was the first place to call back. He didn’t even need a job to begin with, but felt bad about using his parent’s money when they already support him so much. Sometimes Almond is a bit embarrassed to mention where he works, and even more so when someone he knows shows up to eat there. He most likely won’t offer an amazing customer service smile.