;; for Raina Lucia Cirule (RPR friends pls ignore this)

A typical onlooker will call her a straight out of the young adult novels and high school-based chick flicks in trend nowadays. And not the sympathy-worthy, nerdy protagonist, but rather, the mean girl who wants to make the protagonist’s life miserable. That’s Raina for you. Mean, rude, and unlikeable, except for her pretty face. She’s usually full of sass and sarcasm, insulting and badmouthing everyone regardless of their identity (yes, even teachers aren’t spared, especially on her bad days).

Yet despite the strong, mean girl demeanor, she holds a soft spot for those she deems important to her. Her brother Raivis is one; Raina’s willing to go to Hell and back if it means he won’t be upset anymore. Same with the few nerds she considers her friends. She also likes cute things, aces Physics, and secretly adores science fiction. But, no, she’s not a nerd.

She’s the cheer captain of the squad, a position she has claimed since sophomore year, after the Great Cheer Disaster. From her ballet background, cheer is easier. Her flexibility and grace begets the grudging respect of the girls she badmouths every practice, and earns the jealousy of the stiff-as-stick hoes who can’t even pass her standards during screenings. Being the cheer captain, she’s basically the life of parties. Holding a party without Raina? Don’t expect that it’ll be lit.

But, however, like any normal person, she has a softer personality. All meanness and sass disappears within the confines of her shared dorm with her brother, where she unleashes her inner nerd. She may wear the most fabulous outfits at parties, but at home, she’s always decked in sweatpants and long-sleeved shirts. Raina also gets insane hunger cravings past midnight, so beware.

Raina’s family hails from Liepāja, Latvia, in a town beside the sea. She faintly remembers her hometown, but she knows that it’s warm in the summer, and that the beaches are beautiful. Her family has moved into the States when she was five and Raivis was four, therefore, she’s not very familiar with her Latvian roots. (They visit Liepāja once in two years or more).

Sometimes, though, she gets a few glimpses of her childhood. She and Raivis, playing with three other children. Or are they crying in her memories? Anyway, whenever she asks her mother or her father about this, they won’t answer. Raina’s decided not to push the matter.

In elementary, she’s enrolled in weekend ballet classes. And, knowing Raina, of course she has excelled it. Name a lead role in any ballet, and she’ll be able to flawlessly dance it in a few. But something drastic happened during her last recital—long story short, she sabotaged the Sugar Plum Fairy by pouring black ink on the sparkly pink tutu—and she’s been banned from returning ever since. Word has spread as well, to the point that every ballet school in the state knew of what she’d done, and despite her talent, none will accept her anymore. This is the reason why she and Raivis had to study in a different state for high school; so Raina will be able to hide her face from that stupidity.

Her sudden romantic relationship with Alfred is a surprise, one even Raina herself hasn’t seen coming. For all three years of knowing him, she’s only thought of him as an endearing best friend—like a very energetic puppy—and nothing more. So, what has inspired this relationship?

It’s for them to know, and for the nerd-dom to wonder about. But, anyway, is a movie cliché not good to watch unravel in real life?

Her best friend since freshman year since no one else aside Raivis can withstand the relentless insults coming from without retaliating. AKA Raina’s personal teddy bear, she loves him almost as much as she loves Raivis. But what’s their status now?.

What’s bad about having a British weirdo in her life is having another one, when the original flew back to England. Now Raina deals with even more negative feelings towards the new Arthur, and she’s determined to prove that he’s a ing creep.

Endearing nerd who dared talk back to her in freshman year. Does she like him? That’s something Raina will repeatedly deny. But what about her current relationship with Alfred, if she liked Pyry? That’s a question for her to perpetually ponder on, and for nerds to not bother about.

The angel who makes the best cookies on Earth, Raina’s willing to admit defeat in that department. Seija also reminds her greatly of Raivis, thus the silent vow she’s made to herself that, as much as she can, she’ll look out for Seija. Also one of the girls in the squad who can actually follow her instructions well.

Raina and Chiara embody a love-hate relationship. Sometimes their banter will make one think of intense ual tension between two es, but most times one will want to put miles in between them just to stop them from arguing about the most trivial things. Raina also calls Chiara her second-grade, her right hand. Imagine how this offends the Italian.

Alfred’s sister, who has predicted the future before and called Raina her ‘sister-in-law.’ What are the odds? Anyway, Raina has respect for Amy because she’s the Council president, and also because she’s patient with Raina’s y .

The nosy transferee. While Raina loves his muffins, she dislikes his questions and the fact that he’s always trying to pry into her life. Or, basically, the other nerds’ lives. Makes her silently ask, does he have no life of his own, to the point that he wants to dissect almost everything that happens in their humble high school lives?

Namely the better Kirkland, Raina likes Alice more than Arthur because she’s not as annoying as him. But she dislikes Alice’s killjoy behavior. Who else wants to ban alcohol in school parties? Only the Council’s vice-president! Heck, even Amy wants to get wasted sometimes.

The transferee she’s strangely comfortable hanging around with. Seernaq visited her once when she was crippled with headache, and brought her homework. Raina also considers the Greenlandic a potential ugly sidekick, seeing as she’s almost as sarcastic and twice as indifferent as her.

Her brother’s delinquent crush. She dislikes Natalya for the fact that she brings trouble, and that she’s always fighting with Pyry. Yet, despite this, she’s actually trying her best to be civil towards the Belarusian girl. 1) Because she’s a senior representative, and 2) Because even if she dislikes Natalya, Raivis still likes her. And, as mentioned, Raina’s willing to go to Hell and back for her dearest brother.