Margaret Mitchell
From Literepetition
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Margaret Mitchell (aka Peg, Peggy, Meg, Meggy, or Maggie) is a returning to Meridian as a second semester sophomore after an extended leave due to the death of her mother. She is the reincarnation of the same named Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With The Wind.
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[edit] Biography
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was born four years before her brother Steven. Her mother Mary (usually called Maybelle) was the daughter of an old Atlanta Irish-Catholic family who could trace their ancestry back to the War of Northern Aggression and beyond, and devoted her time to raising her children. Her father Eugene was also from Atlanta, but a less prosperous part, a struggling young African American man who was putting himself through school to become a lawyer. They married young, but by the time Margaret was born, Eugene was on the fast track in a prestigious law firm with offices all over Georgia, serving some of the most celebrated and wealthy families and corporations in the state. By the time she was six and Steven was ten, the family had purchased a summer home in Savannah, which is where she met George Byron, and more importantly his half-sister, Leigh.
Leigh was the first person Peggy had met who was like her, and the pair hit it off quite well. Every summer until well into their teens, they ran around together like peas in a pod. During the school year, Peggy attended private school and at the age of eight, discovered a love of gymnastics. She competed for three years before her coaches advised Peg's parents she did not have the potential to become an Olympian, her physicality and growth made her less than ideal. That was a rough year for Peggy, but rougher was yet to come. After a year of resentful behavior over the situation that went hand in hand with acting out at her private school and frustration over her academics, she took it upon herself to run away from home. She got as far as the Oakland neighborhood of Atlanta, where her father found her near his old family home. Peg was appalled and unprepared for the level of poverty she discovered in the area, as well as the whole scene as presented of inner city life. A long talk with her dad about how hard he'd had to work, about privilege, and about the opportunities she had that others hadn't had a surprising effect on her as a twelve year old. She went back to school with greater determination, began to academically excel, and turned her attention to her junior high school's cheerleading squad.
Summers continued to be wonderful, through her teens she ran wild with Leigh and Byron, and eventually John was included in that gang. There were times when she crushed on George, if he ever felt likewise, their feelings never synched and perhaps that was for the best. This didn't stop them from the occasional mutual misbehavior, but it was never anything serious and to date she considers George a friend. She continued attending a private school in Atlanta, and after she graduated, Peggy was accepted at Meridian, selecting journalism as her major with a broadcasting concentration. This was a bittersweet victory as it was discovered that her mother had breast cancer.
Freshman year at Meridian was wonderful. She was accepted into a sorority, made the cheerleading squad, and began working as a reporter for the campus channel, FriarTV. The only shadow in her life was her mother's illness, which even after a temporary remission and the loss of one breast, reappeared in the other. Eventually her mother elected to cease treatment and Peggy did not come back to school after the winter break of her sophomore year. She returned to Atlanta to assist in her mother's care and spend their final months as a family.
Leigh was in town during the last weeks of Maybelle's life, and for some time after. An unexpected evening spent together as friends turned into something physical, and during that time, Peggy and Leigh became lovers. When Leigh finally did leave, that aspect of their relationship did to, with the shared understanding that it was out of comfort, that they were friends, and neither of them was looking to each other out of any true sense of romance. Peggy's had a hard time reconciling the affair with her faith, but she's been raised to question it, and it has not caused the level of angst that some might expect. Eventually, Peggy felt she was ready to return to school, confirming her re-admission into Meridian, but having to do so as a sophomore needing to complete her second semester of that year.
[edit] Special Notes
[edit] Reputation
[edit] Rumors
[edit] Relationships
Louisa Alcott is the funniest lesbian on the face of the planet. No, really! She and her platonic male life partner Dash need to put their act on the road. Or possibly develop a self-help program marketed to college kids about how a guy with a lesbian wingperson doubles their chances for finding a date on Saturday nights.
George Byron is one of Peggy's childhood friends. As younger teenagers, each had a crush on the other, usually when the other party was completely oblivious or uninterested, though otherwise they've done just about everything with each other two people can manage short of actual intercourse. Peggy doesn't feel that way toward George anymore, but he's still very much a friend. She's having a hard time dealing with what's happened between him and his sister Leigh.
Claire Clairmont is a new pledge to Nu Sigma Alpha, and Peggy's roommate. She is very tiny and very blonde, but they get along quite well. As befitting a sorority member, Peggy takes it upon herself to be a sort of big sister to Claire, but stays mindful of not stepping on the toes of Claire's actual sister: Bartos resident Mary Godwin.
Sammie Coleridge has only been encountered via the student blog site, and is George's ex-girlfriend. It's obvious she still cares for him, and Peggy thinks it's highly likely he still cares for her, but Sammie's attitude in general and about Leigh in particular, along with her badmouthing of Peggy's dad has not put the two girls on good footing with each other.
Dashiell Hammett is Louisa Alcott's partner in crime. While Louie despairs the fact that Dash has a penis, Peggy things it suits him just fine. He's a Criminal Justice major, and like Margaret, he asks a lot of questions and is very curious about well, almost everything.
Aldous Huxley is a new acquaintance, someone initially met via student blog and then in person. She's one of the leaders of the anti Wal-Mart movement, which depending on who you talk to, is either called Mom And Pop Shop (MAPS), or OH Hell No. Peggy really hasn't gotten to know her well yet, but she seems nice enough. She's also currently dating Mark Twain.
John Polidori is another longtime family friend. She's known him since they were kids, growing up alongside Peggy, Leigh, and George. John's fiercely devoted to George, even going so far as to marry Leigh, who is having her own half-brother's baby. Peggy's always found John to be a little weird and creepy, but not so much so that she won't associate with him. They've just never been particularly close within their circle of friends, but sharing the latest Byron family secret has become easier for both of them in having someone they can talk about it with.
P. Shelly's been noticed by way of student blogs. He seems to be a friend of George's, and the fact that's obviously an intelligent, good-looking black man has not escaped Margaret's attention.
Mark Twain is yet another intelligent, good looking black man, currently dating Aldous Huxley. He and Peggy had a bit of flirting over coffee that her memory can't quite tag as whether it was before or after he started seeing Ailey, but it was a pretty interesting conversation, and chances are he'll become part of her circle of college compatriots.
