Anna Kone

Living... half at her place, half at Maya’s. Anna lives in the suburbs with her folks, but she might as well live at Maya’s place. She’s always there all the time, especially when Anna’s parents have to leave town on these retreats in order to save their marriage. Anna gets treated even better at Maya’s place, since her own place has become something of a domestic warzone. Fortunately, for her, it just means seeing more of her best friend.

Profession... middle school student attached at the hip to her best friend Maya Ishii-Peters. At school, they’re definitely not popular. In general, they remain absolutely invisible to most of the people around them. Yet that is precisely the secret to their bond; they truly celebrate each other and elevate each other in a uniquely positive way. Day by day, they figure things out together, a little bit at a time.

Interests... wide-ranging, from nerdy to degenerate. She is eager to grow up, sometimes leading her to strange interludes like trying nitrous oxide or drinking beer in mean girls’ garages. Anna is also in the school band with Maya, which sometimes leads to competitive moments between them, like when they both tries out for solos and Anna won. Also, she is completely obsessed with Spice Girls.

Relationship status... way more dramatic than it should be. To her, it’s one giant game of chess. Everything for her is about strategy -- picking the perfect outfit, saying the perfect thing, writing the perfect note. She’s sure that if she can just do everything perfectly, Alex will finally realize how blind he’s been. She obsesses over the smallest details of any conversation and drives herself crazy with theories about how everyone secretly hates her. She expects way too much from Alex, to his general confusion.

Challenge... growing up. Anna whips back and forth between a girl ready to transition into young adulthood, and a petulant bratty child who loves screaming at her father about how he’s ruining her life. In the end, she is just trying to survive as best as she can in this jungle of adolescence. She hates being apart from Maya and doing anything without her. Yet she constantly alienates the one person in the school who wants the best for her. Something’s gotta give eventually.

Personality... lovable dork. Anna is the bigger pushover between her and Maya. Anna has almost no line she won’t cross in order to gain the approval of others; she truly tries to keep herself a blank canvas for others to change. Anna watches Maya get bullied from time to time and can’t bring herself to step in because she’s afraid of messing up her own reputation. Anna is crippled by her need for approval from people who only want to see her fail. Still, underneath it all, she is a good person who is simply trying to find her way.