Daniel Desario

Grew up… taking care of his invalid father and handling the family chores for his wreck of a mother. Daniel has had it hard for most of his life, especially after his brother left the family to pursue a life of partying and drug-taking. The Desario family is hoping that Daniel doesn’t decide to follow the same route.

Living… a lie. Daniel’s biggest secret is the fact that he’s two years older than all of his friends. He’s embarrassed of the fact that he was held back in school for two years straight.

Profession… high school student in Chippewa, Mich. Daniel doesn’t care too much for learning; he’s more interested in a career in music. As he puts it, “Rock ‘n’ roll don’t come from your brain.”

Interests… having as much fun as possible before he enters the job market. Daniel knows that he doesn’t have great employment prospects, and that he’s likely to end up working a minimum-wage job to help support his family.

Relationship Status… involved with Kim Kelly. Daniel is a heartthrob who doesn’t necessarily want to be tied down to one person, which results in a tempestuous on-again-off-again thing with Kim.

Challenge… overcoming the hypocrisy that he sees all around him. Daniel is an archetypal rebel. 

Personality… self-assured and cocky, in part to hide his deep insecurities about his level of intelligence. Daniel does not want to be an unsuccessful burnout, despite the image of himself that he’s worked so hard to craft. He becomes very sensitive when he encounters intelligent people: “Every old person thinks they’re so smart. What, there’s like no dumb old people?”