My First Detention At Dell House

SETTINGDell House High School of Croydon, PA.November 12th 1963 is the first day of the storyMAIN CHARACTERS
Nicole Mary Johnson, student (aka “Little Nicole”)
Mrs. (Ashley) Higbe, math teacher
Samamtha Reily, school bully & Nicole’s secret elder half-sister (Irish Jewish)MINOR CHARACTERS
Stanley Higbe
Nicole Lucile Johnson, Nicole’s mother (aka “Big Nicole”)
Mike & Wanda Higbe, twins
Mrs. Higbe’s mother (Martha)
Mrs. Higbe’s grand mother (Patricia)
Mr. Plumb, Piano Teacher.
Raymond Johnson, Nicole AND Samamtha's father.
Jackie Josephene, Stooge One to Samamtha, reporter for school newspaper “Daily Gazette” (Latino)
Theresa Jamison, Stooge Two to Samamtha, reporter for school newspaper “Daily Gazette” (Black)
Katrina Dolce, Dutch French woman & teacher at Dell House. Drama Couch/ Business Ed/ Typing
Harry Applebottom, teacher of History & lazy editor of “Daily Gazette”
Darel Barnes, Nicole's secret admirer.
Mike Higbe
Wanda Higbe,
Margaret Huckleby, Samamtha's biological mother & school librarian
Mark Riely, Samamtha's adoptive father
Rhonda Riely, Samamtha's adoptive mother
Greg Riely, 6 year old brother to Samatha and stooges babysit him
Felicia Riely, 3 year old sister to Samamtha and stooges babysit her
Tiffany Diamond, guidance counselor
Wilbur "Mr. Ed" Willbert, science
Kevin G. Patton, gym

Mrs. Higbe, characterizations:
A.) Red dyed hair (green during the Green Hair Incident)
B.) 64 ½ years old
C.) 5’4” tall
D.) Rich, successful business woman who owns a retirement home (The Golden Years) where her elders live and does stocks & bonds
E.) Nice House with maids (Nicole’s mother is the head house keeper)
F.) Likes Classical Music
G.) Slight Stutter
H.) Her grandmother (120) & mother (90) live together but rarely speak. Grandmother speaks Yiddish with occasional English cuss words thrown in.
I.) Terrible secret: At two years of age, she was in a car accident with her father and brother. Both men died.
J.) Scandal in school newspaper when kids claim she killed her father to get her fortune.

Stanley Higbe, characterizations:
A.) toupee
B.) jazz songs
C.) 6 foot tall
D.) part time banker, retired engineer.

Nicole Johnson, characterizations:
A.) Blond hair (many pigtails, hair resembles Medusa’s)
B.) Green eyes
C.) 5 feet tall
D.) Limps because of club foot and has to be taken to classes in wheelchair
E.) Hand me down clothes
F.) Peaceful nature at heart, allergic to pets, no friends at beginning.
G.) Loner, quiet kid.
H.) Listens to Beetles music which is imported from England.
I.) She only has two pairs of shoes. One of which is a set of sandals.
J.) Poor family before mother is hired by Mrs. Higbe
K.) Wants to be manicurist, always carries a nail file.
L.) Watches other girls from the shadows, pities them.
M.) Exonerates Mrs. Higbe and gradually becomes respected by classmates.
N.) Has a crush on Mike Higbe
O.) Peacenick. Has strong left-leaning sensibilities.
P.) Only white member of a black church. (She likes the music & singing… the SPIRIT of the folk cuz they ain’t boring, stodgy squares.)

Darel Barnes
A.) Different school from Nicole (At one point Nicole was the official photographer for the school newspaper but was fired after a very blah photograph. She had taken a photo of Darel watching the game & hadn’t taken any good photos of the action on the court. So by default the crowd-picture of Darel had been the only photo she’d taken that was fit to be on the front page. So it didn’t help that a “fan” of the away team appeared in a newspaper that showed none of the local athletes or coaches weren’t photographed clearly at all. Darel isn’t really into sports at all AND he’s also concerned that Nicole holds a grudge against him so he isn’t sure she would date him.)B.) Clumsy (trips over own feet) *
C.) Dresses in corduroys, itchy white button-up shirt (since he’s always scratching people think he has a severe skin disorder), old blue suede shoes his father gave him
D.) Wears thick, dark sunglasses so people assume he is blind. The bullies call him “The White Ray Charles.” *
E.) Pinball wizard & one time winner of a pizza prize in a tournament where he scored a grand total of 1 million points.
F.) * So when people do think of him, they think of him as the “blind kid with the bad rash or maybe SOMETHING not too pleasant.”

Grandmother to Mrs. Higbe
A.) Ghost, comes out at night, poltergiest
B.) Name is Patricia Mother to Mrs. Higbe
A.) Martha, Mrs. Higbe calls her “Martha My Dear”
B.) Breathing machine & IV drip, likes seedless grapes
Mrs. Higbe goes by her maiden name Jones sometimes.


Mike Higbe & Wanda Higbe
A.) 25 year old twins
B.) both have short red hair
C.) sometimes dress alike
D.) expensive clothes
E.) sea food is favorite meal
F.) mother forces them to do cherity
G.) Mike is 6’2”, Wanda is 6’ even
H.) Mike hates music, but Wanda plays the flute and drums

2/8/2008


Upper Left = B1Upper Right = B2Lower Left = B3Lower Right = B4Middle = B5B1 = History, Business Ed.B2 = Guidance Counselor, Math, EnglishB3 = Library, CafeteriaB4 = Science & Auditorium for Music & DramaB5A = First floor for Admin Offices and Nurse’s officeB5B = Gymnasium & Locker RoomsNicole’s Schedule• Homeroom with Mrs. Huckleby B3• Music (wheelchair pushed) B4• History (wheelchair pushed) B1• Math (wheelchair pushed) B2 • Lunch (wheelchair pushed) B3• English (wheelchair pushed) B2• Business Ed. (wheelchair pushed) B1• Gym (wheelchair pushed) & (climbs staircase) B52/1/2008

A.) Raymond Johnson (RJ) & Margaret Huckleby (MH) = Samamtha Riely, but only the guidance counselor knows this. B.) 16 years ago, after MH finds out she is pregnant, she doesn’t tell him.C.) They break up after driving together.D.) She gets out of the car.E.) He drives away.F.) It is dark & stormy night.G.) He drives to an intersection and is struck by a car that hits his passenger side.H.) The other driver is the un-named ex-boyfriend who intended to kill both people in RJ’s car. I.) MH if she were in the car, would have been killed, but wasn’t. J.) RJ is severely injured, but survives and recovers. K.) MH calls 911.L.) MH at first nurses RJ but is re-assigned to another hospital when it is learned she had an affair with him prior to the accident. M.) MH stops being a nurse, electing to take the job of librarian at the high school that Nicole & Samamtha will eventually attend. N.) MH has secretly been a staff member at every school Nicole has attended.O.) Mrs. J: “He stayed with me for twenty years. I don’t care what other women love him. He only loves me. That’s all that matters.” P.) MH mistakenly believes that Nicole is her daughter by RJ. (Nicole’s mother is Mrs. J.)Q.) Samamtha Reily was never told she was adopted, grew up a very mean, spoiled kid. 2/8/2008December 1946 = Month of Samamtha Riely conception via MH & RJApril 1947 = Break up of MH & RJ, accident for RJ.September 13 1947 = Samamtha Riely’s birthday.

Church which Nicole attends.NAME: Abraham MartinWHERE: Northwest on the Plaza (Formerly a movie theatre called “The Grand.” )WHAT: Movie theatre remade into small church. Skeptics tend to call the place “Ain’t So Grand Anymore.”The church itself is generally a secret meeting place of worship to escape segregation laws. Pantry for families who need food is provided along with daycare and education for the folks who system doesn’t normally cater to. WHY: Nicole’s family is the only white family who attend meetings or some non-holiday services.

5/30/2008Segregation Period (=bleep= all foul words)J. Josephene - blackT. Jamision - Hispanicwealthy families; friends of Samamthacould care less about civil rights movementfew if any kids in school aren't whiteJohnson family only Jewish family so they have no synagog and see no reason not to attend a black church.

Every time Nicole climbs the stairs to the gym, she says the words "I have been to the mountain top." Whenever anyone asks her what she means, she references the MLK speech that had taken place that August.

Nicole Johnson may or may not be home-schooled during most of her educational life. As a sign of independence he decides to go to a regular high school in her neighborhood. She is increasingly shocked by the immaturity of the students around her & how completely unlike her parents the teachers are.