Nicole

* Game
* Anime

**Nicole Peterson** is the **protagonist** of Class of '09. A sociopathic teen who makes people's lives chaos due to the trauma she has gone through in her past before attending her school.

## History

Nicole grew up all over coastal America. Her parents divorced when she was very young. Following this event, her mom gained custody, and went through a large amount of marriages and divorces, forcing her daughter to frequently move from one place to another.

Things changed for Nicole when she entered high school: for the first time, she spent two consecutive years in the same place and school, which, along with her hitting puberty, allowed her to make friends and become popular. Unfortunately, Nicole's happiness was cut short when she got told she had to move out and start over again due to her brother getting the family evicted.

Nicole became extremely upset with the news, and decided to go over to her dad’s house, with the intention of living with him. As she entered, she found out that he had shot himself and left a note blaming her for his suicide. This understandably traumatized her, and when moving out with her mother as originally planned, she turned into the cruel girl we see in the games.

## Appearance

Nicole has pale skin, dark brown almost black hair tied up in a high ponytail, and blue eyes.

She is usually seen wearing blue and/or black clothing and skinny jeans. Her style could be considered 2000s emo-ish (as mentioned by Jecka). She is also shown to frequently wear a wrist band on her left arm.

She has a slim and great body according to her friends and the teenage boys at her high school. She is commonly described as very beautiful, and she uses her looks to manipulate people.

She's approximately 5'6" tall, as shown in the White Supremacist Ending.

## Personality

Nicole is a sociopathic girl who feels almost no sympathy. She has a habit of playing with people's emotions, either to get out of situations or simply for the enjoyment of the power trip, and seems desensitized to violence against her or others. She's also a frequent drug user.

Her most noticeable trait is her crude language and love for quick-witted and intelligent comebacks. Nicole is usually brutally honest an turns everything into a joke, even when confronted to serious and/or dangerous situations. She has a very dark and edgy sense of humor, and is also frequently seen gossiping and lying.

Nicole is able to ignore any of her preconceived morals for her own gain, and is capable of ruining reputations and lives around her without any remorse. She is however not a physically aggressive person, as it is implied that she isn't a great fighter in the Original Game by herself and by the fact she's seen seeking help when threatened.

Despite this, she possesses some form of moral code, though it is pretty self-centred and selective. She often expresses her hatred for pedophiles, sexual harassers and rapists, while also using it as an excuse to be a misandrist, and is purposely cold or vindictive to men.

She generalises men as "rapists and pedophiles", never conceiving them as anything more than that. Similar views are also shared by Jecka, though to a lesser degree. Although occasionally referring to herself as straight, Nicole is shown to despise men, her few genuine relationships being exclusively women.

## Relationships

### **Jecka**

Jecka is Nicole's best friend throughout both games. The way the two girls meet for the first time depends on the player's choices, but no matter the route taken they quickly establish a strong bond and become virtually inseparable. Jecka usually supports Nicole and shares some odd morals similar to hers, but is also often depicted as the reasonable one in the duo, having no problem telling her off or scolding her when she goes too far. For example, she shows disapproval of Nicole's behavior towards Ari, and gets very upset to the point of cutting her off when she tries to rationalise selling street drugs.

Jecka's loyalty towards Nicole is depicted differently based on the route taken by the player: she is shown to agree to help Nicole break into the school to destroy the dark room, or accompany her to Ari's house despite the danger associated with the Straight Pride club for example. But cracks in their relationship are revealed in other routes, such as when Jecka refuses to help to a homeless Nicole, straining their friendship for good despite Jecka's later remorse. Nicole also lets down Jecka to a lesser degree in another route, coercing her to flirt with her brother.

Despite these challenges and their occasional banter, the two girls genuinely care about each other. This is particularly highlighted in the same route, where Nicole purposefully subjects herself to daily detention with the counselor and Jeffrey, both of whom she despises, to allow Jecka to smoke freely outside the school as a way to apologize for her past actions. This act of friendship leaves both of them emotional, Jecka stating that it's the nicest thing anyone ever did for her.

### **Emily**

Emily is arguably arguably the second-closest friend to Nicole, occasionally even assuming the role of Nicole's best friend. Their relationship is consistently friendly, as shown in instances like their collaborative improvisation during Drama class, but its depth varies depending on the route taken. In some cases, Emily is portrayed as a somewhat toxic friend or influence, with instances where Emily encourages Nicole to sell her body or forming a suicide pact with her. In this particular route, Emily develops a profoundly unhealthy attachment to Nicole, expressing a desire to die alongside her and hinting at romantic feelings. These feelings are later confirmed in the ending, where it is revealed that Emily confessed her love for Nicole by sending her a text before taking her own life.

Nicole also seems to admire Emily in some ways, being seemingly jealousy of her being more “troubled and misunderstood” than her and describing her as very beautiful during a discussion with Jecka.

### **Ari**

Ari is usually a neutral if not a friendly party, except for one route where she confides in Nicole about her homosexuality. Nicole unintentionally becomes a source of support, helping Ari accept herself, leading the latter to develop romantic feelings for Nicole. Unfortunately, their relationship is based on toxicity and is ultimately doomed. Nicole does not reciprocate Ari's feelings, leading to two possible outcomes: either Nicole agrees to date her and ends up emotionally abusing her, or she rejects Ari, resulting in Nicole becoming a school outcast and, in the end, being coerced into an unhealthy relationship with Ari, whose idea of love became distorted due to Nicole's primary rejection.

### **Mom**

Nicole's unnamed mother is despised by her daughter for getting in her way and for refusing to listen, as stated in the Intro of Re-Up. She is mostly depicted as a bad or even abusive parental figure, and is implied to have drug abuse problems. Throughout the narrative, she gives advice that enables Nicole's inability to stand up for herself, and is shown to yell at and not believe Nicole when she faces abuse. In one route, she evicts her daughter after a school expulsion, rendering her homeless, despite enabling her older, jobless brother. Furthermore, she is capable of physical violence, as indicated in the State-Wide Expulsion ending.

Despite these negative aspects, there are glimpses of maternal concern. In one route, she believes and worries about Nicole, attempting to comfort her when Nicole falsely accuses Mr. White of sexual assault. However, the complexity of their relationship is underscored by the mother's erratic behavior.

In The Re Up, it is possible for Nicole's mother to suffer a fatal heart attack. Nicole initially appears distressed at her mother's collapse but eventually becomes rather indifferent in the following weeks.

### Brother

Nicole is shown to hate her brother, as he represents everything she despises: a greedy, lazy man-child with predatory tendencies. He is also the source of significant problems in Nicole's life, as his music piracy forced the family to move out from an environment she was just beginning to adapt to. Nicole describes her brother as an "obese monster," and their interactions are never genuine, as Nicole's responses either attempts to get him arrested or verbally fights with him.

### **Kylar**

Kylar and Nicole share a complex relationship marked by his erratic behavior, frequent misogynistic insults, and occasional physical threats towards her. Simultaneously, Kylar consistently demonstrates an interest in Nicole, though it tends to be mostly sexual in nature, as he usually objectifies women and is shown to be very angry at Nicole for not sleeping with him in the Suicide ending.

However, their dynamic greatly differs if Nicole accepts Kylar's invitation in P.E. class and visits his house. In this scenario, Kylar ends up developping genuine romantic feelings for her, going as far as jumping off the school rooftop as a display of love and dying in the process.

Kylar is also seen selling or providing drugs to Nicole on multiple occasions, most notably Percocet.

### **Jeffery**

Jeffery appears outwardly friendly towards Nicole, but she holds a very negative view of him, placing him at the lowest part of the high school social ladder. At best, Nicole simply ignores Jeffery, and at her lowest, she verbally berates him for merely existing. Despite Nicole's unresponsive or hostile attitude, he is often seen attempting to engage a conversation her.

Jeffery can develop more sinister feelings towards Nicole, such as blaming her for his school mass shooting if she reveals secrets about his sexual preferences. In the Suicide ending, he also becomes angry at Nicole for not sleeping with him, despite her accepting his offers to hang out. This darker side of Jeffery's character is further revealed in the bonus messages of the Original game. These messages reveal Jeffery's deep resentment towards Nicole and other girls in the school, viewing them as "socially spoiled."

### Crispin

Crispin is the first boy Nicole interacts with, serving as a school tour guide. Similar to many other boys, Crispin is attracted to Nicole and attempts to flirt and engage in conversations with her, without no success. His approach involves trying to delve into Nicole's "deeper" side, claiming that he can perceive her inner pain and that she's "special".

However, Crispin's true nature emerges when he proceeds to send explicit pictures to Nicole, interpreting a vulnerable one-sided conversation as an invitation to do so. In this scenario, Nicole has the option to publicly share the pictures, destroying Crispin's reputation and their relationship. Other instances show Crispin taking Nicole to see cover band concerts, an event that becomes so recurrent and painful for Nicole that she even has the option to commit suicide in the game.

### **Hunter**

Hunter has a generally chill, gullible attitude towards anyone, but this demeanor takes a significant turn in one particular route when Nicole seeks revenge on his girlfriend, Megan. In this scenario, Hunter is seduced by Nicole and begins to cheat on Megan by sending explicit pictures to Nicole. Those actions result in Megan experiencing public humiliation and emotional pain.

Despite Hunter only being a pawn in her revenge plan, it is revealed in the bonus messages that his feelings for Nicole were genuine and not only sexual in nature. He expresses a desire for their relationship to continue and goes as far as affirming that Nicole is a good person despite her questionable actions.

### School Staff

Nicole is naturally predisposed to despise all of the school's faculty. This includes **Miss Lynn**, **Coach Colby**, the **Counselor**, and almost every other teacher in the game. Because the faculty fosters and upkeeps the exact patriarchy that Nicole despises, she rarely gives the faculty any respect. The only ending in which we see Nicole have a positive interaction with a faculty member is the ending where Miss Lynn is fired after Nicole calls out the school during graduation for neglecting and abusing its students. After Nicole's conversation with Miss Lynn, she actually heeds some of her advice in what is probably the most positive ending in the game.

## Trivia

* In the Re-Up, Ms. Ames states she has a 1.1 GPA.
* While it isn't canon, she could possibly be **bisexual**. This is due to her dating Ari (despite the purely abusive nature of their relationship), and instances of her saying Emily, and Miss Lynn are "hot" and attractive.