Simone Abara

**Simone Abara** is a character on the Showtime original series *Yellowjackets*. She is portrayed by Rukiya Bernard.

## Profile

Simone is a comp lit professor at a college. She is the wife of Taissa Turner, a licensed attorney running for the position of state senator in New Jersey. The two live together in a well-appointed home in Wiskayok, New Jersey along with their son Sammy and dog Biscuit. The two married in approximately 2006, approximately nine years after Taissa was rescued from the Canadian wilderness following a tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of most of her fellow teammates on the WHS Yellowjackets soccer team.

Simone is supportive of her wife's campaign, but worries about the stress that the campaign is placing on both her and their son. She is upset when Taissa misses both a parent-teacher conference and dinner because of the campaign, worried about Sammy, whose teachers say is having trouble making friends. Nevertheless, she supports Taissa's decision to put Sammy in public school, feeling that it would send the wrong message to make education a cornerstone of Taissa's campaign, yet have Sammy in a private school.

When Taissa's opponent, Phil Bathurst, releases a dirty campaign ad, Simone implores Taissa not to hit back, reminding her that she wants her campaign to be focused on the issues. Later, however, Sammy hits another boy who insulted Taissa based on what he had overheard of his parents discussing the ad. She says that this could be their new normal if she doesn't hit back, but Simone is astonished that she's thinking of this when their son just hit another child.

Following this incident, Simone helps Taissa to prepare for a charity dinner, one of which she's hoping to secure the support of a big donor, Diane Rafelson. Simone tells her to just be herself, but Taissa remains worried. At the dinner, when Taissa blanches at the sight of a roast pig, Simone comments that she forgot to eat beforehand. Ultimately, Taissa fails to secure Rafelson's support, due to being unwilling to kowtow to Rafelson's demand that she tell the truth about what happened in the woods.

Taissa later laments not simply smiling and kissing Rafelson's ass to Simone, but Simone tells her that honesty is her superpower. Just then, their dog biscuit, starts growling and barking. Taissa has a hallucination of a wolf outside and when she goes to investigate, she finds the word "SPILL" painted in bright red on their front door. Later, they take Sammy and Biscuit out trick-or-treating for Halloween, but when they return, Taissa discovers a paintbrush and a bucket of red paint under Sammy's bed. When, however, they confront Sammy with it, he claims not to be responsible. After putting Sammy to bed, they talk, and Taissa admits to being concerned. Simone comments sarcastically that she's glad she's catching up. Taissa admits to being distracted, but Simone tells her it's more than distracted. She says that she's losing weight and exhausted, that Sammy is missing the mom he used to know and you never get the time back. Taissa asks if she thinks she should drop out. Simone says she would never ask her to do that, but doesn't want her to have any regrets. Taissa replies that she'll make an announcement.

Taissa puts together a press conference to make the announcement outside her home, but it is not at all what Simone expected. Although at first Taissa reads the words written on her cards, she then puts them down, stating the people of New Jersey deserve honest representation. She goes to the door of the home and pulls back a drape, revealing the painted word. She then declares that she's staying in the race no matter what and turns to Simone, who looks shocked. Following this, Taissa and her fellow Yellowjacket survivor Natalie receive text messages, demanding $50,000 as blackmail money. Taissa calls her bank, trying to make a withdraw from her and her wife's joint account, only to be told that she can't withdraw that much money without her wife's signature. Simone, however, wants little to do with Taissa at the moment. She tells her that the woman she saw at the press conference was not the woman she married. She also tells her that she's taking Sammy to see a child psychologist and that she had better be there.

Taissa attends the appointment with the psychologist, but earns Simone's ire by checking her phone during the session. The psychologist tells them both that Sammy doesn't remember any of the things they accused him of and that he might be suffering some sort of fugue or amnesia. Taissa, however, is dismissive of the notion, saying that it's just the way that psychologists make their money. Simone, however, is astonished at how shut off Taissa is from help. She says that Sammy is facing overwhelming stress and they have to do better. Just then, Taissa very nearly slams into a cyclist, demonstrating succinctly the stress that she is under as well.

It soon becomes clear to Taissa that she has started sleepwalking again, a habit she first developed in the woods following the crash. She takes refuge at the home of fellow survivor Shauna Sadecki, where she admits that she has fallen out of love with Simone and simply stays in the relationship because it's comfortable. The next day, she returns home, where she finds Simone and Sammy making lost dog posters for Biscuit, whom she believes escaped when she accidentally left open a gate. She pulls Simone aside and tells her about her sleepwalking habit, saying that she wants to her and Sammy to leave for their own safety. Simone doesn't want to have anything to do with it, saying that they can work through the problem together. Taissa, however, tells her urgently that she doesn't understand, that she's afraid she's going to hurt the two of them. She begs her to leave and she does.

The day before the results of the election are to be revealed, Taissa takes a call from Simone, who apologizes for not being at the 25th anniversary of the Wiskayok High School class of 1996 with her. She asks how Taissa is doing and she tells her that she's working on her concession speech. She then tells Taissa that she'll be swinging by the house the next day to pick up some toys and clothes for Sammy. Taissa tells her that she won't be there, that she has to be with her campaign staff, then realizes that she doesn't want her to be there. She asks to speak with Sammy, but Simone explains that he is off on a playdate with a boy named Elvis. She promises that Taissa can talk with Sammy tomorrow.

The next day, Simone returns to the house with Sammy. While Sammy heads upstairs to his room to get some toys, she heads to the basement to get clothing. Down there, she notices some blood on a grate to a crawlspace. She enters and at the end of it she discovers a bizarre shrine. Upon it is the head and heart of Biscuit, several unlit candles, Sammy's favorite doll with one eye missing and on the wall, a strange symbol from the wilderness of Canada. As Simone screams in terror, Taissa smiles back at campaign headquarters, having just unexpectedly won the election.

Following this incident, Taissa visits a local animal shelter and adopts a new dog named Steve, apparently entirely unaware of having created the shrine. She waits outside the school and surprises Sammy with the dog. When, however, Simone sees the two of them, she races up to Taissa's car. Taissa tells her she's sorry, that she tried calling, but Simone curses, telling her to stay away from Sammy. Confused, Taissa asks her what's going on, and she asks Sammy to wait by the fence. She then tells Taissa that she found the "thing in the basement." When Taissa doesn't seem to know what she's talking about, she tells her that she's not well and that she needs to get real help or else she'll never see Sammy again. When Taissa is still confused, she tells her that she'll put in terms she can understand: that if she doesn't step down from office and seek treatment, she will go to the press.

Taissa returns home and discovers the shrine in question. Horrified by what her sleepwalking self has done, she promises Steve that she will do better by him. She then begins a grueling regimen - pounding espressos, exercising constantly and popping pills, all in a desperate effort to stay awake. One afternoon, she is surprised to see Sammy in the house with the dog. "He's so cute," he tells her and she asks if he walked all the way there from school. He tells her that he wanted to see her. She tells him that she'll make him a snack and to play with the puppy while she gives Simone a call.

Taissa gives Simone the call. She is disgusted, and somewhat disbelieving of Taissa's story of Sammy being there. When she arrives, she is annoyed at finding the door chained, Taissa having chained it as a measure against her sleepwalking self. When Taissa lets her in, Sammy is not there. When they go to check his room, they discover the window open. Taissa tells her that it must be a cry for attention, but Simone tells her they just need to go and find their son. As they're out driving, however, Simone receives a call from the school. Sammy is waiting there for her in the school office to be picked up and has been for two hours. He never left school - it was all a hallucination of Taissa's. Hearing this, Simone turns to Taissa, telling her that she is very sick and she needs to get help right now, that she won't let her be Sammy's mother like this. An evil look comes over Taissa's face and she revs the engine straight into the intersection, causing a truck to ram into Simone's side of the car.

At the hospital, Taissa has hallucinations regarding Simone's condition, Sammy asking her if Simone is going to die, and is tormented by an evil vision of herself in the mirror. She speaks with the nurse, who tells her that they're not out of the woods yet. The nurse compliments her on the "interesting design" that she drew on Taissa's hand, asking what it means. Horrified to see the symbol in black marker, Taissa tells her that it's for luck. As soon as the nurse leaves, she rubs it away. She then attempts to put in a call to Jessica Roberts, a private investigator that has been working for her, but gets no response.

Taissa eventually ends up to Vanessa "Van" Palmer, with whom she was romantic in the woods. When the two of them are together at Camp Green Pine, Taissa removes her wedding ring and attempts to resume her romance with Van, only for Van to tell her that she has cancer. Simone's fate remains unknown.

## Trivia

* As her son's name is Sammy Abara-Turner, her name was widely believed to be Simone Abara. However, her last name was never officially stated on the series itself until it was said in the second season episode "Edible Complex" as "Simone Abara."