Syd is bold, funny, and full of personality, even when she is unsure of herself. Quick-tempered and easily frustrated, she has a tendency to meet pressure with anger and never backs down from a fight. Beneath that toughness, she is deeply caring, especially when it comes to her family, and shows love through cooking. Though she rejects social media on principle, she secretly maintains an account of her own, hinting at the vulnerability and curiosity she tries to hide.

Teenage girl who is currently in the foster care system. She has had a rough life, and has a bad attitude (think "Annie").

Teenage girl who is currently in the foster care system. She has had a rough life, and has a bad attitude (think "Annie").

Braden is Syd’s supportive best friend and coworker at the grocery store. Funny, easygoing, and dependable, he often brings comic relief when Syd’s world feels too heavy. He is one of the few people who knows how to reach Syd when her anger spikes, making him both her emotional buffer and her sounding board.

Syd’s roommate, Amber, is quiet but never without an opinion. She is messy, though she does her best to keep the chaos contained to her room. A high school dropout juggling three jobs, Amber survives through hustle, grit, and distraction. She is obsessed with social media, constantly posting and consuming information, and loves any excuse to go out and escape her reality. Where Syd resists the digital world, Amber lives in it.

Syd’s younger sister, Tiffany, is wiser than her age suggests. Athletic, driven, and deeply loyal to her siblings, she wants desperately to keep the family together even as she dreams of building a life beyond it. She helps her mother by doing hair, loves school, and is determined to graduate and get out, creating a tension between duty and ambition.

Teenage girl who is currently in the foster care system. She has had a rough life, and has a bad attitude (think "Annie").

A slightly confused customer looking for water.

Syd's unseen mother, Candace, is overwhelmed, complicated, and stretched thin by a life that never gave her much room to breathe. A mother of five, with a two-year-old from her second marriage, she works at a retirement home as a recreation attendant, or as she jokingly calls it, a babysitter for old people. She drinks too much, makes messy choices, and often falls short, but she is not without resilience. She recently earned her GED while pregnant, proof that even now she has not fully given up on herself.

Candace's boyfriend and former military man, Daniel is a straight shooter who loves Candace.

Syd’s school counselor and mentor, Ms. Jackson, is polished, ambitious, and deeply invested in young people like Syd. Though in her mid-forties, she looks much younger and carries herself with confidence and energy. Married with two young children and finishing her doctorate, she is a woman constantly balancing personal ambition with service to others. For Syd, she is both a guide and a reminder of what persistence can look like.

A shopper asking for fruit.

Syd's Manager at Ashworth's Grocery. Strict, a little uptight, and takes his role very seriously.

Syd's high school principal.

Retired school administrator who currently runs a group home, Ms. Thomas looks older than she actually is. This has become her way of giving back, though it constantly drains her.