EXTENDED HISTORY

[cherrylipgloss]

Born just outside of Chicago and raised in comfortable suburbia, Veronica Opal Wade would consider her upbringing to be entirely unremarkable. A distant, hard-working mother. A mostly absent, awkward father. And the typical– if wildly fluctuating– ups and downs of youth.

Some of her earliest memories hold swaths of green, well-trimmed grass, the feeling of paper between her fingers, and the colorful plastic of her outdoor playsets; of which there were many. All to keep her happy and occupied while she entertained herself in the safety and privacy of her backyard. Under the half-watchful eye of rotating babysitters Veronica would live and play in a world of her own making, indulging in her imagination and experiencing reality through that magical lens of innocence.

As Veronica grew, she would receive books in a wide variety to encourage her ever-growing mind. And like a fish to water, she took to it. Her appetite for literature was voracious and always branching outward; from the humble story book, to novellas, to bits of history. And though she had a variety of interests, she could burn entire afternoons away in her treehouse pouring over a new book.

Of course, this became lonely. And that rich inner world of hers made making friends something of a challenge. When the neighborhood children grew out of playing hide and seek around houses and mermaids at someone’s pool, Veronica became the weird one. So she would spend time with herself, playing a video game, pretending to be a rock star, or turning a few more pages.

These childhood woes, however, would follow her well into school. She grew larger, she grew fatter, she loved books more than people and sat silent in class. And as the perfect target she got bullied relentlessly. For being fat, for being ugly, for smiling too big or seeming too excited, even for wearing the same shirt twice in one week.

Her mother, when she saw her, would offer her the usual placating comforts. Typically over restaurant take-out or whatever dinner had been prepped for the week. None of which actually helped. Instead, Veronica retreated further into her reading. And eventually found the book that sparked her passion.

A dramatic cover, dozens of gripping accounts of paranormal activity– but more than that. Data. Theories. Instead of a collection of horror stories, she’d found a book on ghost hunting. It explained everything from the variety of tools used to the types of entities one might encounter. And it spoke to that vivid imagination she once nurtured so diligently. Even though she grew older, the magic and mysticism of the world still remained.

So she filled her time with these mysteries. Checking out book after book, cross-referencing and squinting at supposed ghost sightings on a desktop computer.

By the time she hit high school, the golden age of the internet was in full swing and Veronica had embraced it fully, gradually drifting away from the books that had once enchanted her. Instead she had chatrooms, forums, de-centralized websites; and of course, tutorials. She learned different ways to dress herself, learned how to do her makeup and her hair, and was determined to make a place for herself in the world. Even if she had to carve it out.

Though clumsy and awkward, her teenage years saw her gaining confidence around her peers. She grew larger, she grew louder, and quickly understood that sometimes a girl just had to put on a convincing act. By the time she hit senior year, she had become quite popular, and had made connections across a variety of cliques.

Veronica had friends. She played in drama class and sang in choir. She would crack jokes and make the people around her laugh. Even at the expense of someone else. She would flirt, date, and break her fair share of hearts.

Then graduation came and went. And all of those faces she’d grown up with faded into the blur of everyday life.

College loomed like a guillotine. An expectation of her mother, and unquestionable– since she was paying for it. Veronica had a range of degrees to choose from that her mother thought were smart choices. In the end, she earned none. Her first year of college had been spent either dreading her next class or partying like she’d be dead by morning. Then she dropped out.

With increasing friction between herself and her mother, Veronica would pick up a dead end job and move out, spending the next couple of years in limbo.

When she began making videos to post online, she hadn’t thought anything would come of it. It was a hobby, something to bring her some joy while she dealt with bills and a lame boyfriend she needed to break up with.

Her first few were video game playthroughs. Her next were makeup tutorials. Then she watched a single video from an urban explorer. A bolt of inspiration. It didn’t take long from there for her to merge her complimenting interests. By day, she worked as a waitress. By night, a paranormal investigator. With the face and the charm to keep people coming back for each little adventure. It was entertainment more than anything, but eventually, she made enough money to ditch her waitress apron.

Videos expanded into live-streams and podcasts as Veronica made a name for herself, carving out her place within broader society just as she had in her high school years. She appealed to the masses with a pretty face, cute outfits, and–when she was startled– an iconic scream.

Her work began to turn towards questions and answers, whether a location might be haunted or if the Loch Ness Monster really exists. All of it just as intriguing to her audience as it was to her. And while she might not have been any kind of professional authority, her followers enjoyed it all the same; enjoyed her.

As her final commitment to her calling, she would purchase a large van. One for living and working out of.

Presently, Veronica Wade travels across the country, working as a content creator visiting notorious haunts and investigating paranormal happenings. She indulges in her imagination and searches for answers in the unknown, seldom returning home and never planting roots.