Cast of characters

There are a few people that I will constantly be talking about. Here I will describe them at length, in random order:

• The Math Wizard. That's me. I can best be described as recursive: To describe myself, I must first describe myself.
• Serenity. Someone I still consider to be my best friend. She's known me the longest.
• Jesse. I have been hanging out with the rice cracker since before i-mo was born, and he put himself up at Bohemia. He represents "apathy" in the i-mo triangle.
• Elmo. I see him as the embodiment of the Anime ethic carried to its logical conclusion. He plays some good guitar, and is close to his family.
• Elaine. She's a soul currently living in Bohemia as well. One of the more artistic people I've known in a while.
• Timmy, or Freshwater. By most accounts, the leader of the pack. Everyone's big brother. He likes to party and hang out.
• Gogo. My [little] brother. He's industrious, and for that I look up to him.
• Wave. She works at Colleague central, but that is the end of her strait lace. Enough said.
• The Youth Choir. A rambunctious group that sometimes gets together to sing at the Vestibule. A handful show up for practice, and twice as many show up for the actual thing.
• Stud Life. Another rambunctious group... and not much else. Close-knit, though.
• Kim. I get her codename from Kim Possible. Now, if she's Kim Possible, that'd make me Wade. Travels the world just like Kim does, except she doesn't do as much crimefighting.
• Super Paper Patrol. It's a small group who is tasked with helping everyone who approaches with term papers in hand. It has changed in composition at least once while I am in it.
• The Proprietress. She holds the keys to the Shellcase. Her feet may only walk on Post-it notes and mailing labels, and is never doing only one thing at a time.
• The Doc. Actually, there are two people called "The Doc"; both of them are employers of mine. One oversees my work as a Super Paper Patroller, and another looks over the Colleague website.
• Fobber. A radio personality. I haven't seen much of him lately, but I know he is there by the sound of his voice in my car.

There are some others, like the Whiteshirt, and Flamingo, who I hang out with at length, and some others from my memory, such as Noside and others who I haven't seen in a long time. But as people enter the story, I will take care to mention them here.

Thanks for reading.

Song in my head: Green Day, "American Idiot".

Locations

Our story will take place mainly in a few places. I will add to this list as the number of places grows.

• The Plantation. This is the place of reflection, where the cool grass is your carpet and the billowing cumulus is your blanket. It is a high place, overlooking the rest of the northern part of the island. Most nights, the whistle of the gentle wind is the only sound to be heard. The Plantation is fairly populated, but other than the people in my family, I seldom catch sight of the other inhabitants.
• Bohemia. Its location is nondescript; a place just like dozens of places very near it, atop, below, or beside. But inside resides a singular randomness that keeps together some very dissimilar housemates. Four people now officially call it home, including Jesse and Elaine, but now and then the White-shirt stays for periods of welcome.
• Colleague. The place called "Colleague" is an expanse of trees, grass, and hard fact. Merely walking on the grass or breathing in the air increases knowledge and understanding. It is dotted by haphazardly-placed buildings, which seem to be held together by the combined vibration of all the facts and opinions expressed here. For now, this is my primary place of work, though lately it has also been my primary place of sleep.
• The Shellcase. The Shellcase is a special room within Colleague. Its Proprietress is a kind sort of sorceress, whose magical feet may only tread on yellow Post-it notes and is never doing only one thing at a time. The Proprietress has taken many disciples, who have free recourse to the room. One of its walls is made of glass, which allows the inhabitants to see future visitors to the Shellcase. This is the place where much, often boisterous, conversation is done. It is the base of operations for the group named Stud Life.
• The Stairwell. This is a place of learning far away--at least seventeen minutes by car from both the Plantation and Colleague. I ascend its steps three or four times a week to teach what I know about Mathematics, the Art-Science, of the Invisible Force of the Number and the Extent. Sometimes I also teach the intricacies of our language. My students are few, but they are devoted to their continued study.
• Vestibule. I always feel welcome here. The floor is lined with marble and the ceiling lined with fluorescent light. Near the front of the room is a black grand piano that becomes mine whenever my fingers light upon it. Whenever I am here, I hear the truth and the beautiful song that bids me come back. Someone eagerly wants me to take the Vestibule with me and show it to everyone I meet wherever I go, but that has been a tall order, at best, for at least all of my life.

These are some of the places you will visit as you follow my adventures. I hope that your travels with me are made easier because of this list. Thanks for reading.

Song in my head: The Five Stairsteps, "Ooh Child".