Hey guys! As is perfectly obvious from the title, I am, for the first time, participating in the Beautiful People linkup . Say hello t...

Beautiful People: Kemp Jones

Alexa Mintah

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Hey guys! As is perfectly obvious from the title, I am, for the first time, participating in the Beautiful People linkup. Say hello to my beautiful person of the month, Kemp Austin Jones.

This isn't an exact picture, but it's as close as I could find on pinterest.

I posted about Kemp before, in one of my Melodic Mondays. That was months ago, though, so quick recap: Kemp is sixteen, one of the four protagonists in my manuscript, What’s Real, and the weapons specialist on their teen spy team. He talks quite properly (think Spock from Star Trek) and he has a very soldierly attitude: he rigidly obeys their team leader and almost never questions her judgment.

Now to the questions!

What is his secret desire?

Kemp was very unforthcoming with this, I suppose because it’s a secret and all. At first, I thought maybe he wished he didn’t have to be the man all the time (besides being on the spy team, Kemp also takes care of his 7-year-old twin siblings, Krys and Keenan, because his dad’s out of the picture and his mom...well, she’s not very helpful with that sort of thing.) But he then informed me that he doesn’t mind taking care of them, having accepted that he cannot count on other people and that the twins are his responsibility and his alone.

In saying that, though, he accidentally told me that his secret desire is to have someone he can count on (so, there, difficult charrie!). He accepts his responsibilities and does his best to execute them, but he also fears failure and wishes there was someone he could trust, someone he could count on to be his backup plan, just in case he did fail.

(Kemp: That is absolutely preposterous.)

You’re lying to yourself, bae.

What is the best and brightest moment he experiences during the story?

Story's not finished yet, but so far... ouch, actually Kemp doesn't have a lot of bright moments. The best one is probably when he's playing piano for his girlfriend, Kat. She tells him that he’s brilliant at it and he may or may not glow inside.

(Kemp: Indisputably not.)

Quiet, Kemp. I’m doing this, and it's your own fault because you’re horribly uncooperative during interviews.

What are the emotional places your character is afraid to go to?

Interestingly enough, there aren’t many of those. While he’s not forthcoming in interviews, in the quiet of his own mind, Kemp has an interesting way of dealing with emotions, a unique ability to simply accept and release them. So he often is as emotionless as he appears.

The one emotional place he’s beginning to fear, though, has to do with the twins. In the last few chapters, the three of them have been taken in by a sort-of foster family, and for the first time in a long time, they have two parental figures who actually act like parental figures. Because the twins no longer need Kemp as much as they used to, Kemp’s afraid he’ll lose them. But that’s one emotion he’s too terrified to deal with it.

(Kemp: Your information is severely inaccurate. Krys and Keen will always require my presence, and I do not fear--)

Denial! And moving on.

Is there a place/city/room where he will never go? Why?

I actually don’t think Kemp has one of these. I mean, he’s not all “I WANNA SEE THE WORLD.” But there’s no physical place he’s scared to go either.

(Kemp: *sighs* You have finally managed to answer a question accurately.)

Stop talking, lovely.

If he was permanently leaving town, what would he easily throw out? What would he refuse to part with? (Why?)

Kemp would totally toss anything school-related. He sees high school as essential for intellectual people, like his girlfriend, Kat, but unrelated to his job, and therefore useless to him.

He wouldn’t want to leave his new piano, but he’d have to because it’s too big to carry. The only things he’d absolutely refuse to part with would be his weapons: a deadly assortment of guns and knives.

(Kemp: Well, yes. To have a weapon on one’s person at all times is a healthy habit.)

Sure...

What do they want (consciously and tangibly)?

That’s a hard one. It’s not like Kemp’s life is anywhere close to perfect, but if you asked him what he wanted, he’d give this blank stare for like ten seconds and then be like, “You mean I get to choose?”

(Kemp: I don’t.)

After that, he’d realize that he only wants his loved ones, the twins, Kat, a few other friends, to be safe, both physically and emotionally. And he’ll do anything to secure that.

(Kemp: I do believe you’re getting better at this.)

On the other hand: what do they need (on the emotional, subconscious level)?

Kemp needs to understand that he’s not responsible for everyone. He does not have to--nor can he--protect everyone he loves from everything. And it’s okay if someone else takes over for a little while.

(Kemp: That someone else will undoubtedly, as most teenagers say, screw it up.)

Why do you have so many trust issues?

(Kemp: You made me this way)

No, you and Kat banged on the door of my brain this way! Anyway...

If he could change one thing about himself, what would it be?

Surprisingly enough, Kemp was actually willing to answer this one for me. Perhaps because his answer has nothing to do with emotions and is slightly chilling. Take it away, Kemp.

(Kemp: If I could change one thing about myself, I would make myself a few inches shorter. At just over six feet, I stand out in a crowd far too much. Also, it would be inconvenient when trying to snipe someone, as there would be much more of me to hide.)

And there’s my little psychopath.

What is the most humiliating event of his life?

It took me a while on this one--you seriously need to share things better, hon--but the most humiliating incident of Kemp’s life actually happens in the book (hopefully, he doesn’t hurt me for sharing). Basically, on their first real mission, things go terribly awry. A gun accidentally goes off, people get shot, and Kemp freezes. He’s spent his life training for this, but no one was supposed to die that day. So when things go wrong and civilians get murdered, he temporarily goes into shock.

As a result, Kat has to push him into action, and then she ends up getting shot. That wakes him up, but he still can’t forgive himself for losing control of his emotions, for failing to be mentally present when she needed him most. On the bright side, it’s a mistake I don’t think he’ll repeat. Right, Kemp?

(Kemp: Undoubtedly. If you’ll excuse me now, I need to sharpen my knives.)

Oh, okay, sure. Wait... sharpen knives? Kemp? Hey, Kemp? Calm down, dear, we can talk about this. Kemp!

Oh boy.

What things does he turn to when he needs a bit of hope?

Kemp refocuses on the things he’s fighting for: Kat, the twins, his other friends. He focuses on the fact that they are there, that they’re counting on him, and that, since they’re still alive, he’s succeeded so far. That gives him the hope to push on.

***

And we’re done! Hope you enjoyed your peek into Kemp’s mind, because now I gotta go find to something to hide under while he cools down.

Did you participate in Beautiful People? Either way, pick a question and tell me about one of your charries! I promise to check the comments once it’s safe to come out.

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