Age: 13
DOB: 10th September 1986
Origin:
Kaitlyn Jarman was born in 1986 in Melbourne, Australia, the daughter of Samantha Jarman, a native Australian, and Daniel Jarman, an American who moved to Australia when he was younger. Kaitlyn has no memories of her father, who died of a heart attack when she was only 2 years old. Because of the pain the death caused her father’s twin brother, who refused to speak to his sister-in-law afterward, Kait had no knowledge of her American family before her thirteenth birthday.
When growing up, Kaitlyn was an outgoing child, although her interests were somewhat different. Where many girls at ages 5 and 6 wanted to become ballerinas, Kaitlyn got into athletics, particularly Representative basketball. When she turned seven, she was playing for the Nunawading Spectres, not to mention representing her school on many occasions. She also became a fan of popular music, especially the group called The Living End, which formed in a garage mere blocks from her house. Since then, she has always kept an eye out on up and coming new Aussie bands.
The young Jarman girl also was very bright, enjoying a variety of subjects, particularly Chemistry and various language courses. When she turned eleven, she started High School (Australian schools run grades 7 to 12 in one school), turning twelve years old near the end of the school year (Australian school terms run from late January or early February until December). The young girl was breezing through life, particularly enjoying the times when her mother, who worked for a movie studio, would take her to the set when they were filming various movies. One of these was The Matrix, where she met Keanu Reeves (she says he’s the nicest person), but only saw Carrie Anne Moss when she was filming (to this day, she claims she’s not allowed to divulge how they got those stunts done) (The Wonder From Down Under). Her breezing ended the day before her thirteenth birthday.
On the way home late one night from a birthday party for a friend (born the day before her), their vehicle was hit head on by a drunk driver. Kaitlyn, asleep in the back seat when the accident occurred, woke up screaming and found her mother in a bad way. Noticing that they were less than 500 meters from their home, Kaitlyn checked her mother’s pulse and found she was still breathing. She ran to a neighbor’s house and pounded on the door until someone answered. They called for an ambulance, which took Kaitlyn and Samantha to the nearest hospital. Kaitlyn tried to see her mother but was hustled out of the way. A while later, the surgeon who operated on Samantha came to take the girl in to see her mother and a Catholic priest, Father Patrick Maye. After only a few minutes, during which Kait realized what was happening, her mother passed on, her last words that she loved Kait and that her father was calling her.
Now an orphan, Kaitlyn was temporarily placed under Father Maye’s care. The good Father organized a fund raiser between two churches to raise money for Kaitlyn to fly to America once he located her remaining family (her father’s brother and the man’s teenage daughter), because she was not allowed access to the money her parents left her until she turned 18. The process was made easier when Maye’s contacts with the Church told him that a former acquaintance was living in the same town as Kait’s relatives. On October 13th, 1999, Kaitlyn and Father Maye arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, bound for the suburb of Sunnydale.
Upon arriving in Sunnydale, the pair’s first stop was at the residence of another priest, Maye’s old friend Ulric. While Ulric and “Paddy” (Patrick’s Irish nickname, which amuses Kait to no end) reminisced about their meeting during the so-called Gulf War, Kait talked to Ulric’s foster daughter, Shaw. Kait was surprised to find out the two had a couple of things in common (namely, losing their immediate family and moving to America to be with other kin). Shaw gave Kaitlyn a preview of her cousin Alison, who Shaw said could truly help Kait if she gave her the chance. Kaitlyn, still grieving for her mother, was understandably skeptical.
An hour later, Kaitlyn arrived at her new home, where she met her Uncle Andrew, cousin Alison, and her cousin’s boyfriend for the first time. While Father Maye and her Uncle went to talk, Kaitlyn’s first meeting with Ali didn’t go very well. Wanting to be alone to cry, she asked Alison to show her to her room. After arranging her clothes, Kait was crying on the bed and the overhead light bulb began to shimmer. When she became angry at the strange occurrence and began growing hysterical, the light shattered, straining Kait’s nerves to the breaking point and making her scream in terror. It wasn’t until Alison slapped her in the face that she calmed down. Kait yelled at her for the slap, but Ali pointed out her fit. Ali left the room, leaving Kait to cry some more but a bit calmer.
A few minutes later, Kaitlyn heard her favorite band playing from another room. Not knowing how she could be hearing an Australian band in America, she ran across the hall and found that Alison’s mother (her aunt Jessica) had brought home a ton of Aussie CD’s from a vacation. Seeing that just maybe she and her cousin did have something in common, Kait asked to borrow the CD’s and Ali’s CD player. After getting her boyfriend to lug it in for her, Ali left her alone to listen to the music. When she randomly wished the CD player could open by itself, it did, leaving Kait wondering, “Huh?”
Later, Ali asked Kaitlyn if she wanted to tag along with her to meet some friends, offering the hint that her friend’s sister was her own age as incentive. Liking the idea of meeting someone her own age, Kait accompanied her and met Dawn and her “already taken” boyfriend, Brian. They hit it off quickly and on her first day, she had two friends inviting her to take in a movie. She loved the fact that it was the Matrix and that she knew more about it then they did.
Her first day of school, Kaitlyn found Dawn waiting for her. Since she was hanging around with her, in addition to being the new girl in town, she quickly became the target of the school’s popular clique, who teased her about her accent and asked her if they’d shipped her pet kangaroos to her home yet. She just ignored them and headed to class with Dawn. The class turned out to be Chemistry and she let her new friends (Brian and another girl, Debbie Broots) in on a little secret; they were beginning the school year she had just about finished, so in effect she was doing things she’d done as little as ten months earlier. Needless to say, once they got over their jealousy that parts of her year would be easy, Dawn and Brian prodded her to help them out.
When they got to Gym, the girls had already found out about her scientific interests and began calling her nerd. Debbie, on the qt, told Kaitlyn and Dawn that they’d asked some of the better male athletes to target her during their activities. Even with the forewarning, Brian and Dawn worried about how Kaitlyn, just having moved here and going through this stuff on her first day, would react.
She reacted by showing her new friends why she thought American rules basketball was for wusses. One of the first things she did was plow through Damien, the middle school’s premier athlete and younger brother of a Sunnydale High star, Hogan (one of Faith and Shaw’s classmates). When the coach asked her what she was doing, she told him, “Playing by Aussie Rules.” After being told to “tone it down,” she shrugged and switched to her outside game, shooting three pointers. When Dawn and Brian showed their surprise, she said that people always underestimate the short ones. Dawn was even more surprised because Damien had “asked her out” (Kait didn’t spoil her dreams by revealing it was only to play basketball).
As the days passed, Kaitlyn noticed the strange behavior of Ted and Ali, who would have hushed conversations that ended abruptly whenever she entered the room. At first she put it down to “lovey-dovey” behavior until she saw similar actions from Dawn, Brian, Faith, and Shaw.
One Friday night, Kaitlyn decided to sneak out and go on a date with Damien at the Bronze. After being stood up by Damien, she noticed someone stalking her as she walked home. Becoming frightened, she tried to run but she and her attacker were startled when the nearby streetlights and some windows shattered as one, many of the fragments flying at her attacker. She was amazed when Dawn and Brian arrived on the scene, fighting the bad guy. When they kicked his butt and he suddenly disintegrated like those drug guys, Dawn and Brian groaned in unison as they realized they had to spill the beans to her, not only about what went bump in the night but about themselves as well.
After some brief and somewhat embarrassed explanations, they helped her sneak back home, but only after she agreed to keep their secret. She could hardly do otherwise, since she knew they might suspect something was up with her, too. The thing was, she knew something was up with her, and it Wigged her out. After managing to get home before Ali did, she got online and began surfing the Web to investigate what she’d been told. After getting the basics on vampires, demons, and the Hellmouth, she found a site dedicated to psychic abilities and noticed that some of the things happening to her could be attributed to telekinesis. Being an X-Men fan, the last thing she ever expected was to become the Aussie version of Jean Grey. She decided to investigate and discovered that she did indeed have a developing TK ability, probably latent until the stress of her mother’s death and the move to Sunnydale had unleashed it. She began practicing to learn control of her psi-talent (not to mention herself), figuring that in the future, she might tell Dawn and Brian, who might be able to get her into this Section Seven thing they talked about, so maybe they could get her the “professional” training.
Race: Human.
Description:Like her cousin Alison, the first thing many people notice about Kaitlyn is her lack of height (since their fathers were twins, it’s quite clear who gets the genetic blame for that). Some solace for Kait is that she’s still almost as tall as Ali, but six years younger. Seeing Dawn, someone the same age as her, standing taller than Ali gives Kait hope for the future.
Kait has blue eyes like her cousin, but unlike her, her hair is still very, very long and blonde. The first is because she refuses to cut it short like Alison does, the second is due to a dye job she chose to get to separate herself from Alison in order to forge her own identity in her new home. Kaitlyn is attractive for someone only 13, although she doesn’t go out of her way (like, say, her cousin’s friend from Boston) to make people notice. She’s more comfortable in blue jeans and t-shirts than in mini-skirts and halter tops (although unknown to her, Dawn and Faith plan on bringing her over to their way of dressing). Part of this is because she doesn’t have the money for buying “sexy” clothes, part of it is because she’s something of a tomboy and prefers sports to dressing up.
In all, Kaitlyn’s body is femininely lean but trim in the manner of someone who is physically active (another byproduct of her basketball). If Dawn and Faith get their way, it’s likely that Ali will need to help her father beat the prospective boyfriends of Kait off with a stick.
Abilities (uncommon): Kaitlyn does have one uncommon ability; the psionic discipline known as telekinesis. Unlike some witches, who can use this ability as part of their witchcraft, Kait’s ability is not borne of mystic potential. Rather, her TK seems to be a natural part of her, although it’s possible she might have other talents that may emerge, as she grows older. Having just emerged from its latent state, the level of Kaitlyn’s power is probably very low at this point in time. She has little knowledge of just how strong she is or could be, and at any rate, she is spending more time learning to control it rather than see if she can lift a half-ton truck. Given the shattering light bulbs, opening CD players, and shattering windows she’s seen thus far, she’s following the advice given to a character by that Mister Miyagi guy: “First learn walk, then learn fly.”
Although personally, she thinks flying is best left to the comic book telekinetics.
Abilities (learned): Kaitlyn has a keen intellect and makes the honor roll at school every marking period. Her best classes are those dealing with the sciences, particularly Chemistry. She is also multilingual; besides her native English, the thirteen-year-old speaks fluent Italian and Indonesian (often switching to the latter when she wants to curse and not get in trouble for it). She also knows how to research the Web as needed, but prefers hands on experience and learning for herself as opposed to impersonal data.
Kaitlyn’s mental faculties aren’t her only strength. She also has a well-conditioned body, thanks to her extreme (by American standards) basketball career. Kait is skilled at her game, being able to shoot from downtown or run you over with equal ease (and desire).
Current Status: (include here if the person is immortal or not): Kaitlyn’s legal status might be considered confused at this point. By Australian law, she is a citizen of Australia with no criminal record. However, by American law, the fact that her father was an American citizen qualifies her for the same citizenship. Despite the possible confusion, Kait has been granted permanent residence in the states by INS, although personally, Kaitlyn still considers herself an Aussie first and foremost. Whichever citizenship she eventually is classified under, she is currently a minor. Student at Richard Wilkins Middle School in Sunnydale, California. Kaitlyn is not an Immortal, nor is she a Pre-Immortal.
Proficient weapons: Kaitlyn doesn’t have any form of combat or self-defense training, although she does have the benefits of a keen mind and a fit body. While that probably wouldn’t help her out against vampires intent on getting sucky face with her neck, anyone who dismisses her as a “harmless little girl” might be in for a big surprise.
Current beliefs: At the present time (late October 1999), Kaitlyn has a lot of things on her plate; living with relatives she didn’t even know existed until a month ago, going to school and attending classes she’s already mastered, learning about the Hellmouth and everything supernatural, and this whole psychic power thing. Fortunately for her, her cousin does care about her, and she has already made some friends who want to help her get used to America.
While school is going well (the popular girls have all but stopped picking on her since she trashed their best guy b-ball player and realizing she’s a jock), her home life is still taking some getting used to. While she’s getting along okay with Uncle Andrew, there’s still some tension between her and Alison. Alison wants to help, but at the same time knows from personal experience that Kait wants and needs space while dealing with losing her mum. On her own side, Kait wants the time alone to let mum go, but at the same time wants to reach out to Ali. The sticking point is that while Ali has gone through some things that hurt her, it’s different where Kait is concerned. The cousins have realized this and are taking their time to sort things (and their feelings) out.
Kait gets along great with Ted, which does bode well for her relationship with Ali in the long term. She likes Dawn, Brian, and Debbie (kids her own age), and has done some idolizing of Ali’s friends Faith and Shaw; she sees them as tough cookies (especially Faith), women she wants to be like when she grows up (although she could do without a million Faith-given nicknames).
While Kait has suffered one of the most personal blows one can experience in life, it hasn’t shaken her confidence in herself. She knows what she’s capable of and is determined to make the best of the situation she’s found herself in. Only weeks in America, she’s already got some friends who have come clean with her about what goes on during the dark hours in her new hometown, and with the strange twist this psychic thing is giving her, she’s already decided that instead of being someone who won’t find her niche in Sunnydale, this weird Yank town just might be a perfect fit for her.
What is the one most important thing you can say about the character?
Kaitlyn, although extremely similar to Ali, is so opposite to her that I can see her being a lot of fun. Having her come from Australia, especially an area in Australia I know all too well (majority of the suburbs mentioned within Wonder From Down Under are from near my own house, with the Medical Centre having treated me too many times to count). She is also a great way for me to have some fun with stereotypes of Australians that people have come up with from watching such people as Steve Irwin and Paul Hogan’s Mick Dundee.
With Kaitlyn being so young, it also allows me to have her struggling through the areas Ali gave up on, popularity and socializing. Whereas Ali had to grow up too quickly, Kaitlyn is going to be allowed more time to grow up. She also will hopefully be a more determined character, getting not only a good circle of friends (Dawn, Debbie and Brian) but being able to be relied on by her other peers. She may not be a ball busting Amazon but when she’s grown up she may just rival Dawn in looks and attitude.
Favorite quote: “That’s what I love about being short; since people tend to look down to you, they underestimate just how much of a danger you can be.”
Nicknames: Kait, Mini-Ali, KJ, Jordan (although she would prefer to be called Jay after favorite NBL player Jason Smith or Heal after her second favorite NBL player Shane Heal)