Make no mistake. I'm a sociopath. God, that sounded evil.
Nicole, Class of '09
Nicole is the protagonist of Class of '09 and the deuteragonist of Class of '09: The Flip Side. She is a sociopathic teenager who enjoys ruining people's lives due to the trauma she has gone through in her past.
Physical Description[]
Nicole has pale skin, dark brown hair tied up in a high ponytail, and blue eyes.
She is usually seen wearing blue and/or black clothing and skinny jeans. Her style could be considered as 2000s emo (as mentioned by Jecka). She is also shown to frequently wear a wristband with the pan-african colors.
She has a slim and great body according to her friends and the teenage boys at her high school. She is commonly described as very beautiful, and she uses her looks to manipulate people for sometimes evil or malicious things.
She's approximately 5'5" tall, as shown in the chlorine bomb ending.
Personality[]
Nicole is an sociopathic girl who feels almost no sympathy. She has a habit of playing with people's emotions, either to get out of situations or simply for the enjoyment of the power trip, and seems desensitized to violence against her or others. She's also a frequent drug abuser.
Her most noticeable trait is her crude language and quick-witted intelligent comebacks. Nicole is usually brutally honest and turns everything into a joke, even when confronted by serious and/or dangerous situations. She has a very dark and edgy sense of humor, and is frequently seen gossiping and lying.
Nicole is able to ignore any of her preconceived morals for her own gain, and is capable of ruining reputations and lives around her without any remorse. She is however not a physically aggressive person, as it is implied that she isn't a great fighter in the original game by herself and by the fact she's seen seeking help when threatened.
Despite this, she possesses some form of moral code, though it is pretty self-centered and selective. She often expresses her hatred for pedophiles, sexual harassers and rapists, and is purposely cold or vindictive to men.
She views men as "rapists and pedophiles", never conceiving them as anything more than that. Similar views are also shared by Jecka, though to a lesser degree. Although occasionally referring to herself as straight, Nicole is shown to despise men, her few genuine relationships being exclusively women, especially Jecka. She also says she wishes to be a lesbian sometimes.
She likes My Chemical Romance, even though Kyuss is better.
History[]
If the divorce rate was a 50/50, my mom landed on tails like 8 times.
Nicole in the intro sequence, Class of '09
Nicole’s parents divorced when she was very young. Following this event, her mom gained custody, and went through a large amount of marriages and divorces, forcing her daughter to frequently move from one place to another.
Things changed for Nicole when she entered high school: for the first time, she spent two consecutive years in the same place and school, which, along with her hitting puberty, allowed her to make friends and become popular. Unfortunately, Nicole's happiness was cut short when she got told she had to move out and start over again due to her brother getting the family evicted for pirating breakbeat mixtapes.
Nicole became extremely upset with the news, and decided to go over to her dad’s house, with the intention of living with him. As she entered, she found out that he had shot himself and left a note blaming her for his suicide. This ended up traumatizing her, and when moving out with her mother as originally planned, she turned into a sociopath, seeking pleasure in making others miserable as an outlet of her own reserved emotions.
Relationships[]
Jecka[]
The way the two girls meet for the first time depends on the player's choices, but no matter the route taken they quickly establish a strong bond and become virtually inseparable. Jecka usually supports Nicole and shares some odd morals similar to hers, but is also often depicted as the reasonable one in the duo, having no problem telling her off or scolding her when she goes too far. For example, she shows disapproval of Nicole's behavior towards Ari, and gets very upset to the point of cutting her off when she tries to rationalize selling street drugs.
Jecka's loyalty towards Nicole is depicted differently based on the route taken by the player: she is shown to agree to help Nicole break into the school to destroy the dark room, or accompany her to Ari's house despite the danger associated with the Straight Pride club for example. But cracks in their relationship are revealed in other routes, such as when Jecka refuses to help to a homeless Nicole, straining their relationship for good despite Jecka's later remorse. Nicole also lets down Jecka to a lesser degree in another route, coercing her to flirt with her brother.
Despite these challenges and their occasional banter, the two girls genuinely care about each other. This is particularly highlighted in the same route where Nicole purposefully subjects herself to daily detention with the counselor and Jeffrey, both of whom she despises, to allow Jecka to smoke freely outside the school as a way to apologize for her past actions. This act of friendship leaves both of them emotional, Jecka stating that it's the nicest thing anyone ever did for her.
Emily[]
Emily is arguably the second-closest friend to Nicole, occasionally even assuming the role of Nicole's best friend. Their relationship is consistently friendly, as shown in instances like their collaborative improvisation during Drama class, but its depth varies depending on the route taken. In some cases, Emily is portrayed as a somewhat toxic friend or influence, with instances where Emily encourages Nicole to sell her body or forming a suicide pact with her. In this particular route, Emily develops a profoundly unhealthy attachment to Nicole, expressing a desire to die alongside her and hinting at romantic feelings. These feelings are later confirmed in the ending, where it is revealed that Emily confessed her love for Nicole by sending her a text before taking her own life.
Nicole also seems to admire Emily in some ways, being seemingly jealousy of her being more “troubled and misunderstood” than her and describing her as very beautiful during a discussion with Jecka.
Ari[]
Ari is usually a neutral if not a friendly party, except for one route where she confides in Nicole about her homosexuality. Nicole unintentionally becomes a source of support, helping Ari accept herself, leading the latter to develop romantic feelings for Nicole. Unfortunately, their relationship is based on toxicity and is ultimately doomed. Nicole does not reciprocate Ari's feelings, leading to two possible outcomes: either Nicole agrees to date her and ends up emotionally abusing her, or she rejects Ari, resulting in Nicole becoming a school outcast and, in the end, being coerced into an unhealthy relationship with Ari, "could i choke you while we make out"-says Nicole as she rejects Ari, whose idea of love became distorted due to Nicole's primary rejection.
Mom[]
Nicole's unnamed mother is despised by her daughter for getting in her way and for refusing to listen, as stated in the Intro of Re-Up. She is mostly depicted as a bad or even abusive parental figure, and is implied to have drug problems. Throughout the narrative, she gives advice that enables Nicole's inability to stand up for herself, and is shown to yell at and not believe Nicole when she faces abuse. In one route, she evicts her daughter after a school expulsion, rendering her homeless, despite enabling her older, jobless brother. Furthermore, she is capable of physical violence, as indicated in the state-wide expulsion ending.
Despite these negative aspects, there are glimpses of maternal concern. In one route, she believes and worries about Nicole, attempting to comfort her when Nicole falsely accuses Mr. White of sexual assault. However, the complexity of their relationship is underscored by the mother's erratic behavior.
In the Re-Up, it is possible for Nicole's mother to suffer a fatal heart attack. Nicole initially appears distressed at her mother's collapse but eventually becomes rather indifferent in the following weeks.
Brother[]
Nicole is shown to hate her brother, as he represents everything she despises: a greedy, lazy man-child with predatory tendencies. He is also the source of significant problems in Nicole's life, as his music piracy forced the family to move out from an environment she was just beginning to adapt to. Nicole describes her brother as an "obese monster", and their interactions are never genuine, as Nicole's responses either attempt to get him arrested or verbal fight with him.
Kylar[]
Kylar and Nicole share a complex relationship marked by his erratic behavior, frequent misogynistic insults, and occasional physical threats towards her. Simultaneously, Kylar consistently demonstrates an interest in Nicole, though it tends to be mostly sexual in nature, as he usually objectifies women and is shown to be very angry at Nicole for not sleeping with him in the suicide ending.
However, their dynamic greatly differs if Nicole accepts Kylar's invitation in P.E. class and visits his house. In this scenario, Kylar ends up developing genuine romantic feelings for her, going as far as jumping off the school rooftop as a display of love and dying in the process.
Kylar is also seen selling or providing drugs to Nicole on multiple occasions, most notably percocet.
Jeffery[]
Jeffery appears outwardly friendly towards Nicole, but she holds a very negative view of him, placing him at the lowest part of the high school social ladder. At best, Nicole simply ignores Jeffery, and at her lowest, she verbally berates him for merely existing. Despite Nicole's unresponsive or hostile attitude, he is often seen attempting to engage a conversation with her.
Jeffery can develop more sinister feelings towards Nicole, such as blaming her for his school mass shooting if she reveals secrets about his sexual preferences. In the suicide ending, he also becomes angry at Nicole for not sleeping with him, despite her accepting his offers to hang out. This darker side of Jeffery's character is further revealed in the bonus messages of the original game. These messages reveal Jeffery's deep resentment towards Nicole and other girls in the school, viewing them as "socially spoiled." He's also regarded in fan-made polls as the "cutest".
Megan[]
Megan is Nicole's student theatre teacher in one ending. In the route where Nicole goes to theatre class, Megan gets upset at her for her insults and antagonizes her, demanding total respect. Nicole gets back at Megan by getting her boyfriend to cheat by sending nudes to her. She humiliates Megan in front of the audience at the play by sending out a nude of her boyfriend to the entire school, and deeply enjoys the idea of Megan never being able to be in a relationship again because of the trauma.
In the homeless ending, Nicole insults Megan at a store and then Megan reveals to Coach Colby that she's suspended when she tries to do a job on school property. Megan also sides with Coach Colby when he sexually harasses Nicole, claiming that she will vouch for him, which makes Nicole realize that she is truly a horrible person.
Karen[]
In one route, Nicole convinces Karen that the slang word "skeeted on" means to compliment someone. While Nicole realizes that what that she did was technically wrong, Jecka is more upset with the fact that she's ruined the image of her wholesome childhood friend. This implies that Jecka may care more about Karen than Nicole.
Nicole and Jecka team up on Karen another time, making use of her bulimia by insulting her weight.
In the homeless ending, Nicole easily convinces Karen to allow her to use MySpace on the library computer by giving her compliments about her looks.
School Staff[]
Nicole is naturally predisposed to despise all of the school's faculty. This includes Miss Lynn, Coach Colby, the Counselor, and almost every other teacher in the game. Because the faculty fosters and upkeeps the exact patriarchy that Nicole despises, she rarely gives the faculty any respect. The only ending in which we see Nicole have a positive interaction with a faculty member is the ending where Miss Lynn is fired after Nicole calls out the school during graduation for neglecting and abusing its students. After Nicole's conversation with Miss Lynn, she actually heeds some of her advice in what is probably the most positive ending in the game.
Trivia[]
- Nicole never directly expresses sexual desire for anyone. There are implications that she may derive some form of sexual pleasure from having power over people and hurting them.
- Nicole's mother hits her for being expelled in the statewide expulsion ending, but there were no signs of her attacking her brother for being twenty-five and still living in her house. This may be another example of misogyny in the game.
- Nicole show signs of high self-awareness. There is a heavy implication that Nicole is technically aware that her actions are wrong, but simply doesn't see the people around her as deserving of her sympathy.
- It is never stated whether Nicole told her mom and brother that her father blamed his suicide on her.
- Nicole's mom states that she has accused people of sexual assault in the past. This gives either very dark implications or shows that she has been lying about these serious situations from a young age.
- Nicole's suicide route converges with Class of '09: The Flip Side if you date Mr. Katz. As a result, Nicole's suicide can be indirectly attributed to Jecka.
Gallery[]
- View: Nicole/Gallery
Quotes[]
- "Make no mistake. I'm a sociopath. God, that sounded evil - let's rewind a little. I grew up all over coastal America. House, after house, after restraining order, everything just kinda blends in. If the divorce rate is 50/50, my mom landed on tails like, eight times. So, by the time I was 14, right? I moved from seven different houses and attended six different school districts. After a while, you don't see a point in making friends. The Vitamin C graduation song? Yeah, can't relate. But then one year, all of that... almost changed? For the first time ever, I found myself going to a school for two consecutive years, going on three. And then I like...started turning pretty a month into high school, so the guys hitting on you social leverage was really awesome. The popular girls would talk to me all the time. And they were just stupid. Like, they had always been pretty. Never left out, never alone. And when I think about it... all the thinking I've ever done was when I was alone. I was nice about it, and thought I'd always be nice about it. Finally in one place to build a steady reputation. And then life said, fuck that! My piece of shit gamer brother got us evicted for pirating breakbeat mixtapes. It's like, not even good music. Anyway, so Mom was crying packing up the moving boxes, and that's when she told me we were moving out of the state! And I just got settled! I said fuck you, I'm living with Dad! - he's just a neighborhood down. I put the boxes down, go over, knock on the door and... BOOM, a gunshot! My second Christmas killed himself! I walked in, floor looked like a whole ass video game - just blood, everywhere. And get this, his suicide note was stuck to the fridge with a Cookie Monster magnet. All he wrote on it - Nicole's fault. I'm Nicole, by the way, hi, what the fuck did I do to him? Maybe I missed the office softball game? Men are so into this revenge suicide thing. But whatever, it doesn't matter, nothing matters...I'm moving...again. City, county, state; all the same fate. But I've always said that while leaving. This time...it's on arrival."
— Nicole in the opening narration of Class of '09.
- "God, they are never funny. It's like the girls just laugh to avoid sexual assault."
- "I'm a thin girl, do I fucking look like I play video games? I'd rather play dead at a necrophilia convention." (to Crispin).
- "The most notable thing you could do is kill yourself before the graduation. Then your dad can cry in front of school assemblies next to a black-and-white photo of you." (to Jeffery).
- "Do you know what "ex-bodybuilder fat" is? ... Well, he's an obese monster. I was just curious if anyone else knew that bodybuilder phrase -- he's not that." (to Jecka)