Trace Arnett

PROFILE

PERSONALITY
Trace has a tendency to act cocky at times though he doesn’t really believe himself to be all that. He is aware of how attractive he is so he will try to use his looks to get out of scrapes he may get himself into with women. He does have an attitude of utter lack of respect when someone pisses him off and will not tolerate shit from anyone. Once someone gets on his bad side, it’s very difficult for them to turn him around. Definitely isn't a one woman man, as he never has been and the idea of a relationship to him sounds awful as well as something that just will never work in his life so he avoids them like the plague. However, that's not to say that he doesn't love to find him a woman to fuck whenever the urge strikes him.

BIOGRAPHY
Setting: The neighborhood of Austin in Chicago. 1985. Spring. Action: A prostitute gives birth to a baby boy in the back seat of a 1975 Cadillac. Her pimp throws her out. A knock on the door of a dilapidated apartment building. Enter: Father of the baby boy, a drug dealer who traded drugs for sex with the prostitute. Action: Prostitute and child move in with father. Prostitute becomes a meth addict. Prostitute sent to jail for multiple counts of assault and breaking and entering.

Scene.

Trace Richard Arnett was born to Tracey Barker and Richard Arnett in the very heart of Austin, the most crime-ridden neighborhood in all of Chicago. Though he was one of the few white kids in the area, his childhood differed very little from most other children. His over exposure to drugs and crime was no different and even having one parent sell while the other was addicted was not that uncommon. It was a sad fact but even losing his mother to prison was something many kids faced as well. However, Trace was only slightly affected by this having always been closer to his father than his mother. For she made it known often that she bore a strong resentment toward him for costing her the high class prostitute life she was so used to.

Trace was only five years old when Tracey was sentenced to a six years in prison, leaving Richard to raise his son all by himself. It was an unexpected and difficult change in Trace’s life and one he was at the time too young to fully comprehend. He didn’t understand the extra pressure it put on Richard to try to provide for the son he wasn’t even sure was his. As much as Richard wanted to dump Trace in an orphanage and resume his life, as it was five years prior, he couldn’t bring himself to do it and the two began to bond stronger as father and son.

As Trace grew older, he became wiser to his father’s profession. It wasn’t like he could ignore the junkies and fellow drug dealers that would frequent their apartment or the constant brawls Richard would have with his clients. Trace became a quiet observer to the life his father led, taking in every sight and every sound. He learned quickly that selling drugs in a neighborhood that depended so strongly on them provided a decent living. Despite still going through hardships the drugs Rich would sell were keeping them fed, keeping the utilities on and keeping them clothed. Therefore, it was of no surprise to Rich when he caught Trace stealing his stash and selling them to his friends at school and it was no surprise when he didn’t stop him.

The world around Trace was molding him into a callous person the more time he spent involved in it. His transformation began with his attempt at fitting in with black students at his school by mimicking their style of dress, the way they spoke and their attitudes in general. He emulated them in every way he could in order to be embraced by them since he didn’t truly have anyone else. His whole personality was given a makeover while he was in junior high, turning him from the decent kid he was into a thug they would accept. Once he gained their acceptance, his rapid descent into his primitive nature continued with the next step being when Trace turned 17 and joined a street gang.

His orientation into the gang wasn’t as tough as many other gangs required their new members to do. All Trace had to do was mug people he saw on the street until he came up with at least $100. In order to accomplish this he had to mug over 10 people before he came up with the cash but proved his loyalty to the gang by not backing down on anyone that he saw no matter who they were. It was with this action that any ounce of human decency left within him was erased. That’s not to say that Trace was now ruthless killer but he certainly was no longer a gentleman, if it was possible to ever call him one. He was knee deep in drugs, selling and using, owned a gun, which he regularly used to threaten people, and showed an utter lack of disrespect for anyone except for himself. His attitude got so bad that after a few years Rich couldn’t handle it anymore and gave Trace an ultimatum to which he responded with moving out. This allowed him to spend more time on the streets hustling people out of money, robbing people of their earned money and selling drugs to make his own money. His ranks rose in his gang the better he got at being a thug but nothing escalated him higher than when he was shot.

Trace was 24 and things in his life were going smoothly, he was running with his gang daily and he was even maintaining a cover by working with his pseudo parents, Tonya and Cliff at their diner. He knew they knew what he was up to, but so long as he kept things separate from the diner and from his family, they chose not to talk to him about it. They had already tried and had gotten nowhere so they figured at least during the day he was being productive. At night however was a different story and Trace was neck deep in his gang's dealings as he actually had a brain and could use it. It was just a routine drug exchange when suddenly things went sour and shots were fired. Trace thought he was home free, two footsteps from rounding a corner, when he was shot twice from behind.

The ordeal not only had his family all suddenly telling him how dangerous the life he was leading was but had him actually listening. He told them that it was done and he was through with it. He wanted to get out of Chicago finally and start his life someplace far away. Tonya and Cliff had family in New Orleans and so it was agreed he was to pack his things and go live with his aunt. The big moving day came once he was cleared to leave the hospital and just as he was ready to go, a surprise visit at his apartment halted him.

He may have been ready to forget the gang but they hadn't forgotten about him and they weren't about to let him just leave them with knowledge of their inner workings. Trace protested and ended up getting a beating his body wasn't ready for. He managed to survive it but he still was leaving town, but this time he was to report to the New York branch of their gang. If he didn't, he would be tracked down or his family would pay the price. Agreeing, to spare his life as well as he lives of his family, he moved to New York to live with his aunt and to continue running the streets for his gang.

His move to New York didn’t seem to be as easy as he thought giving that his aunt was more on the richer side of the family. He’d never really known her status when she would come visit him in Chicago but as he was forced to move into her house in Tarrytown, he learned that he wasn’t quite cut out to live in such affluent surroundings. It was also obvious that his aunt was aware of what he was doing and didn’t approve but she seemed to overlook it, since he was family and simply couldn’t turn him away as tempting of an idea it may have seemed. So instead she welcomed him with open arms so long as he promised to seek an actual job and Trace agreed to do so, especially after learning that the commute to the inner city seemed to drain more from him than he was making on the streets. However, for the time being, he’s content to simply explore the city and get to know his surroundings.