CHARACTERS

JACKSON SOSA, 18

Jackson Sosa is the leader of the group, the kind of presence you feel before you even see him. With his leather jacket, dark tousled hair, and a gaze that holds more than it gives away, he carries a quiet confidence that makes people take notice. He doesn’t chase popularity, but it finds him anyway. To the outside world, he seems untouchable, cool, composed, above it all. But underneath, there’s a boy carrying too much. He’s fiercely loyal, especially to Colin, who’s more than a friend, he’s family. Jackson would burn evidence and lie to a cop if it meant protecting the people he loves. But there’s a restlessness in him too, a storm just under the surface. Guilt, grief, confusion about who he is and what he’s done. With Alice, something shifts. She sees through the performance. And with her, Jackson starts to question if the person he’s pretending to be is who he really is, or if it’s just who he had to become to survive.

COLIN DAWSON, 17

Colin Dawson is therein and the heart of The Monster’s Club, though he doesn’t always see it. He’s thoughtful, book-smart, and deeply sensitive, the kind of kid who notices everything and carries it all like it’s his responsibility to fix. He’s often the one thinking ahead, asking questions no one else dares to, or standing still while others rush into the dark. But there’s more to him than caution. Beneath his quiet, nerdy surface is someone grappling with growing anger, confusion, and a deep hunger for truth, even if it breaks everything. He doesn’t have Jackson’s effortless charm or Dumpster’s reckless flair, but he’s the one people turn to when things fall apart. Colin feels things harder, deeper, and sometimes that becomes his weakness. But it’s also his strength. His relationship with Charlotte cracks something open in him, a longing to be seen not just as the careful one, but as someone worth choosing. And as the story unfolds, he’s forced to reckon with the fact that doing the right thing isn’t always clear, especially when the people you love are on the line.

ERIK "DUMPSTER" NIELSEN,17

Erik "Dumpster" Nielsen is the spark of the group. He’s the unpredictable soul, the one who disrupts tension with a joke, or diffuses anger with a weird fact about frogs or space. Dumpster isn’t afraid to be different, in fact, he embraces it. He’s loud, loyal, and strange in all the right ways, constantly toeing the line between comic relief and emotional anchor. People might underestimate him, but he’s more aware than he lets on. He picks up on shifts in the group, and his instincts about people are often right , even if he pretends not to care. He doesn't open up about his struggles.

He earned the nickname "Dumpster" in second grade after getting caught eating a half-wrapped muffin out of a trash bin. He didn’t care, he owned it. And that’s who he is. Unapologetically himself.

He and his twin sister Alice were adopted by Kristin and Paul when they were two. In 1994, the family moved from Boston to Severdeen, California. Alice is more grounded, popular, and athletic, while Dumpster is chaotic charm in motion. He always wears jumpsuits, even though he’s not remotely sporty.

Dumpster isn’t the leader or the planner, but he’s the glue. The one who makes things feel normal, even when they’re not. And when things fall apart, his absence is the one that lingers the most.

ALICE NIELSEN,17

Alice Nielsen is sharp-eyed and sharper-willed. There’s a quiet power to her, not flashy, not loud, just steady, observant, and impossible to fool. She grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, with her twin brother Dumpster, after they were adopted by Kristin and Paul at the age of two. Half Taiwanese and half American, Alice has always carried herself with quiet confidence. She’s more socially attuned than her brother, effortlessly navigating high school’s shifting dynamics, and her spot on the volleyball team only reinforces her presence.

With Jackson, her guard begins to falter. She’s not someone who falls easily, but he sees through her silences. Their connection builds slowly, through tension and unsaid things, each glance heavier than the last. Alice isn’t afraid of intimacy, but she’s cautious, always calculating what’s worth the risk.

Her journey in The Monster’s Club is about control, identity, and vulnerability. She’s caught between who she’s always been and who she might become, and for once, she’s ready to let herself feel without needing to have all the answers.

CHARLOTTE JONES,17

Charlotte Jones walks through life like she’s daring it to stop her. With her dyed hair, sharp eyeliner, and chipped black nail polish, she stands out in every room without even trying. She’s bold, opinionated, and unapologetically herself, never the type to ask for permission or forgiveness.

She lives with her younger brother Jimmy, a freshman in high school, and their mother, who’s often unreliable due to drug use. Her dad lives in England. He calls, he checks in, and while he’s not physically there, he tries. More than her mom ever does. Charlotte has had to grow up too fast, learning how to take care of Jimmy and herself without depending on anyone. That independence hardened her, but also gave her a sharp sense of humor and a strong sense of justice.

She plays the piano. She’s experienced, emotionally and physically, but underneath the sarcasm and bravado, there’s a part of her that still wants to feel safe, to be wanted without needing to earn it. She doesn’t let many people close, but when she does, she’s all in. With Colin, especially, she lets her guard drop in quiet moments, even if she’d never admit it out loud.

Charlotte doesn’t do halfway. She either cares deeply or doesn’t care at all. And when things fall apart around her, she’s the kind of girl who will light a cigarette, wipe her tears, and keep walking like nothing happened.

CASSANDRA SOSA, 36

Cassandra Sosa is a survivor in every sense of the word. A Mexican woman who got pregnant at 17 and gave birth to her son Jackson at 18, she’s spent her adult life navigating motherhood, regret, and resilience with quiet strength. She raised Jackson alone, giving him her surname when his father, Connor, disappeared when she got pregnant. Despite the odds, she built a life for herself, steady, grounded, and fiercely loyal to her son. Their bond is close, almost like siblings.

One of the few people who’s walked beside her through it all is Dana Dawson, her best friend and the kind of woman who feels like home. They’ve leaned on each other for years, through sleepless nights, difficult choices, raising boys who feel more like brothers than friends. Dana trusts her with everything. And that’s what makes Cassandra’s secret so devastating.

She’s in a secret relationship with Ray, Dana’s husband and Colin’s father.

It wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t planned. But something about Ray’s presence chipped away at her walls. He saw her, really saw her, in a way no one had in years. And she let him in. What began as quiet conversations and late-night tension became something physical, then emotional, and now, something neither of them can seem to undo.

Cassandra carries the guilt every day, not just for betraying her best friend, but for risking everything she’s worked so hard to protect. And deep down, she knows: if the truth comes out, she won’t just lose Dana. She’ll lose Jackson too.

RAY DAWSON, 43

Ray Dawson is the kind of man people trust without question — steady, composed, a natural leader. He’s the neighborhood dad who fixes bikes, hosts barbecues, and gives advice that sounds good even when he’s not sure he believes it himself. On paper, he has everything: a wife, a son, a home. But Ray’s life hasn’t been honest for a long time.

He’s been in love with Cassandra Sosa for years.

It started quietly. Glances that lingered too long. Conversations that went too deep. And then one night, it became more than that, a line crossed that neither of them could walk back. Now he’s caught between two lives: the one he’s built with Dana, his loyal and devoted wife, and the one he secretly imagines with Cassandra.

Ray doesn’t think of himself as a bad man, but he knows what he’s doing is wrong. He’s not blind to the weight of it, not to the damage it could cause, especially to Colin, his son, and Jackson, Cassandra’s. The boys are close, almost like brothers. And Ray knows that if the truth ever surfaced, it would break more than hearts. It would shatter everything.

But still, he goes back to Cassandra. Again and again. Because with her, he feels something he doesn’t feel anywhere else, a version of himself that isn’t worn down or invisible. A man who’s wanted, not just needed. And maybe that’s selfish. But maybe, to him, it also feels like the first real thing he’s had in years.

KRISTIN AND PAUL NIELSEN 37 and 42

Kristin and Paul Nielsen are the adoptive parents of Erik (“Dumpster”) and Alice. Warm, open-hearted, and unconventional in their parenting, they’ve built a household where curiosity is encouraged and identity is never questioned. They adopted the twins when they were just two years old and relocated from Boston to Severdeen, California, in 1994, determined to give them a life that felt rooted, supported, and full of possibility.

Kristin is a high school art teacher with a dry sense of humor and a deep emotional intelligence. She’s the kind of mom who sees what her kids don’t say and gives them space to figure it out themselves. Paul, on the other hand, works in tech and approaches life with quiet calm and soft structure. He’s more introverted, but incredibly present, and shares a close bond with Alice, who inherited some of his quiet focus.

Though they’ve always treated Alice and Dumpster as their own, they’ve never shied away from talking about the adoption. For them, love wasn’t something that needed to be proven, it was something built over years of late-night talks, birthday pancakes, scraped knees, and hard conversations. They understand that raising teenagers means letting go while still being there when it matters. And even if they don’t always understand Dumpster’s quirks or Alice’s silence, they let them be who they are, weird, complicated, emotional, and love them fiercely through it all.

BECKY HALE, 17

Becky Hale is the kind of girl people notice. Confident, sharp, always dressed like she has something to prove. She presents herself with intention, not because she needs to, but because it’s her way of staying in control. On the surface, she’s everything high school teaches you to admire: popular, composed, effortlessly bold. But beneath it, Becky is still figuring out who she is when no one’s watching.

She used to date Jackson Sosa, and for a while, they were the power couple, or at least it looked that way. But whatever they had burned fast and left something bitter behind. Maybe it was always more physical than real. Maybe she knew, deep down, that his heart wasn’t really in it. That it had already started drifting toward someone else.

Becky cheated on Jackson with Harry, and that’s what ended things between them. She might act like it didn’t mean much, like Harry was just a distraction, but part of her knew exactly what she was doing. And part of her regrets it.

She acts like nothing gets to her, but she's more sensitive than she lets on. She’s jealous, even if she doesn’t say it, especially when it comes to Alice. She sees the way Jackson looks at her. The softness in his eyes that Becky never got. And it stings.

She’s not the villain of the story. She’s just a girl trying not to lose her place in a world that moves too fast, where the rules keep changing and the people she thought she understood are suddenly different. Becky is messy, yes, but she’s also human. And sometimes that’s harder to live with than anything else.

HARRY, 18

Harry thrives where there’s tension. He’s the type who doesn’t just walk into drama, he stirs it. Not overtly, not the kind that screams for attention, but with a well-timed smirk, a comment just quiet enough to linger. He likes being in control, not just of the room, but of the story. And if he’s not the main character, he’ll make sure people talk about him anyway.

He knew exactly what he was doing with Becky. She was vulnerable, frustrated, already halfway out of her relationship with Jackson. Harry didn’t trip into it. He leaned in. He saw an opportunity and took it. Not because he loved Becky, he didn’t, but because he could. That’s how he operates. He pushes buttons, crosses lines, and pretends it’s all just a joke when things blow up.

He’s magnetic, the kind of guy people either want to be or want to stay away from. He can charm anyone in seconds and ruin someone’s night just as fast. He doesn’t care about the fallout — that’s where he finds the fun. He’s the kind of presence that makes everything feel just a little unstable.

Harry isn’t a villain in the traditional sense. But he enjoys power. And he knows sometimes the easiest way to get it is by setting someone else’s world on fire.

EIBO DAWSON, 8

Eibo is Colin’s younger sister, just eight years old, but full of sharp observations and even sharper comebacks. She’s sassy, quick-witted, and never afraid to speak her mind, even when it gets her in trouble. She’s not part of the group in the official sense, but she’s always hovering nearby, watching and listening more than they realize.

She has a soft spot for Dumpster and thinks Alice is the coolest girl she’s ever met. But Colin is her person. Her safe place. She annoys him sometimes, sure, but she also worships him in her own snarky way.

Eibo might be young, but she picks up on the tension around her like a radio tuned to every frequency. She sees the way things shift, the way voices drop and eyes dart. And she doesn’t let much slide.

She’s the kid you underestimate until she’s the one telling the truth nobody else wants to say out loud. And she’s just getting started.