Profile

Jerica Daniela Murphy was born in Roxbury, a neighborhood in Boston, Mass known for its rough side, and considered more of a "hood" than anything else. Her mother, Rachael, was 20 when she became pregnant by an young white man she met on a walk around Jamaica Pond one afternoon. Not even sure of why a good-looking guy from Los Angeles was in a place like Jamaica Plain, she let herself be swept off her feet, only to be left high and dry when she became pregnant. She ended up moving back to an apartment near her family in Roxbury, where Jerica was born, small, but healthy. The very next year, she became pregnant again, this time by her childhood best friend, and the pair married and were happy together when their son was born. Unfortunately, their happiness was not to last, and they split when the kids were 4 and nearly 3 respectively, leaving Rachael a single mother.

Living was a struggle on the very small income Rachael made working as a beautician at the local beauty shop, but she worked hard to make sure her kids were provided for, refusing to go on welfare, as her own mother had done in raising her and her brothers and sisters. When she sought out Jerica's father in hopes of receiving child support, he told her not to ruin his life, and that he had a family of his own to support now, with a son, even showing her a picture of an infant boy. But as it would turn out, he did in fact have a son, but had not seen him since he was born, choosing instead to relocate to Boston to live with his grandparents. Neither Rachael nor Jerica would ever hear from him again, as he once again moved on.

Growing up on the rough side of town, with a mom who worked and family members who cared, but also worked, Jerica learned early in life how to get around the rules just a little too much. At the tender age of thirteen, she was sneaking around with friends, and at fourteen, she briefly ran away from home with two of her friends to a house in Revere, yet another of the shadier sides of the Boston area. The house would turn out to be shared by several drug dealers in the area, who would come there to break big buys into smaller hits to sell. It was there that she met Carlos, a sixteen year old small time pot dealer from East Boston, who, like her was biracial, though his father was African-American like Jerica's mom, and his mother Puerto Rican. He came to the house with his older brothers, who sold much harder drugs, but he ended up spending most of his time chatting up Jerica. The pair hit it off, and despite living a shady way of life, Carlos turned out to be a funny, sweet guy, and Jerica couldn't resist him. Though her mom eventually got in touch and insisted she came home, Jerica gave her contact information to Carlos, who immediately became her boyfriend.

They dated for years, all the way through Jerica's high school years, and Carlos got deeper and deeper into the drug world. Jerica never got hooked on hard drugs herself, but she was known to smoke a bit of weed and occasionally do a hit of X or coke for the sake of partying. She was never forbidden to date Carlos, her mom impressed by his polite nature and charm, and completely unaware of his job. As Carlos came up under the tutelage of his older brother, he began to make better money at what he did, and Jerica, having promised herself that she would never put herself through the hell her mom did, working her ass off just to keep the family fed and housed, was drawn closer, loving that she was taken care of, and always had the nicest of everything.

She and Carlos had gotten an apartment on the South End of Boston when Jerica's whole world came crashing down around her. She was in Roxbury, visiting her mom and brother, when police came to the apartment and took Carlos away. The drugs and firearms found in the apartment were enough to put Carlos away for a very long time, and it was the wakeup call that Jerica needed. Her mom sat with her that night while she cried, lamenting her own bad choices, and the loss of a guy that she did really care about. But she determined then and there that she would never again rely on a partner to support her and take care of her. She was going to take care of herself.

With her heart broken, but her life suddenly put in a stark new perspective, Jerica decided that it was time for her to step out of her comfort zone of Boston and go to New York in search of her own life, and with bits and pieces of information that indicated that her older brother, the one she'd never met, might be there.

Personality

Jerica is the picture of a young Bostonian. She's a huge sports fan (supporting, obviously, all the Boston teams -- hockey, football, basketball, and baseball), loves to party and laugh, and doesn't take herself too seriously. She's not looking for anything serious in the relationship stakes, and she's known to get around sexually. She's extremely artistic, and her style tends to go from a sort of boho, hippie look to a very urban tomboy look. She loves to laugh, and after the hard knocks she's been through, she's come to value the joy in life more than ever, surrounding herself with people who make her laugh. That doesn't mean that all her laughs come easy. She's got a very sarcastic streak, a filthy mouth, and an even filthier sense of humor.

She's definitely a rough and ready kind of girl, always up for a few too many drinks, and she has a smoking habit she's never quite gotten rid of. She's just as much at home at a crowded club dancing her ass off as she is in front of a TV watching a game. She's the kind of person who is fiercely loyal and very protective of the ones she loves, and will do anything to make sure they're safe.

Dream Like New York||dreamlikenewyork

Her move to New York gave Jerica a new start that she's taken full advantage of. She's going to school part time to earn a degree in graphic design, always having been a bit of an artist, but due to money, it's taking just a little longer than it would if she could go to school full time. To make a living, she's a bartender at Luke Jackson's bar, The Bondi. It was there that she met Jazz Lawson, a young lesbian firefighter and fashion blogger when she came to see a show played by her friend, and twin brother to her lesbro, Angel Shaw, who would go on to international pop stardom.

There had never been any question that Jerica was very much bisexual, and when she met Jazz, they hit it off right away. They carry on a very comfortable friends with benefits situation, both of them more than content with how that works for them. At least for now. In her free time, she often frequents a gay bar where she goes to dance with Jazz, or other chicks, depending on the night, and it was there that she made the acquaintance, and eventual friendship of Tyler Peterson, with whom she partied on many occasions, eventually finding themselves very close friends. Jerica's been around drugs enough in her life to recognize when someone has taken them way too far, and she worries about Tyler, often telling him to call her when he gets home so she'll know he's safe, or even hailing the cab herself to make sure he makes it. She fears the day, though, that Tyler, who's about as close as she gets to having a fag to her hag, won't make it home alive.

But until that day, she hasn't given up on him. Anymore than she's given up on any of the people she cares about. Even Carlos remains someone she cares about, though she never sees them dating again. If she's in Boston, she visits him in prison, no questions asked. She's a firm believer that, as long as someone is still living, there is still hope.