In the normal course of things, small towns like Grant, Florida are wonderful communities where neighbors help each other out and all the kids know each other. Then again, they're also the types of places where everyone knows each others business and mistakes are remembered in a collective sense for years after the offense has been committed. No one could tell you this better than Michelle Tennant, the town wild child who got knocked up by a traveling salesman at the age of sixteen. Of course, such situations had happened before, the town biddies could tell you all about them, but this one was different. Because this teenager didn't bow her head in shame and run off to some relatives house until the kid was born. Nor did she give it up for adoption, nope. Instead she dealt with being disowned by her parents, who accused her of bringing shame upon the family, and moved out. The town, while properly scandalized, wasn't going to let the pregnant teen starve, so the diner owner gave her a job and a set of rooms above the diner. Thus Prudence Tennant came into the world on March 11th, 1991 and instantly was a community black sheep with her mother.
Not that the innocent little girl ever had to come to terms with this title. It wasn't that Michelle didn't try, but she was young and not ready for a kid. Shortly before Pru's second birthday, her mom packed two bags, one for each of them. She left one with Pru on her parents doorstep and took the other with her, disappearing from Grant and her daughters life forever more. Imagine the surprise on Mr. and Mrs. Tennant's face when the woke up to a note and a grandchild on the porch, neither of which they wanted. Within three months, they'd given up all rights to her and left her in the hands of the state. To a life within the precarious foster child system of Florida state.
At first things seemed to be working out well for the little girl. A loving home was found for her with a middle aged married couple who'd always wanted kids. They showered Pru with love and attention. Within a couple of months, she'd completely adjusted to her new life and was opening up. She was to live with these same people until she was six years old, when they filed for divorce and turned her back over to the state. That's when she hit the full inadequacy of the system. The older the kids got, the harder it was to find homes for them. Situations arose with the kids or the caregivers, sometimes things couldn't be worked out. Never again was Pru to stay so settled as she was bounced around Florida, into single homes or group homes, whichever was open. Sadly, no matter how hard she tried, the homes never lasted more than two years and some of them barely six months.
If asked, and she has been before, she could easily tell you her favorite home. When she was fourteen, she was stationed at a group ranch home not far from Jacksonville. This was where she first encountered horses, and for Pru, it was love at first sight. Unlike some of the other girls, she never flinched at mucking out the stalls or any other chore. She thought it was well worth it to be able to pet and ride the large beasts. Chances are, she would've lived at the ranch until she was 18 happily, if it hadn't been for one of the other girls deciding to hate her. The two got into one too many fights and both were sent away from the ranch, a place only well-behaved children got to live. Thus, at the age of sixteen, she moved to Tegesta. Here she intended to keep her head down and her behavior in check so she could graduate with friends. Alas, this didn't help are half-way through her senior year, her foster mom was diagnosed with cancer and withdrew as a foster parents to care for herself. So once again, Pru was torn from all her friends and sent off. The only positive part was the lack of steady socialization meant she was able to spend a lot of time studying and she had high grades. The downfall was she never learned how to open up, beyond one or two people.
High school graduation brought two things. One, release from the foster care system. Now she was an adult and could settle where she wanted. She could actually stay put. The second was a letter of acceptance and a scholarship to UC Berkley. Not only was she being given freedom, she was being given a way beyond the mediocre life she'd always thought she'd have. So she stayed with a friend for a month or so before flying out to California where she lives now in a female only dormitory building on the Berkley campus where she's studying Environmental Sciences and working at a semi-nearby stable, giving riding lessons and caring for other peoples horses because she can't afford her own.
( Quickfacts )