What's in a Name?

Kip Zertuche

Kip Zertuche- English, Scottish, and Welsh (mother); Mexican (father); Kip Zertuche is the charming, yet deceitful substitute English teacher and journalism instructor who serves as Mrs. Schneider's replacement during her maternity leave midway throughout the eighth-grade school year. He projects himself as an earnest, humble man through an unpresuming façade and appears to form a special bond with the often timid and insecure Millicent Yates, whom he targets for her social naivety and innocence. He has a mature-looking appearance and seems to be around his mid-30s, with a tall stature at 6 ft. 3 in., soft, thick black hair that is occasionally worn slicked back, fair skin, and brown eyes that often appear impassioned and seductive. A master manipulator, he is a predator who often approaches young female students whom appear needy or lack self-assurance. Mr. Zertuche often tries to endear himself to them through false empathy and lavish amounts of flattery, often correlating the insecurities of the young girls he encounters with his own. Despite appearing sweet-natured and honest, he is a lecherous man who attempts to seduce his young targets by isolating them into individual relationships with him after gaining their trust, before proceeding to sexualize the bond between them. He quickly established a connection with Millicent through their mutual interest in writing and journalism, claiming to have been a former sports reporter with an interest in digital media. She then developed a strong admiration for him due to his intelligence and candor during class discussions, and she rapidly became a favorite student of his. Mr. Zertuche is a libertarian and oftentimes portrayed to be a terrible influence as a father, teaching his son to con others while also being harshly critical of him all the time. 

He has difficulty remembering names, initially referring to his child by amalgamations of his name, although he eventually gets the hang of it. It is currently unknown which states of America he is banned from or why he is banned, as he may possibly have failed to pay off a debt, and he was affiliated with an organization called Order of the Fang. He is often described as a swindler who owns a Mazda and tends to wear a cream polo with gray khakis and a pair of brown sneakers. Millicent saw many of her insecurities reflected in Mr. Zertuche after he enticed her with personal stories of having been bullied repeatedly throughout high school due to his then skinny appearance and unconfident personality. He likewise portrayed himself as an inexperienced man with limited luck in pursuing romantic relationships, with a love for Paulina Rubio, micheladas, and Freebirds World Burrito. He twisted the truth about his age, describing himself as a single, virginal 25-year-old man whom had never previously had a sexual encounter with a woman to ingratiate himself to and better appease Millicent. Additionally, Mr. Zertuche falsely depicted himself as a male feminist who believed in empowering women and characterized himself as being "kind, yet blunt and strong-willed when needed to be", appearing very much to be the answer to the lonely Millicent's prayers. Upon exchanging numbers and forming a secret friendship, his and Millicent's bond quickly intensified and became inappropriate after he chose to send sexually explicit messages. He would reach out to her via frequent texts at different hours of the day and continuously pushed her boundaries, much to her discomfort. He charmed her into seeing him as a faithful person with genuine intentions after she decided to disclose aspects of her life. Among these things were her disillusionment regarding her relationship with her father, a pastor with whom she had never developed much of a connection. 

Millicent, who was perpetually in a brown sweater and had a copy of the 10 commandments also revealed her negative self-image, insecurities with her body, and social struggles at school. Taking advantage of her vulnerability, Mr. Zertuche inconspicuously texted her an image of his private area, wanting validation that "it was big enough". He has an OnlyFans account and would consistently attempt to lure an often reluctant Millicent into accessing the website via a mobile browser. He then began leaving sporadic messages on her phone intended to "better improve her self-esteem issues", offering her reassurance on her physical appearance. Although she refused to send him pictures of herself and felt uncertain during their interactions, Millicent was entranced by his kind, flattering words. His false intellectual persona trapped her in a toxic relationship with him, during which she would confide her troubles and seek reaffirmations from him. He often focused special, undivided attention towards her during and after classes, causing her best friend Cody Szozda to become concerned about the nature of their relationship. He had quietly voiced her suspicions to the school's principal after witnessing their substitute teacher caressing Millicent's shoulder, meanwhile Mr. Zertuche quickly cut off all ties with his student after being caught and never gave an explanation. It was later discovered that he shared an infant son with Phyllis Trujillo, a patient care technician who had brown hair and was nicely stacked, but "more handsome than pretty". This placed a temporary strain on her bond with Cody after her teacher was dismissed from his position and further investigated by the school board. Wendy Nowak describes him as having a "radio announcer's voice and politician's smile" and refers to him as The Chatubator. She classified him in this way due to his tendency to lure unassuming girls into engaging in indecent activities, such as sexting with him. 

Mr. Zertuche watches Univision and claims that his father was a rabid Orioles fan, resulting in his brief hatred of team sports since his efforts were never good enough for him. He fell for a blue-eyed woman with long, straight brown hair and curtain bangs named Yocelyn in Acapulco, who was medium height and weight but a bit top-heavy. It is often rumored that he spent about two months of his life stranded in Mexico, with his only real tool being a pumice stone. He formerly taught sixth grade inside of a wooden trailer that was poorly air-conditioned, and he ended up turning down the thermostat from the high 70s to the high 60s. Mr. Zertuche invented a high-speed vehicle that he built to put airplane companies out of business, but his plan was shut down by the government due to airports losing money. Phyllis frequently tries to help him with his mental health problems, going as far as to track down and visit his family to intervene and "save his life", describing herself as his therapist. Even outside of school grounds, he is still referred to by almost everyone as "Mr. Zertuche" rather than Kip, which is his first name. He was a very nervous child, and aside from his verbal tics, he tended to tap his knuckles together and behave quite anxiously, shaking profusely and jumping when talked to. Mr. Zertuche had rather bizzare views from a young age, feeling unloved by his father during the times he would not molest him back in Cumberland, Maryland. He knew about many cases of child molestation and saw it as a form of love and compassion, but never viewed it as a disturbing crime. One of these incidents took place on a boat when he was 6, after which the psychologist assigned to him while he was behind bars asked him how everything occurred. He once kept a girl's size 6 Buster Brown cotton undies with lace-trimmed legs when he was too shy to return them in the 2nd grade.

Millicent later sees a counselor at her parents' insistence after notoriously bonding with her corrupt former substitute teacher. She realizes that he delighted in serially targeting girls he deemed as young, insecure, and impressionable while pushing their boundaries in uncomfortable ways. She is happier upon moving in with her aunt Ida, who takes her in and and challenges her parents' views on homosexuality by emphasizing God's core values of unconditional love. She also benefits from receiving sessions of EMDR and manages to put her painful memories aside and make sense of everything that has happened. Besides Millicent herself, Mr. Zertuche has displayed suggestive behavior towards Desirae Sweeney, a young biracial girl and fellow middle schooler in the eighth grade. He also acted provocatively around Dhriti, an adopted Indian student in the sixth grade who was Alec Buckley's sister and actively spoke up against him, alongside Wendy. He has watched pee porn and is charged with animal cruelty as well when it is discovered that he has accessed videos and saved multiple images featuring beastiality in his devices. He serves a 10 year prison sentence after being found guilty during a court hearing and is labeled as a registered sex offender. Mr. Zertuche shared home with Phyllis had very modern furnishings that were "IKEA-like", and they were budget-conscious, with a guest room and a daybed in the little home office off the living room. Since he was now taken, his sister and her 3 friends, who were clueless had sung a funny version of "The Man I Love" at his reception, which was held at a hotel in Bethesda, Maryland. He moves to Round Rock, Texas once his partner leaves him, with her returning to him all of their mementos in the form of a birthday present. This includes a torn photo, one of his shirts, half a bottle of perfume, a book of poems, a radio, a toy yacht, leather gloves, earrings, a Swatch watch, a camera, a dried rose, and a sweater. ESTP 3w4