Meg Daniels was always an introvert, even as a child. She seemed friendly enough if she got to know someone, but she never initiated the encounter. It always had to be someone else who did. 

Her parents, Leo and Michelle Daniels, were Alphas in every sense of the word. Both would have been around 6’ before taking the formula. Now they stood nearly double that. And their attitude matched their immense size. To them, all they had to do was take what they wanted. Betas were unable to stop them, and the laws were being changed to benefit Alphas above all else. 

So to them, Betas were as insignificant as newborns. 

Meg loved her parents to death, but she grew to hate their attitude towards Betas. She had experienced it. She had hung around a group of kids in grade school that all took the formula. And she saw that as they grew taller than the kids who didn’t take it, their attitudes became more aggressive. So Meg drifted away from that group, preferring to keep by herself.

Occasionally she would strike up a friendship with a Beta, but her mom usually put her foot down, and the friendship would end. And if Meg liked a Beta boy, it was even worse. She suspected that on a couple of occasions that her mom visited the boy’s dad, and let him know that his son wasn’t good enough for her daughter. And if the dad objected, well she could only guess what her mom did to make him see it her way. So Meg felt that her parents wanted to pick her friends for her, and anyone who they felt was unworthy, or didn’t measure up, was chased off. 

And when her sister, Amanda, was born, Meg was just about to take the formula. And as both girls got older, Meg made sure to protect her sister from her parents’ reprehensible attitudes. So when Amanda turned six, and was about to take the formula, Meg made her promise that she would treat everyone, Alphas and Betas alike, with kindness and respect. She stressed to her sister that as she grew taller, she would also grow stronger, and it was very easy to hurt a smaller Beta without realizing. So Amanda followed Meg’s way in life. 

It was when they moved to Westmont Lake that Meg decided that she would be the one to initiate a friendship. She didn’t think she could do it, until her first of school. Sitting in her seat, she saw this tall, at least for a Beta, handsome boy with shock in his eyes that she correctly guessed was due to the size of the  vehicle, and decided to take a chance and say hi. 

She felt both relieved and happy that she did it, and it also helped that the boy was nice and respectful. So the Beta boy who introduced himself as James Adams became her first true friend. And the more time she spent with him, the more she got to know him. And then she noticed that she was developing strong feelings for him. But her parents would be her biggest obstacle to her happiness.

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Susan Myers was a go getter from an early age with a strong desire to make the lives of everyone she met better. It was just her nature.

Born to Michael and Judith Myers, Susan was a bright, optimistic little girl. Her parents were always kind when dealing with people of all shapes and sizes. Susan watched intently any interaction her parents would have with people, and strived to become like them when she grew up.

When she was six, and old enough for the formula, her parents tried to prepare her as best they could. Her father instilled in her the notion that everyone gets treated the same, whether Alpha or Beta, because there might come a day when her only friends are Betas, and she would need their support to get through troubled times.

So as she grew, Susan took great care in how she treated people. She was, by far, the most popular student in her grade. And she was always willing to help, without question.

So when she started her freshman year in high school, her father got hired by a mining company, she told him that if he ever needed her for anything, she would be there for him. Her father appreciated the offer.

Soon, Susan was in college getting her degree in business and marketing. And when she was off from work, she would go over to her parents’ house and help organize her father’s business planner. 

Her dad grew to depend on that aspect, as it was a weakness of his. And then one day, he decided to offer his daughter a job as both office manager and his assistant. Susan couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with her dad, and immediately said yes.

But her eyes were opened to a stark reality once she started. The Alphas in the office had such contempt for the lone Beta working with them. So Susan made it her mission to change the culture of the office. She realized that it would be easier said then done. 

So she talked to the man. Tom Adams was his name, and he seemed really nice and trustworthy. Anyone that could last over 20 years in a cut throat business like mining must be of high quality. And she silently wondered if her father could use a worker of Tom’s experience and knowledge to help run the business more efficiently. She would have to bring it up to him during her weekly dinner visit.

Meanwhile, her big mission was to see that Tom Adams wasn’t run out of the office by the secretaries. She didn’t know why the one lady went out of her way to make his life miserable, but it seemed that she took some perverse pleasure doing it. 

And Susan felt a little guilty because she couldn’t be in the office all the time, looking after Tom. Her duties meant that she was usually either in Personnel looking over applications or reviewing work histories, or meeting with town officials about something. But she wanted to make sure Tom was safe.