Opposite of Always

Kate is Jack’s romantic interest and the most likely reason he becomes caught in a time loop. She’s a first-year student at Whittier University. Jack describes her physical appearance by referring to her as “beautiful, brown, super-tight-curls Kate” (67). Despite her attractiveness, which makes Jack think she’s out of his league, Kate has problems with self-confidence that are similar to Jack’s. When they first meet and Jack playfully teases her for a corny joke in a bad Scottish accent, Kate replies, “I’m a big fan of failing miserably, so I feel pretty good about it” (27). Both Kate and Jack have embraced awkwardness and corniness as part of their identities and a form of self-deprecation that protects them from others’ judgment. When they come together, what could be considered a flaw becomes an asset by giving them something to bond over. It takes pressure off the social situation enough for them to get to know each other and discover a romantic spark.

Kate doesn’t undergo significant change or transformation during the narrative, making her a static character. However, the author portrays her character with depth and complexity. Her experience with a chronic illness and the ways she navigates sickle cell and its debilitating symptoms provide much of this depth. She’s conflicted about revealing her diagnosis to Jack; part of her wants to start a meaningful relationship with him, and the other part is terrified that he’ll treat her differently if he knows her diagnosis. Kate’s internal conflict reflects the desire to be vulnerable with someone while simultaneously wanting to protect oneself from being hurt.

Though Kate’s role is that of Jack’s romantic interest, she isn’t defined solely by her relationship with him. Before he knows about her illness, she tells him: “Man, I just want to live” (32). He assumes she’s talking about living “life to the fullest” (32), but her follow-up—“That too, yeah” (32)—foreshadows her illness. When Jack learns about all Kate goes through due to her sickle cell disease, and about the fact that she could die at this young age, over and over, he suffers too. Their relationship highlights what Loving Someone with a Chronic Illness entails.

Franny—short for Francisco—is one of Jack’s two best friends. The way they became friends in childhood sets the tone for both their close bond and some of the conflicts that arise between them. Jack was being bullied, and Franny, the big, athletic kid, protected him. Jack has always appreciated Franny’s great qualities and been grateful for his friendship, but he’s also felt jealousy and a sense that he couldn’t measure up. As a result, he didn’t say anything about his feelings for Jillian when Franny started dating her. In the present, he betrays Franny in one of the timelines. In addition to betraying Franny with Jillian, Jack also interacts with Franny’s father without Franny’s knowledge. It feels like a betrayal to Franny despite Jack’s good intentions. Both situations create rifts in the friendship, pushing Jack to practice Accountability in Interpersonal Conflict. As a character, Franny teaches Jack the importance of being honest and open with those he loves.

Franny is characterized by his actions, his struggles, and his response to those struggles. Jack notes, “Sometimes I forget how hard Franny has worked. Is still working. Before Jillian started picking him up, he spent forty minutes on the city bus, one way, just to get to school” (50). Franny’s father was in prison most of his childhood, and he was raised in poverty and an unsafe neighborhood by his grandmother. Despite the adversity he faces, Franny maintains a positive attitude. For example, he says, “I’m lucky, though […] A lot of kids in my hood don’t even have one person they can count on” (88). This reveals his characteristic resilience and gratitude for what he has, even when other circumstances are difficult.

Jillian is one of Jack’s two best friends. She was also his romantic interest for several years before the present, though that isn’t the role she plays for most of the novel. Apart from being valedictorian of her graduating class, the novel mainly characterizes Jillian by her interactions with Jack. She places a high value on friendship and loyalty, and she’s willing to vocalize her disappointment when Jack doesn’t live up to these ideals. She expresses her feelings more openly than Jack’s other best friend, which helps demonstrate the various ways Jack must take Accountability in Interpersonal Conflict and apologize for his past behavior to reconcile strained friendship dynamics. Her tendency to express her feelings also helps Jack recognize why conflicts like theirs arise and shows the importance of keeping others’ feelings and perspectives in mind. Jillian’s family situation—her father’s midlife-crisis-induced absence and her mother’s struggle to pay the bills—highlights the struggles with which she must contend. Jack’s growing sensitivity to this fact turns his focus outward and helps him become a better friend and person. In the timeline in which Jillian does become Jack’s romantic partner, the relationship never feels right to him, because she isn’t Kate. This helps Jack understand that he and Kate are meant to be together and solidifies Jillian’s role as a close friend rather than a romantic partner.