“ My mom's a bitch, my dad shot himself, my life sucks, and my brother's on a watchlist.
—Nicole, Class of '09: The Re-Up
Nicole is a nihilistic and sociopathic high school student. She is one of the protagonists in the Class of '09 Games.
Overview
Appearance
Nicole has pale skin, dark brown hair tied up in a high ponytail, and blue eyes. She is usually seen wearing blue and/or black clothing and skinny jeans. Her style is sometimes described as emo (as mentioned by Jecka), although generally tamer than the actual 2000s fashion. She is also seen wearing chipped black nail polish and having self-harm scars on her wrist in an illustration.
She has a slim and great body according to her friends and the teenage boys at her high school. She is commonly described as very beautiful, and she uses her looks to manipulate people. She's approximately 5'5" tall, as shown in the chlorine bomb ending.
In the anime, she is depicted with the same general appearance, albeit with a somewhat longer and more voluminous ponytail, and with notably shorter front sidelocks.
Personality
Nicole is a girl with sociopathic tendencies. She has a habit of manipulating people's emotions, either to escape situations or for the thrill of control. Despite this, Nicole does not fully fit the definition of a sociopath—by nature, sociopaths are incapable of empathy or strong emotions. Nicole, on the other hand, demonstrates some moments of genuine care without any benefit to herself.
Her upbringing likely shaped her personality, marked by frequent moving, a lonely childhood, divorced parents, and the trauma of discovering her father’s death, which could have been her breaking point.
Nicole is known for her crude language, quick wit, and sharp, intelligent comebacks. She is brutally honest, often turning serious situations into jokes with her dark, edgy humor. Desensitized to violence, she frequently lies, gossips, and manipulates others.
While she abandons morals for personal gain and can ruin lives without remorse, Nicole is not physically aggressive and seeks help when threatened as it is implied that she isn't a great fighter in the original game by herself and by the fact she's seen seeking help when threatened. Still, she often resorts to threats when angry or provoked.
Despite this, she possesses some form of moral code, though it is pretty self-centered and selective. She often expresses her hatred for pedophiles, sexual harassers, and rapists, and is purposely cold or vindictive to men.
Similar views are also shared by Jecka, though to a lesser degree. Although occasionally referring to herself as straight, Nicole is shown to despise men, her few genuine relationships being exclusively women, especially Jecka.
Story
Nicole grew up all over coastal America. Her parents divorced when she was very young. Following this event, her mom gained custody, and went through a large amount of marriages and divorces, forcing Nicole to constantly relocate. This left her unable to stay in one place long enough to form friendships, isolating her.
Things changed for Nicole when she entered high school: for the first time, she spent two consecutive years in the same place and school, which, along with her hitting puberty, allowed her to make friends and become popular. Unfortunately, Nicole's happiness was cut short when she got told she had to move out and start over again due to her brother getting the family evicted.
Nicole became extremely upset with the news, and decided to go over to her dad's house hoping she could live with him instead. However, as she entered, she found out that he had shot himself and left a note blaming her for his suicide. This event traumatized her, and when moving out with her mother as originally planned, she turned into the cruel girl we see in the games.
Associates
Jecka
Jecka is Nicole's best friend throughout both games. The way the two girls meet for the first time depends on the player's choices, but no matter the route taken they quickly establish a strong bond and become virtually inseparable. Jecka usually supports Nicole and shares some odd morals similar to hers, but is also often depicted as the reasonable one in the duo, having no problem telling her off or scolding her when she goes too far. For example, she shows disapproval of Nicole's behavior towards Ari, and gets very upset to the point of cutting her off when she tries to rationalize selling street drugs.
Jecka's loyalty towards Nicole is depicted differently based on the route taken by the player; she is shown to agree to help Nicole break into the school to destroy the dark room, or accompany her to Ari's house despite the danger associated with the Straight Pride club, for example. But cracks in their relationship are revealed in other routes, such as when Jecka refuses to help a homeless Nicole, straining their friendship for good, despite Jecka's later remorse. Nicole also lets down Jecka to a lesser degree in another route, coercing her to flirt with her brother.
Despite these challenges and their occasional banter, the two girls genuinely care about and love each other. This is particularly highlighted in the same route, where Nicole purposefully subjects herself to daily detention with the counselor and Jeffrey, both of whom she despises, to allow Jecka to smoke freely outside the school as a way to apologize for her past actions. This act of friendship leaves both of them emotional, Jecka stating that it's the nicest thing anyone ever did for her.
Emily
The Content below contains Sensitive Topics.
Emily is arguably the second-closest friend to Nicole, occasionally even assuming the role of Nicole's best friend. Their relationship is consistently friendly, as shown in instances like their collaborative improvisation during drama class, but its depth varies depending on the route taken. In some cases, Emily is portrayed as a somewhat toxic friend or influence, with instances where Emily is encouraging Nicole to sell her body or form a suicide pact with her. In this particular route, Emily develops a profoundly unhealthy attachment to Nicole, expressing a desire to die alongside her and hinting at romantic feelings. These feelings are later confirmed in the ending, where it is revealed that Emily confessed her love for Nicole by sending her a text before taking her own life.
Nicole also seems to admire Emily in some ways, being seemingly jealous of her being more "trashy" than her and describing her as very beautiful during a discussion with Jecka. At the end of Emily's route, Nicole refers to Emily as being a "hotter bitch than her".
Ari
Ari is usually a neutral if not friendly party, except for one route where she confides in Nicole about her homosexuality. Nicole unintentionally becomes a source of support, helping Ari accept herself, leading the latter to develop romantic feelings for Nicole. Unfortunately, their relationship is based on toxicity and is ultimately doomed. Nicole does not reciprocate Ari's feelings, leading to two possible outcomes: either Nicole agrees to date her and ends up emotionally abusing her, or she rejects Ari, resulting in Nicole becoming a school outcast and, in the end, being coerced into an unhealthy relationship with Ari, whose idea of love became distorted due to Nicole's primary rejection.
Nicole's Mother
Nicole's unnamed mother is despised by her daughter for getting in her way and for refusing to listen, as stated in the intro of the Re-Up. She is mostly depicted as a bad or even abusive parental figure, and is implied to have drug problems. Throughout the narrative, she gives advice that enables Nicole's inability to stand up for herself, and is shown to yell at and not believe Nicole when she faces abuse. In one route, she evicts her daughter after she gets expelled from school, rendering her homeless, despite enabling her older, jobless brother. Furthermore, she is capable of physical violence, as indicated in the statewide expulsion ending.
Despite these negative aspects, there are glimpses of maternal concern. In one route, she believes and worries about Nicole, attempting to comfort her when Nicole falsely accuses Mr. White of sexual assault. However, the complexity of their relationship is underscored by the mother's erratic behavior.
In the Re-Up, it is possible for Nicole's mother to suffer a fatal heart attack. Nicole initially appears distressed at her mother's collapse but eventually becomes rather indifferent in the following weeks.
Nicole's Brother
Nicole is shown to hate her brother, as he represents everything she despises; a greedy, lazy man-child with predatory tendencies. He is also the source of significant problems in Nicole's life, as his music piracy forced the family to move out from an environment she was just beginning to adapt to. Nicole describes her brother as an "obese monster", and their interactions are never genuine, as Nicole's responses either attempt to get him arrested or verbally fight with him.
Kylar
Kylar and Nicole share a complex relationship marked by his erratic behavior, frequent misogynistic insults, and occasional physical threats towards her. Simultaneously, Kylar consistently demonstrates an interest in Nicole, though it tends to be mostly sexual in nature, as he usually objectifies women and is shown to be very angry at Nicole for not sleeping with him in the suicide ending.
However, their dynamic greatly differs if Nicole accepts Kylar's invitation in P.E. class and visits his house. In this scenario, Kylar ends up developing genuine romantic feelings for her, going as far as jumping off the school rooftop as a display of love and dying in the process.
Kylar is also seen selling or providing drugs to Nicole on multiple occasions, most notably Percocet.
Jeffery
Jeffery appears outwardly friendly towards Nicole, but she holds a very negative view of him, placing him at the lowest part of the high school social ladder. At best, Nicole simply ignores Jeffery, and at her lowest, she verbally berates him for merely existing. Despite Nicole's unresponsive or hostile attitude, he is often seen attempting to engage in a conversation with her.
Jeffery can develop more sinister feelings towards Nicole, such as blaming her for his school mass shooting if she reveals secrets about his sexual preferences. In the suicide ending, he also becomes angry at Nicole for not sleeping with him, despite her accepting his offers to hang out. This darker side of Jeffery's character is further revealed in the bonus messages of the original game. These messages reveal Jeffery's deep resentment towards Nicole and other girls in the school, viewing them as "socially spoiled".
Crispin
Crispin is the first boy Nicole interacts with in the original game, offering to be a school tour guide for her. Similar to many other boys, Crispin is attracted to Nicole and attempts to flirt and engage in conversations with her, with no success. His approach involves trying to delve into Nicole's "deeper" side, claiming that he can perceive her inner pain and that she's "special".
However, Crispin's true nature emerges when he proceeds to send explicit pictures to Nicole, interpreting a vulnerable one-sided conversation as an invitation to do so. In this scenario, Nicole has the option to publicly share the pictures, destroying Crispin's reputation and their relationship. Other instances show Crispin taking Nicole to see cover band concerts, an event that becomes so recurrent and painful for Nicole that she has the option to commit suicide in the game.
Hunter
Hunter has a generally chill, gullible attitude towards anyone, but this demeanor takes a significant turn in one particular route when Nicole seeks revenge on his girlfriend, Megan. In this scenario, Hunter is seduced by Nicole and begins to cheat on Megan by sending explicit pictures to Nicole, resulting in Megan experiencing public humiliation and emotional pain.
Despite Hunter only being a pawn in her revenge plan, it is revealed in the bonus messages that his feelings for Nicole were genuine and not only sexual in nature. He expresses a desire for their relationship to continue and goes as far as affirming that Nicole is a good person despite her questionable actions.
Others
Nicole is naturally predisposed to despise all of the school's faculty. This includes Principal Lynn, Coach Colby, the Counselor, and almost every other teacher in the game. Because the faculty fosters and upkeeps the exact patriarchy that Nicole despises, and because most of the male faculty are sexually attracted to her and act this way around her, she rarely gives it any respect. The only ending in which we see Nicole have a positive interaction with a faculty member is the ending where Miss Lynn is fired after Nicole calls out the school during graduation for neglecting and abusing its students. After Nicole's conversation with Miss Lynn, she actually heeds some of her advice in what is probably the most positive ending in the game.
Trivia
- It is heavily implied that Nicole might be sapphic.
- She doesn't oppose the idea of being "sexed up abusive lesbians" with Jecka, goes out with Ari, and even says that her crush is "any girl who lets her beat the shit out of her".
- She jokingly told Trody that her last name was "Yu", her actual last name is still unknown.
- In The Re-Up, Ms. Ames states that Nicole has a 1.1 GPA.
- Her favorite singer is Marilyn Manson.[1]
- She secretly watches Mythbusters.
- In the Re-Up, she states that she prefers her pizza cold, as "hot pizza is just grease".
- Because of her room background, it is possible she plays acoustic guitar.
- Nicole used to like video games, but most likely due to her being aware of her sociopathy, she no longer enjoys them.
- Nicole has made 3 boys (counting Kylar in specific routes) commit suicide for her.
- SBN3 released a Nicole Plush on May 24, 2025, costing $28.[2][3][4]
Gallery
- View: Nicole/Gallery