kate simone's life wasn't as bad as she likes to claim it was.
born to a middle class family in brooklyn, her parents did the best they could to support their only child. while her clothes were often secondhand, she was well fed and had a warm bed to sleep in each night. what got to her was being mocked by the other students for her clothing and her hair. no matter what she did, they didn't relent, which led to resentment for her parents.
as she grew older, it only got worse, and even though she knew that they were breaking their backs for her, teenage hormones got in the way of logic and led her to call them out. she channeled her feelings into verbal attacks, rebelling in the worst possible way. when her mother, tired from a day of work, slapped her for a particularly crude remark, kate ran.
she lived on the streets of lower manhattan for nearly a year. her parents were just a train ride away, but the stubborn teenager refused to go back home. she didn't know or care if they were looking for her. of course, her time on the streets made her realize just how lucky she had been and how selfish it had been to snap at her parents. too stubborn to admit it, she remained on the streets. she stole from tourists, broke into shops, and became adept at using her pout to get her way.
she was back home before her sixteenth birthday. things were a lot better between her and her parents after that. her resentment was gone, replaced with respect and a desire to become something so that she could get them out of their situation. of course, missing a year of school hadn't done her any favors, and she graduated from high school a year later than she was supposed to.
college wasn't on her radar until she realized their financial situation would get her an immense amount of government aid. afraid to stray too far from home, she attended kingsborough community college to gain her associate's degree, but by the time she had earned it, she was itching to get out of the city. she went south, to american university in dc, where she graduated with a business degree a few years later.
kate didn't particularly care for the nation's capital, so it wasn't long after she graduated that she moved with her former roommate to arcadia city. growing up in new york had given her a certain impression of the state of massachusetts, but she came to love it there. she bounced from job to job trying to find her niche. secretary work wasn't for her, nor was tending bar or retail. she eventually realized that she could put her business degree to good use and open one in the city. it would be a few years before she had worked out all of the details for a cat cafe named the scratching post, but in may 2013, the haven for cat lovers opened its doors.
the success of the small establishment surprised even her, but by the time everything balanced out, she wasn't living the lavish life she had expected. she knew franchising was an option, but that was a door kate wasn't ready to open. instead, she decided to resort to more illegal means to live the life she wanted. not many are aware that the cat cafe is a front for a money laundering establishment on the upper floor. kate takes a cut for keeping her mouth shut, and it has been more than enough to keep her satisfied.