Damian Desmond/Synopsis

History
Damian Desmond was the second son born to Donovan Desmond, the Leader of the National Unity Party, and Melinda Desmond. Owing to his birth, Damian was raised effectively as royalty within Ostanian society. His older brother, Demetrius Desmond, is part of the Imperial Scholars.

Eden Beginnings Arc
On Eden Academy's orientation day, Damian Desmond is among the two hundred-eight new students accepted into Eden Academy that year. During the class and homeroom teacher assignments, he is assigned to Cecile Hall along with Anya Forger, where Loid Forger plans to have Anya befriend him to get close Donovan Desmond. When Anya stares at him, Damian arrogantly assumes she has fallen for him.

On the school tour, Damian, along with Emile Elman and Ewen Egeburg, brags about being able to become an Imperial Scholar soon and his father being the chairman of the National Unity Party, quickly gaining the admiration of his classmates, except Anya and Becky Blackbell. He approaches Anya, asking about her father's occupation and mocks her for not being important enough. After Anya smiles at him, Damian gets angry at being made fun of and begins to insult Anya calling her "ugly." He starts harassing Anya by throwing crumpled paper balls and threatens to bully Anya out of school. until she takes then sent him flying with a punch into a chair and some trash bins. He is left with an imprint of a fist on his cheek and begins crying. Henry Henderson informs his parents of what transpired.

The next day, Damian bumps into Anya and Becky, where his followers and Becky begin arguing, and Anya attempts to apologize for the previous day, but Becky pulls Anya away. In class, Damian stares at Anya from behind, getting angry about her being the only one to have ever hit him, and turns away blushing slightly when Anya turns to look at him. At the school cafeteria, Anya approaches Damian to apologize to him. Getting up to face her, he is confused at being tongue-tied and his heart beating faster whenever she looks at him, his face blushing. When Anya apologizes to him in tears, Damian is touched and his face turns entirely red, making an excuse that it is anger. Embarrassed, he reminds himself that Anya defied him, but starts imagining Anya staring right into his eyes. Denying his crush on a "commoner," he adamantly refuses to ever forgive her for as long as he lives and dashes off, blushing.

Stella Star Arc
During the dodgeball match in the physical education period, Damian and his group briefly argue with Becky again. Although shocked by Anya walking away from him, he turns away, focused on getting MVP in the dodgeball match instead to earn a Stella Star. He reveals that his motivation to become an Imperial Scholar like his brother is to get his father's attention. Damian is the first to throw the ball and sends it flying at the students of Wald Hall, but his throw is intercepted by Bill Watkins. He banters with Bill briefly.

After Bill eliminates several of his classmates, their team is left with only five students, with Damian left standing with Anya, Ewen, Emile, and one other unnamed student. While Damian tries to think of a weakness, Emile and Ewen sacrifice themselves to protect Damian from being hit by Billy. Damian is determined to make an impression by being the one left standing, apathetic about others being hit. Damian praises Anya after she dodges several hits. After Anya trips and falls, Damian initially thinks to abandon her but is able to intercept the ball with his hands, though it leaves his hands shaking and unable to grab the ball, eliminating him. Damian is confused at his actions and tells Anya not to mess up. At the end of the dodgeball match, Damian gets angry at Anya for wasting his sacrifice with an awful throw.

When Anya becomes the first in their grade to earn a Stella Star, Damian cannot believe that she beat him to it first. The next day, Damian tells Anya not to get too full of herself before walking away. When their classmates start gossiping about the legitimacy behind Anya's Stella and ask Damian for his thoughts, he tells them that Eden Academy is not a third-rate school that would give out Stella Stars without merit. Damian then says they should transfer somewhere else if they have a problem with the school. However, these words only hurt Damian because he knows he has lost to Anya. At lunch, Damian and his friends pass by Anya, who asks him if he has a dog. Damian shrugs her off but thinks about his dog, Max.

Doggy Crisis Arc
After the Forger Family gets Bond Forger, Anya goes to school to tell Damian about it. To her dismay, Damian is indifferent to the information and gets confused when his friends praise him for it. Damian decides to indulge Anya and asks what her dog's name is. Hearing this, Anya beams, to Damian's surprise. She is about to tell him her dog's name but realizes she has not done so. Wishing he never asked, Damian walks away and says she is unfit to own a pet.

Midterm Exams Arc
While heading to class, Anya has a family photo with Bond to show Damian, dropping it on the ground and bringing attention to it. However, Damian and his gang just walk away, ignoring her. Damian at first decides to not take it seriously, but after overhearing that their success in this may go on their secret transcripts, he decides to put some effort in. Henry announces the tables with Damian and Anya at the same table which upsets the former.

After losing her photo to Becky, Anya makes a paper Bond and shows it off to Damian. Damian is unimpressed and calls it garbage which puts Anya into despair. Emile asks Damian what he is making, to which Damian replies that he is making a griffin, the crest of his family. He tells those at his table to not use too much paper as he needs a lot before imagining Donovan praising him. As Damian realizes he will not have enough time and materials to make his griffin, Anya tells Damian that she will help him and he can use all her paper which shocks him. He is even more shocked when Anya explains that she already finished her model. Anya says that she just wants to help Damian, which he reluctantly accepts.

Damian instructs Anya to make the hind legs of the griffin and gives her the plans for the model. She instead proceeds to make jet engines which angers Damian. He tells her instead to make feathers for the wings, to which she makes a few different-sized slips of paper. He yells at her for wasting all his paper, which brings the attention of Henry, who tells him off. As time runs out for the art projects, Anya decides to convert her Bond model into a small female griffin to pair with Damian's, to his confusion. Afterward, Damian is dumbfounded to learn that his art piece ended up winning first prize due to the contingent of board of trustees who saw it thinking it was a powerful vision of the nation's rebound from war. Anya tells Damian that his parents will probably be proud, but Damian tells her that he has no intention of showing the art to his parents.

Damian returns to his dorm and calls his butler, Jeeves. Damian asks how his dog Max is doing before being asked if he will be returning home for the weekend. Damian declines as his father will not be there and also wants to stay at the dorms so he can focus on studying for their midterm exams. Damian is about to tell Jeeves about his art project before instead asking what his father's response was to the incident at orientation. After a short pause, Jeeves tells Damian that his father was very concerned, which Damian does not believe. Damian ends the call and goes to study with Ewen and Emile. He thinks about how Donovan does not care about him and vows to become an Imperial Scholar to please his father and earn his respect.

Henry announces the upcoming midterms and returns the students' history quizzes. After Anya receives her inelegant grade, Damian shows off his higher score to her, mocking Anya's smirk as he does it. On the day of the midterms, Damian gets ready with the other students to start their exams.

Five days later, the midterm scores are posted in the Quad. Damian and his gang look for his placement and find that he got 11th in the class. Not only that, but he also placed in the top 2 for History with a score of 94, earning him a Stella Star. Damian is overjoyed, then sees that Anya placed at 213th out of 228 students. Damian, trying not to laugh, makes an attempt at consoling her by stating she did not fail in any of the subjects before leaving with his gang.

The students of Cecile Hall are outside cleaning the courtyard, and Damian performs a cleaning move he calls: Desmond Style Rolling Sweep." and ends up flinging a bunch of dirt toward Anya and Becky. Emile and Ewen compliment Damian on his cleaning skills. A bunch of other students also surround him and shower him with compliments and ask about having a study group with him before the next exam. Suddenly, George Glooman pulls out a cigarette butt from his jacket and pretends to pick it up from the ground by Damian. He accuses Damian of smoking and calls a teacher over. Damian grabs his shoulder and tells him to stop, but George throws himself to the ground. The teacher comes over and asks what happened. George explains to the teacher that he found a cigarette butt on the ground, and after calling a teacher over, he was attacked by Damian.

The teacher demands an explanation from Damian. Emile and Ewen insist it is a lie, but the teacher does not trust them because he knows how close they are to Damian. Anya then comes to Damian's defense and tells the teacher what really happened. Wary of Anya, the teacher leaves and tells the students not to call him over for nonsense again. Damian blushes, and Anya says that letting him get expelled would also hurt her, referring to her mission. Embarrassed further by Becky's comments, Damian asks why Anya helped and yells at her to leave him alone. George chimes in, asking why Anya interfered, and Damian grabs him and demands to know why George was trying to get him expelled. George cries out that his life is over, then explains that his family's company has gone bankrupt. Damian asks what it has to do with him, and George replies that the Desmond Group drove the company to bankruptcy.

George believed that if Damian had gotten expelled, his family would be too distracted to mess with Glooman Pharmaceuticals. Damian yells at him, telling him there was no way his father's company drove Glooman's company out of business. George concedes but tells them that it does not make the fact that he will have to leave school any better, and proceeds to explain how his family will be on the street tomorrow. George envies Damian, saying that he and his family is nothing like the trash he is. Emile and Ewen stand up for Damian while putting down George, which the former sees as going a little too far.

George bursts into tears, crying about his desire to spend his springtime at school, then he begins picking up trash while calling himself trash. Wanting to calm him down, Damian offers him juice. George glares at him but accepts. After finishing the juice, he speaks of his regret of never being able to order the deluxe caviar bowl at the cafeteria. Damian gets George the bowl, who always wanted to know what it feels like to wear a Stella Star. Damian gets irritated but lets George wear his Stella after he mopes. After, George starts talking about how sad his life will be from now on in Westalis, but Anya assures him that it will be okay. Happy that all his classmates are being so nice to him, George bursts into tears, and he makes one last request: to sing the school chorus with everyone. Becky is the first to start singing, and eventually, everyone from Cecile Hall except Anya starts singing the chorus together, dancing in a circle.

After they finish, Damian gives George his favorite stationery set, telling him not to forget everyone after he leaves. The other students also give George gifts and bid him a tearful farewell. After learning that he will not be leaving Eden, a humiliated George returns to school the next day, and Damian reminds him to pay back for the juice.

Campbelldon Tennis Arc
For their upcoming social studies project, Henry instructs the students to investigate an occupation that interests them. He suggests various methods and adds that they will each prepare a report about their chosen profession and present it to the class on Friday. Emile asks Damian if he will interview his dad, to which Damian replies that he will if he can get hold of him.

Imperial Scholars Mixer Arc
Damian, Ewen, and Emile look at the school bulletin and see that the Imperial Scholars Mixer will start next week. Although the event has nothing to do with the boys, they eagerly discuss how they will eventually become Imperial Scholars. They then notice Anya staring at them from behind a corner, and Damian tells her to stop. After the weekend, Damian and his friends see Anya and Becky chatting on their way to class, and the sight of the girls' bright smiles catches his eye. One of the boys asks Damian what is up with him, and he dismisses them in embarrassment.

On the day of the Imperial Scholars Mixer, the students of Cecile Hall prepare to leave after finishing class. One of the girls asks Damian if his dad will be there, as his brother, Demetrius, is an Imperial Scholar. Damian does not hear them, instead thinking back to a phone call with Demetrius. Damian asked his brother to deliver a message to Donovan: to meet with him in the courtyard after the mixer. Demetrius agrees but tells Damian not to get his hopes up, as their father is a busy man, before ending the call.

In the present, the girls ask to meet with Donovan, and Damian angrily tells them to leave him alone and stomps away with his friends in tow. Anya follows them, and Damian yells at her to go away. Ewen speaks up to tell Damian why Anya has been chasing him. Damian reddens up, assuming romantic reasons. Ewen explains that Anya might be chasing him to curry favor with Donovan, and Emile agrees, saying Anya is the same as all the other kids. Embarrassed and enraged, Damian calls Anya names before running away.

Outside the Tower of Wisdom, Imperial Scholars and their families walk through the school grounds, heading to the event. The boys are amazed at how many people there are, and Emile comments that even among all the famous people present, Donovan is a V.I.P., which makes Damian freeze up. He decides not to see his father, shocking the others. Damian reasons that his father is an incredible and busy man that does not have time to waste on people like him. As he turns to inform Demetrius of his decision, he is abruptly stopped in his tracks by Anya.

Damian tells Anya to get lost, but she smugly taunts him, asking him if he is scared, and says she knows he is. Damian wonders if she is reading his mind, and Anya explains that she saw his poor grade on the reading test after looking over his shoulder. Anya says Damian is scared his father will find out about his grade and tries empathizing with him, admitting to getting 17 points. Anya says she does not know if her own father likes her, so she is also scared. Despite that, Anya believes in her father because she loves him, so she will use all her courage to tell him that she failed. Everyone is confused by Anya's speech, but it convinces Damian to stay and wait for Donovan.

While waiting for the event to end, the boys sit in the courtyard, eventually sitting on the grass to play card games. They encounter Loid Forger, who is searching for a sheep keychain that his daughter dropped. Having found the keychain earlier, Damian returns it to the man. The boys connect the dots and realize they are talking to Anya's father, calling him "Pops." Likewise, Loid recognizes Damian and kneels before the boy, apologizes for Anya’s behavior at the orientation. He tells Damian that he would also like to apologize to his parents, and at that moment, Donovan and his entourage arrive. Damian is surprised to see his father. One of the men asks Damian who he is speaking with, and Damian explains who Loid is to him.

Damian and his friends stand in awe in Donovan's presence. After Loid introduces himself, he formally apologizes for the incident at orientation. Donovan recalls the incident and apologizes for being too busy to respond, and Damian thinks about how his father is paying attention to him. After Donovan declines Loid's offer to make amends, reasoning that it was a childish spat, Damian yells that Anya hit him, a Desmond, and asks if he is fine with that. Loid chimes in to, once again, try to make amends, but Donovan brushes him off.

Seeing that his father does not care, Damian tries expressing his humiliation to him, hoping for affection. However, Donovan responds with an exasperated sigh, unnerving the boy. Donovan continues this until Damian apologizes to him, and he smiles in response. Loid speaks up, saying Damian’s anger is justified. He proceeds to talk about Anya and her bizarre behavior. Hearing this, the boys unanimously think about how Loid has it rough. Loid then talks about the challenges of raising children and how uncontrollable they can be. Donovan concurs, saying that despite sharing your blood, your children are essentially strangers, people impossible to understand. He says that, in the end, people will never truly be sympathetic to each other. Damian is stunned to hear his father say this.

Loid agrees with Donovan's sentiment but says that despite everything, what is important is meeting the other in the middle. He relates this to how he tries to talk with Anya by acknowledging her. Loid steps forward to pat a dejected Damian’s shoulder and says that it may have been why Donovan took the time out of his schedule to meet with his son. Donovan supposes so, which surprises Damian. Loid then talks about Damian’s respect for his father, bringing up his school report on Donovan’s work, which he had secretly snuck a peek at in the school. Loid claims that it moved Anya so much that it was all she could talk about at home. He tells Donovan that he was touched by Damian’s respect and knowledge for his father's work as Party Chairman, praising the boy.

After commenting on his opinion of the National Unity Party, Loid wonders if he should attend one of the party’s seminars, again praising Damian’s report. An embarrassed Damian tells Loid to stop, and Loid happily apologizes. Before he leaves, Loid asks Damian not to tell Anya about their conversation. Loid says Anya is at an awkward stage, and if Damian thinks she hates him, Loid suspects otherwise and hopes they can get along. Damian shyly says he does not hate her, surprising his friends. He quickly gets embarrassed and yells at Loid to go away. Loid laughs him off and bids goodbye, leaving the Desmonds to talk.

Donovan looks to Damian, asking what his son wants from him. Damian starts getting nervous and says it was nothing. He struggles to get the words out, thinking back to Loid emphasizing the importance of creating a dialogue with others. As Donovan prepares to leave, Damian remembers Anya saying she will summon all her courage to tell Loid that she failed. Damian shouts out to his father, informing him of his Stella Star from the midterms, his 50 on his reading test, and how the griffin he made in art class won first prize. Hearing this, Donovan congratulates him. Damian wonders aloud why Donovan agreed to see him. He is interrupted by Donovan, who says he acted on a whim and tells his son to think nothing of it. As he walks away, he tells Damian to continue striving not to besmirch their family name. Damian beams and agrees while Ewen and Emile cheer him on. After Donovan leaves, the boys gather together and make it their goal to earn more Stella Stars and become Imperial Scholars.

In the morning, an alarm at an Eden Academy dorm wakes its residents. Emile and Ewen wake up and tell Damian to do the same, or he will miss morning muster. After morning muster passes, Henry punishes Damian, tasking him with helping the dorm mother with chores and forbids him from leaving school grounds until he finishes. Behind the corner, Ewen and Emile watch worriedly.

As Damian helps the dorm mother, his friends come to check on him. Damian, who studied all night, wants to earn more Stella Stars, and Ewen says he is pushing himself too hard. They mention that their dorm tutor will take all the boys to the movies and get roast beef on the way back. Damian is firm on not going and will study instead, hoping for his father’s praise if he works hard to better himself. After being shooed away by the dorm mother, Ewen and Emile purposefully loiter around the halls to also receive punishments.

Damian is surprised to see his friends join him, who say they will help him so they all can go to the movies. Damian tells them to go ahead without him, but they stay to help him do the chores anyways. Ewen adds that they can pretend to be Imperial Scholars, wrapping a sheet around himself like a cloak. While the boys play around, Damian looks at the sky in a daze. Mr. Green, the school custos, jokes that Damian has the face of someone who would rather be at a picnic, which an embarrassed Damian denies. Henderson decides to give the boys a new punishment for their tomfoolery while doing chores: going on a field research trip with Mr. Green.

Mr. Green takes the now frantic boys on a fast-paced canoe ride, planning to take them to a lake for a picnic. As Damian spots an approaching “waterfall,” he accidentally falls off the canoe. When he cries for help, Ewen and Emile jump after him, only to end up in the same situation. They decide to let Damian survive to live their dreams, which moves him. Green interrupts, revealing that the water is shallow and embarrasses the boys.

After starting a warm fire on land, Green tells them to catch some fish for dinner. With Green’s help, the friends prepare to fish. They look for bait and turn over a rock to find some earthworms, which frighten Damian. After Ewen and Emile chase Damian around with worms, they start fishing and successfully catch fish for each of them. As they enjoy their hard-earned meal, Green tells Damian that it is okay to enjoy oneself every now and then. After eating, he takes the boys to “Stella Lake,” which Damian is excited to see.

Upon reaching their destination, the boys are amazed by the lake, where the stars reflect on its surface and look like they can be reached, hence the name Stella Lake. Damian is shocked there are no Stellas but denies that the trip was wasted. He, Ewen, and Emile lie down on the ground and look at the stars. While taking in the sight, Emile says the stars look like sugar sprinkled on the sky, which makes Damian burst into laughter. Green says they should be heading back and reminds them to write out a proper field report. After returning to the dorm, the boys go to bed and Damian sneezes while Henry and Green talk about his report.