Mrs. Culpepper Character Analysis

Mrs. Culpepper is a truancy officer in Barkley Cove who makes frequent visits to Kya’s shack in order to take her to school. Shortly after Ma leaves, Kya agrees to get into Mrs. Culpepper’s car when Mrs. Culpepper tells Kya that she can eat chicken pot pie for free if she comes to school. However, Kya never returns to class after that day, instead evading Mrs. Culpepper every time she comes looking for her. One time, she even toys with the woman by creeping up to her car and scratching the door with a branch, looking straight at her as she does so and—she thinks—detecting a slight smile on Mrs. Culpepper’s face. Later, when Kya’s on trial for Chase Andrews’s murder, Mrs. Culpepper is one of the jury members. She is privately relieved when Kya is found not guilty.