mal

there were a few things that became very clear in the first few years of etienne cote’s life. first, he would not stand for people calling him etienne – “je m’appelle malcolm” he’d pronounce proudly, as if he had outsmarted his parents by demanding a secondary name. second, he was going to be a handful. bratty and standoffish from a young age, malcolm was defiant and troublesome, keen to dig up mischief wherever he could find it. his mother, an american who married Malcolm’s French-Canadian father at a mere twenty-one, insisted that her first and only child be as well-rounded as possible. malcolm did moderately well in school, though comments of “talks too often” and “too focused on gaining attention” were frequently on notes sent home. the disintegration of his parents’ relationship when malcolm was fifteen presented him with a choice – stay in canada under the lackluster supervision of his absentee father or relocate to denver, colorado with his mother, who insisted that returning to her childhood home was her only option. tempted by the freedom his father would have offered but won over by the opportunity for something new, malcolm made the move with his mother. he settled into denver and it's language difference quite nicely, having spoken english with his mother since childhood, and has remained there ever since. though malcolm only attended a community college, something deeply frowned upon by his father, he is currently quite satisfied with his life thus far. he currently works as a dental hygienist and lives in downtown denver with a betta fish and his dog, butters.