Character Analysis
We'll admit it: we totally want to be friends with Beatrice Leep.
She's that dynamic combination of tough-as-nails and loyal as a golden retriever—a bruiser with a heart of gold who's willing to move the earth to help her bro, her buddy, and some teensy-weensy owls.
One Tough Cookie
Roy first "meets" Beatrice when he almost knocks over "a tall girl with curly blond hair and red-framed eyeglasses" as he runs after Mullet Fingers (2.13). She doesn't let him get away with that—um, have you met Beatrice?—and confronts him later at lunch to find out why he dashed off the bus that morning.
When Roy asks Garrett if he knows her, he labels Beatrice as "a major soccer jock [...] with a major attitude" (4.26).
That's one way of putting it.
Garrett even refers to her as "Beatrice the Bear" (4.28)—turns out Mullet Fingers isn't the only one who gets a nickname. And there's a reason why she's Beatrice the Bear and not Beatrice the Bunny Rabbit. Garrett informs Roy of a time when she broke the collarbone of a linebacker.
Ouch.
Beneath The Bear
But sometimes, below that crunchy exterior lies a soft nougaty center. (Hmm. Maybe we shouldn't write metaphors when we're hungry.) And Beatrice surely has a soft spot for her stepbrother, Mullet Fingers. In fact, if we had to describe her in two words it'd be: fiercely loyal.
Emphasis on the "fierce" part.
She initially confronts Roy in the lunchroom in order to protect her brother, and she goes above and beyond to make sure he's safe. The pair of step-siblings share a close bond. Beatrice even mentions blood promises (hopefully made without actual blood) as the reason why she keeps his whereabouts secret.
Beatrice also takes special care of her father. Knowing that her stepmother, Lonna, won't be around, Beatrice leaves Roy at the hospital with Mullet Fingers so she could make her father dinner. In fact, she actually makes him dinner every night. Family seems to be really important to Beatrice (with the exception of Lonna, who's an all-around jerkosaur to everyone).
And Beatrice eventually warms up to Roy…although he has to do some major trust earning first. But she immediately turns to Roy when Mullet Fingers is hurt and confides in him when things are rough at home. After all, Roy knows most of Beatrice's secrets and doesn't betray her or Mullet Fingers.
…and that's only partially because he knows that she'd kick the snot out of him if he did.
Beatrice's Timeline