"How close to California do you think we can get on thirty-two dollars and fifty-cents?" - Jason Pryde
Jason Pryde is a native of Ashford Falls, New York and a graduate of Ashford Falls High School.
Not much is known about Jason's past and family. He describes himself as an "eclipsed Hebrew," suggesting that his family has neglected its Jewish roots or that he is only half-Jewish. His mother used to be a manager at the Ashford Falls Laundromat where she put up Christmas decorations before getting a job at the Ashford Falls Library. His father is an fire-fighter at the Ashford Falls Fire Department. He has an older sister and a younger brother whose existence he often denies, suggesting some major sibling animosity in his family. His favorite locations in town are the Burger Barn and the Imagination Station.
For much of his childhood, Jason has been somewhat antagonistic toward local girl Marcia Caldwell, either by teasing or mocking her through their grammar school years. Marcia dealt with him by describing her complaints to her mother, Tricia Caldwell, or her aunt, Helen Caldwell. Their general consensus for the time was that Jason was infatuated with Marcia, but at some point, Marcia beat Jason up for teasing her, and he avoided her for several years.
Jason and Marcia were eventually reunited in high school where they became friends and developed an attraction between each other. For most of this time, Marcia was schooled in the behavior of boys from Danny Featherstone, who she believed was her biological father, but Jason instead pursued other local girls like Shirley Finnerty and Julie Cassidy. After Marcia tried dating local boy, James Waverly, the son of Daniel Waverly, Jason followed them and sabotaged their outing, lifting James of his wallet and removing a distributor car from his car. Marcia once again beat Jason up, this time using karate, and told him to leave her alone.
This time, Jason refused to ignore her. After graduating high school, he got a job with Marcia at the Ashford Falls Movie House to be close to her and gradually charmed her. By 1995, they were finally dating and supporting Sabrina Collins as mayor of Ashford Falls in the mayoral election.