The Egypt Gang
April
April Hall
- With Melanie, April was herself, new and different from anyone, wild and daring and terribly brave. But with other people she was often quite different. With other kids she usually put on her Hollywood act, terribly grown-up and bored with everything. And with most grown-ups April's eyes got narrow and you couldn't believe a word she said.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She defrosts as soon as she gets bored with her 'jerkass act'.
- Parental Abandonment/Freudian Excuse: Her father died when April was too young to remember him, and her mother leaves her with her grandmother.
- Raised by Grandparents: Her mother basically abandons her to be raised by her grandmother, Caroline.
- The Fashionista: She plays at it, wearing false eyelashes on a regular basis, despite being all of 11. It's painfully obvious she's trying to cover up or compensate for something.
- Nom de Mom: She likes to call herself "April Dawn." It's not clear if this is her mother's maiden name or Stage Name.April: Yes, you see my mother is Dorothea Dawn— [pause] Well, I guess you haven't happened to hear of her way up here, but she's a singer and in the movies, and stuff like that.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red Oni to Melanie's Blue Oni. The first day they meet it seems like they have nothing in common, until they bond over Melanie's paper dolls. They both really love "imagining games" as they put it, or in other words, games that are less about doing and more about concocting an elaborate shared story.
Melanie
Melanie Ross
- Cheerful Child: Cheerful, responsible, and adjusted, as a counterpoint to the more damaged and volatile April.
- Team Mom: Among other things, she rethinks the idea of sneaking off during trick-or-treating because it might be dangerous, and talks April down when they find out Ken and Toby have been spying on them because punching them won't solve anything.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue Oni to April's Red Oni. The first day they meet it seems like they have nothing in common, until they bond over Melanie's paper dolls. They both really love "imagining games" as they put it, or in other words, games that are less about doing and more about concocting an elaborate shared story.
Marshall
Marshall Ross
- The Quiet One:"Security's an octopus," Marshall said very clearly. He didn't talk very much, but when he did he always said exactly what he wanted to without any trouble. He never had fooled around with baby talk
- Tagalong Kid: He's 4 years old, but he makes such a good child pharaoh, and he's mature for his age, so they don't mind.
- Companion Cube/Security Blanket: His stuffed octopus.Melanie: That's Security. Marshall takes him everywhere. So my dad named him Security. You know. Like some little kids have a blanket.
- Innocent Prodigy/Wise Beyond Their Years: A very stoic and solemn child.Melanie: He's been awfully grown-up ever since—oh, since about the time he started walking. That is, about everything except Security. I guess he's not very grown-up about that. Dad says the reason Marshall needs Security is that he had such a hard time being a baby. Dad says being a baby offended Marshall's dignity.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Chung
- She was shy, but not in the stiff embarrassing way that makes other people feel embarrassed, too. It was a gentle friendly shyness that made other people feel important, sort of in charge of things.
- Celebrity Resemblance: In profile, Elizabeth looks like the famous Nefertiti Bust.
- The Ingenue: Downplayed Trope. April and Melanie (6th graders) view Elizabeth (a 4th grader) as such—more innocent, more naive, than them.
- Naïve Newcomer: She is viewed as such within the group, perhaps more so than she actually is. When Elizabeth suggests they write something in their own blood, April and Melanie are both surprised and impressed. Elizabeth actually lifted the idea from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but she doesn't tell them this.
- The Pollyanna
Toby
Toby Alvillar
- Class Clown:Of course, Toby had a special talent for getting people off the hook by making the teacher laugh. Just when Mrs. Granger was really building up a head of steam over something, Toby would make some little remark and Mrs. Granger would start choking and have to turn her back. Sometimes she'd try to pick things up where she left off, but all that lost momentum made a big difference
- Those Two Guys: Toby and Ken. They're best friends; Ken is more reserved and is solidly built and clean-cut, while Toby is talkative and creative and is skinny with shaggy hair. They become more developed individually once they join the group.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Initially a Jerk Jock
- Missing Mom: Toby's mother.
Ken
Ken Kamata
- Those Two Guys: Toby and Ken. They're best friends; Ken is more reserved and is solidly built and clean-cut, while Toby is talkative and creative and is skinny with shaggy hair. They become more developed individually once they join the group.
- Catchphrase: "Sheesh!"
- Only Sane Man: Ken sees himself this way. When the rest of the group acts as if they believe in their invented rituals, he says they're "cracking up".
Others
The Professor
The Professor
- Convicted by Public Opinion: The Professor for the child murders.
- Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": At the end, it's revealed that his real name is Dr. Julian Huddleston, although he still prefers to be known as "the Professor".
- Teacher/Student Romance: The Professor had one when he was young, with a woman who enrolled in a class he was teaching about ancient peoples.
- * Dark and Troubled Past: His wife was killed while traveling.
