No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be a heroine.

(Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey)

As Mr. John Oakhurst, gambler, stepped into the main street of Poker Flat on the morning of the 23rd of November, 1850, he was conscious of a change in its moral atmosphere since the preceding night.

(Bret Harte, "The Outcasts of Poker Flat")

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.

(Charles Dickens, David Copperfield)

The schoolmaster was leaving the village, and everybody seemed sorry.

(Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure)

I got another barber that comes over from Carterville and helps me out Saturdays, but the rest of the time I can get along all right alone. (Ring Lardner, "The Haircut")

He was a skinny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who has grown a lot in a short space of time.

(J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix )

I held the front door open as Mama carefully carried out her pot by both handles, making sure not to spill the cooked beans. When she got to the car, Papa reached out to her with it. Roberto opened the rear car door and Papa gently placed it on the floor behind the front seat. (The Circuit)

The Boys' and Girls' Club is noisy and crowded, especially after 4:00 in the afternoon. James is usually there. He is always worrying about how he looks and constantly fusses with his hair. Of all the boys, he tries hardest to impress the girls. Brian and Juan come at least twice a week. They usually shoot pool or go swimming. Jessica shows up every now and then and heads straight for the basketball court.

Jerod and Krista stood contemplating the stack of sales records to be compiled before they could call it quits for the day. Neither wanted to work late; that was understandable. But Jerod liked to ease back and let Krista assume the real burden. He hoped she'd make quick work of it tonight. Little did he know that Krista resented his mere presence. "Lazy rat," she thought. "He doesn't even know how to enter the basic data." Her stomach growled.