Lahela Nakoa

[Cake]

Name: Lahela Nakoa
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Grade: 12
School: Aurora High School
Hobbies and Interests: Ukulele music, beach activities, crafts/making things, white boys

Appearance: Lahela is of mixed Polynesian descent which can be seen through her naturally tan skin tone. Her ethnic background is a blend of Native Hawaiian, Tahitian, Chinese and German, which can be shown through her facial features. Her brown eyes are wide, but slightly almond shaped and framed with slightly curved eyebrows. Her nose is average sized and a bit rounded at the tip. She has medium length, full lips and usually wears a kind smile. She has a relaxed, youthful looking face, with gentle cheek bones.

Lahela stands at a fraction of an inch short of 5'8" tall and weighs in at about 135 pounds. She has a decently healthy and slender build, with long limbs. She has long, wavy black hair which reaches to her upper, mid-back. Around her forehead, she usually wears a thin, 60s style, female, hippie head band with green floral or leafy designs, sometimes adorned with a flower of some sort. Lahela's clothing is normally casual and light, although after moving to the mainland she has been leaning toward wearing warmer clothing like sweaters and hoods, as she is still not used to the cooler temperature of Seattle. Her regular clothing would otherwise be dark colored spaghetti strap tank tops, t-shirts in dark or cool colors such as blues or greens, cargo pants ending above the ankle and short black gladiator sandals. She also wears a gold chained necklace with a Tahitian pearl pendant.

Biography: Lahela Nakoa was born on the Big Island of Hawaii to parents Pomai Nakoa and Ty Chang, before the two were married and was given her mother's surname. She was raised on the island her entire life by both her parents and her grandmother from her father's side, Pumehanaaloha. Lahela cared for every member of her family, but especially Pume, whom she sometimes called "Tūtū" (Hawaiian for grandma) – for short.

While her parents were at work, it was Pume who would take care of Lahela as a child, teaching her how to behave among other life skills. Whenever Lahela would misbehave, her Tūtū would try to discourage the bad behavior with a pa'i or slaps from her rubber slippers. Despite the slaps, Lahela understood that Pume was teaching her the difference between what was right and what was wrong and grew to respect her Tūtū. Spending much time with her grandmother lead to the two to become practically close friends, despite the age gap.

It was Pume who first introduced Lahela to what would later be one of her main hobbies in life, which was playing the ukulele. After Pume saw how interested Lahela was whenever she would play the instrument for her, she decided to show her how to play it herself. Lahela was a quick learner and with additional help from music classes in the elementary school, Lahela became very comfortable playing tunes on it. She would sometimes even copy some of the local or mainstream music and sing while playing music for herself or Pume for fun on her free time.

The family lived together on a small ranch, owned by Pume. The open land allowed for Lahela to grow up whilst spending much time playing outdoors. The home itself was also a fair walking distance from the beach, a spot her dad had introduced to her from before she could remember. She loves to swim, play in the sand, hang out, sunbathe and when she was old enough, even beach volleyball with her friends and other recreational beach activities. She developed a very relaxed and carefree attitude from her lifestyle and activities, which continued on into the present.

Lahela's mother Pomai, a teacher's assistant at the time, made sure that Lahela was enrolled to school early and also made sure that she kept up with her class work. Lahela wasn't particularly bright at any of the subjects involving book work, except for culture and history subjects, particularly involving her different heritages. What she excelled in, however were the specialized classes, such as music, arts and crafts. Lahela tended to be hands on, quite creative and loved to build or make things. Due to her friendly and relatable nature, Lahela found it easy to make friends as other students sometimes gravitated to her likable personality.

Pume taught Lahela more Hawaiian culture skills, such as weaving and lei making, which further influenced Lahela's interests in craft work as she loved making things, especially involving the pretty flowers and leaves around her home. Further interests also developed due to her father's profession as a construction worker and architect. He would wood work at home and make home-made objects such as benches, stools and bird houses around the area. Even though she was a girl, Ty showed her how to build and work with tools anyway, admiring that his daughter was interested in hobbies othdr than what he thought girls usually did.

In school, Lahela also found it easy to relate with boys better than many of her female classmates did. She was also noted to be typically braver than other girls were, as seen by one instance where a cane spider ran into the classroom, scaring many of the girls and some of the boys. Lahela, used to dealing with cane spiders around her house showed no fear, easily caught the spider and let it go outside. Throughout middle school to the beginning of high school, many of her classmates jokingly and secretly thought she was possibly a tom-boy or lesbian, until she started going out with a new Caucasian male student, from out of state. It turned out Lahela had a particular like for cute, white, boy next door types, as they reminded her of some of her favorite actors she'd seen on TV or movies and were something different from what she usually saw in school or her neighborhood.

Lahela's life seemed to go pretty well until Pumehanaaloha passed away due to complications from diabetes. Although Lahela was unaware of it for most of her life, Pume was the figure in her household who kept her family together. Ty and Pomai had been having arguments increasing in number after every passing year of their marriage. Pomai was concerned about bills and family funds, which Ty wasn't helping out with very much, as he tended to keep his pay cheques to himself and spending them through nightly gambling with friends and coming home after late night drinking. It was Pume who kept the two together and diffused the fights, while also using her pension and money earned through her personal orchid shop sales, to help support the two and their daughter.

The young girl was deeply saddened by the passing of her grandmother, but was brave and mentally prepared for it due to signs of Pume's declining health over the past few years. What she hadn't expected was the divorce of her parents shortly after Pume's death. Lahela found the combination of emotional pain and loss of her family to be overwhelming and for the first time in her lifetime, she felt legitimately scared and helpless. The two parents separated, with Pomai laying claim with her daughter. Lahela and her mother moved out to a temporary apartment, away from the ranch she grew up in. The next year of life while in high school was very tough for Lahela, with only one parent around for support. She had to work a part time job at a local Jamba Juice to help with rent and her school work suffered a bit, due to emotional stress and lack of time due to her job,. The high cost of living in Hawaii was truly showing itself for Lahela and her mother.

At the end of her junior year in high school, Lahela received word from her mother that her uncle's family, currently living on the mainland had offered to help them get back on their feet. A promising teaching job for Pomai in the Seattle area from which her brother lived sealed the deal and the plan to move to Seattle, Washington was on. At first, Lahela was very upset and entirely against the idea. She did not want to leave the island she had grown up on, especially before she could complete her senior year. It wasn't until Lahela saw Pomai talk about the new beginning awaiting them on the mainland with a sparkle in her eye and real happiness in her voice that she realized how much the move meant for her mother. Not wanting to break her heart, Lahela agreed to go after a heartfelt good bye to her friends.

Lahela moved to Seattle, Washington during the summer right before her senior year. She and her mother moved in to her uncle's house where she began to slowly bond with Emily Nakoa, her mainland cousin whom she hadn't seen in a long time. Despite initial differences in lifestyles and not having really interacted with one another except for a few times she'd visit the islands; the two ended up getting along fairly well, with Emily being the one person whom Lahela was most comfortable with in Aurora High School. She was enrolled to Aurora High School for senior year where everything was basically a blank slate for her again, due to not knowing anyone else. The environment is completely different for her and she's still getting used to it.

Her grades in school tend to be at about a B average with a few A's in classes she excels in. She does well in music, arts and crafts classes, along with some history classes. She shows a little more enthusiasm in shop classes and industrial art classes compared to other girls, even joining a club in her old school. Being in a new school, Lahela has not made very many friends yet. She gets along well with just about any type of person she can relate to, whether that be sharing similar interests or if their personalities just click. Though cultural differences from how she grew up in Hawaii compared to those on the mainland might be an obstacle.

As for life goals, Lahela is quite undecided on what she wants to do. She's thinking of maybe becoming a teacher like her mother, with a subject she is interested in such as: arts and crafts, industrial arts, shop classes, and history or culture, perhaps with a focus on Polynesia.

Advantages: She's creative and can possibly make or build impromptu weapons or tools, should she need them. Her friendly attitude might help her build and maintain good relationships. Lahela also tends to be quite brave and can possibly stand up for herself.
Disadvantages: Lahela is used to warm temperature and is easily susceptible to the cold compared to her Seattle classmates. She doesn't know much people from Seattle because she is new and doesn't relate much to the mainlanders. As a result she may have fewer options of set allies in the game. Ever since the death of her Tūtū and divorce between her parents, Lahela has gained a fear of emotional pain and loss. As such, being on an island where killing is necessary could damage her mental well being.