Appearance: Standing at 5'5, Mahala is petite. As the third of seven children and two on the way, most of whom are twins, she takes care to make herself stand out through loud clothing and liberal use of makeup and hair dye. She isn't afraid to show off her body and in fact loves to do so, and takes every opportunity to enhance the features she feels are most attractive. Her hair is dark brown but completely straight because of her Asian genes, so she will often crimp or curl it to give it some body.

Persona: Cassie Ventura

Personality: Mahala is a very gregarious, bubbly, outgoing individual. She is happy 90% of the time and loves to cheer other people up if they need it. She's from a big family so she knows how to make herself heard and loves to do so. Mahala is kind, considerate, though she does have the flaw of speaking her mind even when it's not entirely appropriate. Other than that though she is fun to be around and always up for a good adventure.

Biological Father	Tomas Owens, 38, auto body/detail shop owner (Gary Dourdan)
Biological Mother	Elisabeth Owens, 38, stay-at-home mom (Lee Mi-Sook
Grandmother	Mei-Yin Xia, 77, retired (Sue-Chin)
Full Brothers	Shawn Owens, 17, student (Usher Raymond); Micah Owens, 11, student (Noah Gray-Cabey); Dominic, 7, student (Zachary Williams); Troy, 7, student (Zachary Williams); Asher, 4
Full Sister	Aziza Owens, 17, student (Amerie Rogers)

Tomas Owens	Elisabeth Owens		Shawn Owens	Aziza Owens	Micah Owens
Mei-Yin Xia			Dominic Owens	Troy Owens	Asher Owens

Pets: The family has three female cats all named Desiree and two male cats both named Desmond; with seven kids and two more on the way, it keeps things simpler to be able to call all the cats "Des."

Friends: Her best friend is Astrid Wayland; they compliment each other nicely because Mahala is bubbly and outgoing while Astrid is more quiet and studious. But aside from her best friend, Mahala is friendly with everyone, and it's easy for her to make friends with pretty much everyone she meets.

History: Mahala's mother is Korean but was adopted by a Chinese family and so Mahala has essentially been brought up in an African-American/Chinese home despite her actual racial heritage, and her mother often identifies herself as Chinese. Her parents were both adoptees and knew each other from babyhood through their parents' adoptive parents' social group and then later through school, and remained best friends throughout childhood. They made a pact as young teenagers that if neither of them were married by the time they were twenty the would fall in love and have children. Their reasoning at this time was that they were both gregarious, attractive people and if they couldn't find someone suitable at twenty they never would; Mahala's mother also declared at that age that they should have at least one child together because their racial mix would produce "kids that were too pretty to pass up." Tomas worked off and on as a mechanic as a teenager, and Elisabeth started dancing in a club as soon as she was old enough, loving showing off her body and doing it right through a couple of her pregnancies, getting work at fetish nights and making good money.

When they were seventeen they fell in love ahead of schedule but right on time they were married at twenty and soon afterward they were surprised to find out Elisabeth was pregnant. They were further shocked to learn that they were expecting twins, but their carefree attitude allowed them to plow forward just enjoying what life threw at them as twenty-one-year-old parents of fraternal twins, Shawn and Aziza. They quickly adjusted to parenthood, and right from the beginning they were both very laid-back and liberal in how they raised their kids. All the children have been used to an environment where exchanging ideas and opinions is welcome, sex is talked about freely, and no subject is taboo.

Mahala's mother found herself pregnant again when Shawn and Aziza were a year and a half old, and this time it was a single baby, Mahala, who joined the family. Mahala was a happy baby who was cheerful and gregarious right from the start, and though the twins had mostly entertained themselves and behaved, Mahala was a totally different baby: not only did she demand attention constantly, but she also figured out how to open baby safety locks and loved to scare her parents by getting into all the cabinets she wasn't supposed to. Still, there were never any major emergencies, and Mahala passed through childhood relatively unscathed.

The young family moved to Ambrose Island, where Elisabeth got a job stripping at the Sway and Foreplay club in town, dancing right through a couple of her pregnancies, getting work at fetish nights and making good money. The three kids were followed four years after that by Micah, and only three years after that Elisabeth was pregnant again, despite the fact that Mahala's parents had not yet tried to have a baby at any point and had been using birth control (for the most part) for years. It seemed that she and Tomas were not only likely to be expecting a baby if they so much as looked at each other, but also that twins seemed to run in the family, as this next pregnancy resulted in identical twin boys, Dominic and Troy. The family of eight was struggling financially and practically, even with Tomas working full-time and Elisabeth at home with the children.

That changed when two things happened: first, Elisabeth's widowed mother, who was in her late sixties but in excellent health, moved in with the family to help look after the children. She only speaks Mandarin, so all the children have grown up fluent in the language. At the same time, Tomas began working for friend of his father's as a mechanic, which he had done for extra cash as a teen. He had a natural ability with cars and started to learn more about painting, detail, and custom work. When Mahala was ten and her father only thirty-three, all three of her living grandparents sacrificed much to front him money as collateral for a loan to start his own auto shop. He did them proud and started the most successful auto shop on Ambrose Island, handling everything from routine breakdowns and repairs to creating expensive custom cars for the more elite citizens of the island. His business is well-respected and well-known, and if there's a car on the island that has anything extra on it, it's been done by Tom's Garage. For the first time, the family knew financial security and freedom, which only grew when Elisabeth bought the Sway and Foreplay club; she still goes on stage sometimes, but mostly she is behind the scenes, running the club and managing the girls with a experienced professionalism.

The three siblings had a couple of years of being on their own, until Mahala was nearly four and they were joined by a new baby, Micah. Three years after that Elisabeth was pregnant again, despite the fact that her parents had not yet tried to have a baby at any point and had been using birth control (for the most part) for years. It seemed that she and Tomas were not only likely to be expecting a baby if they so much as looked at each other, but also that twins seemed to run in the family, as this next pregnancy resulted in identical twin boys, Dominic and Troy. The family of eight was struggling financially as Elisabeth was home full-time with the children and Tomas was having trouble earning enough to support them all.

As most childen in big families do, Mahala was forced to find her own identity and voice early as as not to be overlooked. As a young child she discovered a love of putting things together, and enjoyed playing with Lego much more than dolls. In adolescence, she discovered the joy of clay, and sculpted non-stop for hours every day. But she still didn't feel like she'd completely found her niche until she tried woodworking. It was love at first sight. Her father has had to build her a workshop in the backyard so she can practice the art of carpentry in peace, and no on is allowed in there but her. She has turned out many beautiful pieces fo furniture for her mother, including an intricate Buddhist shrine that was perfect enough to be put in the family's meditation room, something Mahala takes great pride in.

Mahala is single and dedicated to fixing that situation. Her mother recently found out she was pregnant with a new set of twins so Mahala is looking forward to (and dreading) being a big sister for the sixth and seventh time.

Vehicle: N/A

Job: She sometimes pitches in at her dad's garage but otherwise she doesn't work except as a babysitting slave for her parents.

Neighborhood: The Heights, 1402 Hidden Drive