Gabriela Mendez

16

144 Courtland Street

Adventurous: Gabi has a zest for life that's undeniably a significant part of her personality. She's never one to sit something out if it sounds fun, especially something new. Though she of course exercises restraint in situations that are obviously and blatantly dangerous, she likes to get out and about and will do just about anything (within reason) once. An experience is nothing to miss out on, and even if it's not anything particularly meaningful, she doesn't consider anything fun to be a waste of time.

Energetic: Befitting someone who likes to be near-constantly doing things, Gabi has a lot of energy. Too much, depending on who you ask. Gabi would definitely be considered an extrovert, as spending time with her friends is a hell of a mood booster in and of itself. She's also decently athletic, and has fun with certain types of exertion like off-road bicycling, hiking, and swimming. Her energy extends to less physically-focused hobbies too. Once you get her talking about her favorite dinosaur, it's hard to get her to stop. God have mercy if you ask anything about alligators.

Affectionate: Gabi tends to be that friend who's very open with friendly affection, physical or otherwise. Whether it's a held hand, an arm draped over the shoulder, or even the occasional platonic smooch to the cheek, if Gabi cares for you and you're comfortable with it, you'll know. Outside of being physically doting, she isn't shy about telling her friends she loves them. She's definitely the type to blast someone with dozens of heart emojis when she's in a particularly good mood.

Superstitious: Nobody could tell you exactly what caused it, but Gabi is a firm believer in things beyond the normal human perception. Aliens? Most likely. Ghosts? Almost definitely. While the expedition turned out to be more a night of goofing off in the woods, Gabi has attended a bigfoot hunt more than once and was firmly determined to capture _something,_ at least before five hours of nothing in particular had passed. All the same, she maintains an interest in cryptozoology, whether local or foreign. It's not her primary hyperfixation, but it intrigues her enough to engage in.

Stubborn: Though she's generally nice and she does her best to be so, Gabi undeniably has something of a headstrong attitude too. She's not one to give up easily or drop a point when she feels it's worth arguing over, and she tends to judge a bit too quickly and hold fast to those perceptions. While not exactly a flagrant behavioral issue, she has a low tolerance for people who aren't outwardly kind and holds grudges for longer than is healthy. Unfortunately, her protectiveness of her little brother has caused him some issues with other kids his age that Gabi doesn't realize she's partially the root of, and when particularly upset, she has a tendency to lash out at people she has grievances with.

Mother: Laura Mendez, née Anglana
Father: Martin Mendez
Brother: Jeffrey Mendez
Grandfather: Yusuf Anglana

Gabi is an Everbrook local. Her grandfather moved from Somalia to America with his daughter during her youth. Her father is of Costa Rican descent and has had family in the state for as far back as their records exist. Gabi's parents met in Everbrook after they had both moved there in the early 2000s, in the midst of a mass migration of Somali immigrants to Maine.

Gabi was born on April 4th, 2004. She was lucky enough to have a good childhood, full of formative interests that would last for years to come. She did, however, experience her fair share of bullying as a young kid, especially throughout middle school. Being of lower class, mixed ethnicity, and displaying signs of some budding mental illness created a rough environment, one that she eventually began to fight tooth and nail against. Gabi racked up a number of infractions, both for minor grievances in class and for engaging in a few full-on brawls.

Despite the trouble she got into, her grandpa supported her completely. It wasn't hard to recognize why some of the shit she got was coming her way in the first place. Gabi naturally grew very close to her grandpa, which made his health's decline all the more harsh on her. In Gabi's freshman year of high school, he became severely ill with intestinal cancer. The severity of his condition necessitated hospitalization out-of-town in Portland, and for the past year, Gabi's made it an effort to visit him as much as possible.

Lately though, that's gotten difficult. Whether it was car issues, road work, work scheduling, or inclement weather, Gabi and her family have been unable to leave the city limits of Everbrook to go and visit him. His antiquated experience with technology has even made so much as a video call near impossible, and the stress of not being able to see him has been getting to her.

Gabi believes something weird is going on. The amount of times her potential visits have been stopped short are starting to feel like more than a coincidence, but whatever it's related to, she has no idea.