pleasantport

Saleisha Factor

Page history last edited by natpakpartdeux 3 wks ago

Inactive Characters

Played by Erika

Vitals

Name: Saleisha Factor

Nickname: Leish (Siblings), Sally, Sal, Shorty (Ren or other guys), Sixx (teammates)

Age: 19

Birthday: October 1, 1988

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual (but she has experimented)

Status: Dating Justin Parker

Religion: Catholic

Chronic diseases/Other Illness: acute asthma, when she exerts herself too much on court (or other stressful situation), she needs her inhaler

Allergies: Bee Stings

Drinks: Yes

Smokes: No

Illegal Drugs: She has dabbled in the past, but gave it up when she started playing on sports teams

College: Will be attending Hartford in the fall for Elementary Education

Favourite Feature: Her hair

Least Favourite Feature: Her booty (it can garner unwanted attention and advances)

Greatest Strength: Perseverence to overcome obstacles

Biggest Weakness: Difficulty in trusting men

Biggest Fear: That everyone she loves will leave her.

Most Common Misconception: That she's only looking to party and have fun and she's not looking for anything serious.

Appearance

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 120lbs

Build: Curvy Athletic

Hair: Long Dark Brown/Black (naturally curly but she usually wears it straightened or wavy)

Eyes: Brown

Complexion: Dark Olive

Tattoos: She has the number 6 tattooed on her upper left shoulder blade (just enough to be covered by her basketball jersey. She also has the words “Monte O Muera” (Spanish for Ride or Die) tattooed in old English lettering across her lower back (what is often called a "tramp stamp").

Usually Wears: When she's not on the basketball court, she likes to be trendy - wearing the latest urban styles that she can afford. But when all else fails, she's content to be seen wearing jeans, fitted tshirts and Uptowns.

Never Wears: Insanely expensive name brands. Every now and then she'll splurge if there's something that she really wants, but she simply cannot afford it. One thing she does invest heavily in is footwear, which can be seen as an obsession. She loves her Timberlands, Nikes and even nice heels. But some people would be amazed to find out that she's had several pairs for years and has just meticulously taken care of them.

Personality

Saleisha openly admits that her life hasn't been the easiest to navigate, but she feels that she is a stronger person because of any heartache and pain that she has endured. This has caused her to live by what is known in the urban community as “ride or die” lifestyle. She will do whatever she needs to do to get by in life. It is this perseverance that has allowed her to juggle many responsibilities in her life and she has often done so seemingly without complaint.

Sometimes, she can present a hardened and overconfident air to the outside world. To those she does not know well, she can appear to be harsh and discriminating until she knows them better and has an understanding of their motives. Closer inspection will reveal that she is a big softie who simply lives very passionately. She's fiercely loyal, protective and caring of her family and friends. She rarely struggles to findoften considered the life of a party with her vibrancy, need to have fun and ability to look for the positive in any situation.

She's not shy at taking risks and going with her instincts. She will push herself to do things that might give others reason to pause, especially when playing basketball. But this style can either pay off big time or quickly place her in trouble. A tendency to be impulsive has also played a big role in her love/sex life, often the victim of "do now, think about and regret it later".

She's not the naturally smartest or talented person, but she makes up for it with her enthusiasm and sheer determination. She's always been envious of people like her sister who are innately intelligent or gifted in one way or another; She has to work at it. Or, she finds that she doesn't have enough time in her day to do all of the things she wants to do.

History

Saleisha Timeline

Saleisha's parents moved to Pleasant Port from New York City shortly after her birth in search of better job opportunities. Both her parents came from uninspired backgrounds with her father born and raised on the streets of the Bronx and her mother moving there from Puerto Rico. Both lacked the education for higher end jobs. Her father, Victor, found work at the electrical plant while her mother, Tatiana, worked on one of the local farms.

When Saleisha was eight years old, her father died unexpectedly in an accident at the plant. Understandably, this placed pressure on her mother as the sole breadwinner in the family. Tatiana eventually began a relationship with another man who helped her financially but he also was abusive towards Saleisha. The full extent of the abuse is rarely talked about by Saleisha, but it caused her to spend more time away from home, either at school or on the streets. She was considered a wild child roughly from ages 11-15, dabbling in drugs, sex and street basketball.

Then when she was fifteen, her mother and the man split up, which allowed Saleisha to feel more comfortable at home. She focused on her studies in high school so that she could graduate and go away to college. She wanted be the first person to graduate with a degree. She also began to play basketball on the varsity team and her talent as an aggressive and tenacious guard got her noticed by a few four year schools.

During her senior year of high school, Saleisha's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. This caused Saleisha to reevaluate her options for college and she eventually decided to attend Pleasant Port Community College so that she could stay close to home. She took on the role of a surrogate parent to her two younger siblings while her mother fought the cancer.

By early 2007, life seemed to be heading in a good direction. Saleisha was doing well to juggle a full course load, her jobs, a position on the basketball team as well as being a role model for her sister and brother. She even started to consider her dreams of attending a four year school seriously.

Unfortunately, in November, Tatiana's cancer returned in a mor aggressive, terminal state. The holiday season was a mixture of ups and downs, as even if Saleisha did manage to find love with Justin Parker and was entertaining the chance of competing for a D1 school in the fall, she also had to come to terms with her mother's impending death.

The new year was rough at first for the tormented Saleisha but with the summer approaching, things have been looking up. Hoping for a fresh start, she has decided to move out of the apartment that holds bittersweet memories for her and found another in New Haven with her boyfriend, Justin.

Family

Both of Saleisha's parents are deceased. Her father, Victor, died from injuries from an accident at the electrical plant where he worked. Her mother passed in December 2007 after losing her battle with breast cancer. The only remaining members of Saleisha's immediate family are her two younger siblings. Her younger sister, Belicia is 17 and finished high school. She will be attending MIT in the fall. Diego, her younger brother, went to live with their uncle shortly after Tatiana died. While Victor's side of the family has passed on, Tatiana was survived by an older brother - Alejandro Garza - who at one point had been best friends with Victor. Apparently when Tatiana married Victor, it caused a rift between them and they rarely spoke. Alejandro has been living in Georgia with his wife, Alondra, and three children, Victor, Valeria and Candela.

Boyfriend

Saleisha unofficially began dating Justin Parker in November 2008. Saleisha is grateful to have Justin in her life and even though she worries that it's a lot of pressure for their budding relationship, she readily admits that she sees him as her rock or anchor.

Living Situation

Address: New Haven

Lives With: Justin Parker

Transportation

Volvo station wagon nicknamed "the clunker" by Belicia and Diego

Relationships With Other Characters

Scott Archer (Friend) - From the moment Saleisha met Scott at one of the local bars, she felt a connection to him. It didn't take her long to recognize that he wasn't like many of the other guys she had encountered growing up or even at college. He once lived next door to her and that allowed them to become friendly. Even with his move out of the neighborhood, they still hang out. He's her dancing buddy - always willing to join her on the dance floor regardless of how many inhibitors are in his system - and he's also one of her best sources for advice on how to deal with the opposite sex. They have also shared some intimate experiences with one another because of her comfort level with him.
Travis Collins (Friend)- Saleisha knows Travis from hanging out with Scott at the bars together. She calls him the "gentle giant" because of his height (compared to hers) and shy demeanor when they first met. She is constantly trying to coax him onto the dance floor to no avail and has a secret mission to get him drunk enough where he'll really let loose. Travis also assists Saleisha when she needs a cheeseburger fix from the diner where he works.
Cassandra Davis (Co-Worker/Former Neighbor) - Saleisha knows her from working at The Pancake House. Whenever Cassandra needs someone to cover a shift, Saleisha's been more than willing to help out.
Filo Felvish (Acquaintance) - Saleisha met him after Christmas while doing laundry. They talked about everything from music tastes to basketball to colleges.
Ethan Hauer (Former Coach) - He was the head coach of the PPCC basketball team.
Lauren Jacobsen (Friend) - Saleisha shares quite a few friends with Lauren, including Love Bug, and so they have naturally hung out on many occasions and have extended their own friendship.
Ryan King (Acquaintance) - Saleisha knows the entire King family through her involvement with the Child Care Center. Since she mostly knows him on a basic level, she sees him as a very eccentric man. As for the rest of the family, she thinks Victoria King is quite beautiful, and Caitlin King and Alexis King are adorable.
Micah Lewis (Friend) - Saleisha met Micah in 2001 when they were both trying to escape from horrible home lives with drugs, parties and sex. Saleisha is happy that they both managed to get out of that scene in 2003, but she is also glad that they have remained friends. Even though she never openly expresses it, when she looks back on that time of her life, she feels that having met him was one of the only positive things to come of it and made it possible for her to bear.
Fletcher Montgomery (Friend) - Fletcher is Saleisha's favorite bartender. She met him during the summer after she graduated from high school and spent time at the bars celebrating and familiarizing herself with her impending "college life". (He conveniently overlooked the fact that her ID might have been fake). She was instantly attracted to him but even as they openly flirted while he mixed her drinks and she left big tips, she found herself debating whether she should mess around with a "player". Eventually fantasies of being alone in the same room with him consumed her and she decided it was impossible to fight such an attraction.
Norah Parker (Friend/Boyfriend's Sister) - Saleisha met Norah in high school as they were in the same grade. And even though they tended to run with different crowds and weren't close friends, they were friendly with each other. Then they also went on to PPCC together. Now that Saleisha has been dating Justin, she and Norah have been hanging out more and getting to know each other. better.
Amy Salinger (Former Professor) - Saleisha's Short Story instructor and academic advisor.
Alexander Stone (Former Teacher) - He was one of her favorite and most supportive teachers in high school when she was trying to turn her life around. He now teaches her siblings and she'll also see him when her family goes to church. Saleisha will often attend parent-teacher conferences or school events in lieu of her mother, both because of Tatiana's health and also because of her inability to communicate in well in English.

Work & School

Job

School

Saleisha will be attending Hartford in the fall as an Elementary Education major.

Life

Activities: Basketball, self defense classes, church on Sundays, hanging out

Likes: Sports (Basketball and baseball especially), music (mostly r&b, hip hop and reggaeton), belly dancing, clubbing, fashion, food (she's been told that she eats like a "dude"), spending time (and usually trying to have sex) with Justin

Dislikes: Sleezy guys, prissy girly-girls (or snobby, elitest girls...could probably apply to guys too), people who are constantly on their sidekicks or blackberries

Favorite film: A Bronx Tale

Favorite song: No One by Alicia Keys or All Cried Out by Allure & 112

Favorite quote: Incoming

Commonly Heard Saying: "That's what's up!"

Favorite food: Cheeseburger with fries from diners (not the puney ones from Burger King or McDonalds)

Favorite colors: pink and purple

Favorite book: Reviving Ophelia

Love Life

Status: Dating Justin Parker

Crush: Justin Parker

First Kiss: Carlos

Longest Relationship: 3 months