Dixie Moreno

Dixie Moreno is a new student in Nanea's class when school resumes in February. She has a short pageboy hairstyle (though she is illustrated with a bob) and a slightly crooked smile. She has moved from Maui, as her father has recently gotten a job at Wheeler Airfield. Initially, Nanea does not get along with her; she feels she is replacing Donna and herself as Mrs. Smith's best student, and makes several unfounded assumptions. It is only after talking to her and Nanea learns some of what is going on in her life that they become friends. Dixie initially lives with her aunt and uncle, as housing is hard to find. She must share a room with three cousins; they are too young to go to school, and at night they keep her up trying to play. When Dixie was five, her mother won a singing contest and the prize was a ticket to try out for a movie in Los Angeles. Her mother never came back; Dixie states that perhaps her mother likes being in the movies more than being her mother. This also makes it hard staying at her aunt's because her mother and aunt are sisters and her aunt looks and sounds like her mother. While her mother writes once a month and says that Dixie can visit when older, Dixie misses her greatly. Dixie likes tap dancing and dogs. Her favorite shave ice flavor is grape.