Catarina Elizabeth Marie Valentine was born September 19, 1994 at exactly 3:28 am.
She knows this because there is a copy of her birth certificate folded in a box she keeps under her bed with all sorts of other mementos.
She is named for her grandmother (both of them) because her parents didn't have any girl's names picked out. (There had been a confusing sonogram)
She was supposed to be Michael Demetri Valentine, after her father. Her brother, who is born approximately 10 months later, got that name. Michael is a special boy and sometimes Cat thinks that that
might be her fault. (People sometimes call Cat special, but in a different way.)
Her family spends the first twelve years of her life in Sunnyvale, California. Her father, a tall man whose ancestry one would guess to be somewhat Mediterranean, works for Pear. He is great with
technology and circuitry. Cat is too, but not in the same way. It is all about math and science for him. He leaves the creativity to the design department.
Her mother is a perfect match for her father, physically. They were a beautiful couple. They have a perfect height difference, perfectly matching tones, and perfect features. All their family portraits are
picture perfect, especially when Cat's the one behind the camera.