• Meaning of Name : “Ka Yoru” means “Beautiful Night”
• Ajan Treasure : The Obsidian Star
• Quote : “I felt alone when I couldn’t see the moon.”
• Age : 15
• Birthday : November 30th
• Eyes : Green
• Hair : Dark Brown
• Height : 5’11”
• Family : Father, Mother, Little Brother
• Personality : Loyal, Dedicated, Impatient, Perfectionist, Self-conscious
• Home : Northeast shore of the lake near North Shore Gardens
• Hobbies : Drawing, Sketching, Band
• Best Friend : Daphne Benning
• Favorite Food : Pretzels
• Favorite Color : Dark Blue
• Favorite Place to Visit : Lakeshore Art Museum, Collins Performing Arts Center
• Favorite Music : Anything with a horn section
• Favorite School Subject : P.E., Art
• Favorite Flower : Chrysanthemum
• Favorite Ice Cream Flavor : Chocolate Chip
• Favorite Pizza Topping : Olives
• Least Favorite Food : Cauliflower
• Least Favorite School Subject : Geography
• Least Favorite Thing : Giving speeches
• Year in School : Sophomore
• Band Instrument : Trumpet
• Band Rank : Squad Leader
• Other Musical Instruments : Flugelhorn
• Greatest Wish : To learn to paint pictures

Shannon Ka Yoru is the leader of Jessica and Talitha’s squad during their first summer rehearsal for band, and teaches them both how to march and explains all of the various drills that they must learn in order to perform with the field and street bands. Shannon is very dedicated and serious about the Tree Shores Marching Band, which is one of the reasons she is selected to be a summer instructor in only her second year.

Shannon is very tall for her age at nearly six feet, and this makes her very self-conscious. Her parents have to remind her to “stand up straight” quite often as she tries her best to fit in with her shorter friends. Shannon despairs that she will ever find anyone to ask her to a prom or dance because she is so much taller than most of the boys she knows.

Shannon the Musician

Shannon seems quite impatient, and is just a bit of a perfectionist. She expects everything to be just so, and frequently tries to encourage her friends to keep up with her expectations. For this reason, Shannon isn’t quite sure about Jessica. Jessica’s seemingly random attention span drives Shannon crazy at first, but later she learns to appreciate Jessica’s boundless enthusiasm and infectious optimism.

Shannon is a second-chair trumpet in the marching band, but is a very powerful player. She has good musicianship, range and technique, and particularly enjoys playing flugelhorn because of the much warmer tone. Shannon is dedicated to the goal of being first-chair and possibly even a section leader. Because of her ability, Shannon has already acquired just a little of the recognizable “pride” unique to first trumpet players, but just a little.

Shannon the Artist

Shannon is fascinated by painting and artwork, and visits the Lakeshore Art Museum as often as she can. She spends hours wandering the halls of the art complex, dreaming of being good enough to see her own paintings of horses, dolphins and deer become part of a museum art exhibit someday.

Shannon covers every single piece of paper she owns, including her music and every book cover with dozens and dozens of little sketches and doodles of animals, especially horses. She is never quite happy with her drawings, so she usually re-draws each several times, which also makes her very self-conscious. She insists that nobody but her closest friends know she can draw. Jessica, of course, discovers Shannon’s talent instantly and encourages her to announce it at every opportunity, which drives Shannon even crazier.

Shannon’s father is delighted by the fact she is almost six feet tall, and decides she should participate in organized sports as a way to build her confidence and overcome her self-consciousness about her height. Although Shannon enjoys her physical education classes in school, she nevertheless finds reasons to avoid joining the sports teams because she is not very confident about her athletic abilities despite her height advantage. Her father still announces how proud he is of Shannon’s height whenever possible, which is a source of constant embarassment for her.

Shannon makes an exception for the archery team, becoming one of only two Tree Shores students able to compete in the long bow events because of her height. Shannon lives with her parents and little brother on the northeast shore of the lake in Tree Shores.