Melinda Singh- Indian-American (Gujarati ancestry); Melinda is an outgoing and kindhearted student at the high school who is currently dating Alvin Sankar and always looking to turn over a new leaf. She can be quite vain and fashion sensitive, which makes her more likely to stop in the middle of something due to finding a dirt patch on her clothes. She was indicated to be rebellious at times, landing herself in many difficult situations, particularly when it came to boys. She has been studying and creating a breast cancer breathalyzer, and received an early scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she would've been studying with other scientists the following year, although she ultimately turned it down. Melinda knows not everyone will agree with her family's traditional values, but that doesn't mean she's afraid to stand up for her beliefs. After her parents were made aware of her former ways through her permanent record, she realized she needed to change her life for the better. As a child, she came across as a model-like, proper girl who sometimes had homophobic tendencies, but she turned out to be a sweet, yet naive Indian girl. She is very protective of her little brother Sanjay, who was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome when he was 9 years old, and often looks after him. Melinda became more self-assured as she entered adolescence, and according to her peers has a formidable temper that can make her seem intimidating at times. Like many of the female students in her grade level, she developed a crush on Seth Powers, a popular jock who most of the girls fancied for his looks. She used to be a bit quiet and self-conscious growing up and had insecurities regarding her large forehead, which made her the target of bullying from a few girls in her grade. Upon being befriended by a girl named Rachel Webster, she became less inhibited and more vocal in expressing her opinions, which led her to be more socially accepted from there on. 

Melinda typically gives the outward impression of being polite to her superiors, friendly to her peers, and confident in herself. She has periodic moments of bashfulness around Seth and competitiveness around Rachel, but otherwise appears quite collected. She generally has a positive attitude towards everything and everyone and, in her child-like demeanor, easily hugs, kisses, and playfully interacts with others. She can be very lustful however and has a side to herself that can be incredibly shallow, which often leads her to take other people's views into account. Melinda can be spontaneous and impulsive, but occasionally slow-witted and tactless, causing her to often state her mind without thinking. A romantic at heart, she is easily enamored and quickly develops crushes, which makes her prone to wearing her heart on her sleeve. She is highly intelligent and has a great aptitude for both math and science, although she intentionally chooses to dumb herself down around others. She is also very stylish and tends to wear more flattering clothing beneath the conservative attire that her parents encourage her to wear, which always manages to impress those around her. Melinda was originally in an accelerated program where she was exposed to other gifted students and participated in the robotics team, leading her to befriend a Christian girl named Avery. She had a pregnancy scare at one point during her junior year of high school when she decided to spend the night with Seth, causing her to begin to prioritize her education. She demonstrates her compassionate nature when she tries to coax Eddy Beadles out of his suicidal thoughts and has empathy when she admits to relating to his feelings, offering to give him guidance. She had a conflict with Phyllis Hatzilakos as well due to a series of a rumors that she spread against her, although they managed to forgive each other and put their misunderstandings aside. 

Melinda is also artistic and shows that she can be quite creative, as seen in her aesthetic eye when decorating her room and love for painting. She enjoys cross-stitching with her mother in her spare time and arranging flower decors for close friends, as well as jewelry making, producing handicrafts and sewing and knitting in her living room. She has fun going to the spa in her spare time and loves to get messages and manicures with her girlfriends, and she is also frequently seen shopping at the mall. She claims to dislike most sports and find them a hassle, although she participate in the school's badminton team and appears to be rather skilled at it. Melinda originally rejected Alvin simply over the fact that he was Indian, as she expressed a desire to marry for love and didn't want her parents to influence her decisions in life. Having been sheltered most of her life due to her social status, she spent her childhood in misery and loneliness as she was denied any friendships, with her social interactions being restricted to her immediate family. With each passing year, she became more frustrated with all the traditions her role demanded her to uphold, including being forced to remain within walking distance at all times, forced to marry for political gain rather than love, and treated as an object rather than a human being. She slowly fell in love with Alvin however and saw him as level-headed and mature, feeling charmed by his musical abilities as the guitarist for a band known as "The Studz". Melinda becomes more humble over time and begins to look into the hearts of others, adopting a more open-minded mentality that enables her befriend different people. She hopes to leave a meaningful impact upon the world and desires to help others in some way, leading her to take more pride in her intelligence over time. She loves her little brother dearly and will do anything for him, spending time with him both at home and at school, and will often ride next to him on the bus. 

The two often bond by doing puzzles together and his interest in trains, in addition to his deep fascination with the anime series Naruto. Melinda is amiable yet fearless, showing a curiosity for everything and having many goals and ambitions in life, such as a desire to travel and live her life to the fullest. She is incredibly gregarious and extraverted and wants constant stimulation, resulting in her having trouble remaining committed to friendships. There are times in which she can show an immense amount of loyalty however, as she is good at keeping secrets and is very supportive of those that matter the most to her. She also lives by the motto that all of her friends are special and treats them as she would wish to be treated, having a natural ability to bring out people's inner selves. Melinda's attitude often put her at odds with her father and the rest of her relatives, who were content with sticking to the status quo and expressed frustration with her refusal to do the same. She has been something of a "black sheep" amongst them as a result, so she developed a standoffish nature for a while and sometimes acted incredibly stubborn as a defense mechanism. She does care deeply for her father however and desires above all else to please him and win his trust, and she will occasionally to something kind for her parents such as trying to perfect her mother's recipe for potato dosas, which she knows means a lot to her. Her mother tends to be more patient with her and tries to understand her needs, making them have a slightly closer to one another and have a better relationship overall. Melinda and her loved ones have certain customs that appear odd to her peers, such as eating with their hands during social gatherings and wearing saris for special events. She enjoys many of the same things her friends do nevertheless and is a fan of music from pop artists such as Ariana Grande and Bebe Rexha, as well as Shawn Mendes. 

She also likes to watch Netflix shows in her down time and is addicted to the shows Thirteen Reasons Why and Orange is the New Black. Her first date with Alvin was to a Dave & Busters in the city, which she still considers to be one of the most fun and meaningful things she has done with someone her age. Melinda wears a nose ring and has thick waist-length, shiny midnight black hair that is said to have a bluish tint while in the sun and a deeply tanned, golden brown complexion. She is described as appearing incredibly fit from all her exercising and to have a toned body with a "nice curve". She is best friends with Rachel Webster, a plump, chubby blonde who is her frequent workout partner and has an interest in exercise science. She is also very close friends with a girl of French and Mauritian descent named Devi Bhandari, with whom she has a sisterly sort of bond and on good terms with Thomas' best friend James Masterson. As a person who previously struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Melinda claims exercise is a healthy way to stay fit mentally and physically. Her favorite food is Tandoori chicken, and she is also shown to drink a lot of green tea, claiming that is calms her down and cleanses her system. When not exercising, she works as a cashier at her grandfather's corner store, a Valero that is managed by her parents but owned by him and his wife. Her uncle also owns the Cluck Bucket next door, a fast food restaurant that sells fried chicken to consumers, along with a daycare across the street. Melinda ultimately accepts a scholarship to study medicine at the University of New Haven, and she maintains a long distance relationship with Alvin as he attends the University of Houston. The two date for nearly 10 years, but later part ways and remain close friends, even as Melinda becomes engaged to a business major named Ralph in her late 20s. ESFJ 3w2