"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination."

- Jimmy Dean

"Hello first year students, I am Headmaster Deveraux. Welcome to Cressida."

Headmaster Deveraux's voice boomed across the ceremony room, making Janelle along with all the other Katians in the room wince, due to their advanced hearing. The headmaster was an older Izaldian, with slightly wrinkled skin and old, dark blue eyes that were taking in every one of us in the room. Despite his age, his form demanded respect and oozed authority while he held his 6'5 frame tall and his chin high. In spite of his menace looking black horns, he wasn't scary, in fact, his eyes glinted with warmth and his mouth hinted at a smile.

I could see the headmaster being looked at as a Grandfather, or a mentor at the least. As soon as he was done taking in every one of us, he opened his mouth to continue speaking.

"It is with great pleasure to accept every one of you into Cressida as students so you may all work together and strengthen the bond between the four races; Izaldians, Katians, Novians, and Humans. Cressida's goal is to unite the four so that one day in the near future, we can all coexist on the same planet. With that said, you classes for the next four years will be a little different than what you would most likely take on your home planets."

Some murmurs went around the room wondering what he meant by "different." As all of us, or at least most of us in the room were 18, the next four years would be what humans describe as college. The Headmaster cleared his throat to shush us all before continuing.

"There will be a few courses added that Cressida especially specializes in. The main one in particular, will be a cultural class. Why this is different than the cultural classes on your planets? Because we will be teaching the class in a simulator. Each day, you will learn about a different race's culture and their planet as a whole. You will even participate in some of their customs and traditions."

Nyla slumped a little in her seat while Janelle perked up. As for me, I guess I would have to take the class to decide whether or not I would enjoy it. On Earth, there were classes that taught about the other races, but nothing as in depth as the Headmaster was saying, especially not with a simulator.

"Also, you will be assigned family units. Each family unit will have four members; one from each race. You will all live together under the same roof and you will attend classes together, since you will have the same class schedule as your family members. You will work together, learn from each others, and they will become your second family. Any fighting within the unit and depending on the situation, you could be expelled.

A male voice from the back of the room shouted 'hallelujah' and multiple snickers filled the silent air.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" The Headmaster asked in a quiet, but harsh tone. "If you're expelled, you will be spending the rest of your life in prison on your home planet." The room went so quiet, I could hear my own intake of breath. "The program here is taken VERY seriously. Your foolishness could be the cause of another war, which is what we're trying to prevent. Do I make myself clear?"

Nobody laughed or snickered or said a peep.

"Good." The Headmaster remarked before leaving the stage and giving a petite women the floor. She awkwardly made her way to the middle of the stage, but not before tripping on . . . well, nothing. I suppose she was a bit of a clutz. Her skin was a dark chocolate and her hair was an ashy lilac. She couldn't be taller then maybe 4'5? Judging by her physical features, she must be a Novian.

"I'm professor Ehris and I'll be teaching the Cultural class. I'm also head of all the family units, so if you have any questions or concerns, please come to me. Since there are 25 representative of each race, there will be 25 family units. With that said, I'll be calling out each family unit, so when you hear your name, come up to the stage and a staff member will give you a tour as well as your classes and keys to your house."

As soon as she was done with the little announcement, she called four names. Each person, a different race each, got up and went to the stage where a staff member greeted them and took them out of the ceremony room. The Professor went on calling four names at a time, and by the fifth family unit, Nyla was called. She squeezed my hand before going up to the stage where three other forms stood waiting. Their staff member came and off she went. The closest person I knew so far, gone.

A couple more groups were called before I heard Kael's name called as well. He got up and made his way to the stage, never once looking back. Two more groups went by before I heard my name.

Stunned at the reality of this, I quickly got out of my seat and made my way to the stage. Slowly, I made my way to Professor Ehris and glanced behind me to find Janelle and a Novian I didn't recognize right behind me.

"Err--" Professor Ehris mumbled. "You seem to be missing a member, Rian Sebasteroth, but umm . . . I suppose you'll just have to go on the tour without him."

Professor Ehris seemed a bit flustered, so I assumed this wasn't something that happened frequently. She shot a worried look towards Headmaster Deveraux, who simply sighed and shook his head. A staff member appeared next to Professor Ehis and gestured for us to follow her. Judging by her ears and eyes, she was a Katian.

Janelle stepped forward next to me and we shared a smile. At least I knew one of my family unit members already. The Novian male also made his way forward so that he was next to Janelle.

His skin was a dark chocolate just like Professor Ehris's, but unlike her, he had incredibly dark purple hair with a few highlights of lighter purple. His honey yellow eyes glanced up at Janelle and he smirked flirtatiously towards her. She snorted and rolled her eyes in response, a whisper of a smile on her lips.

The three of us made our way out of the ceremony room as we followed the staff member who was acting as our tour guide.

"I'm Nurse Annia, and I'll be showing you around the school today, as well as giving you your schedules, showing you your home and giving some guidelines. Before I get into any of that though, would you mind telling me your names?"

Janelle spoke first.

"I'm Janelle."

"Iris."

"And I'm Aster."

So the Novian's name was Aster, huh, kinda suits him.

"Welcome to Cressida, and if you would please follow me to the courtyard this way.

She lead us through a pair of huge, transparent double doors made of the same clear, glass-like material as the rest of the school. We had to squint once we were outside the doors for a couple seconds due to the sunlight, but as soon as I was able to see, I had to rub my eyes to see if I was dreaming.

We were at the entrance leading into the gardens of the courtyard and the sight ahead of me could only be described as mystical.

Two silver trees twisted and curled around each other to create an arching entrance in front of gardens. My group stepped forward and when we passed under the twining tree, I reached out my hand to brush against the deep grooves in the bark.

"What are these?" I asked Nurse Annia in wonderment.

"Ah those ruins?" She asked. "They say that the spirit of this moon came one starry night and carved those very ruins into the bark. Whether they're a curse or a blessing, nobody knows, but despite our best and most advanced translators, nobody's been able to figure out what it says."

Janelle, Aster and I stood there staring at the ruins in astonishment. The ruins were grooved and elegant with curved edges and smooth lines. They were cut so deeply, that it was as if you were staring into the very souls of the ancient looking trees. Nurse Annia smirked at our expressions.

"Come on now, nobody's been able to translate it for the last decade, so don't expect to decode it now. Speaking of translators, are any of you experiencing any soreness?"

Nurse Annia was talking about the translators that had been implanted under our ears before we boarded the starship to reach Cressida. Since the other three races didn't speak English and we didn't speak their languages, translators were embedded in everyone at Cressida so we could understand what everyone was saying without needing to master each language.

All three of us said that there were no problems or pain with our translators, so Nurse Annia smiled at us and continued down the path through the gardens. All the plants in the garden were vibrant and each seemed to have unique features of their own. The row of shrubs we passed near the entrance had gold leaves and purple bell-shaped berries that whispered chimes as you passed by. Another plant, a flower, with a brown, thorny stem and a blue flower, seemed to ripple in place as it's thrones playfully swayed in the still air, dancing with the other flowers of its kind. We made our way to the middle of the garden and at the center was a fountain, but instead of normal, clear water, there was a purple liquid streaming from the fountain.

Huh, so the color of the water here is purple.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a rustling to my right and as I turned my head to find the source, so did Janelle and Nurse Annia.

"What is it?" Aster asked.

"Nothing, probably just a bird." Nurse Annia replied.

We continued down the path and my eyes flew all over the place. There was just too much to see. The gardens were so vast that I could no longer see the entrance and I could just barely make out the exit. We were nearing the end of the gardens, when a flower caught my sight.

I stepped off the path and walked towards the tiny flowers. There were only about five or six of them, but their appearance drew me in. Their petals were a midnight black in the center, but towards the end of the petal, the color lightened up into a deep indigo. The center of the tiny flowers were a soft yellow as well as the stem. I reached my hand out to feel one of the delicate looking petals.

"Don't touch them!" Nurse Annia scolded. "Those flowers are incredibly poisonous, I don't want you getting any on your hands! That's why there's so few of that flower; not only because they're rare, but also because of how toxic they are. That's why they're called Deception's Lover."

I snapped my hand back quickly and briskly moved back towards my group. Aster snickered and I felt an embarrassed blush creep up into my cheeks. Note to self: Don't touch what you don't know.

We continued to walk until we exited the gardens, and as soon as we left, it hit me that none of those plants were from Earth.

"Where are the plants in the garden from?"

Nurse Annia looked back at me and grinned.

"It's good you're observant. None of these plants are from any of the four main planets. They're actually from Feena."

Feena was the planet Cressida was orbiting and rumor had it that Headmaster Deveraux wanted to turn the planet into a place where all four races could live in the future, since no race lived on another race's planet unless if it was for political reasons.

"No wonder I didn't recognize any of the plants there." I mumbled to myself. Earth was mainly made up of water with lots of islands, so most of our cities were underwater and it was uncommon to live on shore. I was one of the few that lived on land and because of that, I knew almost every plant on Earth. What could I say? I liked flowers.

"Next, we're going to go to the lower city and I'll show you some of the places where a lot of the student like to go."

"Aren't we going to see the school?" Janelle asked.

For a second, something that looked like anxiety flittered across Annia's features, but it quickly disappeared.

"Oh, no, there's still some renovating that needs to be done. You'll see the campus on your first day." The nurse smiled. "Don't worry, though, all the older students will help you find your way. And you'll also have the same schedule..."

Annia continued on, but I became distracted again by the beautiful scenery surrounding us as we walked away from the garden.

---

Annia led us to a small building near the edge of the cliff the school sat on. Inside the building at the far wall opposite the entrance was an opening. Through the aperture, I could see a glass sphere above a track moving toward us.

Annia walked toward the opening and beckoned us forward. When we were standing on the platform, Annia spoke.

"This is our way down to the lower part of Cressida. The lifts use magnets to move." When the lift came to stop in front of us, a section of the glass jutted forward and slid to the side, making an opening for us to step through. I glanced at the bottom and noticed a black square that made up the floor.

I guess that's the magnet.

When we were all inside the sphere and the glass door closed, I finally took notice of the fact that the lift was floating above the track.

"That's so cool..." I breathed.

"You do realize that it's just the magnetic field?" Aster asked with a smile that told me he was joking. "I learned about those in school when I was eight."

"It's still cool."

After that, we stood in silence, gazing out at the beautiful scenery. Glass buildings littered the landscape, and as we got closer to the ground, I saw the different races together. I smiled as I noticed a human and Katian holding hands and a few Novians talking to an Izaldian.

As the lift came to a stop I thought, This is what dad would have wanted.

---

"This is the Cressida Diner." Annia said as she opened the door to the restaurant. "It's based on the diners from the 1950s on Earth."

"Woah," Janelle said. "That's so ancient."

"Yeah it is." Annia smiled. "Now, I have to give you guys something." She reached into her pocket and gave each of us a metal card. "This is your currency. It has a certain number of points, and every time you want to go shopping, or buy something that isn't already provided for you, the points are deducted from the card."

We thanked her and I glanced around the diner. The floor was a mix of black and white squares, and the walls were painted red with black music notes. Red booths were everywhere, most filled with students, and there was a counter at the back wall with waiters and waitresses standing behind it. I looked to my right, and noticed a machine with flashing lights against the wall. It was about my height, and had a rounded top. Underneath a glass screen, there were circular buttons that listed letters and numbers.

"What's that?" Janelle turned toward me.

"I'm not sure, I'm not very knowledgeable on older technology."

"I know what it is." Janelle and I turned to Aster. "It's a jukebox. It's a coin-operated phonograph, typically in a gaudy, illuminated cabinet, having a variety of records that can be selected by push button."

"How did you know that?" Janelle asked.

"I have a photographic memory, all Novians do."

"That sounds so convenient to have." I said.

"Most of the time it is. But I sadly still remember the time I walked in on my parents doing it." Aster shuddered, as Janelle and I both laughed. "It was nasty."

"Alright, it's time for me to show you guys your house."

We all stopped laughing when we remembered that Annia was standing next to us.

Yeah, that was awkward.

We stepped out of the diner and looked at the various other shops and restaurants on the street as we followed Annia. Occasionally Janelle or Aster would point out a store that looked cool, or a restaurant that had delicious looking food, and I soon found myself thinking that having these guys as roommates wouldn't be so bad. Hopefully, the Izaldian would be nice too.

---

"Iris, could you pass the...um, what are they called again?"

"They're potatoes, Janelle." I handed the Katian the bowl and continued to cut the chicken on my plate.

After reaching our family unit, which was on the first floor of the four level building, we decided to have dinner. The refrigerator and pantry were already packed, and since I figured that Janelle wasn't the cooking type, and I didn't exactly trust Aster to not burn the building down, I had offered to make dinner. (Plus, I wasn't sure if the Novian could even reach some of the cabinets.) It was interesting to introduce Janelle and Aster to human cuisine, and see which foods they didn't know.

I had also been surprised to see how nice the house was. The kitchen was state of the art, and had pretty much every cooking tool you could imagine, including some from the other planets that I had no idea how to use. (The part of me that loved cooking was very excited.) There were four bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, and I had enough space in the closet for all my clothes to fit. The bathrooms had a bathtub and shower (and also a bidet, which I thought was kinda gross), along with enough counter space for all my toiletries. And then there was the sitting room, which was probably my favorite part of the unit.

There was an incredibly comfy sofa, that was sitting atop a very fluffy white carpet. It was facing a freaking flat screen TV with a hologram communicator above it. But the best part was the glass window covering that entire wall. It showed the town, along with a few of the other family unit houses, and the sight was breathtaking.

I was shaken out of my thoughts when Aster asked, "So, do you guys have any cool abilities?"

"Katians have a couple..." Janelle started. "We have increased hearing, eyesight and flexibility."

At the word flexibility, Aster smirked. "Really?"

"Yes, you pervert." Janelle turned toward me. "What about humans, Iris?"

"We can heal quickly and can turn invisible." I responded.

"You can turn invisible?"

"Yeah, kinda like a chameleon, but it's not always voluntary. It's more of a defense mechanism, like if I feel scared or threatened, it will sometimes kick in automatically. But I'm pretty good at controlling it."

After that, we finished dinner and decided to retreat to our bedrooms. After brushing my teeth and changing into my pajamas, I dug through my bag. I gazed warmly at the framed picture of my mom and placed it on the nightstand. I turned off the lights and was about to get in bed when I heard a noise.

I quickly turned to where I heard the sound and gasped in shock at what I saw.

The silhouette of a large man loomed over me in the darkness, the town lights from the open window illuminating his horns.

The man turned to face in my direction, and I swear I could see his violet eyes widen. Then, his deep voice rang out through the room.

"Hi..."

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Hey! Just wanted to let you guys know that we try to update every weekend and since we were sorta late on this one, we decided to make it longer! Sorry if this chapter was more on the boring side, but the information was very important!  Don't worry , we (Dee and I) both think that the next chapter will make up for this one though, so be prepared! Since Cosmic is in the JustWriteIt, please vote and coment if you've enjoyed reading this story so far!

Thanks!

Also, just to add this in. In the USA, there was a shooting in Maryland this week. May those who were killed rest in peace and for the families and friends morning their loved one find support and love in each other.