2298
Milky Way Galaxy
Planet Earth
Desert Sands, Nevada
Desert Sands Prep Academy
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Summer Dawn Wu rushed up to her friends, who were in the courtyard. "Hey, guys! Look what my lăo lao sent me," She called, sitting down on the ground beside Hara, pushing her short black hair from her face, her brown eyes sparkling as she pulled out a tin and opened it up.

Logan peered over Hara's shoulder, leaning away from the tree. "Ooh, osmanthus cakes! Your grandma is spoiling you S.D." He said, his mouth watering at the colorful look and sweet smell of them.

Summer Dawn giggled at Logan and offered the tin out to her friends. "Yeah, she does that a lot. She said she'll try and come for a visit next week and bring lăo ye with her since my parents are unable to come." She exclaimed, stuffing a sweet cake into her mouth.

Hara took a bite out of the light yet flavorful cake and laid back on the grass, looking up at the sun peaking through the trees. "I'd love it if my parents would come down once to visit me. It seems they are always busy and the only time I see them is in a video chat or during summer." She sighed heavily.

Logan reached over and gently nudged her shoulder. "Hey, at least your parents don't check in on you every single day, morning and evening." He shook his head at the recollection.

Hara reached over and pinched his cheek, cooing. "Aww, they only wanna check up on their little genius." She teased in a baby voice followed by a laugh, failing to notice Logan's red face.

Logan swatted her hand away, slumping his shoulders and looking towards the ground. "Hmph," He huffed, childishly crossing his arms over his chest. "Be glad you're my friend or else I'd punch you."

Summer Dawn grinned as she watched Hara and Logan, they were such an amusing pair together. "Hara, where is your sister?" She asked, turning to the dark-haired girl and leaning back against the tree.

Hara groaned, lacing her fingers together and putting them over her eyes. "Don't know. Don't care. She already hates me and thinks I'm too bossy. She's probably with her friends or causing some chaos in the computer lab." She replied, annoyance laced in her voice.

"Or maybe she's hacking into the principal's computer." Logan suggested, earning an eye roll from Hara. "What? It's true, she could be trolling the computer lab too. Poor Mr. Agreste."

Hara scoffed, shaking her head. "She didn't hack it, she guessed it. He uses the same password for everything anyways, she was giving a warning not to do it again." She explained, letting her hands flop to her side. "And Mr. Agreste isn't exactly the nicest teacher."

"Hara, you give your little sister far too little credit. Anyone would be blessed to have a sibling whether they were annoying or not." She poked Hara's cheek with her finger.

Logan nodded his head along with everything that Summer Dawn had said. "My sisters used to be that way with me until I came here at the start of elementary school." He smiled at the memory.

"Your sisters didn't come into your room and steal your things because they like them and want them for themselves. Then they fight you for it when you find that they have it and end up with battle scars over the issue." Hara explained, crossing her arms and her legs.

"I am the youngest in my family so I never experienced it but I'm sure my sisters' did with each other." Logan said, shoving the rest of the osmanthus cake into his mouth. "Next time we talk I'll ask for stories."

Something out of the corner of Summer Dawn's eyes caught her attention. "Varian? Why is he sneaking into his car?" She asked her friends, watching him toss his backpack into his trunk before walking around and unlocking the door.

Logan frowned, he quickly got to his feet and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "I'm going to find out." He declared walking over and standing in front of Varian's sleek car and crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, well, well, look who it is. The infamous Varian Cohan. So we'll meet again, don't we?" He drew out his words, moving his hands onto the hood of the car and leaning on them.

Varian quirked an eyebrow at Logan and then furrowed his brows with a growing form on his lips. "What are you doing?" He asked as his eyes moved down to where Logan had his hands. "Remove your hands off my car before I get out and strangle you!"

Logan rolled his eyes, keeping cool and composed. "I won't because you're not to be leaving the academy's grounds. I know you don't have permission. You still have two strikes from the headmaster for reckless behavior and destruction of private property." He smirked a little at his words.

Varian sighed, glancing over at Hara and Summer Dawn who were stiffening their smiles. "Why do you care so much whether I leave or not? You're not my dad, you can't tell me what to do." He smarted off with a fake smile then it dropped suddenly. "Now, get out of my car now or else."

Logan gritted his teeth and pulled his hands off the hood and put them up in the air. "Fine, fine." He didn't know how to gain the upper hand on Varian.

Summer Dawn took a deep breath, brushing a lock of hair from her face. "How about you let us tag along wherever you are going and we won't say a word." She smoothly said, flashing a toothy grin.

Varian glanced towards Hara and Logan, who were giving their friend the what-are-you-doing-look. "Why would I ever agree to that? I don't know any of you! This is a personal business in my own free time." He nonchalantly replied, pressing the button on his car and the engine revving to life.

"When did Principal Richards ever not know you were leaving the grounds?" Summer Dawn asked, pausing for a brief moment. "Let me think." She tapped her finger on her chin. "Oh wait, never. He knows everything that goes on."

Logan put on a thoughtful expression as he tapped his finger against his cheek. "Wouldn't he also know that we left without permission?" He asked, keeping his voice in a whisper as he leaned over towards the short-haired girl.

Varian rolled his eyes, putting his hands on the steering wheel. "Find a better way to blackmail me by letting you go. Because right now, I am ten seconds away from stepping on the gas and if you get run over it's your fault." His words were steadfast, just as much as his eyes.

Summer Dawn didn't bother to look at her friends before suggesting. "All we want is a little road trip for a few hours to wherever you are going. You don't even have to talk to us, just ignore us and we'll ignore you. Heck, Logan will even pay you for letting us tag along like a taxi driver."

Logan whipped his head over towards Summer Dawn, his eyes wide as he stared at Hara. "I will?" He questioned, unsure whether he could make himself do that. "But Varian is rich, money is nothing to him."

Summer Dawn nodded her head as she looked Logan straight in the eyes, a serious look on her face. "We will do /anything/ to tag along, won't we?" She asked, her tone showing he had no choice but to agree with his words.

Varian leaned back in his seat and pursed his lips. 'If we do happen to get in trouble I can drag them down and use them as scapegoats if need be. Not such a bad gamble.' He thought to himself as ran his hand through his hair.

"I don't need your money." He let out a breath of air slowly. "You can tag along, I suppose. What could go wrong? I don't want any trouble caused and having you tag along is the lesser of two evils." He explained, hitting the unlock button on his door.

Logan grinned, his eyes widening at what Varian had said. He rushed up the front of the hood, jumping into the passenger seat. "I call shotgun!" He called out, looking back at his friends.

Varian narrowed his eyes at the boy beside him and slapped Logan's shoulder. "Don't ever do that again or I'll leave you on in the middle of the road to become roadkill, mark my words." He warned, his face and tone dead serious.

Logan's expression turned mortified as he noticed that Varian was not joking. He put his hands up defensively in front of him. "Sorry, sorry, I won't do it again." He quickly apologized, vowing to Varian his word was true.

Varian could only take his word with a grain of salt. "You better not or else, you're dead meat." He warned, pulling out of the parking lot after everyone was in his car.

🌑 ☀️ 🌑 ☀️ 🌑

Half an hour later, the WELCOME TO LINCOLN COUNTY , NEVADA sign rolled past them followed by another sign that said HOME TO SPACE EXPLORATION, RESEARCH, AND AERONAUTICS INSTITUTE.

Summer Dawn's eyes widened as the sign passed. "No way! Lincoln County? The second alien capital of the world." She squealed, bouncing a little in her seat as her hands gripped the side of the door where the window rolled up. "Right after Roswell,"

Varian raised an eyebrow and glanced back at her in the rearview mirror. "You believe in all that stuff?" He asked, looking back at the road in front of him.

Summer Dawn nodded her head. "Uh, duh! Who doesn't believe in aliens? Although we've still not found proof, they're out there somewhere. I do believe aliens are just beyond the milky way." She dreamily replied, sighing softly.

Varian clenched his jaw as he heard Summer Dawn speaking. "Can you just shut up until we get to the destination? We agreed for you to keep quiet and I don't feel like making any extra stops along the way." He chided, earning a huff from Summer Dawn. "Thank you," He quietly drove down the road.

A few minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of a run-down pawn shop, no bigger than an oversized tiny house. "Stay here and don't cause any trouble." He warned as he walked around to his trunk.

He opened the truck and jumped back, letting out a startled scream. "What the heck? How did you get in my trunk?" He exclaimed as a ten-year-old girl sheepishly sat up from her fetal position. "Who are you?"

Hara jumped out of the car and looked into the trunk. Her eyes went wide as she gasped, which turned into a frown as she put her hands on her hips. "Chenoa? How did you - why are you - you are in such trouble!" She exclaimed, shaking her head.

Chenoa rolled her brown eyes as she pulled her short black hair into a small ponytail. "Goodness, chill Hara. Who are you gonna tell? Mom? Dad? Yeah, right. Why do you always have to have fun without me?" She asked, getting out of the trunk and grabbing her backpack.

Hara face-palmed them and ran her hand through her hair. "You could have asked if you wanted to come the moment you saw us, despite being a spur-of-the-moment thing." She mumbled the last bit, swallowing her pride.

Chenoa stretched her arms over her head then her legs out in front of her. "As if you'd allow me to come." She snapped, slipping on her backpack. "You never allow me to tag along with you anywhere you go. This time I had to use backhanded measures like sneaking in the trunk."

Varian groaned and reached into his trunk, pulling out a duffle bag. "She's your little sister? Go figure." He mumbled, closing the trunk and showed his key into his pocket. "How did you get into my trunk, anyways?" He asked, asking the question everyone was thinking.

Chenoa shrugged her shoulders gently, crossing her arms. "You accidentally popped it when Logan jumped into the passenger seat of your car. I slipped in from the bushes beside your car, where I was hiding. And for the record, I'm not just Hara's little sister, I'm also one of the world's most promising - and born genius - computer scientists."

Varian rolled his eyes, not even bothering to say anything about what she said. "Just behave." He was reminded once again, pushing open the door to the pawn shop and being hit with a cold, pungent smell of pine and holly berries.

A burly man from behind the counter didn't bother to look up as his hazel eyes focused on the old clock before him. "Welcome to Oakley Pawn Shop, I'm Davis Oakley, how can I help you?" He asked, finally looking up and taking his cap off, revealing disheveled red hair. "I don't believe it, Varian Cohan."

Varian flashed a smile, which would stun anyone. "Davis, surprised to see me?" He tested, walking up to the counter and setting the duffle bag down at his feet. "I know you're kidding. You called earlier about the part my uncle asked for?"

Davis chuckled and pushed off the counter with his hands. "You know me all too well." He looked around Varian and noticed the rest, Summer Dawn, Hara, Logan, and Chenoa, who was looking around. "I see you've brought friends."

Varian frowned and glanced back at them, curling his lip up in disgust. "They're not my friends." He scoffed, picking up the duffle bag and setting it down on the table. "Desert Prep Sands original snacks, including your favorite candy waffles."

Davis' eyes grew wide as he took the duffle back and opened it revealing the academy's pre-packaged goods. "You spoil me. This is more than I asked for and you even added in other things." His force turned soft and so did his eyes.

Varian tilted his head back and forth, debating on how to reply. "I've got to spend my monthly DSP credits somehow." He explained, placing his hands on the counter. "Now, where is my part?"

Davis opened one of the candied waffles and took a bite out of it. His eyes lit up like a light as he slowly chewed the sweet goodness. "Hmm, it's in the back. I'll go fetch it for you." He replied, looking at the others for a brief moment. "You can buy anything you want. I'll give you a half-off discount since you're friends with Varian." He grinned and walked through the back door.

Varian groaned, frustrated with how many times he had to insist they weren't friends. "They're not my -" He grumbled, turning around and crossing his arms over his chest. "Nevermind." He leaned against the counter and watched his classmates look around.

Hara took a beautiful dream catcher with feathers and beads, looking at it closely. "Ooh, look at this dreamcatcher! It reminds me of the one my agilisi had made me when I was little." She put it back up on the shelf.

Chenoa looked up from the rows of fancy books she was looking at. "Don't tell me you still bring that thing with you." She asked, putting a ugly yet expensive vase back on the bottom shelf.

Hara nodded. How could her sister not think she'd bring it? It meant a lot to her, not because her grandmother had given it to her. "Duh, how else am I supposed to keep nightmares away? If only you'd connect a little with our culture -"

"Here we go again!" Chenoa rolled her eyes while giving a groan, cutting her sister off from speaking. "I don't know, Hara, maybe not watch horror movies before bed and then you'd have no nightmares." She countered, sticking her tongue out to Hara.

Hara stuck her tongue back at her sister and huffed. "I don't watch horror movies before bed! That was one time!" She exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest and moving away from Summer Dawn and towards her sister.

Chenoa scoffed, shaking her head with an amused smile on her lips. "Keep telling yourself that." She mused, turning her attention to a dark blue book that seemed to call her.

It was strange.

It hadn't caught her attention until now.

Whatever her sister was saying back to her, it was just muffled noises. She reached for the book and pulled it out. Running her fingers over the raised, crescent moon and elven-esque design she suddenly snapped out of her trance-like state. "Huh?" She looked up at her sister.

Hara put her hands on her hips and frowned. "Oh great, you weren't listening to a single thing I said. Typical!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and walking off to where Logan was standing. "Little sisters."

Cheona furrowed her brows, looking back down at the book in her hands. She couldn't recall exactly what just happened, but she had a feeling she needed to buy this book. She walked up to Varian and set the book on the counter just as Davis walked through the doors.

Davis set the boxed part down on the counter with a smile. "Here it is. Sorry, it took so long. My new employee has a habit of organizing everything and I have no idea where anything is." He laughed dryly at his explanation.

Varian didn't care what the reason was. He was simply glad to have the part so he could drop it off at SERA for his uncle. "Thanks," He said, grabbing the box and walking towards the door. "If you don't wanna be left behind, it's time to go."

Chenoa looked at Varian and then at Davis. "I'd like to buy this book, please?" She asked, pushing the book up so Davis could see it. She pulled out her change purse ready for whatever the price was for it.

Davis looked down at the book and quickly looked it up in his system but frowned. "You can just have it. It's not part of my shop, got no record of it. Someone probably just left it behind and ain't coming back for it." He shrugged, opening a package of the candy waffles.

Chenoa's eyes widened as she slowly took the book. "You'd give it to me?" She couldn't believe it. Freebies weren't a common thing nowadays like they had been in the past. "Thanks so much!"

Davis grinned, nodding to confirm she could have it. "No problem, kid. Just go, don't get left behind because I know Varian and he won't hesitate to leave you high and dry." He chuckled at the thought, but it was true.

Chenoa smiled before dashing towards the door, book in hand, and pushing it open. "Wait for me." She called, jumping into the backseat, between Hara and Summer Dawn. She moved the book on her lap and took notice of an obsidian-colored crystal in the middle of the moon she hadn't noticed before.

Hara looked at her sister with a sideways glance. "You brought a book? When have you ever read something that wasn't required by the academy?" She asked, knowing full well her sister never read books.

Chenoa pulled her eyes away from the book and met her sister. "Oh, uh, yeah. I dunno why but I felt like I should. It's pretty . . ." She trailed off as her stomach rumbled. "Uh, Varian, after you drop off that package can we stop and get something to eat?"

Varian looked back at her and shrugged her shoulders. "Fine. Good excuse not to go back now since that was quicker than I thought it'd be." He grumbled, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road. "Just don't think I'm buying because I'm not."

Chenoa giggled softly, looking at Varian. "Wouldn't dream of it." She said, running her fingers along the spine and the contents. Furrowing her brows, something popped into her head that hadn't crossed her index before. There was no way to open the book, it seemed glued shut.

She inwardly groaned, leaning her head back and looking up at the dazzling blue sky with white puffy clouds dotting the sky.

Unbeknownst to her, that book would soon open, but in the unlikeliest of ways.

🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑

A/N:
This one didn't take as long as I thought. It wasn't writer's block that had been stuck, it was being tired with zero motivation. So far, I've been hugely inspired for this series but the part I'm lacking in is making up aliens races and getting their mood oars put on on pinterest as a reference for me.

Chapter Talk:
So, can you guess what the book Chenoa has? I'll give you a hint. It was split into two in the prologue.

I enjoyed how I introduced Chenoa, it was really fun. It was loosely inspired by the movie Horse Crazy where three kids, Stoney, Sam, and Tyler sneak into Brad's car to go to Nevada to catch some wild mustangs. Plus I thought it'd be funny that Varian found her hiding there.

Thanks for reading!