Moira woke up to the sound of Aunt Zoe shouting that breakfast was ready. After washing her face and brushing her hair, Moira dashed down the stairs to eat the brown sugar oatmeal that her aunt had prepared. Neesa was already gone, her friend picked her up last night for a sleep over and the two had a plan to go to the movie, leaving Moira behind as she still had her training with Kenta. Uncle Martin was already on his usual morning jog around the block. After thanking Aunt Zoe for the nice oatmeal, Moira made her way to Kenta’s apartment with her backpack and lunchbox. Aunt Zoe had packed enough lunch for two people.

Moira parked her bike and rang the bell to Kenta’s apartment. Kenta greeted Moira with a cup of hot black coffee, smiling in his reindeer sweater. He had done something different with his hair as it was now slicked back with pomade instead of hanging loose and covering his eyes. He looked very dashing even in casual clothing. Moira was sure that whoever dated Kenta must be very lucky to have such a handsome partner, but then again Kenta could be single.

“Kenta, you looked stunning! I like your new hair style!” Moira stood mesmerized.

“Thanks! I suppose I’d like to be presentable and dress the part now that I’m going to mentor you. I was worried I’d give off a pretentious air or something, so I’m relieved that you complimented me.” Kenta became self-conscious and reflexively touched his hair. “I told you yesterday that I’m going to show you the Crimson Yeast. I have a collaboration going with the local arboretum here and so they let me borrow one of the greenhouses for a while. I’ll give you a ride there. By the way, have you ever been there?”

Moira had only been to the arboretum once, when Uncle Martin brought tickets for the whole family last Christmas when the arboretum had Neesa’s alternative favorite rock band playing. The rock band, which had released indie albums full of songs about camping out in the forests, wasn’t Moira’s cup of tea but Uncle Martin wanted her to be a supportive cousin, so she went half-heartedly but it was worth it because, once the performance was over and they all retuned home, Neesa awarded Moira with a new pair of jeans that she had an eye on.

“Yeah, I have been there but I didn’t pay much attention to the plants themselves because there was a band playing and the music was loud and it was terrible but my cousin was a big fan of the band and so I sucked it up and daydreamed,” Moira told Kenta her memory as the man started the car’s engine. Kenta’s car smelled of orange blossom and rose, a combination that made Moira felt sleepy. She almost drifted off when Kenta called her to put on the seat belt.

The drove to the arboretum was a short one and Moira spent the majority of it trying not to doze off. Kenta did not try to make small talk, seemingly only thinking that Moira’s sleepiness must be a result of the girl having to wake up earlier than even for school.

“Okay, Moira, we’re here!” Kenta shook Moira awake and took her seatbelt off. Moira rubbed her eyes and blushed, then jumped out of the car. Kenta led the way to the greenhouse and Moira could see through the transparent walls that there were rows upon rows of something red.

“Before we go in, Moira, I need to warn you that even though this is a greenhouse, it is not the warm and comfy type. This greenhouse is used to maintain a temperature that is cold enough to prevent the ice from melting. You remember Crimson Yeast grows on ice, right? They would wither if the ice melts. I know that it’s still winter but I plan to carry on my study way past winter break, that’s why I need a temperature-controlled setting,” Kenta inputted the password to his greenhouse while Moira put her hands to the sides of her eyes, tiptoeing and peeking to get a closer look at the red flowers, studying the shape of the petals and the vibrancy of their color.

“I hope you have brought your camera with you, but in case you forgot I have mine too. I want you to take the pictures of the flowers from several different angles, got it? I will pick the best pictures to edit and feature in my submission to this journal I’m writing for,” Kenta said as he started adjusting the thermostat. Moira nodded and pulled her camera, moving closer to the display of Crimson Yeast and analyzing which angle to shoot from first.

“So, Moira, tell me more about your goal of coming to the Blue Orchid University. Lee has briefed me but I want to eat straight from the source. Would you still want to go if a scholarship is not available? Is the scholarship the only thing that attracts you?” Kenta pried.

Moira shuffled her feet awkwardly, not sure of how to answer Kenta’s sudden question and slightly annoyed that he thought she was only after the scholarship. “At first, I was doing this because Neesa was very persuasive in her argument that going to a university would open up a new horizon for me. However, now that you are asking, I think my reasoning is that I had wanted to put myself in a challenging environment and conquer my fear. I am so used to the routine of going to school and helping at the school’s laboratory and then spending time in my art studio, but I want to see if I can cope with having an unstructured schedule. The thought frightens me, but if I want to grow up then I have to overcome my Achilles heel.”

“That is an admirable goal to aspire too, I’m taking my hat off to you. By the way, I’m sorry if I were nosey, I was only curious because I have never met someone who has a talent in one thing and then decides out of the blue to major in something else, except if something important triggers their change of mind. Maybe I was being close minded? By the way, not to discourage you or anything, but what is your plan B in case Lee decides to reject your application?” Kenta asked as he opened a fridge and grabbed what seemed to be liquid fertilizer, motioning Moira to spray some on the Crimson Yeast.

“If Lee rejects me, then I would just apply to a trade school or a vocational school. I have wanted to be a chemist and maybe work in factories that manufacture microwavable dinners or in pharmaceutical companies controlling the quality of over-the-counter drugs. I do hope I get in, though, I have never been to Red Sycamore, unlike Neesa. By the way, are you originally from there?” it was finally Moira’s turn to be the questioner and not the answerer.

“I grew up on Silver Pine. I had never left my planet until I went to Blue Orchid for my accelerated Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness, which is the study of agriculture and economics rolled into one, I was fast-tracked because I was the highest rank student in my high school and had won many interplanetary Mathematics Olympiads. My undergraduate years at Blue Orchid, although shorter than average, were the best two and half years of my life as I met my boyfriend there. Then I went back to complete my Master’s, also in Agribusiness, and here I am now embarking on my doctoral studies in Xenobiology in the same university I cherished. Quite a big jump from my original major, huh? It was my boyfriend who had opened my eyes to how fun studying exotic species can be. He works at the university now, as the director of a living learning community in one of the residential halls,” Kenta’s smile became even more charming as he blabbered on about his boyfriend.

“What is a living learning community? Is that a special kind of student dormitory?”

“Yes! There are many different communities you can join and they operate like a club for like-minded individual. There is a community for students who love classical music, one for students who love hiking, one for students who are crazy about fitness, one for the budding philosophers, et cetera. The one my boyfriend manages is for students who study Xenobiology. I think you should live in a dormitory once you get to Blue Orchid, Moira, you can forge friendships that last a long time or, who knows, maybe you can find romance like I did!”

“Oh, I hadn’t even thought about pursuing anything romantic but I’m not against the idea, either. I’d just let it flow and if it happens then it happens, you know? By the way, your boyfriend seems like someone you really are happy with,” Moira responded while continuing with her job fertilizing the red flowers. Kenta had grabbed a thermometer and checked the ice on the flowers’ root base, then gave Moira something that resembled a super tiny laptop and instructed her to punch in some number, which Moira understood to be the temperature of the ice.

“Yeah, my boyfriend is my sunshine,” Kenta beamed. “By the way, Moira, how would you like to jump start on forming friendships with other prospective Blue Orchid freshmen? My boyfriend happens to have two siblings your age, a boy and a girl, who are applying to the same scholarships you do. I could give them your number if you like. Please don’t think of them as rivals, there is a possibility that Lee would hire more than one freshmen research assistant so you could end up becoming co-workers with my boyfriend’s siblings,” Kenta sounded eager.

“That would be great because I usually find it hard to make friends, so if I go to the university already having one or two friends then it would alleviate my worries,” Moira said gratefully.