"Mister Hawkins, I'd be proud to recommend you to the Interstellar Academy. They could use a man like you. What do you say?" Captain Amelia's offer was too good for Jim to pass up. So as soon as he finished helping his mother rebuild the Benbow Inn, he was shipped of to the academy, literally! Jim walked off the long boat and into the entrance hall of the academy. The inside of the building was awe inspiring. Jim simply stood in the middle of the hall with his mouth open in amazement, and his luggage hanging over his shoulder.

Captain Amelia came in from the admissions office and saw Jim admiring his surroundings. "Mr. Hawkins, I'm glad to see that you have arrived safely at the academy."

"Captain.", Jim said being drawn out of his reverie.

"Come Hawkins, we must have you fitted for you uniforms." The captain said leading Jim to a room across the hall.

"My what?" Jim said, already dreading what he had just heard.

"Oh come, Hawkins. You didn't think that the Interstellar Academy would allow their students to wear clothes such as yours, did you?"

They entered the room where a student was having his measurements taken and another was just leaving with his finished uniforms. Captain Amelia approached the tentacle haired seamstress and asked her to take Jim's measurements. While the cat-like captain was consorting with the seamstress, the human student who had just gotten his uniforms was about to exit when he stopped to look a t Jim.

The academy student seemed to be looking him over, and Jim took the time to do the same. This boy was about the same age as Jim and had clean black hair that covered one of his brown eyes. Jim also noticed that there was a demeanor about this boy that seemed upsetting about him. The boy spoke up saying "The academy is letting in even the trash from Montressor? Hmmm, pity." Jim couldn't believe what this stranger had just said. It made his blood boil.

"If we still lived by the rules of the academy's beginning, only nobles such as me would be allowed to enter this dignified school." Jim glared at him, but it didn't faze him one bit. The young student left the room with a haughty chuckle. Had the others not been present, Jim would have wasted no time taking him luggage bag and hitting the boy over the head with it.

"Mr. Hawkins, please strip down to your underwear and step up on the stool." said the tentacle haired seamstress. Jim forgot about the boy he had just encountered and did as he was told. The seamstress used her hands and her tentacles to position Jim in the way she needed him to be for measurements. The look of utter loathing for the boy he had just met lingered on Jim's face, and the boy standing on the stool next to him seemed to notice.

"Don't let Tristan get to you. He just thinks he's oh so important because he comes from a family of nobles. My name is Joshua by the way." said the alien boy. Joshua overall looked human but instead of hair he had fish fins that resembled hair and webbed fingers and toes. "Nice to meet you, I'm Jim Hawkins." Jim tried to reach his hand out to shake Joshua's hand, but the seamstress moved hi arm back to where it was.

The boys finished having their measurements taken, stepped down from the stools, and put on they're clothes. As they waited for they're uniforms were made by the 2 seamstresses, they discussed what classes they were to take.

"I was assigned to tech and flight classes. What about you, Jim?"

"Same, but I'm being forced to take space combat after normal hours with a personal trainer." Jim said slightly exasperated.

"Wow. What did you do to get yourself in that class?" Joshua said in slight amazement. "What do you mean?" Jim said.

"To get into that class you have to be recommended by a high ranking official."

'Captain is really piling the work on me and I haven't even started.' Jim thought rubbing the back of his neck.

The seamstresses called them over and they received their uniforms. After putting on his uniform, Jim noticed how form fitting it was and missed his baggy clothes. He quickly hid the clothes he had just changed out of so that the seamstresses wouldn't try to dispose of them.

Joshua had put on his uniform as well and didn't look half bad. "Come on, Jim we have to join the rest of our class for the admission ceremony." As they left the room and were headed for the main hall they noticed a girl exiting the girl's uniform room. She was wearing the skirt and blazer commissioned for the girl's uniforms and was carrying her luggage case while looking around nervously. Her hair was tied back in a braid that she obviously had done herself and was partly covering her green eyes before she blow it out of her hair.

Joshua tapped Jim on the shoulder recalling him to his senses and leading him to the main hall.