Sunlight streamed through the window, but Laniy ignored it. The comfort of her pillows outweighed the obligations of the day. Sadly, her roommate had other plans. "Laniy, time to get up," Karen said in a singsong voice, but the sleepy girl ignored her. "Get up, or I'll dump this bucket of water on you."

"Go away," she whined just before Karen kept to her word and doused Laniy in warm water. "What the hell?!" she cried, water dripping from her pale face and dark hair. "I did warn you." Karen set down the bucket and looked at her best friend with a smirk. "Now get up. It's a big day."

"Yeah, sure. Seriously, what's your deal, waking me up on the weekend. You let me sleep through classes."

"Did you forget what today is?" Laniy only raised an eyebrow at her. "You cannot be serious. What girl forgets her eighteenth birthday?"

"The one who was just rudely awakened by her so called best friend." She sighed. "Whatever, I'm up. Now, shoo!"

The redhead laughed. "I'm gone, but you better hurry up or I just might start up a conversation with Professor Horwell."

"I should've never told you I liked him." She put her face in her hands and Karen chuckled as she left the room.

The blanket was pulled from the bed and draped over her desk chair. She had had this happen to her before and knew how annoying having to sleep in a soaked bed was. Laniy then set to dressing, putting on a casual pair of trousers and a yellow tunic she wore loose about her. Her hair was always a bit of a chore. The brown locks hung past her knees and had a tendency to tangle if her brushing was anything less than meticulous. Once brushed, she pulled it back with a bandana and checked herself in the mirror.

The young woman didn't think highly of her appearance, with her strange pink eyes and rounded ears. She looked completely different from anyone on any of the sky islands as far as she had seen. With a frown she turned away and left her shared room, heading for the dining hall.

"Happy birthday!" her classmates cried out as she entered the room. The teachers and even some people from around the island had come to wish her well. She smiled and walked in to greet everyone who came by, thanking them, before Karen put an arm over her shoulder.
"Glad you could make it," she said. "I was worried I'd have to fill another bucket."
"Funny. Did you set all this up?"

She just shrugged. "I thought it would be fun, and everyone was nice enough to help. Now come on, birthday girl. You got some mingling to do." The younger girl gently pushed her friend forward into the crowd.

"Happy birthday, Laniy," said a familiar voice beside her. She turned to smile at her favorite teacher. "Thanks, Professor. It sure was nice of everyone to put this together."
"Think nothing of it. Just enjoy yourself. You only get to be eighteen once."
"Yeah. Still not sure what I'm gonna do next, though." She laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, if you would like, I could use an assistant."

"I'll consider that, thank you." She gave a grateful smile. "It would be an honor working with you."

"Why don't you come sit in on a class with me tomorrow, see how you like it?"

"That'd be great!"

Laniy felt a hand on her shoulder as Karen chose then to cut in. "Sorry to interrupt," she said, "but I'm gonna have to steal your conversation partner for a bit. Chef made cloud cakes and she has to have one before I can!"

"I'll see you tomorrow, then?" Laniy asked as she was pulled away. Horwell nodded and smiled."Hold up," Karen paused as they approached the table. "See him for what?" She gave a knowing smile. "Not like that," Laniy sighed. "He offered to have me as his assistant."
"Awww, how sweet! Before you know it, you'll have more babies than you can count!"

Laniy gave her friend a punch in the shoulder. They had reached the tray of pastries and Laniy took one, letting everyone sing a song of blessings for the year to come before she bit into it. As she chewed she couldn't help but feel that something was going to change soon and a feeling of quiet anticipation settled in her gut