Anna's POV

Anna sighed into her pillow. Tomorrow was School Spirit Day at school, where parents were supposed to come and watch their children in class. It was supposed to be really fun… but it wasn't like she could go. What a monumental embarrassment, showing up to Parent Day with no parent…

Anna blushed. Shark and Rio wouldn't have any parents, or any of the Barian emperors, they didn't even have parents anymore. At least hers were still alive.

(Flashback)

"So what'd I miss in class?" Yuma asked through a yawn.

Tori rolled her eyes. "Come on, Yuma. I can't keep catching you up on everything." She sighed and shook her head. "Saturday is School Spirit Day!"

Yuma's eyes lit up. "Hey, my parents can actually come this year!" He said, pumping his fist.

Anna looked up. She hadn't really been paying attention to the conversation. "Huh?"

Tori looked at her. "School Spirit Day."

"What's School Spirit Day?" Asked Anna.

"It's when all the parents come and see how their children are doing in school," Yuma said before Tori could answer. "There's in class stuff, but also sports and dueling. My parents couldn't come last time, so Kari and Grandma came instead."

"Which parent is coming for you, Anna?" Tori asked.

Anna froze. "Uhhh… I don't know," She said, rubbing her head nervously. "Anyway, that's my street! Gotta go. See you tomorrow!" She ran off.

(Flashback End)

"Oh," Anna murmured, her eyes drooping shut, "But I can't just ask Mom or Dad to come down here for a stupid Parent Day… maybe I won't go tomorrow."

Carlyle's POV

Carlyle unlocked his apartment and, after taking off his shoes, set the groceries on the counter and then went and turned his shower on. It was late, but he hadn't paid attention to where he was going,and he had gotten lost….

After waiting for a couple of minutes for the water to heat up, Carlyle stripped and stepped into the shower, and let all the stress from that day wash down the drain. As Student Council President, he had been planning and helping set up School Spirit Day for weeks now, and after tomorrow, it would be over.

However, as his head began to clear, he got a bucketload of new worries. Such as who would come for him.

He snorted. This was stupid. Every year, he worried about this, but every year no one came. Why would this year be any different?

He turned off the water and dried off, changing into his pajamas. Then he went back to the kitchen to start cooking something to eat.

"Car-lyle?" He turned around. His roommate was standing at the entrance to the kitchen with messy hair and glazed eyes.

"Oh, hey Anna. I didn't wake you, did I?"

She shook her head sleepily. "Nah… Keep waking up and falling back asleep again. Forgot to eat dinner… soon as I came home I went to sleep."

"Oh," He emptied the rice into the pan and started started stirring slowly. "You hungry? I can make you some."

She nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem."

They sat in silence for a while.

"So," Anna said, her voice a little stronger. "School Spirit Day, huh."

Carlyle nodded. "Yeah," He answered.

They didn't say anything else.

Anna POV

Anna got dressed quickly and scarfed some cereal. Carlyle was already gone, he was always gone early. She grabbed her bag and exited the apartment.

How was she going to face the questions of her friends at school? She didn't really think that it was good if she went, but she didn't want to leave Carlyle all alone, so she decided to go too.

But still…

"Hey Anna, where are your parents?"

"Oh, no, my dad is a galactic king, and my mom is a duel spirit, so they can't come."

"Hey Anna, I thought that you were gonna ask your mom or dad."

"Yeah, I know. But she's helping dad, and he has to deal with inter-galactic king stuff, like he could waste time at a little parent day…"

Carlyle POV

Carlyle watched all the parents come in, scanning the crowd, even though he knew that no one was coming for him. He watched Anna stride in looking confident, even though the night before he had seen the despair in her eyes as she spoke about School Spirit Day. His eyes followed her until she went inside.

He turned around. The Student Council room was empty besides for him. All the others were in class with their parents.

It wasn't that his parents didn't care for him or something. It was just that there was an intergalactic war going on, one that the people of Astral World, Barian World, and their human friends didn't know about.

But the Stars were at war.

Anna POV

They were in outdoor sports with the third years. Parents were watching from the sidelines as students raced against each other and tried to beat school records. Dumon and Mizar were standing and talking with Yuma, who looked really excited.

Cathy noticed Anna standing alone and walked over, eyes full of concern. "Hey Anna, are you… alone?"

Anna startled. She had been spacing out. "Hmmm? Oh, yeah, my parents couldn't make it…" She answered.

"Oh, ok," Cathy gave her a kind smile and walked back to where her mother was.

Anna started to space out again, eyes roaming aimlessly over the crowd. She caught Carlyle's eye, and he gave her a small smile. Then he looked around and started walking towards her.

Anna's eyes widened.

"What are you doing?" She hissed as he stood next to her, attracting a few stares. "We aren't supposed to talk outside of-"

"I know," He answered, running a finger through his brown-and-blonde hair. "I just-ugh. Let's just look like we're talking about finishing up your admission papers or something."

She gave him a teasing glare and then straightened up, arms crossed over her chest. She noticed that Yuma was at the starting line for the race.

"So-"

"ANNA! CARLYLE!" The two jumped. Yuma fell flat on his face.

Carlyle POV

Anna and Carlyle looked up. His green eyes widened. Standing there-no, it was impossible-his uncle Dallas?

His uncle was a giant of a man, six-foot-two and muscled. He had a kind face, though, and sparkling green eyes. His hair was long and blonde in the front and spiky in the back. He looked young, like he was in his mid-twenties, and was wearing jeans, sneakers, and a black tank top.

He made his way through the crowd, which wasn't difficult, since they parted for him with open mouths. Carlyle even heard some giggles from both student and parent.

When Dallas reached them, he scooped them up into a large bear hug. "I missed you two," He whispered.