Summer vacation was a great time for Carmine. After Ms. Susy adopted him, life turned up greatly for Carmine. Every day, she would help him practice whenever he was working on writing a new song, and occasionally they would make music just for fun. But Carmine also took time to practice channeling his magic with music too.

However, since Susy was an ordina, a being without magic, there wasn't much she could do to help him with magic aside from reading the spells from his book and reading him the instructions when he practiced brewing potions. But she was a good mother. She loved Carmine as her own and did her best to make Carmine feel at home in her home.

Susy lived over an hour away from the school, hence why she lived in the faculty dorm during the school year. But on weekends, holidays, and especially during the summer, she lived in her apartment. But she decided Carmine would be better off living in the dorm during the school year. So, she pulled a few strings and got the headmistress to select a room for Carmine in the student dormitory where Carmine would hopefully meet a good friend in his future roommate.

Carmine soon packed his suitcase as it was the last day of summer vacation and he and his foster mother would be heading back to Melody Academy.

Carmine double checked his list and ensured that he had everything he needed for the semester. All his clothes, books, his guitar, and of course Fluffy. He also now had all of the necessary school supplies as well as uniforms for dance classes. Susy even got him a sweater with the school's logo on it for his first day of school.

"Well, Fluffy." Carmine said to his rabbit. "This is it. The first day of school is the day after tomorrow. I only wish Dad and Grandma could be here to see this."

Carmine got in the speeder with his foster mother that night. As part of the faculty, Susy needed to arrive sooner to finish setting up for the orientation for new students. And as he looked at the stars outside, he started to think. Would he do a good job once he was in school? Would things be any different than they were when he was small? Or would he be left all alone again like he'd been before?

No! I can't think that way. Carmine told himself. This is a new start I've worked my butt off for. I'm going to become the successful musician I've always dreamed of being. I have to do this. For my family, for my future, and to make my family proud.

Carmine slept the whole ride to the school. It was a two-hour ride, and he needed all the rest he could get for the first day of school.

Soon, they'd arrived, and Carmine was brought to receive the key to his dorm, a map of the school, and his class schedule.

Carmine was brought to his dorm by his foster mother, who held his shoulder and looked at him.

"Now, Carmine, I will be here to watch over you, and help and guide you in any way I can. But it will be ultimately up to you to do well in your classes."

"Yes, Mother." Carmine said.

Susy kissed Carmine's head and wished him well as it was time for him to enter his dorm.

"As we say in show business, break a leg."

Carmine looked at the door in anticipation. This was it. Whoever was behind this door would either be his new best friend or a nightmare roommate. He unlocked the door and went inside. And when he got inside, he saw someone already in there.

On one of the beds, there was a human boy about Carmine's age. He had shoulder-length black hair dyed with streaks of turquoise, and he wore a black leather jacket as he was practicing playing the drums.

Carmine stopped and listened as the boy played his drums, and did so very well as he finished with a cymbal crash.

Carmine clapped as the boy finished, and the other boy looked up at him.

"Um... hi." said Carmine. "I'm Carmine Jinn. I guess we're roommates?"

Carmine froze as he worried what this new boy would do. The new kid got up and approached Carmine, he was a bit taller than Carmine, which made the other boy nervous. But the new kid shook hands with Carmine and said,

"Name's Peralta. Sanjay Peralta."

Carmine felt relieved seeing that this guy didn't make fun of his glasses... or the fact that he was carrying a stuffed rabbit in his left arm.

"Cute bunny, by the way." said Sanjay.

"Um... thanks." Carmine said.

Carmine set Fluffy on the other bed and started to unpack his things.

"So, what's your story?" Sanjay asked.

"My story?" Carmine asked.

"I heard you singing at the entrance exam. You ring!"

"You think so?"

"Yeah. I can barely sing to save my life. Only reason I'm here is 'cause my parents think I'm here on a classical music scholarship."

"And... you're into rock music?"

"Yup. They don't even know I dye my hair." said Sanjay. "Or that I traded in the timpani for some real drums."

"Wow."

"So... what's your specialty?"

"I'm not sure exactly." Carmine shrugged.

Sanjay was confused.

"I like a lot of types of music." said Carmine, starting to open up a little more. "I play a lot of instruments, but my favorite is my guitar."

Carmine picked up his guitar and strummed a few chords.

"That's a beautiful acoustic. Where'd you get it?"

"My dad and my grandma made it for me." Carmine said, looking like he'd start crying again. "Before..."

Carmine tried to hold back. He didn't want his roommate thinking he was a baby or anything.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." Carmine said, placing his hood on his head.

But... Sanjay didn't think Carmine needed to be alone. He told Carmine he'd seen this kind of thing a lot with his older sister back home, who suffered from severe depression and anxiety. And he'd learned enough about both to recognize that Carmine was showing symptoms of both.

"Carmine... I know we just met, but if something is on your mind, you can tell me." Sanjay said, shutting the door. "This is a safe room."

Carmine looked at Sanjay for a moment. He might not have looked like a therapist, but he sounded like he wanted to help. so, Carmine held his rabbit and spoke.

"Can I trust you to take an unbreakable promise not to speak of anything I'm about to tell you to anyone?"

"You have my word."

But, Carmine had Sanjay take the same vow he made Susy take before he told her about his powers. It seemed odd to Sanjay at first, but he took it.

"Have you ever heard of the Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn?" said Carmine.

"Yeah. He saved my sister when she almost committed suicide." said Sanjay. He sighed sadly. "I was devastated when I heard he passed away. He was a good man."

"He was also my father."

Sanjay was in total shock when he heard this.

"I thought Jedi couldn't have kids."

"It's a long story. I never knew my mother, but Dad said that he couldn't bear the thought of us being forced away from each other forever. You see, if the Jedi found out he had kids, they'd expel him from the Order and probably would've kept me there, and we'd never see each other again. So, Dad tracked his mother down, my grandmother, and gave me to her to raise."

Carmine told Sanjay all about how Miranda raised Carmine on her own and trained him in magic, and all the while Qui-Gon did the best he could to teach Carmine about the Force and the Jedi. And every year on his birthday, his father managed to sneak away from the order to visit his son.

"The last time I heard his voice, he was telling Grandma that once all went well with his last mission, he would come back to stay." Carmine said. "But instead, he died. And my guitar is the last gift he'd gotten for me before he did. He'd been working on it the year before, and Grandma finished it for him. For me."

"What about your grandmother? How is she?"

"She died earlier this year." Carmine looked down sadly. "She never told me she was sick, and then I got bounced from one foster home to the next. Most of them were terrible. Except for the Kirans. They were so nice. But after my last family, who made me their slave, I couldn't take it anymore. So, I ran. And eventually I found this place, where I got a job as a cleaning assistant and got a scholarship to go to school here."

"So... who's your guardian now?"

"Ms. Susy. One of the ballet teachers." Carmine said. "She tutored me for the exam, and later he adopted me. I'm keeping my last name, though."

"So, you're a sorcerer and a Jedi?"

"Technically, yes. But I never had formal training, and I don't have a lightsaber either. I'm not a fighter, anyway."

"Well, do you at least know what you want out of going to school at Melody?"

"I've always wanted to be a performer. I'm just really shy, and I've had anxiety and really bad depression since my dad and grandma died. But, I just want to make them proud. Music is what I've always loved, and what's kept me connected to them."

Carmine picked up his guitar and began playing and singing his father's lullaby.

"On my birthday every year, my dad would sing that song to me and tuck me in at night before he went back to the Temple." Carmine explained. "And when I was five, he gave me a music box that would sing me to sleep every night."

As Carmine felt better, he decided to start putting out the rest of his stuff on his side of the room, starting with placing his rainbow letter Heart & Soul is Your Music poster that he drew himself. He also placed his music note sheets and guitar shaped throw pillow onto his new bed, topping it off with Fluffy.

"That sounds amazing. My dad would only let me listen to his lame opera music and symphony recordings."

"I've actually always wanted to go to an opera. My dad told me about one he went to once on an undercover mission and it sounded amazing."

"They are if you're into those kinds of things." said Sanjay. "He and Mom never let me or Dana, my sister, listen to any other kind of music or support our dreams. They want us both to be classical musicians like them. But Dana wants to be an engineer, and I've wanted to be a rock star since I was seven."

"Is your sister secretly hiding her dream too?" Carmine asked, placing a family picture on his nightstand.

"You bet." smiled Sanjay. "Dana told Mom and Dad she got a scholarship to a music school, but she actually attends Republic Technical College, and she's in the top three."

"Your parents should be proud of her for that."

"Tell that to them." said Sanjay. "Neither of us plan to tell our parents anything until after we graduate. That way, they won't be able to stop us from following our passions."

"Interesting plan. I'm not sure of my plan yet."

Carmine and Sanjay looked at the time and started to get ready for bed.

"Well, you got four years. From what I heard, the first and second years are when you're exposed to every kind of music and performance there is. And then, bam! You've figured it out."

Carmine picked out his blue pajamas with brown horses on them and got ready to sleep.

"Well, I gotta get through my first day of school first." Carmine said. "I'm not sure if I'm more nauseated or excited."

"You're not the only one." said Sanjay. "I don't show it, but I'm terrified. But hey, we have almost all the same classes. We're in this together, right?"

"Right." Carmine smiled. He picked up his music box. "Do you mind if I play this before sleep?"

"No, I don't mind." Sanjay said, getting himself into bed. "Night."

"Good night." said Carmine, winding up his music box and laying down as he let the beautiful music sing him to sleep. Carmine looked at his family portrait and whispered to it, "Goodnight, Dad. Goodnight, Grandma."

The next morning...

Carmine woke up to the sound of "Take on Me" by aha playing on the alarm clock. The young boy yawned as he felt the sunlight hitting his face. He rubbed the sleepiness out from his eyes, got his glasses on, and went to brush his teeth and get dressed for breakfast.

"Morning, Carmine." Sanjay yawned, his hair all messy.

"You got bedhead." Carmine chuckled.

"So do you." Sanjay laughed.

The boys got their hair brushed and exited the dorm to start heading to the cafeteria where all the other students and the faculty were gathered and getting their breakfast.

Carmine looked all around at all the people all around. There were kids of all species and colors everywhere. Some were warming up their voices for class, others were practicing beating the rhythm to a song on the table, and some were even practicing dancing as they made their way to their tables.

Carmine's eyes lit up when he saw poached eggs and cheesy toast. His favorite breakfast.

"I think I'm gonna like being a student here." said Carmine, picking up a carton of orange juice.

Sanjay looked over the class schedule again. First class was Band 101.

"Maybe we'll get to jam together sometime." said Sanjay.

"Maybe." said Carmine.

But that was when Carmine bumped into someone, and accidentally knocked both of their trays down to the floor. Carmine froze and saw in front of him a Pantoran girl who looked a year or two older than him with blonde hair.

"Agh! You geek! This cost two hundred credits!" said the girl.

"I'm so sorry." Carmine said. "It was an accident. I-"

That was when the girl swiped Carmine's glasses and pushed the boy down.

"Maybe you need your glasses checked, Four-Eyes." said the girl.

"Hey, leave my buddy alone!" Sanjay said, ready to start a fight with the girl.

However, the two of them were stopped by Headmistress Mozarta.

"That's enough!" she said angrily. "Unless the two of you want detention after school, stop fighting this instant."

The girl, whose name was Britney, gave Carmine back his glasses, albeit reluctantly, wiped her jacket, and walked away without a word.

"Are you alright, Carmine?" asked Sanjay.

"I think so." said Carmine, checking his glasses and cleaning them off. "At least she didn't break my glasses. I'm blind as a bat without them."

After getting a new tray, Carmine and Sanjay sat together at a table for breakfast before their first class would begin.

Carmine felt like he would start throwing up the butterflies that were in his stomach right now. His first class on his first day of school was going to be a nerve-racking experience for sure. He might have aced the auditions, but he worried what it would be like in classes.

Carmine soon walked into Band 101 with Sanjay and found a seat. In the room, there were a lot of instruments, each by one of the seats, and Carmine was provided with a guitar that was part of the school's supply.

Soon, in came the teacher, Professor Nite. He looked dressed very properly for this class and welcomed everyone to their first day of class.

"All of you are here for a reason." said Nite. "You each proved yourselves worthy of passing your entrance exams, but you will need to do more than play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star on the piano to make it in this class, in this school. You there."

Carmine froze for a moment.

"Me?" said the boy.

"Yes, you. Stand up and introduce yourself." Prof. Nite said. "Tell us what you play."

Carmine stood up nervously.

"Hello, my name is Carmine Jinn. I play a lot of instruments, but my best is the guitar."

"It's come to my understanding that your mother is a teacher here."

"Yes... she adopted me just after I got accepted here."

"Well, let it be known you won't be getting any special treatment here because your mother is a teacher here."

"I know. She already told me, and I want to work hard for it."

"Then prove it. Play a song for us."

"Now?"

"Of course."

"Uh... okay."

Carmine picked up his guitar and got ready to play. He put his fingers on the strings and thought he was ready to play... but he was frozen. Carmine tried to move, but he couldn't.

Suddenly, Carmine could hear his heartbeat echoing in his head. He started sweating, his knees were shaking, and he could swear he heard people laughing at him as he started breathing heavily.

"Carmine! Carmine!" shouted a voice. "Snap out of it!"

Carmine found himself back in reality with Sanjay shaking him by the shoulders.

"Huh? What happened?" Carmine asked.

"You were starting to have an anxiety attack." Sanjay said. "Probably because you were under pressure."

Sanjay looked at Prof. Nite and vouched that Carmine was a great performer, as he'd heard him sing and play the guitar himself.

"I'll believe it when I see it." said Nite. "Tomorrow, Carmine, you will perform a song in front of the class."

Carmine felt like his heart stopped all over again. Nite really had it out for him. Carmine and Ms. Susy both knew he'd earned his place in the school fair and square. But it didn't look like all the other teachers believed it.

After Band 101, Carmine had five other classes to attend.

Vocal Performance, Performer's Anatomy, Prima Vista 101 (reading music), Ballet 1, and Musical Theatre.

Carmine was nervous in the first three classes. He kept his head down most of the time, hid under his hood, and wished he could just go back to his dorm and cuddle Fluffy for a while.

And now, he had to go to ballet class, which really worried him. Despite doing well in his entrance exam, the pressure the teachers placed on him was getting to him. He didn't know what his family would think if they could see how scared he was now.

And as he got changed into his ballet attire, he started to say to himself, "Maybe I'm not cut out for this after all."

But as he entered the dance studio, Carmine tripped and lost his glasses as he fell to the floor.

"My glasses!" Carmine groaned, beginning to search, feeling around for his glasses. "Shoot! I really need to consider contacts."