Twenty Years before the present...

It seemed to be a typical day at the Space Ranger Academy. 

Every Space Ranger student was just minding their own business while typing down and chattering quietly to one another. 

Students were nestled at their sleek, metallic desks, illuminated by the gentle glow of holographic screens displaying star charts and navigation protocols. 

The faint hum of the academy's advanced computers created a backdrop that was both comforting and stimulating. In one corner, a group of cadets animatedly debated the latest simulations test that was coming up next week. 

While another pair was being lovey-dovey in the corner.

Across the room, there stood a Chinese American woman with medium straight black hair with two long bangs on both sides of her cheeks, an oval face, pale rose lips, hips like an hourglass, and light skin, her eye color was different: one eye purple & the other eye is yellow. 

Her name is Jin Hua Thompson and she's the first woman to ever be the top of her class.

★ *𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘉𝘶𝘻𝘻 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 ★

She walks around the library to find engineering books in the technology section. However, that's not the point, Jin Hua just picked the right book related to engineering and went to the librarian to pay for it: "Hi, I would like to purchase this book, please?"

"Okay, that'll be 20 crypto coins, please." The librarian says, without looking at her except for her computer, which showcases a chart filled with a list of all the books and datapads being kept in the library in the correct order.

Jin Hua smiles politely, "Thank you."

As she walks away, the scene shifts to Jin Hua sitting on a bench, away from the chattering rookie cadets, as she focuses on a book she had borrowed from the library.

Secretly, she isn't good at socializing with others which makes it harder for her to mingle. 

The situation changes when the Space Ranger Academy bus arrives to pick them up, including Jin Hua, who boards like the others. Once seated, she discovers there are no available seats, as the bus is fully packed. 

Before she can ask a classmate for the front seat, someone from the back shouts:

"Hey! There's space in the back."

Jin Hua was startled by a sudden shout and quickly navigated through the crowd. She approached two guys—a blue humanoid with periwinkle skin and a navy blue afro, and a male human that had a larger-than-average chin topped off with a characteristic swirl.

Staring at him for a while, she snapped out of it with a blush and cleared her throat to get one of the guy's attention. 

"Where should I sit?" She suddenly asked.

The blue humanoid notices his friend lost in thought and seizes the chance to flirt, grinning as he says, "You can take this seat, sweetheart," leaning in close to Jin Hua and making her uneasy. "Unless you'd prefer to sit on my lap."

"I know who you are, Warp, and no, I don't want to sit on your lap because the last time someone offered that to me, ended up in the hospital." 

His eyes widened in shock that almost everyone was watching.

"So, since you only did this as an excuse to get my attention then let me tell you that it ain't working so you either get up or I'll sit somewhere else. Your choice."

Warp blinked a few times, clearly taken aback by her boldness. He opened his mouth, ready to retort, but the words caught in his throat as he realized she wasn't playing around. 

His friend beside him, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, remains seated, fixated on the view outside the bus window.

"Uh, I—" Warp stammered, trying to regain his composure. "I didn't mean—"

"Yeah, I know  the whole 'I didn't mean to' bullsh*t of an excuse." Jin Hua interjected, crossing her arms. "Now, are you going to move, or do I need to make this more uncomfortable for you to be left humiliated?"

Warp, now flustered, realizes everyone is laughing at him and feels frustrated and humiliated. He glances at his friend, who hasn't been paying attention, and huffs in annoyance, "Fine. I'll just go sit somewhere else." 

Satisfied with his response, He sits among the other ladies, who blush and admire his charm, while Jin Hua smiles victoriously at the jock's departure before taking a seat next to the human male, who finally turns around to notice Warp not there.

"In case you're curious," Jin Hua begins, pulling a book from her bag, "your friend Warp 'kindly' offered his seat but then tried to flirt with me. You were daydreaming, so I had to remind him I'm not interested in his games."

She concludes, opening the book with a flourish. The pages rustle softly as she glances at Warp's retreating figure, a smirk on her lips. The human male blinked a couple of times before he finally took the courage to talk to her, "I-I s-see...Sorry about that, he does it often."

"No worries." She glances at him and smiles a bit, "I'm used to it by now."

He swallows nervously, twiddling his thumbs as he looks down, unsure how to start a conversation—this is the first time he's ever spoken to a woman, let alone a human. "You don't need to, y'know." 

Jin Hua seemed surprised by that.

"I-I mean, it's y-your crush, no I mean, your choice! Yeah! Like you can't pick someone like him to be near you, am I right?" He nervously laughs a bit, already feeling sweat trickle down his forehead that he thought he was making a fool of himself.

Only to notice her reaction was the opposite, she was feeling at ease with him and she started giggling at his stuttering, "Is it your first time talking to a woman?" Jin Hua curiously asks, only for him to let out a breath of relief that he didn't know he was holding in.

"Yeah...sorry." He starts on, feeling somewhat relaxed in her presence, "Just been so focused on my studies that I never got the chance to make a conversation with anyone, except Ty and Warp."

Jin Hua raises an eyebrow in amusement: "Really? I feel the same thing." 

"Yeah, it's like all my time is consumed by textbooks and assignments," he admits, a hint of embarrassment coloring his cheeks. "I didn't think I'd ever get to talk to someone like you."

She closes her book, keeps it back in her backpack, and tilts her head in curiosity, "Someone like me? How come?" 

He searches for the right words as his mind races. 

"I think you're... pretty, I mean c-cool and confident? I just thought you might not want to talk to someone solely focused on graduating from Space Ranger Academy."

Her laughter rings out, light and infectious, making him feel a little confident but still nervous around the woman, "Trust me, I'm just as awkward as you are. It's just that I've had more practice at pretending I'm not." 

She winks, and he can't help but smile back, his nerves slowly going away.

"Really? You seem so put together," he replied.

"Looks can be deceiving," she says.

Sure enough, they both began talking about different things (not personal stuff yet) until finally, the bus stopped.

"Well, looks like this our stop, gotta go back to my dorm and---Ah!" Jin Hua trips, but the human male quickly catches her with his free arm around her waist, saying, "I gotcha."

Jin Hua's heterochromia eyes widened in surprise as she found herself in his embrace, the warmth of his body contrasting sharply with the cool air of the bus. For a moment, time seemed to freeze, and she could feel her heart racing. 

"Uh, thanks," She stammered, her cheeks deep crimson. He gently helped her to her feet, equally flushed, and they both avoided speaking, their eyes repeatedly meeting. Jin Hua and the male human slowly locked eyes, remaining still.

Their hearts were pounding so hard that they almost didn't hear the bus driver shouting at them, "HEY, LOVEBIRDS! GET OFF THE BUS!"

Snapping out of the daze, they both exited the bus.

As they stepped onto the pavement, the chilly air hit them both, jolting them back to reality. Jin Hua brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to regain her composure. 

"Wow, that was... unexpected," she said, a shy smile creeping onto her face.

"Y-Yeah," he stammered, his heart still racing. "I didn't mean to... you know, catch you like that."

She chuckled softly, shaking her head. "No, no! It was actually really sweet. Most guys would just catch me just to give me a silly pun." 

"I guess I'm just not most guys," he replied, trying to sound more bold, making her smile.

She looks down at her watch, and yawns: "Well, it's getting late, and I should probably head back."

"Y-Yeah, m-me too..." His voice fades as Jin Hua walks away, leaving him torn about whether to escort her, but by the time he decides to do the right thing, she is already gone.

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"Blasted, I should've escorted her. Buzz Lightyear, you idiot." He facepalms and walks to his dorm.