The Academy For Mythical Creatures discussion

Tiffany's Room -




Shuzhen's Room -

Tiffany opened her history textbook, skimming through the pages. She had a test in class tomorrow, so she decided to study for it. She glanced over at the clock in her dorm. 5 o'clock. Shuzhen should be here any minute. She was glad to have her stepcousin and best friend as her roommate. Shuzhen had texted Tiffany earlier that she was going to cafe with her cousin Rachel and would be back at around five thirty. Shuzhen didn't really know Rachel that well and wanted to spend more time with her. Tiffany was glad that she was wanting to socialize with others more, knowing that she could get quite nervous around others that she didn't know. She quickly turned her attention back to her book, pulling out the study guide that the history teacher, Miss Eva, had given the class. What was the agreement that ended World War I? Tiffany tapped her chin with the pencil, thinking for a moment. Right! The Treaty of Versailles. She wrote the answer down, looking over the next few questions.

Shuzhen walked down the dorm hallways, having just gotten back from the cafe with Rachel. She offered to go with her so she could know Tiffany's cousin better. It was a lovely time. Throughout her conversation with Rachel, she realized that they had more in common than she thought they would. Next time I should go with Layla and invite her. She grabbed her key to the dorm from her bag, unlocking the door and opening it. She saw that Tiffany was at her desk studying. Shuzhen closed the door behind, placing her bag on the rack nearby and smiled at her stepcousin. "Hi Tiffany" she said cheerfully. She walked towards her bed, sitting on the edge of it. "What are you studying for?" She realized that she should probably study too, knowing that she had a test for French class tomorrow. Maybe Tiffany can help me. She knows more French than I do. She would definitely help me understand better.

Tiffany heard the sound of the door make a slight creaking noise and Shuzhen's voice. She turned to face her, giving a small smile. "Hey, Shuzhen" she replied in an equally enthusiatic tone. "How was your day with Rachel?" She knew that they never really spoken to each other before besides the few classes that they had together. She hoped that they got along well since they were both her family, even if her and Shuzhen weren't blood related. Tiffany closed her book, her full attention now on her stepcousin. "I have a history test tomorrow, so I'm studying for that." She paused for a moment, a thought coming to her head. "Do you want to help me study? We could work together if you want. What do you say?"

"It was great!" Shuzhen said, an enthusiastic tone continuing in her voice. "Rachel's really nice. We talked about our families for a bit. We have more in common than I thought we would. I think I'll invite Layla to the cafe next. I prefer to get to know others one-on-one." Based on what Rachel had told her, Layla seemed to be the more extroverted one compared to her older sister, but they seemed to get along well with each other. A grin spread across Shuzhen's face as Tiffany answered her question. "Sounds interesting! What kind of history? Anything specific or just general history? And sure! That would be a great idea!"

Tiffany smiled as Shuzhen spoke. "I'm glad to hear it. Rachel can be a bit... distant at first. But she's kind friendly once she opens up to you. Don't tell her I said that, though." she said with a chuckle. She meant no ill intentions towards Rachel. She truly did love her cousin dearly. That's just how she was as a person. She should know. She's practically known her cousin for her entire life only being born a few weeks apart from each other. "Layla is really nice, too. I'm sure she would be more than happy to talk with you more." She opened her book again, looking through her notes. "Just general history, so it's on various topics." Her smiled widened as Shuzhen agreed to help her. "Great! Here's the study guide where can ask me questions from." She held the piece of paper in her hand, giving to Shuzhen for her to take.

Shuzhen chuckled along with Tiffany. "Don't worry, my lips are sealed. I'll make sure not to tell her that" she said. She didn't have anything bad to say about Rachel, though. She understood what Tiffany meant. In a way, Shuzhen was like that herself, so who was she to judge? "Well, that's good to know." She didn't know Layla that well either, so that was helpful information to have. It would probably be good for her to interact with others who were more social than she was. Maybe it would help her bring her out of her shell more. She gave a small smile. "Perfect." She grabbed the study guide from Tiffany, carefully looking through it. "Here's the next question." She cleared her throat, as if she was giving some big speech. "What was significant about the Revolutionary War?"

Tiffany grinned. "Thank you" she said. She knew Shuzhen long enough to know that she was more reserved like Rachel was. She supposed that was why they seemed to get along well. She nodded as Shuzhen spoke. "Don't worry. Layla is one of the kindest people that I know. She would never hurt anyone, so you'll be fine." She gave a reassuring smile. She listened as Shuzhen asked the next question. She thought for a moment before answering. "It was what helped gain our independence from Great Britain. Of course, there was more to it but that was the major thing." She tapped her pencil on the desk. "Should we move on to the next question?"

Shuzhen grinned back. "This will be our secret." she said, giving a subtle wink. Admittedly she found the first few minutes of her and Rachel's conversation a bit awkward. Rachel didn't talk much at first, so Shuzhen did most of the talking in the beginning despite being a mostly quiet person. But once she was talking, Rachel was more comfortable and open with her. Which was good. She seemed to like her, at least she hoped she did. She wondered where Rachel was now, though. Hopefully they could meet up and chat again sometime. She smiled. "Yeah, Rachel told me all about her. How she was kind and cared about others. Incredibly loyal, she said. And that she was very artistic and a good actress." It was nice, Shuzhen thought, that Rachel had so many positive things to say about her sister. She could tell that she clearly loved her by the way she talked about Layla. She listened as Tiffany answered the question. "Right. You're really good at history. You know more than I do." She chuckled, nodding her head. "All right, next question." She glanced at the paper again. "List the accomplishments of any two US Presidents and explain them in detail." Shuzhen paused for the moment. "After this question, do you think that you could help me study for French? I have a test tomorrow for that class and I'm having a hard time with it."

Tiffany gave a slight smirk at Shuzhen's remark. "Good" she said. She listened as Shuzhen spoke about Rachel's comments on Layla. "Everything Rachel said about Layla is true. I should know. She's my cousin as well." She adored all of her cousins. Being an only child, Tiffany viewed them as siblings in a way. She was glad that she got along so well with them. She chuckled, a grin on her face. "Thanks. I don't know a whole lot, but I learned what I know from my uncle. He's a history teacher. Actually, I think I'll write down the answer instead of saying. Thank you, Shuzhen." She took the paper bag, putting it in her bag. "Of course. I don't know much French, but I can certainly try to help you.'

Shuzhen nodded along as Tiffany spoke, giving a small smile. "Well, I'm sure she's a wonderful person. I wish I could meet your other cousins, though. I haven't really met Rachel and Layla's other cousins either' she said. "Right. I remember you telling me that. That's really cool. And sounds good." Shuzhen gave another smile. "You’re welcome." She was relieved when Tiffany agreed to help. "Great! Thank you so much Tiffany. Here are my notes." She handed Tiffany her notebook, having written down every little thing that she could to help her remember the vocabulary and grammar better.

Tiffany grinned at Shuzhen's words. "She really is. I bet you two would get along well" she said. She gave a slight frown at the mention of her cousins. "Me too. My other cousins don't go here. Just Rachel and Layla. I've met some of their other cousins, though. Some of them go here. You should try talking to them at some point." She missed her other cousins. She wished that they went to the academy too. But at least she had Rachel, Layla, and Shuzhen. She videochatted with her other cousins too when she missed them. She smiled again, continuing the conversation. "Yeah, he was Rachel and Layla's teacher when they were younger." She took the notes from Shuzhen, examining them. "No problem. Let's start by introducing yourself in French."

Shuzhen gave a slight smile. "You think so? That's good to hear" she said cheerfully. "It would be nice to be able to talk to them more often." She nodded her head. "Yeah, Rachel told me when we were at the cafe. I think I have a few classes with them, so maybe I'll talk to them then." Shuzhen remembered Rachel telling her about her father. Not much, but enough to give her an idea of what he was like. "That's cool. I've always wondered what it would be like to have a parent as a teacher." She chuckled, listening as Tiffany spoke. "Got it." She cleared her throat, ready to speak. "Bonjour. Je suis Shuzhen. Enchanté. Like that, right?"

Tiffany gave a reassuring smile. "Of course I do. Layla's more extroverted, so she would be more willing to talk to others than Rachel" she said. She nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah. By the way, how's your mom doing? And Aunt Tingwei Uncle Wenxiong as well? Have you spoken to them recently?" She laughed along with Shuzhen. "Me too. From what they told me though, Uncle Mark didn't treat them any different from his other students just because they're his daughters. Which is good. Don't want to show any favoritism towards them, right?" She smiled approvingly at Shuzhen's introduction. "Very good. That's correct. Ready for something a little more difficult?"

Shuzhen smiled. "Noted" she said simply. She smiled as Tiffany asked about her parents. "Mom's doing good. I talked to her a few weeks ago. Dad and Tingwei are well too. Last time I talked to them they said that they were visiting my grandparents. How about your parents? How are they doing?" Her smile widened. "That's good. And true. No favorites.' That was easy enough. It was a very basic sentence, after all. "Sure. What's next?'

Tiffany smiled back as Shuzhen spoke about her parents. "That's good to hear" she said. She paused for a moment, thinking. "They're good. Mom's busy working. Same with Dad. He travels a lot for his business, so I don't see or talk to him much. I'm used to it though. The usual, I suppose." She nodded her head in agreement. "Right." Tiffany glanced at the notes again, thinking of a question to ask. "How about describing what your family. Hopefully not too difficult." She gave a slight smirk as she said the last sentence.

Shuzhen nodded along, smiling as Tiffany spoke. "That's nice. Don't you miss your dad sometimes, though? Where does he usually travel to?" she asked with curiosity. She paused for a moment, considering how to answer the question. "Admittedly, I don't know much French, but I can try." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Mon mére es aimable. My mother is kind. I know it’s not a lot, but I'm not comfortable with my French just yet." She smiled again. "But I'll try my best to study harder for the test."

Tiffany nodded her head. "Yeah, I do. He has always been busy since I was kid. But I had my mom around, so she kept me company. So don't worry about me" she said with a reassuring smile. "He usually travels to Europe and Asia." She chuckled. "No, you're perfectly fine. That was a good start. Don't worry, French is a difficult language to get used to, trust. I had trouble when I first studied it and still do sometimes even though I've been learning for a few years." She extended her arm, giving Shuzhen's notebook back. "Should we take a break? Anything else you want to do?"

Shuzhen gave a slight grin. "Well, at least you had your mom around often. Speaking of Aunt Olivia, what's her job again? I think you told me before, but I forgot" she said. "That's cool. So he's been to a lot of countries then, huh?" Admittedly, it was embarrassing to say that she wasn't comfortable speaking French. By she was relieved that Tiffany didn't make fun of her. Of course she knew her stepcousin better than that, though. She would never do that. "Thanks. That makes me feel better about myself, then." Shuzhen took back the notebook, placing it in her bag. "Sure, we can do something else. How about watching a movie?"

Tiffany smiled in agreement with Shuzhen. "Yeah. She's a real estate agent. So she basically shows all kinds of different houses to various clients" she said. She nodded her head. "Dad's been a lot of countries and told me all about them. It's really cool to learn what different countries are like and their cultures. It makes me want to travel to those countries." Tiffany was always fascinated by that and was excited every time her father returned with new stories to tell. It was one of the things she looked forward to the most from his trips and it made her happy. She gave a reassuring smile. "Of course, no problem." Tiffany stacked her books neatly on her desk. "Sounds like a great idea! Did you have a movie in mind?"

"Oh right, I remember now. That's so cool!" Shuzhen said. She listened with interest as Tiffany spoke. "Very interesting. I would love to travel more too. Maybe we could plan a trip together after we graduate?" Her voice was filled with enthusiasm as she spoke. Of course being at school didn't allow them that luxury. But the idea of it made her excited for it. She simply smiled again, not wanting to repeat herself. She paused for a moment, considering the options. "How about Sleeping Beauty? I haven't seen before, so I thought it would be different. Have you seen it?"

"Yeah, she's a hard worker and loves her job. One of the many things that I admire her for" Tiffany said. She smiled enthusiastically at Shuzhen's suggestion. "That would be so much fun! It would be nice to go on a trip together at some point." She wasn't sure why they were talking about it now. But Tiffany was equally excited about the idea as Shuzhen was. Someday. She nodded her head in agreement. "I've seen it. But I don't mind watching it again. I like it, so good choice, Shuzhen."

"She really is" Shuzhen agreed. She remembered meeting her Aunt Olivia a few times since her father married Tingwei. From what she learned, she liked her aunt. Kind, compassionate, determined, all qualities that she admired about her. She turned her attention back to Tiffany, happy that she felt the same way. "It definitely would! But that's something we need to wait for." She smiled cheerfully. "Thank you! Should we get something to eat first?"

Tiffany simply nodded in agreement. Since her father wasn't around much, she relied on her mother for support and advice, but she would also go to her father when he was. Even as a child, Tiffany understood how busy he was. But she wished that she could spend time with him more often. And she still does to this day. "Definitely need to wait until then." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Sure, if you want to. Do you want anything in particular?"

Shuzhen knew all about her Aunt Olivia from Tiffany, plus from meeting her as well. She remembered that day vividly. How kind and welcoming to her new niece she was. She immediately accepted Shuzhen as if she was a part of the family her whole life. Which was technically true, given that she was really young when her father married Tingwei. And even if they weren't blood related, Shuzhen considered Olivia her aunt. She would always be grateful to have her aunt in her life. She nodded in agreement. "True." She stood up from her chair. "Maybe popcorn. Is there anything that you want?"