It felt like time had passed so fast. It was already time for another semester, and the vacation in between went by so quickly. It wasn’t all bad, but Casper didn’t remember going through the same trails in any other school he had been at. Sure, some people found him an easy target to pick on but as a whole, he was left alone. At the academy however, he had found himself in the crosshairs a lot more frequently. Why? One would think that an island of misfits was the perfect place to be but that was hoping for too much. Again, it wasn’t all bad. Casper liked the school in itself. The teachers were nice enough, the dorms were really pleasant and all the students had access to extravagance he had not been introduced to anywhere else. 

Analysing the people on the boat, Casper tried to note every single face. Who was good to avoid and who seemed like an okay person to lower his guard around? There was one guy over in the corner playing guitar, yeah he looked tough. That added one face to the ‘caution list’. A girl was talking to him, they seemed to get along well enough. They had the same colours, perhaps related in some way? Casper couldn’t quite hear what they were saying but eventually decided to move his attention away from the due and was met by something which widened his eyes in shock. What the hell was that? An amazon? It had to be, nothing else could describe a seven foot tall, dark skinned woman with a body like that. Damn. The kid she was handling was wearing a hat sizing up to their entire body. Yeah, this place was already weird as hell. 

Carefully moving towards the railing, Casper dropped down to the floor and slipped on his headphones, producing a red iPod Nano from his pocket. The heating sun felt wonderful against his skin, laying itself like a blanket over his exposed arms. As would be expected, Casper’s jeans were rather lose on him but stayed in place with a belt around his waist. His red t-shirt followed suit, flowing slightly with the wind brushing past him. It was easy to see the various leather bracelets on his forearms clinging against each other with the small, metallic pieces sometimes colliding. Unlike what usually sat upon his head, Casper decided to leave his beanie in the small, cloth shoulder bag by his left waist. It was way too hot to have that on his head today, and the black colour of his hair was already absorbent enough in draining the sun’s rays.

This would of course completely expose the boy’s hair, the bright pink streaks reaching down his bangs. They made him easy to pick out in a crowd and were the reason for a lot of unwanted attention. One could think that removing them was an easy choice but despite the hardships, Casper didn’t want to tone down his more creative side just because a few thick headed individuals couldn’t deal with it. 

Looking at the display on his iPod, Casper dangled his feet down the side of the boat as he leaned against the railing. The warm breeze was superb, something he couldn’t get enough of. He turned to the song Changing Winds by Scorpions before moving his large eyes to the constantly moving water below his feet. It was safe to say that the boy’s music tastes were incredibly varied. He could listen to anything, depending on his mood. 

After a few moments, he allowed his back to gently fall against the floor, his eyes now moving towards the blue sky. Yeah, mood. That would probably shift back and forth like a roller coaster over at the academy. He didn’t want to think about it too much, but he was sure that at least one person on that boat was going to make life difficult for him. 

Most people on that boat probably had incredibly flashy powers, able to melt your face off by just willing it. Casper wasn’t capable of something like that. He was very average in that regard. Having a power like his was however beneficial in a lot of ways. If nothing else, it couldn’t ever accidentally harm anyone, could it? Not really. What was he going to do? Replicate someone to death? Hardly.

The song reached an end and automatically shifted to Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters. Now this was where his power could really come in handy. That iPod? The battery lasted for a very long time because the original thing was safely tucked away in his traveling bag, turned off. Well, that’s a plus, isn’t it? Casper rarely ever carries with him something of worth that isn’t replicated. It’s usually his phone but on a trip like this, an iPod works well. 

A few songs later, Casper stretched his arms up with a yawn and ascended back to his bright red converse shoes. Falling asleep on the ship’s floor, with all those people around, was a very bad idea. At the very least, he could try to get to the academy unscathed before shit hit the fan. 

Rubbing his eyes, the boy turned and saw yet another person. This one was close, much closer than the rest. It took a moment to fully register the sight as Casper’s eyes were still adjusting after having stared into the sky for so long. Funny, this guy had the same haircut as Casper’s father. He was smoking, something Khalil didn’t do but the man had actually admitted that he had tried weed more than a few times. It didn’t quite stick and he always told Casper to be careful if he ever wanted to try it. A free spirited father to say the least. Though, Casper never found any interest in drugs or alcohol of any kind. His thoughts seemed to travel back to the old, new age man back home. Casper had hoped that he could deal with this better, but the home sickness struck anyways, in the shape of an induced longing.