[center][h2][color=ed1c24][i][b]Drake “D” Edwards[/b][/i][/color][/h2] [img] http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x105/ShatteredCovenant/drake3post_zpsrxjdemys.jpg [/img][/center] [hr][center][color=ed1c24][b]Location:[/b][/color] Ashford Institute for the Gifted > Courtyard [/center][hr][hr] With a loud thud, the doors of the Ashford Institute for the Gifted swung open hard. Drake briskly walked out toward the open air, his index finger hooking the collar of his black shirt and shook it as he tried to let his body heat escape his clothes. It was a lot to take in and it all just made him nervous. With his other hand, he reached in toward the pocket of his jeans to find a familiar box, a friend in dire times, a silent companion that knew how to calm him down. He pulled it out and flicked open the top a turquoise pack of cigarettes, retrieving one of the nine he had left and quickly putting it in his mouth. Tucking the pack back into its place in his jeans, he then went for the opposite pocket, retrieving a small black lighter. After a few frustrated flicks, he finally had flame. He held it to the tip of the cigarette still wedged between his lips and breathed in. As the fire took hold and the smoke bellowed into his mouth, Drake’s eyes slowly closed. He put the lighter back and leaned up against the wall of the building, letting the smoke slowly flow out his nostrils. [i][color=f7976a]What a day[/color][/i], he thought. [i][color=f7976a]What a week![/color][/i] While his body slowly began to relax, his mind still raced. [i][color=f7976a]Mutants... powers... and I’m supposed to be one of them?[/color][/i] He wasn’t exactly alone, but he certainly felt lost. It was times like this that he wanted to call his brother. He hadn’t spoken to him much since he left Texas and hadn’t spoken to him at all since... the incident. What would he think if he knew his own brother was a mutant? Just one more thing for his parents to look down on him for. Drake took another slow puff and looked around the grounds of the courtyard, of his new world. He hadn’t met everyone, yet, but he heard some of the classmates introduce themselves and what they could do. [i][color=f7976a]And here I am[/color][/i], he thought. [i][color=f7976a]My super power is being able to take something out of the oven without wearing a mit[/color][/i]. Though it was a sobering notion, he couldn’t help but give a crooked grin as he flicked the ash of his cigarette, letting it fall to the ground. The staff claimed they would help him hone his abilities along with everyone else. So far, he felt like his development was stagnant. Patience, he reminded himself, was a virtue and it had only been a week, afterall. The thought of being some powerful entity was intoxicating though. For so long he lived under the shadow of his betters that he often daydreamed about what it would be like to have power that would inspire people, that everyone could look up to and say ‘Wow, look at him!’ But today wasn’t that day. Today Drake Edwards was just a flame retardant wrench monkey, just like yesterday and the day before that. Drake had smoked the cigarette nearly to the filter. He looked around for a second out of habit, searching for an ashtray despite already knowing there wasn’t one. With his cigarette resting between his right index and middle fingers, his eyes fell upon the open palm of his left hand and he smirked. [i][color=f7976a]I’m a super powered mutant,[/color][/i] he thought sarcastically as he pushed the cherry of the cigarette into his palm, crushing it into his skin until the smoke ceased to rise from its end. [i][color=f7976a]Try not to faint in amazement at my mind boggling abilities![/color][/i]