[h1][center][color=#696969]VAPOR-Empowered Android[/color]
[color=#C0C0C0]Nickel[/color][/center][/h1]
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Nickel counted herself lucky she didn't have a stomach. It was hard not to be thankful given that someone else on the Vacuan air bus, standing not too far away from her, had come down with motion sickness during the trip. Certainly such an affliction had to occur every semester in a handful of new students, but that didn't make it any less embarassing- or unpleasant-looking. Had she the capability to become motion sick, she almost certainly would have; this was her first ever time being carried by air bus, and having only come into existence two months ago wouldn't have helped her resist the affliction, either. 

[color=#C0C0C0][i]I guess dad built a bit of luck into me. Hahah![/i][/color]

As the air bus touched down and students around her began to disembark, Nickel was still smiling at the absurdity of such an idea, as well as the heartwarming image it formed in her mind, as she followed the crowd onto the sandy rocks Shade Academy was built upon. Immediately the screens above caught her attention, as seemed intended, as the news program they were displaying changed to a different broadcast. It sounded like one of the academy's staff was addressing the new arrivals, probably an administrator.

[color=#C0C0C0][i]But is their equipment really so poor that they can't transmit an image of the speaker? I should have them talk to dad about that.[/i][/color]

As she mused inwardly about whether Shade would have enough money to pay Toolmaster's fee if they didn't even have enough to make a professional first impression on the new students, Nickel looked around at the crowds disembarking from the other air buses. Some of the buses were even from other kingdoms, and the students filing off of them looked suitably exotic. Nickel's smile grew wider, thinking of meeting lots of foreigners and learning about the world beyond the sands of Vacuo through them. How did their values differ from those of Vacuans? Would she be able to see the value in their opinions? 

Taking a calming breath in and out, Nickel let the tension drain from her body, replacing her excitement with a more relaxed energy. If she was going to learn anything, she had to pay attention, and she couldn't do that while wrapped up in her own imagination.