Aether's Legacy | dnf

Chapter 4: Sail to Puerto Rico

The island wasn't as hot as other summer days. The afternoon sun was partly covered by the clouds flying past every few minutes, the sky behind them a sparkling azure. A gentle breeze soothed George's skin, his breaths coming in smooth and refreshing, welcoming of the adventure awaiting them in the next few hours. His stomach swirled with anxiety and a spark of excitement. His chance to explore the world was finally here, even amid uncertain times.

"Sapnap! I thought we said that we'd only bring one bag each!" Dream exclaimed, tugging George out of his thoughts as Sapnap showed up at the back entrance of the classroom building with a huge luggage suitcase and an even bigger grin.

George shook his head at Sapnap with an amused shadow of a smirk as his beaming smile drooped into a scowl. With a huff, Sapnap pushed the case handle down and leaned onto it, wiping his sweaty palms on his old fire emblazoned t-shirt as spikes of his hair fell out of his loosely tied bandana. His typical black and white checkered sneakers scraped against the concrete as he spun on his heel to face George.

"It's all my necessities ." He pouted, stomping his foot on the ground like an impudent child.

Dream pinched the bridge of his nose, taking in a deep breath before ultimately sighing and waving his hand dismissively. He let the backpack on his shoulder fall to the ground and took out the tablet they'd planned their course on. He sported his signature lime smiley-face sweatshirt, the one George hated looking at because the ugly worn-out yellow hurt his eyes. A part of him was convinced Dream insisted on wearing it not only because it was his favorite, but also because it annoyed George.

"So? What's the plan, chief?" Sapnap sent Dream a knowing grin.

Without looking up from his device, he replied, "The plan is getting to the Puerto Rico bay and sneaking into one of the cruise ships to Florida."

"What? Do you expect us to swim all the way to Puerto Rico?" George's sarcastic tone shifted Dream's serious expression to one of faint amusement. Setting his own backpack down, George plopped down on the concrete stairs with a similar smile, sinking his hands into the sleeves of his thin red hoodie and toying with the loose ends.

"Can't you, like, fly us there?" A bemused smile replaced Sapnap's cry-baby face.

George rolled his eyes. "You know I can barely lift a ten-pound rock. How am I supposed to fly all your fat arses out there?"

Sapnap mocked his use of 'arse' and George stuck his tongue out like a little kid. Dream already looked fed up with their childish exchanges.

"You won't need to." Dream slung his backpack over his shoulder and signaled for them to follow him toward the docks.

Although it was prohibited to leave the island on any vehicle that wasn't registered by the school or their official ferry that stopped by twice a day, the students were allowed to hang out by the docks considering it was right by the beach.

The trio enjoyed heading there every so often and sitting with their feet hanging off the wooden planks, pointing out the occasional dolphin in the distance and goofing around splashing water at each other. During early winter sunsets, it was especially nice to sit through. Despite George's inability to take in all the colors, he enjoyed steeping in Dream's own pleasant aura of awe and tranquility. Those were some of the uncommon moments when his best friend purposefully lowered his mind block because he knew George couldn't properly relish in the beauty of nature's gifts.

When they arrived at the docks, George's eyebrows turned up. As it turned out, Skeppy was more crafty than George gave him credit for. "Uh... What is that?"

"Our ride," Skeppy announced proudly as he gestured toward the old man in the small motorboat, sitting in the driver's seat while leafing idly through a magazine. He was leaning back on his cushioned seat, his cap blocking the sunlight as he chewed on a soggy sandwich half-wrapped in foil, enjoying it as though he weren't in the presence of four fugitive EMs, all talking about him within hearing range.