Immerse yourself in the captivating and darkly humorous world inside the compelling novel Unnatural Circumstances. Embark on the journey of three unconventional individuals who willingly set out on an adventure only to become entangled in a disturbi...
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As Casper changes into his black Pokemon shirt and colorful patchwork pants, Benji can't help but wonder about the scars all over his body.
Casper rarely speaks about his past, preferring to keep his emotions and experiences hidden beneath a calm exterior. But as Benji looks at the cigarette burns that mark Casper's skinny arms, he realizes a traumatic history lurking behind those charismatic brown eyes.
After Casper washes his face, he walks out of the bathroom, turns on the radio perched on his desk drawer, and listens to "Temperature's Rising" by Mobb Deep and Crystal Johnson blasting from the speakers.
Meanwhile, Benji steps around the small tower of Venom, Hellboy, Spawn, The Crow, and Spider-Man comic books resting near Casper's bed. He turns on the table lamp, picks up the book, and flips through it, admiring the diverse illustrations within its crisp pages.
Casper drew vibrant depictions of homeless people and comic book heroes. He detailed animals, bustling cityscapes, soft watercolor paintings, graffiti designs, and smudged charcoal sketches of people he'd see whenever he rode the subway.
Casper's talent shines through every pencil or brush stroke. However, as Benji turns to the final page, his eyes fall upon an unfinished sketch of Nadia Swan.
Casper couldn't capture Nadia's messy dreadlocks, but you can tell she has a kind personality just by looking at her dark eyes and gentle smile. Even her brown skin is shaded to perfection.
"Your artwork's amazing," Benji muses, shutting the thick sketchbook. "CalArts' got nothing on you."
"Yeah, right," Casper grunts, taking the book out of Benji's hands. "As if I'll ever get admitted to CalArts."
"Hey, man," Benji said with genuine concern, stepping closer to Casper. "How are your scars?"
His face withers at the question when Casper shrugs nonchalantly, attempting to downplay the significance of his old injuries.
"They're fine," he said softly. "Honestly, I don't think much of them. Neither should you, Ben."
But Benji could see the pain and trauma that Casper carried with him every day. The wounds on his body were a physical reminder of the battles he had fought and the hardships he had endured.
And yet, despite the pain, Casper remains his usual laid-back self. He tosses his sketchbook on his nightstand, retrieves a rolled blunt and lighter from his drawer, and smokes until he sits on top of his thick, orange covers.
In the meantime, Benji takes a good look at Casper's large wooden desk. It is covered in old sketchbooks, journals, Rubik's Cubes, art supplies, a Polaroid camera, and the VHS cassette tapes Casper rented from Blockbuster.
He glances under the table to see Casper's worn-out skateboard, in its faded orange and red glory, resting underneath the desk alongside a trash can overflowing with crumpled sketches and unfinished art college applications.
