Two hours later, Cog, Gogs, and Sprocket joined her in the study hall. Aside from Algebra, she'd just finished all the homework she'd collected for the day. That one would have to wait.

"Sail, you would not believe what I just saw," Gogs said, with a serious tone to match his solemn face.

"Nazis?" she guessed, playing along with what had happened on the previous day.

"Even stranger. Sprocket went swimming and found like five different pearls. And to top it all off, he only sold two of them."

Sprocket chimed in, saying, "I bought you a camera with those two, Sail." It was relatively low quality but had a rich saturation.

"Sprocket, you didn't have to," she said. It was a polite gesture that made her happy. She just didn't have the heart to tell him she had absolutely no interest in photography. "It's very nice. Thank you."

"Consider it compensation for having to deal with us."

"Of course. The chore that it is to be your friends."

The group finished all their remaining homework almost immediately. Dinnertime was still an hour or two away, and they were eager to enjoy some more time in the lowering sun.

"Do you guys want to go back out there?" Cog asked, drawing a palm tree on the back of her history homework. "We have until curfew to dip our toes in the water."

"Won't they know I can't go back out, regardless?" Sail responded, sadness in her eyes. "I don't want us to get in trouble just so that I can go back out with y'all."

"I doubt they'll care," Sprocket reasoned. "You've done all of your classwork. Besides, you're with us."

"You guys seem to be the favorites," she noted. "Why is that?"

The three answered all at once.

"Fear," Sprocket said.

"Being nice," Cog answered.

"Lust," Gogs blurted.

The other three looked at him incredulously.

"I was kidding, guys," he claimed, half-defensively. "I was kidding! I was kidding."

"Liar," Sail said, throwing his backpack at him.

The group got in line to go back outside, with the sun staring at them just over the horizon. A beautiful array of colors washed over the sky, adding to the amazement the four felt. It was their second time out on the beach, but it offered the same wonder as the first.

-=[ ]=-

"I've got a German joke," Gogs said. The four of them sat down at the same bar Sail had the day before, each with some sort of tropical drink. Their school uniforms contrasted sharply against the sparkling dunes surrounding them.

"Oh, yeah?" Sprocket asked. "What's that?"

"Hitler's army."

"Very creative." Sprocket laced his words with an offensive amount of sarcasm.

"I've got a language joke too," Gogs continued. "English. German's a much easier language, and also a lot smoother. If I yelled 'Furzenkopf,' no one would know what to do. That would be funny, I think."

"Real mature," Amp teased, sitting down at the table.

"Amp!" Cog yelled. She shot up from her stool and wrapped around him. His arms were pinned to his sides, so all he could do was wait for her to stop.

"Hey, you," he laughed in response. "Good to see you guys enjoying your time out while you can. This is gonna be the only field trip this year, because of the budget cuts we got. Drink up, kids."

He had his own drink in hand, which was hopefully nonalcoholic. Trying to steer an airship intoxicated was a dangerous game.

"Wait, so what did 'Furzenkopf' mean?" Cog asked.

"Don't worry about it," Sail said. "It's not worth the letters it used."

"Very true," Amp added. "Great to see you, Sail. I'm sorry you got adopted by these three, but hopefully they keep things interesting enough for you."

"For some reason, everyone keeps apologizing," she said. "Should I get out now while I have the chance?"

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"Allow me to put it in song," Amp said. He stood up on top of the bar, stretched his arms out, and breathed deeply, preparing his song.

"Probably," he mumbled, and then let out all the air he built up.

Gogs clapped. "Great one, sir."

-=[ ]=-

An hour later, the group of them were all in fits of laughter. A combination of too many jokes and getting more and more tired wore them all down to tears. Even Amp seemed to be getting a kick out of the four of them and their back-and-forth banter.

"Hey, Sail," Cog prompted, "what's up with your eye?"

"Hmm?" Sail didn't realize what she meant until she blinked again. Something felt different about her left eye.

Oh God, she realized, the filter just came off. She'd been crying so much from laughing that she hadn't noticed it slipping off. Her left eye went from an emerald green to a brilliant alexandrite purple, literally in the blink of an eye. She quickly removed the filter from her eye.

Gogs and Sprocket were staring, deeply in awe at their latest discovery.

"So, uh, that eye isn't naturally green," she admitted, in an attempt to clear any confusion.

"But your other is?" Cog questioned.

"Yeah, it's a weird birth thing and I hate it. It's called—"

"Heterochromia," Gogs finished, intently gazing into her eyes. "Where one pupil is one or more colors and the other is one or more different colors."

"Yeah, that. I hate it."

"Why?" Cog asked, devastated.

"Because people stare, and I used to get made fun of because of it."

"We'd never make fun of you!"

"I've found that often the things we hide from others are the most beautiful parts of us," Amp reflected, staring at the horizon. The sun was now threatening to fall beneath the ocean, and the sky softly darkened around them. His mind seemed to wander away from the beach and toward the setting sun.

"And I think Gogs is staring because you're beautiful," Sprocket commented.

"You were too, Sprocket!" he deflected. Then, to Sail, he added, "Not saying you weren't before, because you definitely were. Are."

Her face blazed a crimson red, the blush creeping down her neck.

"Here, hand me the camera I gave you earlier," Sprocket said to her. When she did, he took two pictures and waved them in the air to help them develop.

"Are you okay, Amp?" Cog asked, snapping him back to the beach.

"Yeah," he answered. "I'm okay. I'm just spacing out, thinking of my wife. You guys have me all nostalgic."

"Wait!" Sail exclaimed. "You have a wife? And you're always away on the Globetrotter?"

He finally snapped away from staring at the sunset and looked down at the drink in his hand. "Had," he corrected. "She was the love of my life." He took a dramatic sip, then added, "We had kids, too."

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to—"

"It's alright, Sail. It's been a while since, and life moves on. Now, I've got three hundred kids I get to watch over and take care of every day. Some of them are even good kids."

"Am I a good kid?" Cog asked, joking with him in hopes of cheering him up.

"Yeah, you are, Cog."

Sprocket finally stopped waving the pictures and handed them back to Sail. They were both in color. The sunset gave life to the picture as much as the eyes did, as the glorious hues in the setting sky clashed with the two of her eyes.

"That's what we see," Sprocket said, pointing to one, "and the other one is what everyone else sees."

She studied both of them. "They're exactly the same."

"And pretty cute, might I add," Gogs added quietly in the background. Nobody heard.

"Thanks guys, I'll just keep them like this instead."

"Atta girl," Cog cheered, smiling.

Cog and Sprocket convinced Amp to take pictures of the four together for a photo shoot. He did some in black and white and some in color, including one where all four jumped with the sunset behind them. It was cheesy, but they were having fun.

"Hold on," Sprocket said. "Get over here, Amp."

"What for?" he asked, as Sail and Cog dragged him over.

"You, sir, do so much for everybody on board. Not a single soul could possibly have ill will towards you."

"I mean, that's a little dramatic, but I appreciate it, Sprocket."

"It's a little sappy," Sail said, "but you were just as much part of this night as the four of us. You're getting in these pictures, too."

"Now wait a second," he said, trying to plant his feet in the sand but unable to gain traction against the two girls.

"Nope!" Cog shouted, throwing him towards the group. "We know it's not the same, but we'd love to be your honorary kids."

He felt tears building up. You have no idea, kiddo.

-=[ ]=-

"This has been killing me all day," Cog said. She was tearing their dorm apart in search of more secret compartments. There were no more light switches, or hidden wall panels, or cabinet secrets. She'd also checked the floor and bathroom mirror. The last place she could think of was her dresser.

"Maybe there just aren't any more of them," Sail suggested. She was following Cog around, cleaning everything she destroyed.

"Maybe..." Cog relented, ripping the drawers out of her dresser.

At last, she found something. There was a switch on the inside of the dresser. She flipped it, and it made an audible click. A drawer opened that she had assumed was a fake decorative drawer.

They stared in awe at what lay in the drawer. One hundred dollars, one hundred pounds, and one hundred Deutschmarks were staring back at both of them.

"That's a full week's worth of work each!" Sail realized, looking at the bounty in shock. Neither of them had any sort of money. The drawer seemed like a winning lottery ticket they'd grabbed flying through the air on a windy day.

-=[ ]=-

Cog had managed to stay awake for another full hour, passionately talking about the day's events until succumbing to her exhaustion. At long last, Sail had the peace and time to write again.

Dear Mom and Pop,

Hope you got my other letter. Lots has happened in just these two days! I guess I'll start with the whole trip thing.

The airship stopped at the BAHAMAS! We got to vacation there for a few hours until our curfew. The four of us enjoyed it. Secondly, I've been convinced to never use the eye filter again; they like the heterochromia and say it's beautiful. I guess you were right, Dad.

I also found a MASSIVE pearl! It has, like, a half-inch diameter!

The picture I sent with this is us jumping in the sunset. Gogs, the one who has a crush on me, is on the left, holding my hand. I like him too. Amp, the principal/pilot/whatever, is the other one with us.

Stay safe, love you guys!

Katie

She blew out the candle and climbed into bed. A smile crept up on her face, one mixed with joy and mischief.

"Tomorrow," she whispered to herself. "He'll enjoy tomorrow."