A Year 9 English assignment asked students to write a descriptive piece focusing on a character. Here is Flynn Montgomerie's creation.

Copper’s sagged, antique skin itched. The irritation that no matter how much you scratch, it’ll never go away, as if a vile insect had gnawed on his mossy, aged shell.

He leaned over and with a lackadaisical reach, he picked up his pipe and moved it to his crusted mouth. Before doing so, he let out a delicate groan and stretched his extensive neck out a little, meeting his pipe halfway to his mouth. 

His frail neck retracted, almost sinking into his shell. The stubs he proclaimed as limbs wriggled a little and his ancient hat fell off his inconsequential, hairless head. With an incidental catch, he pulled the worn cap over his head and took a glance, with eyes as black as obsidian, checking to see if his garment was still on him. 

He ruffled his soft scarf around his neck and draped it down to his scaled chest, his shell creaked as he leaned over the table to pick up a cup of tea, his clawed fingers wrapping around the handle, and pulling the ceramic up to his face. Just under the tiny holes of a nose he has, puffing away the steam with a breath as smooth as the wind itself, he took a slow, gentle sip from the sultry cup and placed it back down on the table, stretching his fatigued neck while doing so. 

He gazed out the window, watching the earth speed past him as if time were working against him, Copper grinned and put his pipe back between his frail lips, leaning back into the musty train seat he perched on.

He looked down at the sun-bleached chessboard in front of him, although his opponent’s stop had long since been, he still felt the need to move his knight, in such honour of a formidable player. He muttered to himself “Sometimes it feels like I carry the world on my back” in a tone and voice that upon hearing taught you that the speaker paraded wisdom and trust.

The train screeched slowly to a halt, Copper made his way off his warmed seat and stood up creakily with a hunch, stretching his neck back and yawning softly. He strolled to the end of the carriage with seemingly robotic-like movements, stepping off the locomotive carefully, like a fragile package.

He arrived at his stop, and after such a tiring trip, he was finally home.