Xavier Akhenaten

Before transferring to the academy, Xavier used to have long hair, parted down the middle, that flowed down his back reaching just before his shoulders. As per his father’s request, however, he got a haircut so that people will “take him more seriously”, and now he has shaved sides but kept a portion of the quiff which he loves so much.

As someone who doesn’t care much about clothing, Xavier feels like he can’t be bothered so he opts to keep his style casual: jeans and a shirt, sometimes button-downs topped with a jacket, and sneakers or boots when he feels like it. He always wears dark colors, being accustomed to the New York weather as he lived there first.

However, he also keeps people at a distance emotionally because he’s the type of person to refuse help from anyone, believing that depending on others is weak, and therefore he keeps his grievances to himself. He never lets things become about him, and often redirects conversations so that the focus is on someone else. He is also lazy, mostly present in the way he handles his academics (which is, not handling them at all apart from the subjects he likes), but it also shows in other aspects of his life.

Therefore, to people from the outside looking in, he can come off as arrogant, but it’s only when they get to know him do they realize that he’s actually a nice guy, just someone who isn’t addressing his own issues.

It’s been 10 years and Jasper was still juggling different jobs just to keep Xavier in school. Once while working during the opening night of the musical Chicago, Xavier overheard about the academy and its prestigious theatre program. He looked it up and applied there, but was not able to get a scholarship due to his low grades. Thankfully his dad was supportive and allowed him to transfer, given that he would be able to take care of himself.

Xavier moved to an apartment complex near the academy after finding an ad online for three other people who needed someone to split the expenses with, and he works part-time at an ice cream shop to make ends meet for himself even though his dad sends him money from New York monthly.

Jasper never finished high school due to poverty, but he did grow up with technology at his disposal, as his own father worked as an electrician (while his mother was a housewife) and he helped out so that his younger siblings could finish their education. Eventually, when Jasper’s father died, he tried to find a job and ended up in technical theatre. He was working from theatre to theatre for 3 years already before Xavier was born, and eventually landed a good stable job in Cairo.

Because Jasper’s job is in the capital, and Rania’s allowed her to be at home more, Xavier was much closer to his mom. It was from her that he learned to approach life with a smile, and to never be discouraged despite failure.

Unfortunately, Rania was diagnosed with cancer when Xavier was 6 and she passed away a year later. The remaining two Akhenatens were left with no money as they used whatever Rania had made at her job (which was supposedly for Xavier’s education) for her treatment. In his depression, Jasper decided to move Xavier with him somewhere else, taking the job opportunity in New York that had he had been debating on whether to take (because it meant starting over from the bottom) for years, because everything in Egypt reminded him of Rania.

It took a while for Jasper and Xavier to become close, and their convergence point was always Rania. Xavier has not stopped working on the final invention blueprint that his mom left behind, and Jasper tried his best to help him out. Real life got in the way, however, as Xavier needed to go to school. They both struggled to adjust to life in New York, and would often get into fights because Xavier wanted to go back to Egypt since he knew they were both having a hard time there, especially Jasper who at this point was struggling two jobs just to keep afloat. Xavier tried his best at school but realized that no one could help him but his mother and he ended up slacking off. Despite this, however, he still wanted to help his father (knowing that he was trying for him even though they lacked communication) and their love language consisted of assistance with technical theatre and Rania’s last invention. In fact, the reason Xavier goes to study at the academy is for his dad’s sake, so that he could finally get promoted in Broadway.

* Xavier’s favorite subject is Physics, despite being bad at virtually every other subject. His dream is to be able to finish what was supposed to be his mom’s last invention before her death; he kept the plans for it.
* Xavier works part-time at an ice cream shop a town over. He works every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Since the place is near the beach, the shop gets a lot of customers.