The Ground Shaker

Prologue

"Son, could you come here?" Lou called out to his only child.

Cole came out of his room, putting his headphones onto his shoulder, the soft rock music still blaring from the speakers. "Yeah, dad?"

"I have some great news. I enrolled you into Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts and you got in."

"What? But that's in Ninjago City! I want to stay here so I can stay with mom!"

"I know, but she and I agreed you need this. You might meet the people in your life that'll change it forever in the best of ways. That's how I met my quartet."

When Lou first sent Cole to the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts, Cole was angry. He was annoyed that his father never listened to him and his wishes. He hated that he wasn't good at dancing or singing like his father.

Cole got into fights, he barely got along with the quartet he was put in, and he stumbled a lot.

However, his teacher saw great potential in him. He just needed to unlock it. She offered to put him in a different group, to which he agreed.

"Cole, this is your new team. Micah and the twins; Bennie and Ryan." The teacher gestured to each individual as she said their names.

Bennie stepped toward, grinning ear to ear and offering his hand out to shake. "Hey, Cole! It's awesome to meet you. I'm sorry that your old quartet didn't work out, but, maybe we could get big together."

Cole looked him up and down then shook his hand. "I have a feeling we will."

"You four start coming with your dance routine and your stage names. You have a video assignment that is due next month. Good luck, boys." She left them.

Ryan sat on the floor crisscross, his hands on his ankles and shoulders shrugged. "So, Cole, what kind of dancing do you do?"

"Any, I guess. I'm not good at it yet."

"Keep trying. You'll get there one day, yeah?"

That day was sooner than Cole had thought it would be. He got along well with this new group, and they supported him and gave him words of encouragement. With his newfound love of dancing and motivation, Cole quickly became the top student at Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts.

His group was growing quickly on NinjaTube. The four had started an account after their teacher suggested it to help get feedback. The channel was called "The Stone Hearts" as that was what their quartet was called.

Cole was called the Ground Shaker.

Bennie was Gemstone.

Micah was Canyon.

Ryan was Obsidian.

They all had a great love for the earth and wanted to honor it. This was the best way they could.

Their outfits were glittery and each had a theme with hints of black. Cole had green like emeralds, Bennie was red like rubies, Micah was yellow like the rocks in a canyon, and Ryan was the purplish black of obsidian.

Before they knew it, they were asked to preform up on stages in front of large crowds. Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts was more than happy to give them time off for their growing musical careers.

"Boys, how about we go get cake?" Cole asked after they finished making a music video and were out of costume.

"Sorry, Cole, but mom's coming into town, so Ryan and I've gotta go meet up with her."

Ryan nodded, patting Cole's arm. "We'll get cake sometime soon, okay?"

Micah kicked a rock. "I've got a date later."

"Ooh, how fun!" Ryan bounced on his heels. "Good luck, yeah?"

"Thanks. I'll need it." Micah looked at Cole. "You can still go get cake if you want to. We aren't going to stop you."

Cole pouted and crossed his arms. "Fine, fine. You three have fun without me."

"Ha. Maybe you'll meet the ninja," Bennie teased him. "You'll be able to finally tell the blue ninja you've got a crush on him."

"Shut up. Everyone knows he's with Nya."

Ryan giggled. "No. Everyone knows he wants to be with Nya. There's a difference."

"You two are brats. Leave Cole alone. It's not his fault he fell hopelessly in love with someone he's never met."

"You aren't helping, Mic."

"Hey, I'm just spitting facts. I'm going to go home and get all this fucking glitter off me. Why did I agree to glitter in the first place?"

"Cause Ryan gave you his famous puppy dog eyes and you can't say no to him."

Micah huffed and crossed his arms with a stomp. "I can say no to him!"

Cole chuckled and walked away, not wanting to witness another one of Micah and Bennie's arguments. Everyone but Micah knew that Micah had a massive soft spot for Ryan.

He shoved his arms into his pants pockets, slightly regretting wearing a tank top in winter. It wasn't snowing, but it still was chilly.