i listened and i wish i hadn't :)))))))))
The sun beat down in merciless waves of heat, causing the critters, animals and humans alike, seek for shelter against the harsh rays. Birds flitted in the branches of trees that dotted the park. It was the middle of the day, with the bright star in the sky pulsing at its worst. Still, kids darted around the park with their limitless energy, unaware that their actions were tiring for their parents, who only had the mere job of keeping an eye on them.
To be fair, it was the first day of the summer holidays. There was a sense of freedom in the air, and an offset smell of smoke occupying the scenario, forged by students burning their unfinished homework that they never had to set sight on again.
I was clutching an almost empty hot chocolate cup in my hands, lounging in the dappled shade that the leaves from towering trees caused. The bench I was sitting on was uncomfortable and hard. Aaliyah, Naomi and Claire were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago, but I'm sure that they were just stuck in traffic.
It was a Monday, usually a day that would make me curl my toes and shiver in turmoil. Instead, I had the privilege of sleeping in late and getting ready at my own leisure.
Holidays are amazing.
I played with my phone in my grasp, bouncing a knee while taking in the scenery. Although the park was in the middle of Ninjago City, I was in deep enough for the usual hustle and bustle of the city to be unheard. There was still the evident smell of man and smoke, but that was unsurprising.
I waited another ten minutes, texted Aaliyah, then waited another fifteen. With a ding, I fumbled with the lock and then slumped my shoulders at her reply. They had cancelled.
With a shuddering sigh, I stood, taking my cup with me this time. I deposited the empty cardboard into a bin, before taking the time to pad around the park, letting my skin soak in the vitamin D before summer got too unbearably sweltering and forced me indoors with the air conditioning.
The familiar feeling of despondency made my stomach sink to my feet, and I dragged them in the direction of an ice cream truck. Because what's a better way to drown your sorrows than ice cream?
I didn't blame them. They probably got busy doing something. It wasn't the first time, plus they'd always apologise whenever I saw them next.
I sighed after receiving my cold treat, and pitifully tread back home.
When Lloyd returned to the monastery missing his notorious green hoody and instead clutching a split, useless skateboard in his grasp, Cole instantly knew something was up.
The black haired ninja was in the kitchen when Lloyd entered the front door. Looking up from his health bar snack, Cole frowned when he saw the blonde-locked teen.
"What happened to your hoody?" Cole asked, crumpling up the noisy foil wrapper and placing it in the bin by his feet. He furrowed his bushy eyebrows as he waited for Lloyd to answer.
"I- uh," Lloyd stuttered, caught off guard with Cole's sudden question. The blonde ninja sheepishly barked a small laugh, reaching up with a hand to ruffle the hair at the back of his head. "It's, uh, it's a long story."
Cole's frown deepened, but his eyes soon widened when he recognised the flushed, giddy expression on Lloyd's face that he had previously glanced over. His frown broke into a wide, amused grin while he crossed his arms.
"Uh, oh," Cole teased, and Lloyd tensed. "Looks like someone's a little awestruck. Go on, what's her name?"
Lloyd froze. He forgot to ask the h/c haired girl her name! His hand clenched around the skateboard halves as he mentally cursed himself.
Cole's smile fell as he sent Lloyd a disbelieving look.
"You forgot to ask her for her name."
Lloyd groaned as Cole said that, using his free hand to smack his forehead.
"I forgot to ask her her for her name," he echoed Cole, but more disappointedly. Cole snorted, shaking his head and making his black locks sway.
"Well done, Green Ninja," Cole playfully sneered as he stood up from the counter that he was leaning against. "Ninjago's saviour can't even ask a girl for her name."
"It's not that I couldn't ask her!" Lloyd defended as Cole exited the kitchen, laughing. "I just forgot."
"Yeah," Cole called from down the hallway. "Keep telling yourself that, kid."
Lloyd huffed in indignation, but stopped himself from recriminating. He too, shook his head, but his dirty frown contrasted against Cole's gleefully amused grin.
"Something wrong, nephew?" a wise, rough voice asked, and Lloyd turned to see his uncle, Master Wu. The old man frowned at the gash on the blonde ninja's forehead.
"Oh," Lloyd's frown dropped as he respectfully bowed for his Sensei. "Nothing that is of trouble."
Wu skeptically raised an eyebrow as he switched his attention to the broken skateboard in his nephew's grasp.
"I beg to differ," Master Wu replied monotonously, turning his gaze back to Lloyd's. "What happened?"
Lloyd sighed, and began recounting his tale of that morning.
"Which is why I need to fix her skateboard," the blonde ninja finished, gesturing to the split skateboard.
Wu nodded thoughtfully, stroking his beard.
"That cannot be fixed," Wu finalised. "It is split right down the middle. There is no way to safely mend it. I suggest simply buying a new one."
Lloyd's shoulders slumped. He didn't mind using his own money to buy the girl a new skateboard, but he had promised her that he was going to fix it. However, if buying a new skateboard was more practical, he would do it without complaining.
"Okay- thank you, Master Wu," Lloyd said, before he exited the kitchen and left his uncle to make himself a cup of tea.
"I trust you got the girl's contact number?" Wu asked as he busied himself with boiling a kettle. Lloyd poked his head back in and nodded.
"Then I would suggest you to ask her for her name through your cellular device," Wu glanced up at Lloyd with a rare, mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Certainly you are not afraid to do that."
Lloyd frowned at Wu, before squaring his shoulders and retreating to his room.
Afraid? Bah! Lloyd's not afraid of texting a girl. After all, he battled his own father, the disembodied (then embodied) evil Overlord that lurked in the shadows, a cultist and so many more evil beings that risked Ninjago's safety - how hard could it be to text a girl and ask her for her name?
But he still found himself looking at the keypad on his phone and hesitating.
