Music to the Max

1 - "Operation New Me"

TWO

MONTHS LATER

:

"AT THE DOOR, AND I'M READY TO GO-OH! IT'S ME, VERSION TWO-POINT-OH-OH!"

Leah banged her head on the ceiling from her top bunk and yelped in pain. Operation New Me blared from her phone- it was her alarm. Unfortunately, it vibrated so hard it fell off her bureau. It was that kind of day. Lloyd cursed and muttered something about moving so he could have his own room and collapsed out of his bottom bunk, swiping Leah's phone so it would just shut up.

Her brother crawled back in bed, hiding in the dark as if he would wither and die if he stayed in the light for a moment longer.

Pulling her IPod and earbuds off her bureau, Leah grabbed some fresh clothes and her backpack and went to the bathroom. She showered and changed, coming out with clean teeth, not-as-smelly-as-before breath, and a shirt that displayed the words in all caps 'LEAVE ME ALONE OR DIE'. It was that kind of day.

In the middle of her breakfast, Lloyd stumbled out of their bedroom and groggily got out the box of Corn Flakes. He was wearing his usual green jacket and black pants, but this time it was a different white shirt. Koko burst out from her bedroom and sang out, "Lloyd, good morning! Oh, you too, Leah, didn't see you there."

As Lloyd poured the Corn Flakes into his bowl he hesitated before replying. "Mom, hey, um, here's a thought; what if I didn't go to school today?"

"Ooh, add me to the plan," Leah raised her spoon above her head as she slurped the remaining almond milk from her own bowl. Today it just so happened that the first song was Operation New Me. She hated it when her alarm and First Song of the Horrible Day were the same song.

Koko's eyes widened. "What? Oh no, you don't want to miss school, guys! These are the best years of your lives!"

"Questionable," the fifteen-year-old in the room rinsed out her bowl. Lloyd nodded in agreement, "Um, have you- have you been to high school? 'Cause, uh, it's judgy. Pretty judgy."

"Oh honey," their mother swooped over to Lloyd. "You just need to give them the chance to see the real you."

"Yeah, uh, I don't think I can actually show people the real me."

The ginger-haired woman put her hands on her hips defiantly. "That's not true. All you have to do is show them the person you are on the inside. Right here." She put a hand on the spot where his heart was. "Where it matters most. Oh, and also don't forget, if your dad attacks the city again today, just remember to duck and cover until the Secret Ninja Force give the all clear. Oh, and also don't forget... have a happy birthday, guys."

"Woo-hoo!" Leah cheered, feeling a little bit guilty. "It's our birthday, I totally forgot. Today's gonna be awesome! We'll go out, uh, after school and celebrate by hanging out at the playground! Sounds like an amazing plan to me let's go!"

She pulled Lloyd out the door and dragged him to the bus station, replaying Operation New Me. Today was getting better, and now she really felt like the song was good. "At the door and I'm ready to go-oh," she sang, and the others at the bus station gave her a glance before returning to their phones. "It's me version two-point-oh-oh."

The bus arrived and the two Garmadons got on the bus. All the brawling and yelling and screaming stopped mid-everything, and instantly everyone sat down like normal, civilized people. "People talkin' 'bout my dad situation, I'll always be the shame of the nation. Could it be that they'll never see me as me?" Leah slipped into a seat and Lloyd sat beside her. The entire population of School Bus #04 moved to the other side of the bus, like always. Her brother leaned over at whispered, "Are you sure you're not going deaf? Your music is literally so loud everyone can hear it."

"Of course!" she whispered back. "If I was going deaf, I wouldn't have been able to hear you, dummy."

The bus arrived at Ninjago High School and the siblings burst out from the bus together. "You are not a no one, deep down you're a top gun! Be your own wingman, wheels up to the sky!" Leah ran up the walkway, ignoring the stares of everyone around her. Operation New Me ended and I've Found You began. Ever since she'd since The LEGO Batman Movie, she'd been in love with the song from the credits that Robin sings. It was just too sweet to resist.

Cole appeared at Leah's locker a moment after she'd swept all the new notes off and opened it to retrieve her English literature book. "Hey, you seem in high spirits. What song are you listening to?"

She lifted the left headphone off his ear and plunged her earbud into it. He nodded in understanding and pulled it out, putting his own music-transmitter over his ear. "I should've known. I've Found You always makes you happy. I'm listening to Underdog. It always seems to fit any situation."

"You've found me, and Batman I've found you." Leah sang the last line of the song, finding confidence in the next song, Awesome as I Wanna Be. "Yeah! This IPod can like read my mind or something- I wanted an Equestria Girls song and it gave my favorite to me."

"BRO! Give me a hug, man, give me a birthday hug!"

Cole and Leah looked to see Kai squeezing the life out of Lloyd, Zane next to them. The 'normal, ordinary' really-a-robot teenager beamed. "A birthday hug? Let me get in on that. I'll increase the pressure dramatically." Now Kai was getting the life squeezed out of him too, and Lloyd- well, his organs probably exploded.

Jay joined the two music-lovers and twirled his orange scarf nervously. "Aw man, I thought your guys' birthday was tomorrow. I need to get Lloyd a present! Luckily, I have yours, Leah, otherwise I'd be in deep trouble."

"Relax," Cole patted his shoulder, "I'll distract him later so you can sneak off and get one-" From the other end of the hallway there was a huge screeching, engine-roaring noise and Nya skidded across the hallway on her motorcycle. It had a new paint job; the famous Lady Iron Dragon's face was on the front. "Lloyd! Yo, bro."

Kai lounged against the locker next to Leah. "What's up, sis?"

"Oh, hey, actual bro," Nya looked over at her brother and then at Jay, who peeked out from behind Cole, his face slightly pink. He'd told Leah a while back his major crush on Nya, although she'd already figured it out by then. "Hey Nya! Where did you get that bike, at the... great stuff store?"

"Guys," Nya gestured to her motorcycle, "Check out the new paint job, 'cause I did it myself! The Lady Iron Dragon, my hero!"

"Hey, everyone, look!" Three kids came up in cheer-leading costumes; it was Chen and his squad. Chen had pink pom-poms while the two others- two girls- had blue ones. "It's the Garmadorks and the Dork Squad! You wanna hear our new cheer? 'L-L-O-Y-D his dad is bad and so is he, boo Lloyd! Boo Lloyd!' BOO LLOYD! The next cheer we're making is for Leah."

Lloyd faked a grin, "Great chance, I'll bet you gotta a number one hit on your hands!"

Leah snorted, "People'll take anything these days- the cheer isn't even good." She stalked away with her backpack and headed down the hall to English class. Ms. Maleficent didn't even notice her coming in 'early' (which happened to be twenty minutes late, but everyone was always late so school sort of just moved forward half a hour) and continued her studying of a ripe, red apple.

"Do people ever look at you weirdly?" Leah asked her after a minute or two of just sitting in the back row. Ms. Maleficent shrugged, not seeming to realize who she was talking to. "All the time, dear, but I just look at them weirdly back."

It was a good piece of advice, and the daughter of Garmadon liked the teacher more for it.