moral of the story | a ninjago highschool fanfiction

[36] dareth makes all situations awkward am i right

cole

There are inexplicable reasons for which people feel pain.

He felt bad for getting angry at his friends, but he was already wound up since dealing with the grief of accidentally killing his mother - indirectly or not, Cole was still responsible. Strangely, he found comfort in reading the pages of his mother's journal, and finding that it not only held details of her personal life, but copies of advice and lessons she said she took from the Archive of Earth.

As far as Cole knew, he hadn't seen any of the borrowed tidbits in the Archive itself, but he was happy going through her journal and finding photos and snippets of her life. Dance actually wasn't going too terribly. His dad, on one hand, was over the moon that he'd finally followed in the Royal Blacksmith's footsteps, and the teasing wasn't too bad. If anything, the concentration they were paying to footwork and technique were actually helping his gameplay for football. He was faster and more agile than most of the team, apart from Kai, who luckily was a natural at the sport.

It was a useful advantage for when they played against other schools they wouldn't expect a hulk of muscle to be fast on his toes. Cole stretched languidly, easing the ache in his muscles as the sun just began to peek over the houses across from them. Finally, he decided that it was safe enough to go downstairs and not be caught by his father for meditating in front of the television with a bowl of cereal balanced on one knee.

To his surprise, Lou Brookstone was shuffling around the kitchen in an apron whilst wielding a spatula covered in runny egg. The last time his father had cooked was...a long time ago. Long enough it was strange to see him flipping the omelettes naturally and waving to Cole cheerily. His mother was a terrible cook, something Cole had inherited, so Lou's cook was exceptional to make up for the lack of skill.

"Sit down boy, don't just stand there gawking." Loud reprimanded him, though his sharp tone had a soft edge to it as he pushed a jug of orange juice over to Cole's plate, plating the first omelette onto with ease.

His legs finally unlocked, urged by a hungry growl of his stomach. Cole sat down cautiously, wary to see what news his father was going to spring on him. But Lou just egged him on to eat, even producing a bowl of cut fruit to go alongside the meal. His appetite took over suspicion, and Cole dug into the cheesy goodness with relish. Lou finished his own and sat down opposite Cole, slicing his knife through the first cut.

"I've been thinking Cole, we should at least try to have breakfast together once a week."

"Hmm?"

"I hardly ever see you in the morning, you're either in your room or you're off to practice early in the morning. It's been a long time since we've had a proper meal together."

Cole swallowed. "I think that's a good idea." He was mildly shocked to find that he agreed with his dad. Ever since he'd taken on dance, gained appreciation for the sport, and told his father, their relationship had been less tenuous to the point where Cole wouldn't mind the extra time spent with Lou.

"Really?" Lou's eyebrows shot up, but the corners of his mouth turned up into a slight smile. "Do you want to watch the news?"

"Sure." Cole adjusted his seat slightly so they could both see the old TV in the kitchen, the screen flickering to life as the NGTV channel came on, Gayle Gossip in studio this time. Unlike a few nights ago, in front of the Mayor's house. Cole shuddered as he recalled the scary words that came from the reporter's mouth, and was glad they decided to have a big sleepover that night.

"Good morning Ninjago! I'm Gayle Gossip from NGTV, bringing you, our loyal citizens and faithful watchers, up to speed with everything Ninjago! This morning, we received meagre information from the Police Commissioner regarding the unfortunate...murders of the Mayor and his wife, Sunday night." Gayle beckoned to the camera shy head of police, who side-stepped into view, coughing into his fist.