Legends of Ninjago Book 2: Rise of the Serpentine

Chapter 11: Two Truths and a Lie

*    *    *

    'Woah... what is this..?' he wondered, looking about the void. 'Where am I?'
    He thought that maybe he could see faint dreams trying to push through, but there was this thick haze blotting out everything. Time shortened and stretched, his thoughts wandered this way and that, and he could feel his tension slip away from his brain. Then, all of a sudden, it began to clear away, slowly giving in to sunshine and morning.
    "Uuuuuuugghh, what the heck...?" he muttered as he reached up to scratch his head. He was in exactly the same position he had fallen asleep in and his body was sore from not moving for several hours, but at least he felt well rested. He hadn't had such a good night's sleep since... gosh, the junkyard maybe? But yikes! Was that tonic powerful or what?! What time was it anyway? He leaned over to his bedside clock and read the tiny screen.

9:18

    Holy cow! He needed to get moving! He pulled on a shirt and pants then bumbled out into the hallway but stopped when he saw Zane standing at Cole's door. Zane looked up at him as he came into the hall.
    "What's wrong?" Jay asked as he finished adjusting his pants.
    Zane sighed. "He won't come out."
    "What?" Jay looked from the door to Zane and back again. Was Cole still upset from yesterday? "Are you gonna... stay here then?"
    "For a bit. Breakfast is downstairs," said Zane, putting his hands in his pockets and turning back to the door.
    Jay shrugged and followed his nose downstairs where a plate of warm French toast was waiting for him in the kitchen. He topped the beautiful bread with plenty of syrup and powdered sugar and headed for the dining room, but he froze when he saw Kai and Nya sitting at one of the tables. He suddenly didn't want Nya to think he was lazy—waking up late and eating a big plate of sugary breakfast. Instead, he ate in the kitchen as quickly as possible then threw his dishes in the sink.
    The next thing on his mind was Nya's birthday. There had to be decorations here somewhere, right? Drawer after drawer after cupboard revealing nothing but pots and pans and knives and cutlery and appliances. Perhaps in the storage room? Bingo! There was old box filled with half-opened bags of streamers and balloons. He grabbed the colours he thought Nya would most like along with a step stool and headed for the dining room.
    One step into the eating area and he was already panicking. What was he going to do again? Oh, decorations, right! Just like how his mom used to do. But how should he say hello to Nya? Oh, and Kai, too. He'd need to be discrete around him as well.
    "Good morning, guys!" he blurted as he got close. Nya smiled and said hello, while Kai glared and munched angrily on his toast. "Happy Birthday, Nya!"
    "Thanks," she said happily.
    Jay gestured to his arm full of supplies and said, "I thought a special day called for special treatment." For a moment, he thought that maybe she blushed, and then he felt his own cheeks grow warm.
    "That's really sweet of you," Nya said. She turned back to her brother who was still glaring. Jay could've sworn that Kai had made some sort of gagging noise and then Nya playfully swatted at him.
    Jay didn't waste a second on the decor. He wasn't going to do anything fancy—he couldn't even if he tried—and stuck with a simple frame around the door of three coloured streamers and two sets of balloons at the corners. That should do it.
    He was right in the middle of pinning the last balloons when Sensei Wu walked in. The sudden appearance made him jump and he lost his footing on the step stool. Down to floor he fell with a PLOP. Well that wasn't very manly, he thought. And right in front of Nya, too.
    Either way, Wu had come in to deliver a gift for Kai and Nya, but Jay never saw what that gift was as he was shooed away by Wu. First attempt at birthday celebrations: failed. Off to one of the training rooms they went.

*    *    *

    That day's training turned out to be cleaning every single floor on the first level with a grumpy Cole and a tired Zane. They didn't really talk much and by lunch time they were still rather ill-tempered.
    Everyone helped in the kitchen to the boil the rice and cook the beef for he noon meal, and by the time it was twelve-thirty, Jay thought that they'd never get to eat. Thankfully, about five minutes later, they were stumbling out of the kitchen and into the dining room where Kai and Nya were waiting, trays of food in hand.
    Cole made sure to sit as far away from Kai as possible and he still didn't say much. No one did, actually. They just sat in relative silence munching on their rice for quite some time. But soon, Jay noticed that Nya's expression was somewhat dismal, and he concocted a plan.
    "How about we all play a game?" he suggested.
    Zane looked as though he was about to protest when Nya suddenly said, "That's sounds like it could be a good idea." Yes! Score one for the blue ninja! And since it was her birthday, everybody would have to go along with it. Or at least, he hoped so. "What did you have in mind?"
    Oh, whoops. He hadn't thought that far ahead. "Uuuhhh.... twister?" he asked hesitantly.
    Kai snickered. "Not likely."
    "Oh, right, yeah. Umm... how about Two Truths and a Lie?" Jay suggested.
    "What's that?" Nya asked.
    "It's really simple," said Jay. "I tell you three things about myself, you have to figure out which is the lie. Here, I'll start the first round." He seemed to have gathered everyone's attention, for the most part, not that they were in a particularly fun mood. "Let's see... I used to be homeschooled... I invented my very own working jet pack... aaaand I used to own a dog named Scruffy. Which one's the lie?"
    "Jetpack? Seriously?" Kai said irritably. "Even I can lie better than that."
    "That's where you're wrong, panda boy! I've never owned a dog in my entire life! Scruffy was the lie!" Jay was doing his best to entertain the group, but it seemed to be having very slow progress.
    "Wait, you really did invent a jetpack?!" Nya cried.
    "What I lack in strength, I make up for in brains," said Jay with a flourish.
    "Wow, you must have a really big brain, then," said Kai as he reclined in his wheelchair. That got a few snickers from the group.
    "All right, then, your turn Mr. Snarky." Jay leaned over the table and put his chin in his hands in anticipation. "Show us how it's done."
    "Pfft, fine," Kai sighed. "Umm... I'm allergic to cherry blossoms, I don't like wasabi, and I made my first sword when I was ten."
    "I know this one," Nya said with a playful grin.
    "I know you do, shut up," said Kai in an equally playful tone.
    "Is it the wasabi?" Zane asked.
    Kai rolled his eyes and Nya nodded excitedly.
    "Beautiful lying, oh great con master," Jay jeered, bowing in a dramatic way.
    Nya looked over at Zane and asked, "How did you know?"
    "Logical deduction," he replied. "Hay fever is common enough, and I know he's a blacksmith, so there was only one other possible option."
    "Okay, your turn, Sherlock," said Kai, in snarky sort of way.
    Zane paused to really mull over his options. He seemed incredibly deep in thought for a while before suddenly brightening up and saying, "I know how to cook a whole turkey, I am the godfather to three children, and I have the entire collection of the Natalie Clue book series."
    As one might expect, there was a moment of stunned silence after this. Jay thought that perhaps it was the book series he was lying about. Kai and Nya seemed to be leaning more towards the godfather thing and Cole was now watching with a small grin on his face.
    "It was the turkey," said Zane. The table erupted in muddled cries of agony and confusion.
    "How can you be you and not know how to cook a turkey?" Jay asked.
    "Do you honestly believe that the need for a full sized turkey has ever arisen in my life?" Zane countered.
    Jay was about to come up with a retort, but his mind blanked. "Yeah, okay, I guess that makes sense."
    "Me next!" Nya piped up. "Okay, umm... I used to take dance lessons, like, a long time ago now, umm... I've never been to the beach or the ocean, and... I am a fabulous baker."
    "Okay, I know this one," said Kai. Nya smiled and shoved him a little.
    Alright, this was the big moment. Jay really had to put all his effort into it. Nya looked as though she could be a good dancer, and the way she phrased that answer made it sound very likely. Never going to the beach was common enough, just depended on a few variables. Either way it'd be impossible to know for sure. Then there was the baking. He'd never seen Nya bake, but it was still possible. Which one was the lie?
    "I'm gonna say... going to the beach," Jay finally decided.
    "Baking," said Zane.
    "Dancing," Cole piped up. Alright, everyone was in now. They all turned to Nya who looked somewhat disappointed, but enjoying herself.
    "Zane got it," she said.
    "She is a terrible baker," Kai deadpanned. "I mean, she's just... awful."
    Nya rolled her eyes again. "Oh, please, you could get lost in a sauce pan. At least the food I make is edible." Kai made a face as if to say, "well, it's kinda edible," and everyone had a good laugh.
    "Okay, Zane's two for two now. We've gotta step up our game," said Jay. It finally seemed like everyone was starting to get into it. "Cole, how about you?" This would be the tricky part. Cole appeared reluctant to reply, but sighed and eventually mumbled,
    "Alright." He took his time to think, probably longer than everyone else, but perhaps it was just building up the suspense. "Well... I guess... I've traveled most of Ninjago... I used to collect Pocket Pets cards when I was a kid, and... I have a soft spot for... certain sweets..."
    Just then, Kai muffled a snort. "More like 'a soft spot for a certain girl.'"
    "Do you have a problem?" The words were so sudden and they came from Cole's mouth like a sword being unsheathed and pointed in Kai's unsuspecting face. The game was forgotten as all eyes turned to Kai.
    "No," he said. He seemed calm, but Jay could see his jaw clench and his body stiffen. Oh boy, here we go again! This was SO not the time!
    "Oh, give me a break!" Cole was getting up now, and so was everyone else. "What is your problem? Huh?" He inched closer to Kai in a very intimidating way. If it hadn't been for the wheelchair, Jay's was certain there would have been another wrestling match.
    "I dunno, what's your problem?" Kai countered.
    "YOU are my problem!" the black ninja cried. "You little smart Alec! Always breaking the rules because you think they don't apply to you!"
    "Well, who died and made you chief, you control freak?" Kai was leaning out of his seat just a little bit, an inch away from attempting to stand.
    "Here's a bright idea: don't break the rules and maybe people won't have to save your sorry butt! Huh? Would it kill you to just shut up and do what you're told for once?!"
    "I don't have to listen to a whiny rich boy who doesn't out-rank me just because he thinks he's better than everyone!"
    "When have I EVER made it seem like I think I'm better than anyone else?!"
    On and on and on it went, back and forth, shouting over one another, and butting out anyone who tried to step in and break it up. They were like two bucks with their antlers locked, determined not to leave their opponent standing.
    "You're an intolerable ego-freak!" Cole was shouting. "You think you can just do WHATEVER you want and not have to pay the consequences!!!"
    "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CONSEQUENCES!!!" Kai shouted back. "YOU NEVER HAD TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR SISTER WHEN ALL YOU HAD TO EAT WAS A SINGLE LOAF OF BREAD!!! YOU NEVER HAD TO WORK FOURTEEN HOURS A DAY, EVERY DAY, FOR TWO YEARS NOT KNOWING WHERE YOUR PARENTS WERE OR IF THEY WERE EVEN ALIVE!!!"
    "OH, YOU THINK YOU'RE SOME SORT OF SPECIAL SNOWFLAKE?!? NEWSFLASH!! EVERYBODY'S GOT PROBLEMS!!!" They had now reached a decibel so loud that Jay was beginning to wonder if Wu could hear them from every corner of the monastery. "YOU'RE NO DIFFERENT THAN EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS ROOM!!!"
    "OH, BECAUSE YOU KNOW EVERYTHING, RIGHT?!?"
    "I KNOW ENOUGH!!!"
    "WELL, YOU DON'T KNOW WHO'S GONNA BE THE GREEN NINJA!!! BUT I KNOW IT'S NOT GONNA BE YOU!!!"
    "OH, SO NOW YOU KNOW EVERYTHING?"
    This was starting to grate on Jay's ears, and he had lost track of the conversation a long time ago. He couldn't even tell what they were talking about anymore.
     "I KNOW THAT I HAVE A BETTER SHOT AT BEING THE GREEN NINJA THAN YOU!!!" Kai was screaming.
    "SAYS WHO?!?"
    "I say, enough!!!"
    Amazingly, the shouting stopped long enough for everyone to turn and see Wu standing in the doorway, his staff in hand and a scowl on his face. He walked over to the group with the intensity of a father about drag his child by the ear to their room and used his staff to whack both boys on the head.
    "You should be ashamed of yourselves," he said, staring them down. "Both of you will be locked in solitary confinement together until you can resolve your issues." He stopped for a moment to let the words sink in. "To your rooms," he said. "Now." They shuffled stubbornly away and out the door in a terrible moment that still felt unresolved. "You two, come with me," said Wu, gesturing to Jay and Zane. "And Nya, to your room as well."
    'Well this can't be good,' thought Jay.