***Yay! A 3,000 word chapter! It's been a little while since I've had one that long for this book ;) Also, again, music isn't perfect, but it at least provides some good background noise for the mood.***
One Day Later (First Day of School)
***(Lloyd's POV)***
I'm sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast cereal when Nya finally comes out of her room. She didn't come out at all yesterday – well, at least while I was around. I basically hung out with Harumi the whole day. I was so worried about Rumi, but she seems to be doing better.
I can tell something isn't right, though.
"Good morning," I say cautiously, not sure what terms Nya and I are on.
She gives me a small smile. "Good morning."
Not bad so far. "I like the way you did your hair."
She raises an eyebrow. "I literally threw it on top of my hair and put a hairband around it."
"Um, yeah. Well." I twirl my spoon in my bowl of sugar and milk. Sensei Wu would kill me if he figured out I'd snuck unhealthy cereal into the monastery.
Nya chuckles. "I'm just giving you a hard time." She gives me a hug from behind. "Listen...about what happened Friday..."
"Apology accepted."
"I wasn't apologizing, Lloyd." I can hear her eye roll.
"Well, you were doing your version at it. You're horrible at saying 'sorry'."
"Whatever," she sighs. "Anyway, I wanted to say that...that I'm really happy for you and Harumi. She seems like...a fun girl." The words sound painful coming from her mouth.
I laugh softly, but there's no amusement in it. "We're not dating, Nya. Rumi doesn't want a serious relationship."
"You aren't?" she asks, confused.
"No. We're just going to stay friends. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but you kind of wanted nothing to do with me yesterday."
"Huh." She steals a bite of cereal from the box. "Ready for the first day of school?"
"I can't believe I'm a junior already," I moan. "This year's going to stink."
"You think you've got it bad? I'm younger than you, and Kai's made me take so many credits, this is my senior year!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You're such an old lady." I punch her arm.
She giggles. "So, after school today, you'll be ready to stop by the hospital, right?"
I nod. "What time is Jay ready to receive visitors again?"
"Four o'clock. And remember, he's coming here with us afterward."
I raise a brow. "Shouldn't he go home with his parents? He's going to be exhausted and in a lot of pain."
She frowns. "Didn't you hear? His dad has a big last minute job thing, so Cole suggested he just stay here with us. Edna's going to be staying the night, as well."
"Last minute job thing"? I guess Jay didn't tell Nya that he lives at a junkyard.
I groan. "Are you kidding me? People snore like crazy when they get their tonsils out! None of us are going to get any rest!"
"Relax," Nya smiles. "He can sleep in my room, and I'll stay in the bunkroom with you guys."
I huff. "It's never been fair that you get your own room."
She smirks. "There are some benefits to being the only girl on the team. And don't worry, I won't be cramping your style much longer. Kai and I have finally found a house and new location for our blacksmith's shop in Ninjago City. As soon as the insurance money from the fire comes in, we're going to close on it."
"Aww! But without you, it's going to be literally boring around here. Wu's going to make me train all the time!"
"We can still hang out outside of the monastery. Well, as long as Kai lets us. You know how he is about me and school." She sighs. "I can't believe he made me quit work at the autobody shop. We need money."
"I'm sorry, Nya. I know it stinks." I grab the cereal box, running off to hide it under my bed. Wu hates going in the bunkroom, since it smells like...well, mostly like Cole. He hardly ever spends the night, but when he does, he always manages to stink up the place. I would say it was Kai or Jay, but Kai cares too much about how he smells, and Jay...well, whenever he knows he's going to be around Nya, he makes sure to wear deodorant. I guess Cole just hasn't found his incentive yet.
I come back out to see Nya ready with a backpack and a bag of gummi worms.
"These are for you," she smiles weakly. "To...you know, do the thing that I'm really bad at."
"To apologize?" I grin.
"Yeah, that."
I wrap her in a hug. "I love you, Nya, and I wanted to let you know that I'm sorry, too."
"Thanks. All's forgiven."
We head outside. I begged my mom not to make me take the bus, and she said as long as I could find some wheels, I was allowed to drive with one passenger. My bike's still in the shop, but Nya's isn't.
No, she can't drive, but like the rest of us, she got a motorcycle for her sixteenth birthday. I keep wondering when Kai will let her practice, but it hasn't happened yet.
Nya climbs on the vehicle behind me, hugging her arms around my waist, and we zoom off to school. One of the benefits of being part of a ninja team is definitely the tech. I mean, it's not like anyone is allowed know we're ninja, but most of our vehicles are nondescript enough to take anywhere.
When I see the giant brick building looming in front of me, I feel myself quake. I am not ready for school. Yes, I love it, but it's so stressful. And now that my powers have advanced, I'm supposed to help lead the team. Plus, I keep expecting my evil father to show up any minute. He's been quiet for the past month. I know he's plotting something.
Nya smiles at me. "See you at lunch, okay? I think our schedules share the same lunch, right?"
I nod. "I'm pretty sure that's the only time we'll be able to spend together here." I hate how dissimilar our schedules are, but she's taking a lot of advanced classes.
Yes, I'm more of a stickler for grades than her, but my advisor suggested I not take advanced courses. I've been known to have the occasional stress meltdown in the past.
By lunch, I'm literally starved. They say the first day of classes is supposed to be easy and fun and all that, but that's just a lie that teachers use to lure their prey in. I'm a nervous wreck.
I'm so distracted I bump right into someone. Well, I shouldn't say 'someone'. I immediately recognize her perfume – Harumi Jade.
"Lloyd!" she squeals, grabbing onto me for balance. "How are your classes?"
"Oh, uh, hey, Rumi. They...could be better." I pull her into a gentle hug. "How are yours?"
"Boooooooooring. More boring than you!" She sends me a wink. "Hey, wanna have lunch together?"
I smile. "That sounds great. I didn't expect you to be at school today, though."
"Oh." She messes with her fingers. "You mean, because of this weekend?"
"Yeah."
"Well..." She leans close. "My dad thinks I can get him some sympathy votes if I'm out in public."
I blanch. "That's...not right."
"Whatever. Let's eat."
I want to continue that conversation, but I know it's probably no use. "Would you mind sitting with me and my friends? I promised Nya I'd sit with her today."
Her face falls. "O-oh. Um, maybe for a few minutes."
I frown. "What's wrong?"
She flutters her eyelashes. "Nothing, Lloyd."
I suddenly realize how close our faces are, and I take a deep breath and step back. I am not going to kiss her.
"Uh, R-Rumi, I'm really hungry, so...let's go." I offer her my hand – I mean, I do it with Nya all the time, so it's not just for couples – and we walk into the lunchroom.
There's a huge crowd toward one corner of the room, and I swallow.
"That's never a good sign," I sigh. "I'm going to go check things out. If there's a fight, I want to make sure no one gets hurt."
Rumi coos. "Lloyd, you are just the sweetest! Why are you so...well, nice?"
"Um, I like doing the right thing." I jog over to the group.
Strangely enough, there's no fight. It appears all the students are laughing and snapping pictures of...a poster?
I'd hate to know what it says, so I turn back, grab Harumi, and drag her over to the table where Nya and I always sat last year.
"What was that all about?" she wonders.
"I have no idea, but nobody's getting beat up, so I'm not going to worry about it."
I see Zane's already seated, and I send him a wave. "Hey, Zane. How'd you feel about Pre-Calc today?"
He smiles. "It was simple, as always. I'll never understand why teachers feel the need to spend the first day of school introducing students and playing unrelated games."
I shrug. "It's so people like me won't freak out." I still do.
Harumi tenses next to me. "Um...um..."
"What is it?" I frown, looking down at her.
"N-nothing, just...Nya...she's..."
Oh, no. This can't be anything good.
I turn in the direction Harumi's pointing, and I do a double-take to see Nya taking on two guys. Two pervy guys, I might add.
I leap into action, running toward her, but –
She punches one right in the nose.
Oh, great. What trouble has my best friend gotten herself into now?
***(Harumi's POV)***
***Music Cue***
I wander after Lloyd, surprised at Nya's fighting skills. She's holding her own against those freaks. But then, she is an elemental. I hate to know what they tried to pull.
I groan. This was never supposed to happen.
Before Lloyd or I reach her, though, Cole's already in on the action. He slugs one guy in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Once Cole makes sure the boy is down, he turns to make sure Nya has the other one handled.
Believe me, she does. It's just...
Well, I never expected my revenge to go this far.
She has him pinned down to the ground, his arms behind his back. Lloyd rushes to pull her off.
"What the heck do you think you're doing?" he exclaims.
Um, I'm pretty sure she actually had good reason to go after those idiots.
"I'm defending myself!" Nya screeches, glaring at Lloyd.
"And what, exactly, did these two do to deserve getting clobbered like that?"
By now, there are teachers at the scene.
"Are you kidding me? They asked me to send them...well, you know!"
"Send them what?" Lloyd cries.
"Get your hands off me," Nya growls, wrenching away from his grasp. "They asked me to send them pictures." She leans close to his ear and whispers, and his face whitens.
"That's messed up," he breathes. "But...why you? Why now?"
Cole bristles. "What 'pictures', Nya? Do you think these guys deserve another round of punishment?"
"Maybe, maybe not," a female voice says.
Oh, boy.
We all turn to see Principal Mystaké. She's holding up a poster.
One that's all too familiar to me.
Lloyd gawks, pulling Nya against himself in a protective move. "What did you do?" he hisses at her.
Nya screams in rage. "I didn't do anything! Somebody...ugh!" She stomps her foot.
Mystaké raises a brow. "Well, someone put these posters up. I want you in my office, Nya Smith. Now. Cole, too. And Lloyd – you're a witness."
She turns to me, looking me up and down. "And I think you have a special take on what happened."
I swallow at her eyes that seem to see everything. However, I remind myself that she can't really know what happened, and I meet her gaze head on.
Mystaké harrumphs, then glances down at the two creeps laying on the floor. "After you two get checked out by the nurse, we'll see what you have to say." She turns on her heel and stalks off.
Nya marches along behind her, shouting about how this is highly unfair and her reputation is ruined forever.
Yeah, well...she might be right. I didn't expect things to be this bad for her. All I did was put up a few posters. But they've gotten so much attention...I'm sure they're plastered all over social media, and photos of Nya in her underwear are now being distributed for free. And the fight...that was totally unplanned. What if those two guys tried to assault Nya?
I think I might puke.
But at the same time, something inside that scares me is satisfied. It says that Nya deserves this. Her life was so perfect, but now she'll understand what it's like to be me.
I shake my head. No. I can't really think this is a good thing, right?
I stumble to a stop to realize we're in front of the principal's office.
"I'm bringing you in one at a time, then all at once," Mystaké sighs. "I want to see how your stories line up. We're starting with you, Miss Smith." She gently places an arm around the girl's shoulders, and Nya, still protesting violently, follows her into the closed room.
Lloyd swears, which surprises me. He doesn't usually do that.
"How in Ninjago did somebody get pictures like that of Nya?" he rumbles. "It's not like she's into pornography!"
I bite my lip. "Maybe her webcam was hacked or something?"
"But those shots literally make her look like she's posing. I doubt you can doctor something that much." He runs a hand through his golden locks. "I don't want to believe she would do something like this."
Cole clenches his hands into fists. "She didn't do it, and I'm going to have words and fists with whoever did."
Lloyd's face pales. "Speaking of murder...what is Kai going to do?"
Cole crosses his arms. "Sounds like double payback."
I wince. If they find out I'm responsible...I'm done for. I only hope the few friends I have are loyal enough to keep my secret.
I moan, sitting down. "This is awful." I never meant to do this.
"At least Jay won't know for a while," Cole muses. "He should be going into surgery pretty soon, so no phone for him. But when he figures out, his anxiety's going to go into overdrive."
There's a knock on the door, and Zane pokes his head in.
"I discarded all of the...uh...posters, my friends. Is there anything else I can do to help?"
The small office door opens, and Nya comes out practically in tears. I think they're more of anger than anything.
"This is the worst day ever," she hisses. "Are you still blaming me, Lloyd Garmadon? Am I still a pervert in your eyes?"
"No, Nya," Lloyd reassures her. "I'm sorry I accused you. I was just...shocked, okay? But Cole and I are going to get to the bottom of this."
"You bet you are," she rumbles. "And I'm helping you."
Mystaké clears her throat. "May I have your presence next, Cole?"
He rises, giving Nya a reassuring hug. Then, he heads into the office.
I look down to realize I'm chewing on my fingernails. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Nya," I whisper.
She shoots me an annoyed look. "I don't do sympathy, Rumi. I've got a score to settle."
Oh, no. She'd better not learn it was me who did it.
This is all my fault.
"I took down the posters," Zane tells Nya. "Would you like anything else?"
"Yes! I'd like to go back in time and tie whoever did this to a chair before they could so much as print off a poster! Scratch that – I'd like to blindfold them before they ever saw me like that." She buries her face in her hands.
Lloyd gives her a side-hug. "It's okay, Nya."
"No, it's not!" She stands up. "Lloyd, you're my best friend, but sometimes, you just do not know what to say."
I rise up in his defense. "He was trying to help you, Nya."
"Well, I'm grateful for that, but he's kind of missing the point if he thinks this whole scenario is 'okay'!" She kicks a chair leg. "I'm taking the rest of the day off school. In fact, I'm taking the week off. Maybe I'll just do online classes this year, like Kai. Oh, no – Kai." She flops backwards onto the floor, groaning.
Lloyd bites his lip. "Easy. I know you tend to get physical when you're mad, but the only person you're hurting right now is yourself."
"You know what, Lloyd? You are just a great help. That makes me feel so much better."
I really want to throw up, so I wave at the vice principal. Our vice principal is literally the most uncaring woman in the world. You could probably have a knife in your back in her office, and she wouldn't blink.
"What do you want?" the sour woman asks, bored.
"I...need to go to the restroom."
"Shoo, then."
I rush to the side room, then full-on barf. Once I've emptied all the contents of my stomach, I just lean against my knees, trying to breathe.
It's not that I'm sick because I put up those posters. I'm sick because I like how far things went.
Eventually, somebody knocks on the bathroom door, and I run my mouth under the faucet. I'm sure I smell horrible.
"Rumi?" Lloyd asks. "You've been in there a while. It's your turn."
"What time is it?" I ask, wiping my face with a paper towel.
"It's two o'clock. You've been gone for an hour. I actually just came back from speaking with Mystaké."
"Oh," I frown, checking my shirt for stains. "Sorry. It's been a long weekend."
When I open the door, he's leaning next to it, concern written all over his features. He reaches out and fingers a spot right above my black eye. I did I pretty good job of concealing it, but given that Lloyd already knows where it is...
Wow, I really can't hide anything from him. I just hope I can manage to keep the whole photo-thing a secret.
The two boys who approached Nya earlier are now sitting on one side of the room. Cole is keeping Nya restrained on the other. It's a good thing he's strong enough to hold her back, or I'd say those pervs would be back in the nurse's office again.
"At this rate, we're going to be late for visiting Jay," Nya moans. "Why is this taking so long? Why can't Mystaké just acquit the four of us and suspend these two losers? It's their fault I beat them up!"
"Hang tight, Nya," Lloyd sighs. Then, he turns to me. "Have fun recounting all this."
I swallow, reaching for the doorknob to Mystaké's office.
"Hello, Miss Jade," she frowns. "How would you like to tell me your part in this?"