"How's the stew, guys?" Cole asked cheerfully. Sensei Wu was away for the day, and Dareth had invited himself over for dinner. Kai grinned. "Not any more terrible than usual, Cole. Nice going."
"I am sure that if I could eat it, it would be delicious," Zane put in magnanimously.
"Be grateful you don't have to eat this slop, Zane," Jay joked, taking a spoonful of stew. Dareth watched him lick the stew off the spoon, swallow, and then promptly put the spoon down.
"Hey, Jay, you okay?" Nya asked nervously. "You're looking a bit- green."
"Thought I was the Green Ninja around here," Lloyd joked. He turned to Jay, his smile faltering. "Uh, Jay, you really don't look so good. Maybe-"
What Lloyd was going to suggest no one found out, because Jay groaned and doubled over, one hand on his abdomen, the other firmly clamped over his mouth.
"Jay, are you all right?" Zane asked anxiously. "I believe you would do well to go and lie down."
Jay groaned again. Nya pushed back her chair. "I can take him. It's probably just-"
Nya didn't get to finish her sentence. An avalanche of vomit exploded from Jay's mouth, cascading over her lap. Nya yelped and shoved her chair back, Lloyd gasped, and he, Kai, Dareth, Zane and Cole pushed their own plates of stew away.
"Oh, man," Jay groaned, sweat beading his pasty face. "Oh, man- Nya, I'm really sorry. I'm really really sorry. I did not do that on purpose. I'm really really really sorry."
"It's okay," Nya sighed, trying to get the worst of it off via a napkin. "I know you didn't aim for me on purpose. It could've happened to anyone."
"Yeah, but..." Jay's voice trailed off as Nya helped him to his feet. She pulled his arm around her shoulder.
"I've got you, big guy. C'mon, let's get you off to bed."
Everyone watched them leave, then Lloyd broke the silence.
"Wasn't that weird? I mean, he ate one bite of stew and then puked!"
"It was Cole's stew," Kai pointed out. Cole shoved him.
"It wasn't my fault! Any of you noticed that no one else got sick?"
"That wasn't too smooth a move, and right on top of Nya, too," Dareth mused. "And we all know that if Jay looks bad in front of Nya, who's Nya going to turn her attention to?"
All eyes swung to Cole.
"Are you insinuating that Cole put something into Jay's bowl to make him ill?" Zane asked. "Cole would never do a thing like that."
"But if it meant making Jay look bad," Dareth offered, "then maybe-"
He got no further. Cole shoved back his chair, rounded the table, and jabbed Dareth in the chest with a finger.
"Do you honestly think I'm that shallow?" he demanded. "I would never try a stupid stunt like that. Keep dreaming, Dareth!"
He stomped back to his seat.
"I-I-" Dareth stuttered.
Zane picked up Jay's abandoned bowl and peered in, scanning the stew in it. "Traces of a mild food contaminant," he reported. "Made of the substances known as-"
"Yeah, we'll take your word for it," Kai said quickly. "We trust you. So where did the stuff come from?"
"Scanning space for similar traces," Zane said mechanically. A laser blinked on in one optic, skimming over the room and its occupants. Lloyd flinched as it hit his eye.
The laser stopped and beeped loudly.
"Uh, I just remembered I gotta go," Dareth said quickly. The laser was pointing straight at his hands. Cole stood up, shoving his chair aside.
"You aren't going anywhere, Dareth. Hold out your hands."
Dareth grabbed a napkin. Kai snatched it out of his hands. "Dareth, this is seriously not the time for games. Zane, what's this gooey stuff?"
Dareth gulped. Zane came over, his optic laser scanning over Dareth's palms. "Traces of a mild food contaminant, made of the substances known as-"
"You little sneak!" Cole launched himself at Dareth, knocking him clear out of his seat. "You dirty little rat!"
Dareth yelped in fear as Cole pinned him down. "I'm sorry! I thought it would make a good publicity-getter! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Kai rolled his eyes and grabbed the back of Cole's shirt. "Let me handle him, Cole."
Seething, Cole allowed himself to be pulled off of the whimpering Dareth. Kai looked over at Lloyd and raised a significant eyebrow. Lloyd grinned broadly and reached over the table for Jay's bowl.
"What's all that noise?" Nya wondered aloud, perched on the side of Jay's bed with a wet cloth in her hand. Jay shrugged tiredly.
"No idea. Can I have some water, please?"
"Yeah." Nya held up the water glass, letting Jay take a couple of sips. He did so gratefully. "Mind if I go take a look? I'll be back soon."
"Nah," Jay murmured, his eyelids drooping.
Nya gave his blanket a quick tuck, crossed the bedroom, opened the door, and entered the dining room. It was deserted.
"Guys?" she called.
"Out here, Nya!" came a voice from outside. "You kinda missed it, though."
Nya went out the front door to find a rather alarming sight. Dareth was nowhere to be seen, the ill-fated bowl of stew gone from sight. Cole and Kai came jogging back from the fot
, rejoining her, Zane, and Lloyd.
"All right." Nya put her hands on her hips. "What did you guys do?"
"Oh nothing," Cole said airily. "It's just that poor Dareth left so fast he didn't get a chance to sample my delicious stew. So Kai and I took him out to the forest and-"
"Don't tell me." Nya grinned broadly. "You made him eat the stuff with the poison?"
"Not entirely poison, Nya," Zane said informatively. "It is actually a mild food contaminant, made of the substances known as-"
"All right, all right, back inside," Kai grinned. "I think we've had enough adventure for one day, what with the food poisoning, little sneaky rats, and a whole load of puking for Jay and Dareth."
"It was not entirely poison, Kai," Zane corrected. "It was actually a mild food contaminant, made of the substances known as-"
"It's been fun," Cole agreed. "But we never got to eat. I'm starving. What's for dinner?"