Hey, guys!
Right now I'm working on a bigger project, but after watching the LEGO Ninjago movie a few days ago, I wanted to see if I could write a one-shot using the movie version of the ninjas in the movie version of Ninjago City. I thought that the movie was... a small fraction as good as the TV show, but I don't know, I wanted to see what I could do with different personalities that had the same names that we're all familiar with.
Yeah, I have another story too so be sure to check that one out as well. (It has the original ninja that we all know and love)
"Nya, it's fine. It will all be okay."
The whisper came over her shoulder. Nya ground her teeth and tried to concentrate. Her pencil scribbled the answer to question number twenty-three: 4.57
This was the second geometry test of the school year, and all eleven students in Mr. Alexander's mathematics class worked in silence at their desks. All of them, that is, except for Alyssa. She leaned over to the girl hunched in the chair in front of her. All Alyssa could see was Nya's ponytail bobbing up and down in concentration. She leaned closer, trying to not get Mr. Alexander's attention.
"Nya,"
The whisper came again. Nya forced her mind to only focus on the words written on the sheet in front of her: …of AB = -6 and line LM intersects, find the midpoint of line…
"You don't have to be so hard on yourself."
The words came like a hurricane, shattering Nya's mind when in actuality Alyssa's voice had remained no louder than a whisper.
She shook her head and mentally turned Alyssa's words off. Her pencil moved fluidly to fill in the measurement of line LM for the answer to number twenty-four.
Alyssa gave up; there was no use talking to Nya when she was in the zone.
Later at lunch, Alyssa was taking out her lunch bag when she noticed Nya sitting alone by the lockers, fervently studying a colorful page in her geometry textbook. Alyssa set down her bag on the table experimentally for a few moments, then made up her mind and excused herself from the table.
When Nya saw Alyssa approaching she didn't even look up.
"Hey,"
Alyssa put her hand on Nya's shoulder and lowered the textbook. Nya looked up.
"We already took the test. What are you doing?"
"I think I got question number seventeen wrong. I'm just checking the formula we learned in unit two." She shifted uncomfortably.
"No way. Nya Smith got an answer wrong on the test?" Alyssa drawled, gaping playfully.
"Knock it off."
"I'm just saying, the test is done. Why worry? You'll get it corrected by tomorrow."
By this time Alyssa had sat down cross-legged on the floor and spread her meal out before her: A tuna sandwich, orange juice, a bowl of grapes, and a cookie. Nya sighed and put her textbook down.
"I just… I have to make sure I know what I'm doing. That I got them all right."
Alyssa chewed a grape thoughtfully.
"And what if you don't?"
"What if I don't what?"
Alyssa swallowed.
"Get them all right."
Nya stared off into space and relaxed her legs out straight. Her flip-flops seemed to smile back at her.
"I'll just try harder next time."
Alyssa put down her bowl of grapes.
"You already try too hard."
Nya shook her head.
"No, I don't. You don't understand." Nya picked up her textbook and looked at Alyssa. Her friend had finished all the grapes by now and was motioning to Nya to sit back down.
"I do understand."
The words sort of hung in the air, like a controlled experiment.
"You're just trying to be an overachiever because it comes easy to you and you can't stand being unprepared."
Nya bit her lip.
"Well, there's nothing bad in being unprepared."
Alyssa's eyes were searching Nya's face.
"It is when it's the only thing you can think about and it takes over your life."
Alyssa fingered an exposed niche of the textbook in Nya's arms. The corner slipped out slowly from under her blue fuzzy sleeve. Nya sighed again. She didn't know what to say in response. It would be a lie, she realized, to say that it wasn't taking over her life. And yet she couldn't quite bring herself to say that it was taking over her life, either.
"Just try for once. Please?"
Alyssa smiled, the textbook rapidly slipping now. She grabbed the ends of it and hugged it to her as if to somehow protect Nya from the information in its pages. Nya allowed the book to leave her grasp and sat back on the floor without a word. Throughout the next fifteen minutes, the two ate their lunch without saying anything. When the bell rang they rose and each went to their separate classes. Nya pulled the loose ends of her hair at the side of her face back behind her ears. Pressing down the conversation she had earlier with Alyssa, Nya went through the rest of the day in a kind of daze. A busy, concentrated daze.
After the last bell rang, she rushed outside to her motorcycle and hopped on. She heard a ding from her phone.
Meet me ftbal fields asap. -Kai
She revved up the engine and drove over to the fields. When she arrived, she could see Kai and Zane by the corner, talking. She ran over.
"Hey bros what's up?"
"We're waiting for Jay and Lloyd," Zane said matter-of-factly, his milky white eyes gleaming.
Nya looked around the corner, her right eyebrow raised.
"Where's Cole?"
"Over here, dude."
Came a voice from behind her. Nya whipped around and spotted Cole sitting on the ground hidden from view by a trash can and jamming to some tunes on his headphones. Nya could hear the beat all the way from here. He stood up and took out his buds.
"So what have we decided?"
Cole smoothed his long black hair and adjusted his sweatband. His earbuds were hanging loosely from his pocket.
"As soon as Jay and Lloyd get here, we're going to go to Master Wu."
"Why didn't we all just meet up at the dojo instead of meeting here first?"
Nya asked, slightly confused.
"Good question."
Zane spurted, smiling weirdly. From the distance, Kai spotted a blond and a brunette making their way across the road. He waved.
"Yo, Lloyd and Jay!"
Cole shouted, cupping his hands. As soon as Cole shouted the name 'Lloyd,' a few girls behind them snickered. Kai's face turned sour.
"Maybe you should be more careful about shouting Lloyd's name? I mean, he's not exactly everyone's favorite guy…"
Kai said, his voice trailing. Nya, Zane, and Cole turned to him.
"I mean, except for us."
Kai added hurriedly. By this time the two approaching figures were a few seconds away.
"Hey guys!"
Jay waved.
"What did you want us to meet here for, exactly?"
"Happy early B-day bruh."
Cole mentioned. Lloyd rubbed his arm.
"Thanks."
"Dude, how does it feel to only have one day left of being fifteen?"
Kai asked. Lloyd smiled awkwardly.
"Uh, like only having one day left of being fourteen?"
"Alright, let's go to see Master Wu."
Zane interrupted, walking away from everyone.
"Oh, okay."
Jay muttered, following.
"Wait, why are we walking to the dojo?"
Lloyd stopped, confused.
"I'm nominating Nya to take us all on her motorcycle."
Jay suggested, shooting his hand into the air.
"Yeah… that would be great." Nya started. "…Except I only have, uh, one helmet." Everyone laughed. They all knew Nya didn't have a helmet.
"Okay, but are we seriously going to walk all the way to the dojo?" Lloyd asked again when Nya began to leave to her motorbike and everyone else began walking down the street.
"Well, we can't exactly use our mechs. We're 'normal kids,' remember?" Jay added, motioning to his own and the boy's school clothes. The green ninja muttered and kicked the ground.
"I hate being a normal kid."
He joined the others, and soon Nya was whizzing past them on her motorbike.
"That's not fair."
Zane frowned and abruptly transformed his legs into a pair of wheels and sped off after Nya.
"Wait, I have a lot of homework to do tonight."
Jay stopped, fazed suddenly by the looming to-do list hovering in his mind. Cole scoffed.
"Homework?"
"Dude, we're ninjas. We have other pressing responsibilities."
Kai added, and Lloyd nodded in agreement.
"But, I mean, we're still normal kids. So… keep up your grades."
Lloyd said, patting Jay on the back. Jay sighed and walked along.
"I hate being a normal kid."
The corner of Lloyd's mouth twitched.
"Tell me about it."