Chapter One: A New Beginning

Being transferred to a new school is one of the worst things that could happen. You have to restart everything. This means you have to find new friends, go over things you've already learned and deal with the harassment and bullying all over again. It's a cursed process that a lot of children go through.

Cole Brookstone has just turned sixteen, his father got a new job in Ninjago City due to his excellent theatrical skills.

Cole, on the other hand didn't have any of those skills. He couldn't sing, he couldn't dance. Even though his father would tell him he was brilliant at it, Cole never believed him. As far as he knew he could only draw.

The boy used art as a way to escape the reality of life. It didn't matter what it was. Whatever came to his mind he'd draw it, whether it was a white wonderland of snow filled with wild animals and large pine trees drizzled in frost or an isolated house in the middle of a foggy forest that holds deep secrets, he didn't care…

Creating art was the way Cole released his emotions, it was his venting system.

Sighing in annoyance, Cole rolled over slowly in his silky sheets. He despised the fact that he woke up and that he now has to go to school. He went around Ninjago city and visited a few of their secondary schools. His father decided to pick the worst one. He disliked the look of almost everyone there, they all looked stuck up and really horrible.

"Cole!" His father bellowed from downstairs, his obnoxious voice bouncing off the crimson walls. The raven haired teen let out a grunt of disrespect. "Cole, get up. Now!" He yelled once more, forcing Cole to roll his eyes and groggily get up. As he climbed out of his warm bed, he thought about how terrible today would be.

Cole always had a knack for thinking negatively. He raised his arms towards the ceiling, clicking a few bones. He spun on his heels and began to get dressed.

This school, for some reason, had a uniform. Not that Cole wasn't used to that. Almost all schools in England have a uniform and ridiculous dress code. On a personal level, Cole thought that the uniform had too much red and black. It made him seem like the biggest emo.

Cole was taught in a private school, he hated it but he took what he could get. He was used to strict teachers so if his teachers were strict he'd have the upper hand. Maybe.

As Cole buttoned up his pure white shirt, he glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked like he'd just crawled from a ditch, half dead. He sighed and slipped his deep red tie on. He then put on his black blazer, the edges of the collar had a red line going around it as did the cuffs on the blazer. He hated this uniform, he slipped on his trousers, socks and then looked around for his hair brush. He always ended up flinging it somewhere. He found it and brushed his hair into his usual side swept style.

He dashed downstairs, his father still calling him. "You better be up!" his father exclaimed as Cole walked into the kitchen. Their kitchen was cozy, it's colour palette was black and white. Cole sighed and pulled out a stool and sat on it, he tapped his fingers rhythmically on the marble kitchen side. He was feeling awfully nervous. He was worried about not making friends and going through the struggle of being bullied again.

Last time Cole was bullied, he ended up getting into a huge fight. He came out of it with a broken arm and a lot of black and blue bruises. After that, Cole became some sort of delinquent. His private school went on a riot just as Cole's father got his new job, thank god for that.

When Cole became a delinquent he gained respect from a lot of people, although he wasn't an extreme delinquent he just became cold and harsh towards everyone to protect himself. He wouldn't beat people up randomly, he was just rude. Very rude.

He's been trying to change since they moved, although he's not sure how that's going. On the outside Cole seems sweet and kind, he seems like a great target to pick on but really he's ready to take anything and protect anyone. Even though he's insecure and anxious on the inside, he'll still do anything to protect those he loved.

That was the good side of Cole, a side that not many people saw.

Lou was watching Cole in silence, as he pulled various faces whilst in thought. "Cole, are you okay?" Lou asked, making Cole snap out of thought.

The boy looked at his father in confusion for a second before answering. "No." he mumbled in a monotone voice. "I'm not." He rested his head in the palm of his hand and stared out the window, some children from his school were already making their way. Cole grumbled, "Do I have to go? Can't you just home school me?"

Lou scowled at his son, "No. I have work, you know this." He raised an eyebrow at his son. "I don't like your attitude."

Cole scoffed, rolling his eyes and sitting up straight. "I don't care! You forced me here." He exclaimed, he was already angry at it wasn't even eight in the morning yet.

The older man stared at his son in slight disbelief. "Don't talk to me like that. I already told you it was for a good cause."

"No, it wasn't!" Cole blurted back at his father, his pent up anger slowly boiling over. "I lost all my friends! I'm going to a public school now, do you know how horrible those kids are?" Cole pointed to the window, as a few students from his school walked by. They didn't live too far away from his new school.

The raven haired teen had a very short temper as of recent. Usually Cole was patient and polite.

Shaking his head, Lou took a sip from his coffee. "Cole, you're going to that school whether you like it or not."

Cole groaned and banged his head on the table. He then stood up and pushed himself away from the marble side, storming off into the hallway. His father sighed as Cole paced the hallway, debating going to school.

Since Cole didn't live far from the school he had to walk. He took a deep breath, 'It won't be that bad. All I have to do is go into the school tell them I'm new and they'll take over from there.' he thought to himself, nodding.

He adjusted his tie and then grabbed his backpack. He packed it the night before so he knew he had everything.

He swung open the door and took another deep breath, staring at the ground. His father walked up behind him and cleared his throat. "You'll be fine." He muttered.

"Don't talk to me." Cole spat, walking off.

Lou shook his head and he watched his son walk off, in a mood.

The air was different from England. Although it felt more welcoming, Cole didn't feel welcomed at all. Slowly, Cole made his way down the concrete path that lead towards the school gates.

A few seconds later a kid wearing the same school uniform as him flew by on a skateboard, startling him. Cole observed him for a few seconds before he walked into the school grounds. He walked past a group of people, he could tell the school had a small amount of students.

Cole tried not to look like he was rushing, but he was. His heart pounded in his chest, bouncing off his ribs. Hastily, he made his way into the building. He was attempting to not draw attention to himself, he found the reception after looking for roughly five minutes.

He walked into the reception area, a lady with blonde hair and glasses looked at him, smiling. "Hiya, are you okay? You look rather distressed."

Cole paused for a moment, was it that obvious?

"Uh, hi." He mumbled. "I'm new here and I don't know...what...I'm...doing…" He chuckled nervously as he walked up to her desk.

The lady giggled, which made Cole wonder if she was mocking him. "You must be Cole."

He nodded slowly, "That's me."

The lady started typing on her computer, "Don't you worry, we've already got everything sorted for you." She informed him, her printer started up. She waited in silence and then pulled out a piece of paper and handed him it in a sassy manner.

"These are you lessons." She smiled as Cole took the paper, "You did pick, Art, music and psychology, right?" She questioned.

Cole observed the paper for a second, he then nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"Great! Those are your courses, as you know Maths, Science and English are required."

Cole nodded again, he didn't like this ladies voice. It was annoying him slightly. She then said something about a map being on the back of his timetable. Cole walked off and went to find his first class.

He forgot to say thank you to the lady. The boy adjusted his backpack so it sat comfortably, and began searching. "Room, 7B." he whispered to himself, looking at the signs on the doors. He noticed that he was at 6A, he followed the hallway making he was around to room 7A. The hallways were awfully silent. He assumed that everybody was sitting outside or didn't like to be in the halls at this time. Cole looked up to see the kid from earlier who was on his skateboard. He observed him for a second, he was texting rather rapidly on his phone, he would then stop and smile at it. He also had his earphones in, bopping his head to music. His skateboard was underneath his arm.

His hair was spiked up, it was chestnut brown. Cole tilted his head slightly, he was now staring for too long. He sighed and began to walk past the kid, who looked up at him and smiled, he took out his earphones and put them in his pocket. "Hey."

Cole froze on the spot and turned to him. He wasn't expecting that. "Hi…" he mumbled, becoming awfully shy. He noticed that the kid had a scar over his right eye and a plaster over his left eyebrow. His eyes were deep red, something Cole hadn't really seen before. Maybe in movies but never in real life. He was also taller than Cole.

"You're new here, aren't ya?" He asked, his voice sounded a bit gruff. Although Cole got a sense of comfort from his voice.

He nodded, smiling slightly.

"I'm Kai." He grinned, he held out his fist for Cole to bump.

The teen bumped his fist and chuckled nervously, "I'm Cole."

"Nice to meet you." Kai put his fist down after Cole bumped it. "When'd you move here?"

Cole pursed his lips for a second, thinking. "About a week or two ago." He answered, a blank and dull look on his face.

"You really don't look too happy about that." He pointed out, his eyebrows raised.

Cole scratched the back of his next, he wanted to tell the kid his entire backstory but that would be too much. "Yeah, I didn't want to move." he explained, "My dad got some job here, with some company thing called the 'royal blacksmiths'." he made air quotations.

"Woah." Kai blurted, he sounded rather surprised. He had leaned off the wall and put his skateboard down, turning his full attention to Cole.

"What?" Cole asked, tilting his head. He thought he'd done something wrong.

"Royal Blacksmiths? Really? Dude, your dad is so lucky. They are one of the best theatrical groups in Ninjago City!" He exclaimed, his red eyes lighting up.

"Oh, really?" Cole questioned, he didn't know that.

"Hell, yeah!" Kai beamed, unable to stay still. He chortled, causing Cole to snicker a little too.

Cole enjoyed being around this guy. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

Kai was smiling widely at Cole, like an idea just crossed his mind. "I need to introduce you to my friends because I can tell already that we are going to be great friends." He crossed his arms and smirked.

Cole blushed a little, he's never been complimented before. At least not like that. "Oh, really...thanks." He ran his fingers through his hair.

The chestnut haired boy checked his phone, "We have twenty minutes, come with me." Kai gestured for Cole to follow him. The boy picked up his skateboard and lead the way.

Happily, Cole tagged along following the red eyed boy onto the playground. The playground was packed with all the students. The hallways were like a ghost town.

Leading Cole to an Oak tree, Kai peered around the corner. They were now at the back of the school. There was a large oak tree and a chain link fence. On the other side of the fence was a field filled with flowers.

"Our group hangs out here because it's quieter, we're not the ones for big crowds and noise." He explained, pushing a few rogue branches away, Cole copied. Once they got through the branches they came to clearing. The grass was light green, with daisies scattered as if they were mother nature's freckles.

Four people were sitting together, laughing.

"Hey guys!" Kai yelled, waving. "I brought a new recruit."

"Recruit?" Cole repeated, awfully confused. He looked over at the other four who stared at him. The raven haired boy gulped he didn't want to be here anymore.

Kai dragged Cole over to them, he then sat down in the circle and pulled Cole down with him. Awkwardly, the raven haired boy smiled at the rest of them. "Guys, this is Cole." Kai chirped, gesturing towards his new friend. They all nodded, Cole waved shyly.

"Cole, this is Zane." Kai pointed to a tall boy with pale hair that stuck up. He had icy blue eyes and a fatherly broad smile that brought Cole the feeling of compassion. He was fiddling with the daisies on the ground, he came across as a pacifist and the voice of reason.

"Greetings." He said in a quiet and polite voice. Cole waved at him, giving him a smile.

"This is Lloyd." Kai continued, pointing to a blonde boy. He had emerald green eyes. He had medium length hair that was wavy. He was smaller than Kai and Zane, at least sitting down he was. He had his phone in his hand and a huge welcoming grin. He seemed to be a good team player. "Yo." he saluted Cole.

"This is my little sister, Nya. She's the best." Kai said, pointing to her. She had long hair, tied up into a messy ponytail. She had a small mole on the side of her face, just under her ocean blue eyes. She nodded at Cole. She seemed relaxed and cool. She also seemed like nothing bothered her and she would just punch you if you annoyed her. Cole got a vibe off her that she was popular with the boys but not in a bad way.

"And finally, this is Jay." Kai gestured to a smaller boy with dark curly brown hair. He had large electric blue eyes that stood out to Cole. He seemed slightly smaller than Cole. One of the first things Cole noticed was his freckles and how they dotted his face just under his eyes. He seemed anxious but affectionate and caring, like the kinda person Cole needs around him at this point in time. He made Cole feel comfortable and he hadn't even said a word, yet. "Hello…" he mumbled, pushing his index fingers together. Cole smiled at him and watched as he fiddled with one of the curls by his ear.

"I'm guessing you're new here." Lloyd said, leaning back on his hands. Cole nodded, wondering if these guys could really be his new friends. "Yeah, I moved here about two weeks ago with my dad."

"Where are you from?" Nya asked, giving him a small smile. "You have an accent."

"Oh, England." Cole mumbled, he didn't realise that he had an accent since almost everybody sounds the same in England. "It's not the greatest place."

"Aw, that's a shame. I've always wanted to go to England." Jay piped up, looking slightly disappointed.

Cole felt slightly bad. "I mean, it can be great sometimes. We have cool events every now and then."

Jay's smile appeared back onto his face. "Really?"

Cole nodded.

"I really want to see Big Ben, The London Eye! Oh, the theme parks that are there!" Jay got all giddy, his group of friends were smiling at him.

Cole looked at Jay's smile, noticing he had braces. The light reflected off of them. "Okay, the theme parks are really cool." Cole said.

"I need to go." Jay giggled.

Cole grinned, "I'm going back to England at some point this year. I'll bring you a souvenir."

"Or you could just take me." Jay joked, making Cole chortle.

"I'll take you instead then." Cole smiled, Jay giggled again.

Lloyd glanced between the two, he was happy that they were getting along. Playing with the daisy chain he was making, Zane spoke up "Did you ever go to the theme parks, Cole?"

Grinning, Cole answered, "Yeah, I've been to Thorpe Park, Drayton Manor and Alton Towers." He counted on his fingers, holding up three of them.

"How are they?" Nya asked, "I've always wanted to go too."

"They are so cool, there's so many roller coasters and the food is great." Cole rambled slightly. "I used to go quite a bit with my friends…" the boy trailed off. His heart sank. He fell silent. He glanced at the ground, his large smile completely gone.

Glancing over at his sister, Kai understood how Cole felt.

"Hey, are you okay?" Nya asked, tilting her head.

Cole snapped out of his trace, "Oh." his voice was mellow, dull, it had no emotion. "Yeah, sorry about that, I'm fine." he mumbled with a fake brittle smile.

"Kai and I understand how you feel, we moved here from a different part of Ninjago." She explained, "We didn't fit in until we met these guys, we miss our old friends too." she smiled, sweetly. He stared at her for a little bit, before smiling at her. "Thanks, it's nice to know that people understand me. I thought I'd be coming here as an outcast." he looked off at the field behind the chain link fence, he watched the wind silently kiss the daisies. He felt a firm grip on his shoulder, he turned slowly to see Kai giving him a comforting smile, "It's okay dude. You'll fit in with us." he assured him, "we're not the ones to judge."

The bell for school rang through the fields, piercing Cole's ear. "Thanks, Kai." he muttered, after the bell finished screaming. The six of them got up simultaneously. Walking besides Cole, Jay decided to try make him feel slightly better. "Hey, man don't worry about fitting in here. I'll try look after you." he said with a large smile.

"Really?" Cole questioned, slightly surprised.

The smaller boy nodded, "I got you." he nudged Cole slightly.

The other boy chuckled in response, "Thanks, Jay."

"Hey, what lesson do you have first?" Lloyd asked, tilting his head to the side. Cole turned to him, thinking for a moment. "I think I have psychology first."

"Oh, sweet!" Jay said, "I do too, who's your teacher?" he asked, suddenly really excited.

Pulling out his timetable sheet, Cole paused. "Uh-" he frowned slightly, "Mrs. Adams." he mumbled, "she sounds boring." He raised a bushy eyebrow and then watched as his new friend snickered.

"She is." They said simultaneously.

"You're in my class." Jay smiled, "see, this is already working out great for you. You have five new friends and me in your first class."

"Wow, what an honour." Lloyd mocked, grinning at Jay who turned to him.

"Hey! I'll kick your ass!" he stuck his tongue out at the taller boy, who in response flipped his hair and chortled.

Cole laughed at them too, along with Zane and the others.

He felt so much better already.

'You know, maybe I will fit in just fine.' He thought to himself, smiling.