Hiya, me FanFiction peeps!

First off, I wanna say THANK YOU SO MUCH for the reviews on the first chapter! Eight reviews already! Wow! That's kind of a big deal for me, being relatively new and all XD Special shout-out to JayFan67, PrincessMialyn, Cahaya Sidur, INFJwriter, JayaForever421, SwimmerNinja13, The Mayor of Ninjago City, and Kairocksrainbow! Your support means a lot to me.

PrincessMialyn: I've got a personal canon, I think that's what it's called, in which Cole's named after Nat King Cole. I'm not sure whether that's jazz or not, but at least he's named after a musician! :D

INFJwriter: You'll find out . . . XD

Secondly, since this is a school story, I might as well put up my own school stats! Being a homeschooler doesn't make everything magically easier, I'll say that!

I'm finishing up spring break (By the Lion, it went by fast!), but for history, I was studying the Holocaust and the beginning of WWII, and listening to an audio drama of The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom (really hard for me to listen to without crying), I did a science test on the electromagnetic force, math is as boring as ever, grammar is as interesting as it will ever be (not sarcasm!), and I recently finished reading Animal Farm.

Now that I've got all that out of the way, on with the story! I'm planning on making these chapters longer than my normal stories, cause why not XD So I hope y'all like that! And just to let you know, this chapter might be kinda crummy, because I've been working on a lot of upcoming stories and stories-already-in-progress, and my mind's crowded with ideas not related to school XD

And check out my profile for the Dragonsfire High soundtrack! :D

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2: Embarrassing Intros and Fluke Fights

[Lloyd's P.O.V.]

As soon as I entered the school building, kids turned to look at me, and I don't mean in a good way. Some of them looked sympathetic, others smirked and whispered behind their hands in a loud not-so-whispery type of whisper.

I sighed. I had gotten used to it, but it still hurt.

My dad had to hurry to his office, so I didn't get to say goodbye as he dashed off down the hall. I know he didn't go so fast on purpose, but I felt like he was trying to get away from me.

Maybe I should back up and explain. I'm Lloyd, a fourteen-year-old who is pretty much normal except for one thing: I can't walk.

My legs have been permanently paralyzed for about a year now, and even though I've gotten used to it, like I said earlier, and I think I'm faster in my wheelchair than I was on my legs, I'm still recovering from the cause of my paralysis. Me and my mom ended up in a car accident, and while I came out pretty much okay, my mom . . . She passed away in the hospital that same night. I still miss her a lot.

My dad, Montgomery Garmadon, the principal at my new school, Dragonsfire High, still blames himself for that night, even though he wasn't there, and it definitely wasn't his fault. But it was because he wasn't there that he blames himself.

I didn't want to think about that night, or my dad at the minute, so I quietly kept wheeling my way down the hall, not at all relieved that my homeroom, 618, was toward the end of the hallway.

As I passed 811, I noticed a tall fourteen-year-old guy standing up against the wall and glancing around like he was lost. He had blond hair cut military style, blue-gray eyes, almost paper white skin, and dressed in something like a gray school uniform. Y'know, gray sweater vest, white collared shirt, gray pants and tie, and black dress shoes. He shifted a plain white backpack uncomfortably on his shoulders, like he was unused to it being there.

I didn't feel in the mood to talk to anyone, but part of me kept nagging me to talk to this guy. Wanting that feeling to go away, I wheeled over to him. "Hey, are you waiting for someone?" I asked.

The guy took a few minutes to register my question. When he finally answered, he said, "Yes, and no. Do you know where-" he paused to take a piece of paper from his pocket. "-I could locate Classroom 618?"

His voice, soft and quiet, like his appearance, had a highly detectable accent. He sounded British, but I could probably get a British accent with an Australian one mixed up, so I decided not to ask.

"I was on my way there, actually," I said. "Just follow me!"

As we headed toward 618, I said, "I'm Lloyd Garmadon, by the way."

"Pleased to meet y-" the blond stopped midsentence. "Garmadon?" he repeated. "Are you related to Mr. Wu Garmadon, by any chance?"

I nodded. "He's my uncle."

The blond looked surprised. "He never mentioned having a nephew," he mused, clear that he was talking to himself, but speaking in a normal tone.

I gave him a weird look. "Why would he tell you he had a nephew?" I asked.

The blond blushed. "I suppose I should explain," he said. "My name is Zanes Julien, but I'm called Zane for short. Even though, technically speaking, it's still the same number of syllables either way. I've been living with your uncle for about a month now."

I was curious how this Zane guy was connected to Uncle Wu. "How come?"

Zane looked slightly embarrassed. "I am an exchange student from England," he explained. "I'm finishing school here in Ninjago, and Mr. Wu offered to house me for this first year. I'm still getting used to the concept of day school, since I attended a boarding school for most of my academic life."

I was totally surprised by that. I mean, I knew he had to be foreign, but an exchange student? "I didn't know Dragonsfire had an exchange student program!" I exclaimed.

Zane sighed. "It doesn't," he confessed. "It's more of an experiment than anything else. But it doesn't affect me, because my father plans for me to attend Dragonsfire for high school, as I think you call it, anyway. I am still unsure why."

Before I could reply, the ten-minute warning bell went off. "We gotta hurry!" I yelped. "If we get to homeroom late, we could get a demerit! And I don't think you would want one of those on your first day!"

I went speeding down the hall, careening past students and probably breaking about twenty school hallway speed records on the way.

[Zane's P.O.V.]

Part of me wanted to turn around and run the other way, out of the school building and back to the airport to get the next flight to England, instead of running after Lloyd and avoiding getting this "demerit" thing he mentioned. But I felt too unprepared. I'd only been in Ninjago for a month, and all of it confused me. The different words, the comments about my supposed accent (even though to my ears it was the Ninjagonians who had the accent), and everything else that came of abruptly being pulled out of my regular routine and into a completely new one: on a completely different continent.

But then I thought of my dad, my little brother, Echo, my cat, Shard, and my falcon, Caspian, back home in London. They would want me to give this school a chance. An acquaintance back at St. Draco's Boarding Academy, Lucas, always told me I never got used to new things. Tell that to the only student at St. Draco's who has braces, Lucas. I was surprised Lloyd hadn't noticed them, but that was fine with me. Might have been because they were white. . .

I made up my mind. I ran after Lloyd, which was a first for me. Never run in a school hallway was a given rule at St. Draco's, and I found it annoying when I was late for class and couldn't run.

I actually beat him to the classroom, and I hurriedly skidded into the seat nearest to me, which was next to a black-haired fourteen-year-old with headphones on. He wore a black leather jacket over an orange T-shirt with a sports team emblem on it, and matching black jeans and sneakers. His thick dark hair extended slightly over his jacket collar, and his bangs were swept over his forehead in a skater-style look. I gave him an embarrassed smile for no real reason, and to my surprise, he grinned back and gave me a salute. "Nice entrance," he said, taking his headphones off and extending his hand. "You new too?"

"Yes, in more ways than one," I said, shaking his offered hand.

"I'm Cole Brookstone," he introduced himself.

"Zane Julien," I said.

Cole raised an eyebrow. "Are you British?"

I nodded. "How did you figure that out?"

"My dad knows a guy who's from England and he has the same accent you do," Cole said.

Before I could reply, Lloyd wheeled in, slightly breathless. "I was going so fast I went right past the door," he said to me, replacing the chair at the desk on my right, the one closest to the door, with his wheelchair.

Cole looked over me at Lloyd at the same time Lloyd looked over me to Cole. "Is he a friend of yours?" they asked in unison. Then they both burst out laughing.

Smiling, I said, "Yes. Cole, this is Lloyd Garmadon. Lloyd, this is Cole Brookstone."

I pushed my chair back slightly to give them room to shake hands over my desk. "Good to meet you, Lloyd," Cole said.

"Likewise," Lloyd said, returning his grin.

Dragonsfire wasn't so bad after all . . . At least it was worth giving a try.

[Nya's P.O.V.]

Taking a deep breath, I entered my homeroom, Classroom 618. The front row had one empty seat left, between a black-haired freshman and an auburn teen with glasses. He was talking to none other than my dear twin brother, Kai, sitting on his left, in the desk closest to the window.

Deciding it would be best to get the seat closest to the teacher, even if it was near Kai, I walked over to the desk and asked the auburn guy, "Is this seat taken?"

Seeing me, he blushed furiously and shook his head. "No, you can take it," he said, and he smiled timidly at me.

He was pretty cute, with his tousled copper hair and bright blue eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses, and his sweet smile was just adorable. I felt my cheeks burn as I slid into my desk chair. I smiled shyly back, and self-consciously played with a lock of dark hair that hadn't been pushed behind my ear by my headband.

Finally, the boy said, "I'm Jay Walker, by the way. Just in case you wanted to know, since we're class neighbors and all." He said it as if not a lot of girls talked to him.

"Nya Fiero," I said, and I felt my cheeks go even hotter. I didn't want to know his name: I wanted to know did he like blue, did he like cats, did he like Star Wars, and did he like me.

Gosh, what was the matter with me? I'd never felt this way about a guy before, especially not a classmate. The guys at my elementary school and middle school were pretty jerky, like the boy in kindergarten who was the class bully and called me his "girlfriend." I shuddered at the memory. In kindergarten, of all places. . .

But this new boy, Jay, seemed different. I didn't know how, but he just did. I made a mental note to talk to him when I had the chance.

[Jay's P.O.V.]

I kept getting distracted from my conversation with Kai by glancing over at Nya. She was really pretty, with bobbed black hair pushed behind her ears with a red headband, a jean jacket over a red T-shirt with a water droplet graphic, holey denim jeans, and red sneakers. Her amber eyes sparkled in the sunlight streaming through the window, and I couldn't help staring at her fingers, which were fidgeting with a pencil marked with teeth indentations.

She bites her pencil like I do! I thought, looking at my own chewed-up pencil in my hand. That totally sounded like a Charlie Brown comic, but I don't care!

Kai waved his hand in front of my face. "Earth to Walker, do you read me?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

Kai sighed. "You're hopeless."

Just then, our homeroom teacher came in. He was an older guy, with a white beard and a straw hat, like a sensei out of a martial arts movie. "Good morning, class," he said, giving a slight bow. "I'm Mr. Wu, your homeroom and literature teacher, and it's good to see both new and familiar faces in my classroom this morning. Before I give you your class schedules, I would like the new students to make short introductions to begin their first day at Dragonsfire."

He checked a notepad that had been sitting on his desk. "Cole Brookstone, please give your name, age, previous school, and an interesting fact about yourself."

The skater guy on Nya's right stood up, and turned to face the class. In a clear, confident voice, he said, "Hi, I'm Cole Brookstone. I'm fourteen, I used to go to Renken Middle School, and. . ." He paused. It was clear he was trying to think of an interesting fact about himself, but he didn't betray any sign of being confused or flustered. Wow. I wish I could do that. . .

After only thirty seconds of silence, he said, "And my dad is a teacher at the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts." Now he sounded slightly embarrassed, like it was the best he could come up with.

Most of the class clapped politely as Cole sat down. His face was bright red with discomfort, and he looked like he wanted to slam his headphones on over his ears and forget the whole incident.

"Kai Fiero," Mr. Wu called.

Kai got up and introduced himself. He was fourteen, attended Argo Middle School, and had won first place in a city-wide skateboarding competition one summer ago. I whistled appreciatively as he sat down. "Show me those board skills sometime," I whispered behind my hand to him.

Then it was Nya's turn. She was also fourteen, had also attended Argo, and was an intern at the Ninjago City Humane Society. I was so tempted to say that her job was really cool when she sat down, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. Less chance of her getting grossed out by my geekiness.

[Zane's P.O.V.]

"Lloyd Garmadon," Mr. Wu called.

Lloyd looked extremely nervous. I gave him a reassuring smile. "You'll do brilliant," I said quietly. Cole merely gave him a thumbs'-up. The skater still looked discomfited from his experience introducing himself.

He gave me a grateful look, then took a deep breath. He wheeled himself to face the class and waved. "I'm Lloyd Garmadon," he introduced himself, "I'm fourteen, I used to go to Darkley's Academy, and I participated in the Junior Paralympics last summer and got second place in the mile race."

He scooted hurriedly back to his desk, burying his face in his hands. "I feel like a complete idiot right now," he mumbled. "It's enough of an interesting fact that I'm partially paralyzed."

I wanted to give him a hug and do something to make him feel better, but just then, Mr. Wu called, "Zanes Julien!"

Let's just cross my fingers and hope those public speaking exercises they made us do at St. Draco's will pay off, I thought, getting up from my desk and turning to face the class.

I inhaled and exhaled deeply, then I smiled weakly. "Hello," I began, nervously fidgeting with my collar, "my name is Zanes Julien, or Zane for short. I am fourteen years old, I used to attend St. Draco's Boarding Academy, and . . ." My brain suddenly went blank. Oh, by the Lion's mane, no, I thought, desperately trying to think of an interesting fact about myself. Where on earth did THAT expression come from?!

"And I have a pet falcon!" I blurted out, face burning crimson red with embarrassment. Oh, Zanes Luke Julien, why out of all facts did I have to say that? I mentally moaned, wanting to slap myself in the face for my stupidity. No one's going to believe that!

Some of the students, even a couple seniors, looked impressed, and the other freshmen in the front row, which were Lloyd, Cole, the twins Kai and Nya, and the blue-eyed teenager with the glasses were giving me slack-jawed looks of amazement. Before I went to my seat, Mr. Wu said, "Zane is an exchange student from England that Dragonsfire will be hosting for the next four years, while he finishes school here in Ninjago. It's good to have you with us, Zane."

I only nodded before slinking back to my desk. It didn't help that one of the sophomores was whispering, very loudly, to his friend, "Brace-Face Brit!" Lovely, there went any hope of my braces not getting noticed.

"You have a pet falcon?!" Lloyd whispered behind his hand to me. "That's so cool!"

"What kind of falcon is it?" Cole asked.

"A mechanical falcon," I muttered.

Before they could respond, Mr. Wu called, "Jaymes Walker!"

[Nya's P.O.V.]

Jay suddenly stiffened up, his fists tightly clenched and not moving. I looked at him in concern. "Are you all right, Jay?" I asked. "You look angry."

"Huh?" The fierce look that had been on his face melted away, and he grinned nervously. "No, I'm fine." He took a deep breath, and stood up. "He-e-ey," he started, his fingers fidgeting almost in hyperspeed with the watch on his wrist. "I'm . . . um . . . Jay Walker-"

Almost immediately, some of the older students snickered loudly. Jay visibly cringed, his face red as a sunburn. I felt so bad for him; he looked so scared and nervous. Mr. Wu shot the sniggering students a steely look, then nodded his head for Jay to continue.

Jay took another deep breath, and continued, "I'm fourteen, and I used to . . . uh . . ." He stiffened up again. Mr. Wu gave Jay a concerned look, but then he squeaked, "I've been homeschooled since first grade!"

That sent some of the other students into loud laughter. My eyes widened in surprise as Jay blushed even deeper. No wonder he's so anxious! I thought. If I was homeschooled and had a name like Jay Walker, I'd be too scared to talk to anyone too! Not that those facts changed my opinion of him; they made him more unique, and attractive.

I wanted to give him a hug; he looked ready to cry as the sophomores ignored Mr. Wu's angry glare and kept laughing. And I so desperately wanted to slap Morro, who was laughing the loudest, right in his proud face.

Mr. Wu suddenly yelled, "If you don't stop that, I'll give you all a week of detention!"That silenced the sophomores. The seniors and juniors looked sympathetically at Jay, who was trying his best to keep his breathing level and hold back his tears at the same time. It was a minute before he recomposed himself. "And I'm working on a life-size working BB-8 droid, and I've also built a life-size working R2-D2 and C-3PO," he finished quietly.

The blond British guy, Zane, looked surprised and amazed at the same time. Jay looked humiliated as he sat back down. "Now you know," he mumbled, I wasn't really sure whether he was addressing me or Kai. "Do you hate me now?"

"Uh, no!" Kai gave Jay a grin. "You're even cooler now that I know more about you! If they can't see that a homeschooler can be awesome too, they're blinder than bats." He thumbed at the sophomores, Morro in particular, who was smirking in our direction.

Jay looked at me nervously. I wondered why, but I smiled at him. "I think it's neat you were homeschooled," I said honestly. "It'll be interesting to hear someone else's take on school, other than a 'regular-schooled' kid."

Jay's mouth curved into a small smile. "Thanks," he murmured.

[Jay's P.O.V.]

Once the humiliation of introductions was over and Mr. Wu gave us our schedules, the rest of the school day wasn't too bad. I was in the same classes as the other freshmen who were in my homeroom, Zane, Cole, Lloyd, Kai, and Nya. Even though she had assured me that she thought it was neat that I had been homeschooled, I couldn't look Nya in the eye during the first two classes, English and math.

Zane, who I shared a desk with in math, must have had an Einsteinian brain for math, because he finished his thirty exercises and had time left over to help his less skilled deskmate with the problems I was stuck on, 'cause while I was good at some types of math, other kinds . . . were less programmable into my brain.

Kai was my deskmate in English, and then it was my turn to help him out, since I had finished the curriculum ahead of time and my English teacher, alerted to this fact, had allowed me to help whichever student I was sitting with, instead of wasting class time doing whatever.

Then, when I had Nya as my partner in science, I decided to trust that Nya didn't think I was geeky. When the science teacher, Dr. Who (no kidding, that was his real name!), asked how many of us had studied physical science before, only me and Zane raised our hands; the other kids looked confused when they heard that term.

Science was, no exception, my favorite class. Besides having a head start on the topics, Dr. Who taught his subject really well. I understood it better than when I had to read my science textbook by myself! And I was so relieved when he said all the main work we had to for science would be done in class, but recommended we study more in-depth on our own.

Before I knew it, lunchtime came up, and even quicker, I ended up at a table with the same five kids I had met throughout the classes. That was better than I had expected.

Zane, who was sitting across from me, asked, "Did you really build working R2-D2 and C-3PO units?" He sounded really curious.

I nodded eagerly. "Yep! My parents have a junkyard about fifteen miles outside of town, and that's how I got all the gizmos and gadgets to build them," I said. "You like machines?"

"My father is an designer for a British robotics company," Zane said. "I've grown up around blueprints and machines!"

[Kai's P.O.V.]

While Zane and Jay were chatting about robots and mechanical stuff, I tried to strike up a conversation with Cole. "So, your dad's a teacher at the Marty Oppenheimer?" I asked.

Cole just nodded. "Yeah," he muttered. He was blasting some sort of rock music in his headphones, I wasn't sure which band.

I was certain I hit a touchy spot. And even though my sister says it's impossible, I tried to tread slightly more carefully. "What band is that?" I tried.

"Skillet," Cole replied, and he seemed slightly more open to conversation.

"No way!" I exclaimed, grinning. "That's gotta be my ultimate favorite band!"

Cole's gray eyes lit up. "Finally I hear some positive language about Skillet!" he exclaimed. "My dad doesn't like it because it's too hardcore rock for him, and the guys in the quartet don't like it either."

"What quartet?" I asked, confused.

Cole sighed. "Let's just say I'm involved with a lot of theatrical and musical stuff, thanks to my dad," he said.

[Cole's P.O.V.]

The rest of the school day went by pretty smoothly. Weirdly enough, there weren't any bully attacks, or sudden death by homework, or anything like that. And I found out several things: I'm not the only Skillet fan, Jay is extremely chatty and a little too energetic, Zane has got to be the world's next super-genius, Lloyd is the fastest person I know in a wheelchair (as well as the only person I know in a wheelchair), and Kai and Nya are twins who highly dislike each other. Their banter was still ringing in my ears as I hurried out of art and into history.

As I exited the last class of the day, literature, with the rest of the freshmen in my homeroom, a sophomore with red-tinted aviator sunglasses and reddish-brown hair brushed back on his head came sauntering up to us. I recognized him as Griffin Turner, the son of Coach Peregrine, our P.E. teacher.

"Just wanted to let you know," Griffin said casually, "tryouts for the Falcons and the Bandits are next week. Since we've got two baseball teams, you have double the chance of getting on one of them. Though I'm not sure how much chance you three have." He thumbed at Jay, Zane, and Lloyd.

Zane shrugged. "I'm not much of a sports player, unless Dragonsfire has a secret cricket or rugby team," he said. "I'm not planning to try out."

"Me neither," Lloyd agreed. "If they need an announcer, though, I'd be happy to do that."

"What about you, Jay?" Nya asked.

Jay shrugged. "I don't know," he said, faking nonchalance. "I'm not sure how much chance a former pitcher would have getting on a high school baseball team."

Griffin looked surprised. "You were a pitcher?"

Jay nodded. "I didn't have these glasses forever, y'know," he said, and he sounded like an old pro reliving his glory days. "Back in the day, I was named MVP for the Wintergate Wolverines and when I was pitching, we never lost a game." He sighed. "But I guess I wouldn't have much of a chance at getting on," he said. "I'll try out, anyway."

Whatever he was doing, it worked. Griffin walked away, visibly shaken. As soon as he was out of earshot, I said, "Were you really a pitcher and MVP?"

Jay nodded. "I've loved baseball ever since I saw my first Ninjago City Dragons game when I was six," he said. He grinned. "I just did that to see what reaction I'd get out of Griffin," he added. "I'm not ashamed to admit I did exaggerate with the 'never lost a game' shtick."

Kai rolled his eyes. "You're pretty devious for a fourteen-year-old," he said.

"I am the very definition of 'devious', mi amigo," Jay said, and the grin on his face made him look like Fred or George Weasley after playing a particularly satisfying trick on Professor Umbridge or Mr. Filch.

"What about you, Cole?" Lloyd asked. "Are you gonna try out?"

I shrugged. "I don't think so," I said. "My dad doesn't approve of sports, other than dancing, and that barely qualifies."

"What about your mom?" Nya asked. "Maybe she could convince him to-"

"She can't!"

I must have been louder and harsher than I thought, because Nya visibly flinched. "Gosh, dude, what was that for?" Kai demanded, looking slightly angry. He protectively put his arm around his sister.

At that moment, I didn't want anything to do with these guys. Sure, they were the only friends I had, and probably will ever have in this school, but I wasn't ready to tell them about my mom. "Nothing," I muttered, slamming my headphones on over my ears. "I've gotta go."

I quickened my pace and soon left them behind, shutting out all the sound around me as I exited the school building. I had to see my mom.

I know, I know, I'm ending it with the same character P.O.V. I did last time, but I promise that will change in the next chapter!

-Why is Cole so sensitive about his mom?

-Why is Zane specifically the exchange student? Couldn't they have picked a different pupil from St. Draco's?

-How did the accident Lloyd was involved in happen, and why does Mr. Garmadon blame himself for what happened?

-And why am I displaying Jay as a stereotypical homeschooler?! (That was completely by accident, but I'm sort of basing him on myself, and I tend to get nervous like that speaking in public)

And btw, that memory Nya had about kindergarten is based on an actual experience I had when I attended public school for kindergarten. (Yes, I've been homeschooled since first grade)

You'll find out the answers to these questions and more in the upcoming installments of Dragonsfire High!