Day 8: Write something for season 2

Episode ?: Growing Pain

"It feels so weird to be older."

"Don't get used to it. Being grown up is a big responsibility. There's still a lot to learn before you do anything."

"Are there any fun stuff that you can do when you grow up?"

Cole shakes his head. "Lloyd, there's no time for fun and games. We have to prepare you for the final battle."

"Give it a rest, Cole," Kai interrupts. "Lloyd is still a kid at heart. Let him have some fun."

Jay nods. "And grown ups don't have to stop enjoying themselves. A little fun never hurt anybody."

Cole sighs. "Fine. Lloyd can have one day of fun, but after that he has to start training for the final battle. The three of you can go out together. Just make sure you get back here by seven."

"Whatever you say, mom," Jay says with a smirk before the three run out of the dojo.

Cole slowly walks out the door want watches the three as they run down the street where Grand Sensei Dareth's Dojo stands before they eventually make a left. He sighs.

Zane approaches him and puts a hand on Cole's shoulder. "Why didn't you go after them?"

"I don't have time for their childish games," Cole replies. "Someone has to stay behind and make sure that the preparations for Lloyd's training are complete and won't break while he's gone. I have yet to finish his training regimen. If Lloyd loses that final battle against the Overlord, it's gonna be my fault."

"There's no need to put so much pressure on yourself, brother," Zane tells him. "I'll keep an eye on them, if that is what you wish."

Cole nods. "Thanks, Zane. Watch their every move. Make sure they don't do anything that could potentially injure Lloyd. I'm counting on you."

Zane smiles at Cole and quickly leaves the dojo.

"Now," Cole says as he looks at the unkempt training area. "How do I make this place fit for Lloyd's training?"

0-0-0-0-0

"Where do we go first?" Kai asks Jay and Lloyd. "I wanna try Mega Monster Amusement Park."

Jay shakes his head. "We have to go to an arcade. There are new games released this week and I wanna check them out!"

Lloyd looks at his two older friends. Their options are both very good, but there's a chance that both options could take them all day. Mega Monster Amusement Park opens at one and closes at ten, the arcade opens at ten and closes at eight.

"Maybe," Lloyd starts. "We could go to the arcade now and have lunch there, and we can go to Mega Monster later in the afternoon. How does that sound?"

Jay and Kai look at Lloyd, then at each other, and back at Lloyd and they nod. "Let's do it!"

The three of them head to the arcade near the dojo. The new games are displayed near the entrance of the arcade. Since today is a weekday, there are not much people around, which means that nobody is playing the new units.

"Save our spot," Jay tells Kai and Lloyd. "I'll get tokens."

Once Jay leaves for the counter Lloyd looks at the new unit. Fist Fighter V, it says in bold letters just above the screen. The other one says Dance Magic. There is also a new rhythm game called YuYu!

"These new games look awesome," Lloyd tells Kai.

"They're definitely something," Kai replies. "They look kind of complicated, though. I'm not a huge fan of technology."

That's something new, Lloyd thinks to himself. How could he have known that Kai is not a fan of video games or gadgets in general?

Jay comes back with a huge sack of tokens. "Let's chop sockey this unit!"

As Jay inserts two tokens, Lloyd pushes a button and selects his character. "Dibs!"

"Hey," Jay says. "I was gonna choose him."

"You snooze, you lose, Walker," Lloyd tells him. "You're gonna have to pick another character."

0-0-0-0-0

"There, all done."

Cole looks at his finished work. The training dummies are all in place, the apparatuses are where they are supposed to be, the bench presses are not far from the training course, and the uneven bars and balance beam are in an isolated part of the dojo.

"All where they are supposed to be," Cole tells himself. "Not an item out of place. If only Lloyd was here to test it all out."

He looks at the clock and then at his regimen.

"That's right!" he exclaims in realization. "I forgot his diet! He'll need a protein-rich diet composed of meat, chicken, eggs, and tofu. He will also need a lot of calcium so he won't break any bones during his training—Dareth!"

Cole looks back at his training course and notices that the equipment has been touched. Five out of seven dummies are knocked down, some machines are used and out of place, and the bench presses have been moved. If the uneven bars were not in tact, Cole would have screamed.

It's just some minor details, Cole tells himself. This is easy to fix.

"Sorry, Cole," Dareth tells him. "I, uh, just...you need any help?"

Cole shakes his head. "No, Dareth. I got this."

0-0-0-0-0

The three head to Mega Monster Amusement Park with Zane not far behind them. Zane watches as the three buy their tickets.

"One thousand yen for a ticket?" Lloyd complains. "I used to pay five hundred yen to enter."

"That's what happens when you're older," Kai replies. "You have to live with it."

"I didn't wanna grow up," Lloyd mutters quietly but loud enough that they could hear.

Jay leans at the counter and appears to be whispering something. With Zane's advanced hearing, he could listen to their conversation. "He just turned fifteen, so he's not used to the high prices."

The woman at the counter nods and gives them their tickets.

When the three are finally inside the park, Zane buys a ticket for himself. He then enters and follows them from a distance. All the while, he could hear their conversation.

"Lloyd's being kind of a jerk today," Jay whispers to Kai.

"Give him a rest, Jay," Kai whispers back. "He's still a kid. He'll need time to realize he's grown up.

"How much time?" Jay asks. "We can't let him think he's still a kid. We have to stop babying him, Kai. And whether you like it or not, I'm gonna start treating him like the adult he is supposed to be."

Jay walks ahead of Kai, and Kai sighs in surrender.

Zane knows that Jay is not the type of person who stays quiet, especially when something is bothering him. Kai is rather vocal, too, but he has a tendency to say the wrong thing so he does not bother sometimes.

Kai catches up with the rest of the group and asks them what they want to do next.

Jay suggests the roller coaster, Kai suggests the pendulum, and Lloyd suggests the bump cars. Personally Zane would not choose any of them. The G-force in the roller coaster alone would most likely damage his circuits, but with the combined force of all three rides, Zane would lose more than just his marbles.

The three head towards the bump cars, much to the dismay of Jay and Kai. Kai shrugs it off, but Jay drags his feet along the way.

0-0-0-0-0

Cole looks at his menu with a satisfied smile. He cannot cook, so he had asked Misako for help.

The meat is cooked to perfection, the chicken is not the least bit dry, and the tofu is like velvet when served as a dessert. Even the milk is nice and frothy once it had been turned into a milkshake. There is also a thick bar of homemade dark chocolate to boost the production of serotonin, a.k.a. the happy hormone! Who says you can't eat good food when eating healthy?

"Now that his new diet menu is in check, what else can we improve on to prepare Lloyd?" Cole asks nobody in particular.

He puts a hand on his chin as he thinks about what he should do next. His eyes widen in realization and he pats his a fist in his other hand.

"I got it!" he exclaims. "Lloyd has to exercise his mind as well as his body! He needs brain teasers, mind bogglers, logic quizzes, and thinking games. What good is a strong body if you don't have a strong mind?"

He takes out his phone and starts searching for quizzes he could give Lloyd. He finds a few links that seem useful and he saves them in his notes.

Once he looks back at the menu, he notices that some of the meats and one of the milkshakes are gone.

"My menu!" Cole yells. What could have possibly happened to the food that he had asked Misako to prepare for Lloyd?

"Was that yours?" a voice asks.

Cole turns to look at the owner of the voice and he sees Dareth with a chicken drumstick in hand. "No, but I was going to take a picture of it for future reference."

Dareth puts the plate and glass of milkshake down. "Sorry, Cole. Didn't know you needed that."

"It's okay, Dareth," Cole replies. "I can always ask Misako to help me with it again."

0-0-0-0-0

Kai and Jay are forced to ride one bump car while Lloyd rides one by himself, and this bothers Kai. Why? Lloyd's strategy: bump them as many times as he can.

It is not like Kai does not like to share a bump car with Jay—in fact, he enjoys sitting next to a slim boy for once instead of a muscular lad like Cole.

Speaking of which, Kai thinks to himself. I wonder how he's doing. I hope he's not too stressed out.

Kai and Cole would never fit in this small bump car. Maybe Zane would fit, but Jay provides a bit of elbow room.

The problem with sharing a bump car is that both of them are on the receiving end of Lloyd's collisions.

Lloyd bumps their car from the front and the force causes the two to move backwards.

"That's one for the Green Ninja," Lloyd cheers.

Kai moves the steering wheel but the car stays in its place. "What's going on? I think we picked a faulty car, Jay."

"Have you tried pushing the pedals?" Jay asks in annoyance.

Kai pushes one of the pedals with his foot and the car starts to move. At the moment of his release, the car stops. He pushes the pedal again and holds it down, this time the car is moving at a much longer period. However, right before he makes a turn, their bump car gets hit from behind.

"Score two for the Green Ninja!" Lloyd cheers. "And that's zero for the Red and Blue Ninja."

Kai moves the car about, and he notices Jay's lack of smile.

"I swear, if he hits us one more time, I'm gonna lose it," Jay says in frustration.

Kai puts a hand on Jay's shoulder and rubs it back and forth. "Give him time, Jay. He's still learning."

Jay looks back at Kai and it looks like a smile is supposed to form on his lips. Sadly, the smile is discontinued by the bumping of their car from one side. Kai's face ends up landing on Jay's shoulder.

"I've..." Jay starts quietly but rather menacingly. "...had...ENOUGH!"

Lightning bolts flow out of Jay's fingertips to the bump car to the entire bump car ride. This lightning causes a circuit to blow in the bump cars.

"Ladies and gentlemen," an announcement comes from the intercom. "Due to a malfunction in the ride, we suggest that you evacuate this ride immediately. We are sorry for taking your time. Please visit the other attractions."

Kai, Jay, and Lloyd get out of their bump cars and head to the ride's exit with Jay and Lloyd both obviously pissed off.

"What was that for?" Lloyd asks Jay. "I was totally winning!"

"You weren't winning," Jay replies. "You were just bumping our car over and over again without letting us move."

"That's the whole point," Lloyd says. "I'm supposed to score as many points as I can. It's just like that video game."

Kai recalls the video game incident. Lloyd was using the same moves over and over again, which kept Jay from making a single move. When Jay managed to use an effective combo and won, Lloyd just stood up and threw a tantrum.

"When are you going to admit to yourself that you're not a kid anymore?" Jay asks, his anger finally present in his tone of voice. "We can't let you keep winning. That's not the point of being grown up. That's not the point of being anything!"

"News flash, Jay: I was a kid yesterday," Lloyd replies. "You still have to treat me like I'm a kid. You're supposed to play fair."

"Fair?" Jay repeats in a questioning manner. "'Fair isn't a word where you come from,' right? That's why you don't play fair. That's why you keep winning. That's why we're forced to let our guard down for some immature brat. You're not fair at all, so what gives you the right to say you're the Green Ninja?"

It is clear that Jay is done with Lloyd. He has shown no mercy in his choice of words. Jay is rarely angered, but today he is enraged.

Kai sees this as his cue to ease the tension between the two of them. "Hey, aren't we here to have fun? This is Lloyd's last day of freedom before he's officially an adult. Let's do something we can all enjoy."

Lloyd nods in agreement. "Kai's right, Jay. It's my last day of fun. I'm giving you a choice: you can either join us and have fun with us, or leave us alone and go home. The choice is yours."

Kai looks at Jay who looks at him and at Lloyd. Jay sighs and frowns.

"I'll see you guys at the dojo," he says before leaving the two.

Maybe Jay's right—perhaps it's about time that Lloyd realizes he's an adult.

0-0-0-0-0

"Great," Cole sighs. "It's past six and none of them are back yet. I already have the dojo set up, his daily menu is ready, and he has logic games and quizzes prepared on the computer that I just have to print out. Is there anything else I can do?"

Cole looks around and he sees that everything is back in place. After the small predicaments with Dareth, Cole managed to to put everything back where they should be. The food, however, is already consumed so he can only get it back when it's Lloyd's time to train.

"I can't relax yet," Cole tells himself. "Lloyd still has a lot to do before the Final Battle. There is still a lot of preparation to do before that day comes. But first, maybe I need some cake."

He enters the dining area and sees Sensei Wu, Misako, and Dareth drinking tea.

"Where are the others?" Sensei Wu asks.

"They went out," Cole replies. He adds nothing more in hopes that his Sensei will not be disappointed in him for letting them have fun for Lloyd's last day of freedom.

"Cole," Sensei Wu starts. "We need to talk."

Cole is confused, but he sits down next to his teacher. "What is it, Sensei Wu?"

"Dareth and Misako told me what you've been doing," he says. "It's very kind of you to care about your teammate, but you shouldn't be tiring yourself over this battle."

"Tiring?" Cole repeats. "Who's tiring who? I'm not tired. And my preparations aren't done yet."

Just as Cole says this, his stomach makes a loud gurgling noise.

"Have you eaten at all today, kid?" Dareth asks.

Cole shakes his head. "I had to finish setting up before I could think about eating. I kinda want cake now to give me some energy, but just as a snack."

"Eat up now, Cole," Misako tells him. "You can continue your preparations tomorrow. Right now, you too have to rest."

Cole nods. "Okay. I am pretty hungry."

0-0-0-0-0

"Jay, wait!"

Jay looks back and sees Zane. "Zane? What are you doing here?"

"Cole told me to look out for you guys," Zane replies. "Why aren't you with Kai or Lloyd?"

Jay folds his arms and makes a hmph sound. "You tell me. I'm not going anywhere with that immature brat."

"Don't blame him," Zane tells him. "He still thinks he's a child. He is bound to figure out that he is grown up any time soon."

"Maybe if you don't baby him so much, he'll figure it out much sooner," Jay spits out. "Say whatever you want about him. I'm going back to the dojo. Join them if you want—be my guest!"

At these words, Jay walks away, neither satisfied nor regretful for lashing out at Zane. Zane did not deserve to get yelled at, but now Jay has told Zane how he feels.

It is a long and quiet walk back to the dojo, and for once Jay finds solace in the silence.

0-0-0-0-0

"I think we better get back to the dojo."

Lloyd looks at Kai, obviously confused. "Go back? Why?"

Kai sighs. As much as he hates to admit it, Jay is right. Lloyd is being immature and unreasonable, and he should know what it is like to be grown up.

"Listen," Kai says. "I'm not saying this to be against you, but Jay's right. You have to learn to grow up."

Lloyd groans. "You already know that I was literally a kid yesterday. I still need to adjust to this new age. Is it my fault I still don't know how to behave?"

"Yes," Kai replies. "It is. You're being immature and unreasonable, but you don't have to be. Not even kids are like that all the time, so why not you?"

Lloyd crosses his arms and pouts. "I'm not immature."

"You're being immature right now," Kai points out. "Listen, Lloyd: it's possible to be grown up and have fun without being childish and immature."

"It is?" Lloyd asks as his arms fall by his sides.

Kai nods. "Yes, it is. Take Jay, for example. He may be a bit childish, but he knows his responsibilities. He likes to have fun, but he doesn't have too much fun."

Lloyd nods. "I see."

"And you, like the rest of us ninja, have responsibilities as well," Kai tells him. "Starting tomorrow you have to train for the final battle, but it's okay to have a little fun while you're training. Not too much fun, though."

"You're right," Lloyd finally admits. "I guess I'm accountable for my own actions, huh?"

Kai nods with a smile. "Now you're starting to sound like an adult!"

Lloyd laughs as Kai put a shoulder behind his neck. "Can we go home now? It's getting late and I'm starving."

0-0-0-0-0

"And I just want you to know that I'm sorry."

Jay looks at Lloyd and smiles. "Apology accepted, kiddo. Are you sure you're ready to take the responsibilities of being an adult?"

"Yeah," Lloyd replies a bit eagerly. "Teach me how to adult!"

Jay, Kai, and Zane laugh in unison as they watch Lloyd's eagerness to be an adult.