Chapter 37- The Great Schoolyard Battle

"Where are they!?"

Lloyd rubbed his eyes, Gene's loud voice snapping him awake. The young boy then sat up, trying to take in his surroundings. Gene was standing on his bed, his face red with anger. For a second, Lloyd did nothing but stare. Then he remembered. A small smirk appeared on his lips. So Gene had found the cupcakes. Or rather, he hadn't.

"It was you!" Gene jumped down from his bed, marching up to Lloyd and grabbing him by the neckline of his sweater. Lloyd kept his balance, barely stopping himself from falling off the bed. "You stole my cupcakes!"

"Me?" Lloyd chuckled, pushing Gene away. "What makes you say that?"

"You're smiling!" Gene whined, stomping his feet. "You give them back to me right now! They're mine!"

Right on cue, a small burp burst from Lloyd's lips. It couldn't have been more perfect. The young boy patted his stomach, a content smile on his face. "Ah. . . That's going to be difficult, seeing as to how I ate them."

Gene's face grew red. Very, very red. His fists began to shake at his sides, while he stared at Lloyd with absolute fury. "I'll tell on you!"

"Oh, yeah, because they're going to punish me for stealing," the green eyed boy scoffed. It felt good to have the upper hand. "It's not like this is a school for bad boys or anything. Oh, wait, it is."

"Fine!" Gene growled. "You get this. But don't think I won't get my revenge."

"And then I'll get my revenge," Lloyd replied. Everyone in the room had their eyes glued on the two young boys, watching everything unfold with wide curious eyes. "No matter what you do, Gene, I'll come out on top. I'm Lloyd Garmadon."

Gene stepped back, the overflowing confidence pulsing within Lloyd's eyes startling him. "N-no you're. . . you're just the little boy trying to be a hero. You can't defeat a real villain."

"Want to bet then?" The words were out before Lloyd could stop himself. He wanted to defeat Gene. Maybe, maybe if he were bad enough. . . maybe his dad would come for him. And then Lloyd would be home. "Meet me at the schoolyard this afternoon. Dodgeball battle. Me and you."

Turning on his heels, cape flowing behind him, Lloyd stepped out of the room. Once out in the hallway, he leaned against the opposite wall, trying to focus. He'd never played dodgeball. He'd seen the older kids do it. . . and seen the damage the measly orange shaded ball could do. It had seemed like an appropriate thing to say.

"Well. . . Now you've got a lot to prove." Lloyd muttered to himself, heading towards Darkley's gym. Class could wait. They weren't teaching anything Lloyd wanted to learn anyway. Preparing himself for the afternoon to come was far more important than anything else.

As expected, the gym was empty. It was rarely used, reserved mostly for the older classmen, those who were nearly ready to head out into the world and attempt to wreak havoc. It wasn't hard to find the dodgeballs. A whole basket of them sat in the corner, patiently awaiting Lloyd's eager hands.

As he reached for the first, Lloyd grunted with effort. The ball was far heavier than he imagined. He picked it up slowly, allowing his arms to get used to the weight. After a couple of seconds of bouncing it back and forth between his palms, Lloyd decided to attempt his first throw.

It fell pathetically, landing no more than a couple of feet before him.

Sighing, Lloyd reached for the ball again.

It took a couple of hours, but by the time the last bell of class rang, Lloyd felt confident that he'd be able to defeat Gene. Now that he thought about, pushing himself had probably been a waste of time, as Gene had most likely never attempted to pick up a dodgeball.

By the time Lloyd managed to push the cart of dodgeballs out into the school yard, a crowd had gathered. He hadn't thought so many people would hear about the battle between him and Gene. He hadn't even imagined the teachers themselves might be watching from the sidelines. But there they were, from the pale principal to Mr. Zhmudsky.

A wild whirlwind of nerves grew within Lloyd's stomach. Trying to ignore everyone's burning stares, Lloyd walked into the middle of everything, awaiting his opponent. He didn't have to wait too long.

Opting to show his confident side, Lloyd spoke with more bravado than he felt. "Gene! Didn't think you'd show."

Gene opened his mouth to speak, but no more than a mere whimper emerged from his lips. "I . . . Of course I'd show. I have. . . I. . . Here I am."

Lloyd felt himself relax slightly. Seeing Gene afraid was extremely satisfying. Lloyd picked up one of the balls, satisfied with Gene's amazed expression as he twirled it on his finger with ease. He couldn't wait to give the ginger haired boy what he deserved. "I see that. Now, let's play!"

Without waiting for Gene to react, Lloyd swung his arm forward, throwing the ball straight into Gene's unprotected stomach. The young Garmadon chuckled to himself, reaching for another of the balls. Swung again. This time, Gene's leg was hit. "You're supposed to dodge, Gene!"

Pushing his glasses back into place, Gene picked up one of the balls. His throw was weak, and the ball didn't make it very far at all. Lloyd couldn't help it. He laughed. Loudly.

"No, Lloyd," Gene said slowly, reaching for the second ball, each of his steps painfully slow. "You're supposed to dodge."

Lloyd's eyebrows melted into a frown, seeing Gene's smile creep up upon the evil boy's face. The sick feeling returned to his stomach, accompanied by a heavy feeling of dread. Three older classmen stepped out of the circle of people, coming to stand beside Gene. Instinctively Lloyd stepped back.

"That's cheating! I said me and you!" Lloyd hissed, looking from one boy to the next. They were big, muscled, menacing.

"Oh yes," Gene snickered. "Cheating. It's not like this is a school for bad boy's is it, Lloyd?"

Lloyd didn't have time to shield himself. The dodgeballs began to rain down upon the small boy, faster than he would have thought possible. He clutched his head in his hands, trying to keep as much damage away from his face as he could. Arms, legs, stomach. . . Everything received at least one bruise worthy blow. Lloyd curled up, knowing there was nothing he could do but wait for it to be over.

Eventually, the pain ended, followed by waves and waves of shrill laughter. Lloyd stayed where he was, feeling more ashamed than anything. He'd practiced. He'd been confident. But in the end, it all ended up amounting to nothing.

"Lloyd?"

It was Brad's voice. Great. The last thing he needed was his previous friend to laugh at his failure. He didn't move.

"You might want to go to the nurse. . . Need some help?"

Cautiously, Lloyd looked up. Brad stood above him, holding one of his small hands towards Lloyd. Reluctantly, the green eyed boy reached up, allowing himself to be pulled up to a standing position. His legs wobbled beneath his weight, but Brad held him up, a slightly amused smile on his face.

"They kinda kicked your butt, didn't they?" Brad laughed softly.

"Yeah. . ." Lloyd wanted to smile. But he didn't. Brad was still the enemy.

"You still got to kick Gene's butt. If he hadn't cheated, you would have totally defeated him!"

"You think so?" This time, the young boy couldn't help it. A small smile crept up on his lips.

"Uh, yeah! You were great!"

As Brad helped Lloyd into the building, the young Garmadon couldn't stop smiling. Maybe getting his butt kicked hadn't been all for nothing.