Chapter 17

Cole would usually take summers to head off to the monastery to keep his earth powers under control, but the summer job he's taking at the Ninjago City Playhouse is now a part of his internship, which meant that if he didn't take it and worked at least part-time, he would be at risk of losing his scholarship. He got into contact with Sensei Wu to explain the dilemma.

"I understand keeping my earth powers in check is important, Sensei Wu," Cole told his instructor over the phone, "But this part-time position is important as well."

"I understand, Cole, and thank you for notifying me about this," Wu said, "I have thought of an alternative for this situation. My brother owns a dojo in West Ninjago Village, a small town outside the city limits. You can train with him over there whenever your not working."

"Thanks a bunch, Sensei. I really appreciate it."

On the days Cole had off, he would see Garmadon at his dojo. The first time meeting his teacher's eldest brother really expressed a big difference. Garmadon is different than Wu in some ways, being stricter with Cole. But there were some ways where Garmadon treated him like a son, remembering the man had a son. He knew who Lloyd was since he's come to visit Wu at the monastery before a few times and because he helped Lloyd over the mountain in order to get him to Hiroshi's Labyrinth. Garmadon was not only Lloyd's father, but his teacher as well. If he can train his own son, he can train Cole.

Besides training, Cole also enjoyed his internship. The pay remained the same hourly just like his internship with Professor Linger, but he didn't expect anything different. What he didn't like is Megan attempting to get so close to him. He had no idea what was up and still wasn't sure why she wore beanie hats all the time. It was summer, too hot for anyone to be wearing something over their head that would cause them to sweat a bunch. And there were days it can get hot inside the auditorium.

At first he thought it was her style, but noticed she was sweating so much atop her forehead and cheeks, but was always so protective to wear the beanie every moment of the day.

Marking two weeks from the start of Cole's internship, he was taking a box of equipment up to the catwalk and bumped into Megan on the way there. She had been trying to fix the beanie on her head, but it fell to the floor after her attempts to put it back on.

That's when Cole noticed a purple highlight in her hair, one he knew so well.

"I had a feeling there was something about you I knew," Cole said, "Why didn't you tell me it was you, Carol?"

"What are you talking about?" Megan asked.

"Don't play dumb with me. There's only one girl I know who sports a purple highlight in her hair."

"She's not the only one."

"Then who are you."

Megan sighed. "Look, my name is Megan, but there is something you should know. Come with me. I know a better place we can talk."

They situated themselves inside the costume room. Thankfully it wasn't in use right now since there weren't any dress rehearsals going on, making it the perfect place to hold a private conversation.

"Okay, spill," Cole said, "If your not Carol, where did you come from? And why do you have the same purple highlight she does?"

Megan cleared her throat. "Okay, look. You didn't necessarily need the internship here to keep your scholarship. I just set it up that way for the summer because it was the only way to get closer to you."

"I've told you a dozen times before that I have a girlfriend, but you refuse to listen," Cole said.

"I know you do. Carol talks about you all the time."

Now this surprised Cole. "You know Carol?"

"Just listen, okay? I wasn't getting close to you in hopes you'll go out with me. You're not exactly my type."

"Well, thanks for the honesty." Cole crossed his arms across his chest. "Keep going."

"I was getting close to you to make sure you can be trusted. My family is in need of your help."

"Your family? But I don't know you that well. And how do you know Carol?"

"Carol and I are cousins. My mom and her father are siblings. I lost my mom a few years ago and I never knew my father. Carol's father took me in once he moved back to the old farm in Spaintown."

"That can't be right. Carol told me her dad died when she was twelve and she inherited her purple highlight from her mom's side of the family."

"Carol was told to lie if others asked her about her family. Besides, she didn't want you to know she's a Witch of Light. Or at least her mother didn't want anyone to know. She inherited her powers from her father, my uncle. Her mom has no type of magic whatsoever. She knew about the powers he possessed, but she wanted nothing to do with it. It's the reason she wanted Carol to become successful in a different area of study. She didn't want her to have anything to do with her father's magic."

"So why do you need my help?" Cole asked.

"Well, you've continued to stay in touch with Carol," Megan said, "We still have the letters you've sent to her and I suppose you're concerned with why she hasn't wrote you back. There's a reason for that. You see, Carol's…been missing for almost a year now."

"What about all the emails I sent her? Usually she'll respond to them."

"That's personal information nobody ever goes through."

"But what happened to her? Where did she go?"

"Nobody knows. Well, I'm sure my uncle knows due to all the meditation he does, but none of the rest of us do. A few months before, Carol started acting strange. Then one day she slung a bag over her shoulder and mysteriously left. Nobody knows why and she never said a word."

Cole shook himself from shock. "I can't believe this."

"We found the letters you wrote her, one of them mentioning that you're an elemental master. Her father told me to go out and find you, make sure you can be trusted enough to help us find Carol. My family is begging for you to help us, Cole. If you truly love Carol as much as you say you do, even though you've never said it aloud, we want you to help us bring her home."

Cole stood up, heading for the door. "I won't rest until she's found. I care about Carol as much as the next person and I'm not gonna let anything happen to her. In fact, I'm leaving today. I'll risk losing my scholarship, but Carol is more important than that."

"I'll take care of everything here. Don't worry about the internship. We can fix that up for you to do it again next summer. Your only concern is to go out and find Carol."

And that's exactly what Cole's gonna do.

AND HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER. SORRY THEY'RE SO SHORT. I'VE BEGUN CATCHING A CASE OF WRITER'S BLOCK. YOU KNOW HOW IT IS.

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