(One Month Later)
Jay's stammer had completely disappeared, and he was spending a couple days each week in electronics. Kai was actually spending time with Lloyd now, per Cole telling him to, and staying with them. And the other thing was that Grace had chosen who would replace her in two years. She had chosen a sixteen year old boy named Ryan, he wasn't head of his cabin because there was a seventeen year old in his cabin. But Grace trusted him.
"What do you need to do to be chosen as the next leader?" Lloyd asked.
"Well, you need to be loyal, helpful, and above all, trusted, not only by the village, but by the current leader." Cole explained. "For the whole time that someone's the leader-in-training and even a year or two after they become the leader, they think about who they're going to choose. The whole thing is years in the making. Weren't you listening last week?"
"Uh, not really." Lloyd said.
"Well, if you plan on being the leader, you need to get on Ryan's good side. He's not the most social person in town." Kai said, ruffling Lloyd's hair. The younger boy groaned and pushed Kai's hand away.
"How long does everyone have left here?" Jay asked. Suddenly, the lighthearted mood disappeared, and everyone fell silent.
"Well, none of us are really sure." Nya said. "I mean, it depends on how well you do at your job. If you become the leader of whatever you're assigned, then you have an extra three years. But you could get kicked out."
"What happens when you leave?" Jay asked.
"They wipe this place from your mind." Cole said. "They don't wipe your friends, just this place."
"When do you have to leave?"
"For most people, it's eighteen, but a few, like Grace and the leaders of the jobs leave at twenty one." Kai said, adding to what Jay and Lloyd now knew about the place they were living in.
"But how long to we each have?" Jay asked again.
"I have five, maybe eight years left." Cole said.
"Eight or eleven." Nya said.
"Six, definitely not nine." Kai said.
"Well, then I have eleven or fourteen years." Lloyd said.
"Seven to ten." Jay muttered. "I don't want to leave, I'll probably never see any of you guys again."
"Now, that's not true." Cole said, placing his hand on Jay's shoulder. "You know what? Let's make a deal right now." Cole stood up.
"What kinda deal?" Kai asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.
"One that we'll always remember, because we won't mention this place."
"What place?" Jay asked.
"Exactly! On this day fifteen years from today, we'll meet up at the bakery in the village, or the building that it's in, and not split up from then on." Cole said, pacing back and forth. "Agreed?" Everyone agreed to that plan, and Cole grinned.
"But, how are we all gonna remember this?" Lloyd asked.
"We could repeat it to ourselves every day." Jay said. "Or, use these." Jay said, pulling a package of Sharpies out of his pocket. "Write the date that we'd be meeting on on your arm, and write over it daily so it doesn't fade away."
"That's... actually a really good idea." Kai said. "When did you become smart?" Jay narrowed his eyes, and Lloyd hit Kai on the back of the head.
"Very funny, fire-boy." Jay said with a dry laugh.
"Fire-boy?" Nya asked. "Where'd that one come from?"
"Probably his temper." Cole said, leaning forward and ripping the package of markers open, taking the black one. Lloyd took the green one, Kai red, and both Jay and Nya reached for the blue one.
"O-Oh, you can have it." Jay said. His cheeks were red, and he looked down, handing the marker to Nya.
"Are you sure, Jay?" Nya asked.
"Y-Yeah." Jay said, grabbing the yellow Sharpie instead. "I'm sure." Cole and Lloyd snickered, while Kai narrowed his eyes at Jay and Nya.
"Well, thank you." Nya said, placing her hand on top of Jay's.
"You're welcome."
"Jay, you alright?" Cole asked. "Your stammers back."
"I'm fine!" Jay protested. Cole laughed, everyone else laughing.
"Oh, lighten up." Kai said, placing his hand on Jay's shoulder. "We're just joking with you."
"I know..." Jay muttered. And as everyone was laughing, they wrote the dates on their wrists.
So, this chapter is kinda sweet, and we actually got some Jaya fluff. Yay! CameronNinjaDragons, signing off.
