Cole was amazed at how incompetent his friends seemed to be. He gave them the address to his grandparents' mansion, he told them they would have to turn onto a dirt road, he gave them a map to said dirt road, he told them the online maps weren't accurate, yet even Zane couldn't seem to find the place. He knew his grandparents wanted to live in a hard-to-find place, but this was ridicules. He would meet them in the nearby town and have them follow him back, but he wasn't allowed to drive, his grandfather couldn't see well enough to drive, and his grandmother hated driving. He finally had a chance to see them when he learned his aunt insisted on taking her parents- and by extension him- to a new exhibit at the modern art museum in Bosniak, the town closest to where his grandparents lived.

Cole was not comfortable with his aunt Misty driving them to the museum. He already didn't want to go, even if he did get to see his friends, but now he had to hope he would make it to the museum alive. Even if he wasn't already nauseous, he doubted he could make it that far without getting sick in her car.

"Mystic Helaine! Slow down! I'm not paying for another speeding ticket!" Giovanni yelled from the backseat.

"Relax, Dad. I haven't gotten a ticket since I was, like, forty-five. And I can pay for my own tickets. After all, I am a fashion icon," Misty said. She swerved into the other lane to avoid hitting a squirrel before her parents could say anything and violently swerved back into her lane just before they hit another car.

"Grandpa, can I have money so I can take a taxi home?" Cole asked after they had parked and Misty was out of earshot.

"We'll see." Giovanni shuffled ahead to catch up to his wife and daughter.

To add insult to injury, Cole's phone buzzed just then, and Cole opened it to a text saying the ninja were called away for important ninja business in Jamanakai Village and wouldn't be able to make it. He sighed as he followed his family through the museum. He didn't even try to act interested.

Most of the sculptures were abstract pieces made of unusual materials, such as the pillar of fan blades. He didn't get it. As he walked through the museum, he swore artists were getting lazier. The paintings were even worse. There was actually a painting of a black sheet of paper hanging on the wall of the museum.

"Oh, come on. I could do that!" Cole complained.

"You don't understand, Cody," Misty started.

"Not my name."

"This is when Raphael DeLeando was depressed, and he saw the world as a swirling black vortex waiting to consume him. In a desperate cry for help, he grabbed a brush and poured his heart and soul into this very painting."

"… It's a piece of black paper."

"You have to let it speak to you, Cody."

"Not my name."

"You need to appreciate what you see in front of you. Now, what does this painting tell you?" Misty led Cole over to another painting. There was gold paint splattered on black and white patches. Cole stared at it and sighed when he realized his aunt was expecting an answer.

"It says someone dumped glitter on a cow."

Giovanni burst out laughing and Helaine rubbed her forehead in an attempt not to laugh.

"Hmph. You people just don't know how to appreciate fine art." Misty stormed away.

"Whatever. I'm going to go look for the cafeteria," Cole said. Truthfully, he only wanted water, but he didn't know if he could stand another art lesson and needed to get away. Giovanni gave him some money and Cole walked away.

The art museum was four stories tall, and Cole didn't know which floor the cafeteria was on. He guessed the first floor, but when he got down there, he found a map which said it was actually on the fourth floor. He groaned and went over to the elevator to wait with the crowd.

"Cole?"

Cole turned, expecting to see a fan who recognized him, but instead, he saw the girl from the hospital.

"Hi. I don't know if you remember me or not."

"No, yeah… uh…" He was mentally kicking himself for not remembering her name.

"Nikki."

"Right. Hi. How have you been?"

"Good. How about you?"

"Good," Cole replied.

"Are, uh… Are the other ninja here?"

"No. No, I'm here with my grandparents. The doctors don't want me chasing after bad guys quite yet."

"… Have you seen the new glass exhibit yet?" Nikki asked awkwardly.

"Yeah. We already saw it."

"Oh. Is it good?"

"It is. I thought the Neon Tumbleweed was cool. And there's this chandelier thing that, in my opinion, looks a bit like an alien head."

"I'll have to keep an eye out for that."

The elevator arrived and the pair rode it up to the fourth floor. They followed the crowd to the cafeteria. They each grabbed a tray, even though Cole didn't think he would eat anything, and slowly went through the line. When Cole passed a display of fries, he decided they looked good and grabbed them. He couldn't remember the last time he had actually wanted to eat something instead of being forced to eat. The cashier gave him a weird look when he paid for his fries and bottle of water, but he didn't care. He found an empty table in the corner and made a beeline for it.

"Mind if I sit with you for a moment? My parents were headed up, but I don't think they've made it yet," Nikki asked.

"Go ahead."

"So what do you think of the rest of the museum?" Nikki asked as she took a bite of food.

"Eh. I think I would like it better if my aunt wasn't all 'the paintings are speaking to you, you just need to listen to them.'"

"What?"

"Her words, not mine."

"Wow. I have a friend who works in the gift shop downstairs, and she could tell you stories about the artsy people who come through here acting all holier than thou. She says the art appreciation majors are some of the worse," Nikki explained.

"I can see that," Cole chuckled.

The two continued to talk while they ate until Cole's phone buzzed. He frowned as he read the text.

"Do the other ninja need you?" Nikki asked.

"No. They're in Jamanakai Village. My grandfather says I've been gone forty-five minutes and I need to get back."

"Forty-five minutes? That can't be right." Nikki took her own phone out and looked at the time. She then turned around and saw her parents sitting at a nearby table.

"Uh, I don't know if I'll see again or not," Cole said as he gathered his trash.

"Do you live in Bosniak?"

"Sort of? My grandparents' house is about half an hour outside of town. But I'm not allowed to drive right now because of the medicine I'm on."

"Well, maybe I'll see you the next time you come to town. Or, you could text me if you're coming into town?"

"I would need your number for that," Cole said as he gave Nikki his phone. When she gave it back to him, he quickly sent her a text with his name to make sure it went through.

"Okay then. I guess I'll see you around." Nikki grabbed her tray and went to her parents' table.

Cole threw his trash away and went off to look for his family. As he did, he smiled at the thought of texting Nikki.