Interlude: Nightmare Class (Lloyd's POV)
AN: Sorry this was late! I got busy!
Lloyd slipped into the middle of the class, not blaringly obvious in the front and not a delinquent in the back, where no one would notice him. The second year put his head down and waited for the nightmare to end.
Right on time, the door slammed open and the professor whirled into the room, with his black robes billowing behind him. Everything was a show when it came to Garmadon. Lloyd lifted his head, but only to fit in with the rest. He had no interest in his father's class.
"Today you will learn the Disarming Charm. Just point your wand, shout Expelliarmus, and you're good to go," he said as quickly as possible. "Now, I need a volunteer."
The professor's red eyes sparked with anticipation. Uh oh. That wasn't good. Lloyd ducked his head and tried to look as ordinary as possible. If he waited long enough, someone else would volunteer and everything would be fine. But everyone in the class seemed to be as hesitant as Lloyd was.
Garmadon scanned the dark room. Their lack of enthusiasm wasn't going to stop the former warlord. Lloyd avoided his father's gaze, but he could still feel his eyes piercing through him, ignoring his desire to stay hidden.
"L-loyd. Come up here."
Heat flushed the second year's face. Someone sniggered.
"My name's Lloyd," he corrected his father, who shook his head.
The warlord turned to the chalkboard that was in every classroom, except for Wu's, and started writing in a way that grated on Lloyd's nerves. The professor stepped back so the whole class could see the large letters written on the board. Whispers broke out across the room, and Lloyd slumped in seat.
"L-L-O-Y-D. I named you," Garmadon said, pointing to each letter in turn. He underlined the second L to prove his case. Some people were covering their laughter, afraid of offending the teacher.
"Now come up here," Garmadon commanded.
The last thing he wanted to do was get up in front of the entire class, but it didn't seem like Lloyd had much of a choice. The second year glanced at the clock. There was too much time left to stall, so that didn't leave him with many options.
"I'm not going to ask you again, L-loyd. Get up here right now."
Lloyd ducked his head; startled out of his thoughts. Garmadon was still waiting. "One."
People stopped hiding their laughter.
"Two."
Lloyd stood up. Anything was better than this torture. He forced himself to look straight ahead, to ignore his peers, who were probably still laughing at him behind his back.
Lloyd stood across from his father, and didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing his humiliation. Instead, he kept a firm glare fixed on his face.
"That wasn't so bad was it?" Garmadon asked.
"Just get on with it," Lloyd said through gritted teeth.
The warlord raised his eyebrows at his son's attitude, but said nothing. "Go back a bit… a little further—okay, okay, that's good."
Lloyd stopped a few feet before the shaded window. His father walked back a few paces too, and then drew his wand. Lloyd did the same.
"Now, I'm going to throw a curse at you, but you're going to block it with Exelliarmus. Ready?"
No, Lloyd was the exact opposite of ready. He was about to cast a spell he had never heard of before today, with no practice or experience, not even a demonstration to go on, and he was supposed to block a curse while doing it for the first time.
"Flipendo!" Garmadon shouted.
Lloyd stumbled back. "Expeliarmus!" He stuttered quickly. His wand sparked, but it wasn't enough to counter his father's spell. Lloyd gasped as the air was knocked out of him. A loud crack filled the air as the boy's back collided with the wall. Lloyd slumped, not so much from the pain, but at his utter failure.
Lloyd looked down at the ground. The knockback jinx was something he had learned last year. It should have been easy to block, but he couldn't. Lloyd imagined his father's disappointed gaze, his demonstration ruined because of his son.
After a moment, the second year pulled himself to his feet and stumbled back to his seat, head down. The professor didn't try to stop him.
When the bell rang, Lloyd couldn't get out of the room fast enough.
AN: Hope you all are enjoying! I'm going to post the next chapter right away, since this one was short! Merry Christmas!