Wednesday
The next morning, Lloyd got up at 5:45 so that he could train before school. At 7:45 he would leave for school, as it took him forty-five minutes to get there. School started at 8:30. It was a tight schedule. He hoped that he wouldn't be late. But, if he hurried, he would be fine.
At lunch, he again sat with his friends.
"Hey Lloyd, we're heading over to Cole's again today. Wanna come?" Jay asked, looking at him hopefully.
Lloyd paused, then nodded eagerly. He was excited to experience more human things, as they all seemed so interesting and exciting.
"Great!" Jay grinned, looking very pleased. "We're gonna play video games. Actual video games!"
Lloyd lit up excitedly. If it was anything like the "game boy" thing, than Lloyd was sure that it would be fun.
Lloyd took out his lunch and began to eat. Cole, who was sitting in front of him, was devouring his.
"Lloyd, want some french fries?" Kai asked, holding out a handful of stick like things.
Lloyd looked at it, then nodded hesitantly. He knew that accepting food from people was a bad idea, but these were his friends, right? And besides, they didn't know that he was a half breed anyway, and so they wouldn't try to poison him. They wouldn't poison each other (he hoped, anyway), and so they wouldn't poison him, either. Lloyd took the french fries, looking at them curiously, and then tried one. They were very salty, but they were delicious. "Thanks," Lloyd mumbled, gobbling them up like Cole was.
"I'm guessing you've never had french fries before, either?" Kai asked, but it sounded more like a statement.
Lloyd nodded in confirmation.
"Huh." A pause. "So, is there anything you have had before?"
"Uh," Lloyd blinked, not really sure what he meant. "I've had strawberries before. And blueberries. And apples. And—"
"Okay, okay, I don't need a whole list!" Kai yelped. "That was sarcasm! I didn't actually mean for you to tell me…"
"Oh."
Zane, who was sitting next to him, patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. "It's alright. I do not understand sarcasm either."
Lloyd smiled at him appreciatively. "Thanks, Zane."
"You're welcome," Zane replied.
Now that Lloyd really looked at him, he suddenly realized that Zane's eyes had this weird… glow to them. Huh, Lloyd thought. He mentally shrugged, going back to his food. Maybe some humans' eyes just… glowed. Not that Lloyd would know.
After school, Lloyd followed his friends to Cole's house. He looked around curiously, seeing as they were no longer surrounded by large buildings but were now walking along a sidewalk, with small houses on either side. There was one road, and on the other side was another sidewalk. The yards were very small, and the grass was more brown than green. None of the houses had driveways, just small paths leading to the doors.
Cole then turned onto a small concrete path, and Lloyd saw that it led to a tan colored home. The yard, like the other homes, was very small. Lloyd didn't really like the brownish grass. He was used to the lush green grass of the Outcast, where he lived.
Cole walked up to the door, the others following him enthusiastically. Lloyd followed more slowly, suddenly nervous. He knew that following them into a house, where there were very few escape routes, was a bad idea. Kai and Nya's home was even smaller than this one, but their place at least had a large opening at the front with no door, and so it was easy to escape from if need be. Of course, there was a door leading to upstairs, and up there the space was pretty closed off, but Lloyd had felt much more comfortable there. He didn't know why, but he felt apprehensive about this place.
Cole opened the door, everyone filing in after him. Lloyd followed more slowly. Inside was an entryway, and beyond the entryway was a dining room and kitchen. To one side of the kitchen was a staircase. To Lloyd's left was the living room. He saw a flat, black, rectangular…thing sitting on a stand. Suddenly, he recalled the same…thing, that he had seen at the store all those years ago. It had shown a video, and he had seen his father on it and Uncle Wu.
Lloyd stood rooted to the spot, lost in memory.
Cole noticed Lloyd's strange behavior. He looked at him in confusion, seeing his faraway expression, and then followed his gaze to the TV. He nudged him a bit with his elbow, but got no response.
The others were in the kitchen now, probably looking for food. However, Zane was also staring at Lloyd now.
"Lloyd?" Cole called, nudging him again. With still no response, Cole was getting a little worried.
Zane walked over, studying Lloyd. "He looks tense."
Suddenly, Jay and Kai came over, Jay loudly talking about video games, while Kai boasted that he would win. Lloyd seemed to hear them, as he suddenly blinked rapidly and looked around, as if he had forgotten where he was.
"Lloyd?" Cole said.
Lloyd looked at Cole. "What?"
"Are you okay?"
Lloyd shook his head, trying to clear it, and then answered, "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Okay, then." Cole gave him one more worried glance, and then headed for the fridge.
Lloyd watched him go, and then turned back to the TV. Jay grabbed a rectangular thing that was about… maybe six inches long, and pressed one of the buttons. The TV suddenly came to life. On it was a plain blue screen, and at one corner it said no signal.
Jay huffed, walking over to the TV, and switched around a few wires. The TV screen then suddenly showed something else, that Lloyd assumed was this "game".
"Okay, Lloyd," Jay said, sitting down on the couch. "Since this is your first time playing a video game, you get a spot on the couch!" Jay looked at Kai and Nya, who were sitting next to him. "Kai…"
Kai glared at Jay in annoyance, but stood up, gesturing to his former spot for Lloyd to sit down. Lloyd hesitantly sat down, not sure what to do. Jay handed him a thing that he called a 'game controller'. Lloyd looked it over in interest. Cole, Zane, and Kai sat on the floor in front of them. Soon, they were all playing a game that Jay said was called Prime Empire.
At first, Lloyd had no idea what was going on, and Jay had to help him a lot. Soon, he had started to get the hang of it. He was still a little wary of the TV, but he was gradually getting used to it.
Kai gave Lloyd something that he called "chips". Lloyd took it cautiously, but was soon devouring it.
Suddenly the door opened, and a voice said, "Cooole! I'm hooome!"
Lloyd jumped, looking behind him, and saw a man with black hair, bushy eyebrows like Cole, and a mustache. He held a cane.
Cole groaned, almost inaudibly. He stood up, putting aside his game controller onto the floor. "Hey, dad!" Cole greeted with fake cheerfulness.
"Hello, son! I see you have friends over!" Cole's dad looked at them all, eyes falling on Lloyd. "Cole, did you make a new friend?"
"Ugh," Cole groaned. "Um, yeah." Cole gestured to Lloyd. "Dad, this is Lloyd. Lloyd, this is my father, Lou Brookstone."
"Nice to meet you!" Lou said, coming over to shake his hand.
"H-hi," Lloyd stuttered. He had not expected to meet someone new, and now he was feeling very nervous.
"Well, I have to go. Gotta practice and all!" Lou turned, vanishing up the stairs.
"Great…" Cole muttered. Cole went back to his spot on the floor, picking up his game controller.
Jay unpaused the game, as he had paused it when Lou had come in.
They soon heard singing coming from upstairs.
Cole groaned again.
Lloyd was now very confused. He looked down at Cole. "What is he doing?"
"Ugh. He's singing. Again." Cole did not look happy about it.
"Oh." Lloyd had never heard about "singing" before. "Why?"
"Because he's a weirdo!" Cole grumbled.
"Oh." Lloyd glanced at the stairs where Lou had disappeared, still confused. He mentally shrugged, and then returned his focus back to the game.
An hour later, Lloyd looked at the clock that was hanging behind them in the entryway. He had learned to read clocks from his mom, when she had been homeschooling him. They had never actually had a real clock in the Outcast, and so Misako had just drawn what it looked like. The clock read 5:23. Lloyd realized that he had to go. He sighed quietly in disappointment.
When he arrived home, he started training with Wu. Garmadon sat off to the side, on the steps leading up to the porch that led into the monastery, watching with Misako. Misako usually stood off to the side, watching, but sometimes she joined in too.
Wu and Garmadon always trained with him, teaching him new things and correcting him. However, since Garmadon had sprained his ankle, he had had to stay out of it for the past three days. Halfway through, Wu called for a halt.
"Lloyd, Misako went into Ninjago City today to get you your ninja outfit," Wu said.
Lloyd perked up in interest, turning to his mom.
Misako stood up, saying that she would be right back, and then disappeared into the monastery. When she came back out, she held a small flat box. She handed it to Lloyd, who accepted it eagerly. Lloyd opened it, revealing a green gi. He looked up at them. "Can I try it on?"
Misako nodded, smiling in amusement.
Lloyd grinned, then rushed into the monastery. He came back out with it on, the hood pulled up. "How do I look?"
"Like a ninja," Garmadon replied, who was sitting on the steps next to him.
"Um, yeah, that's kinda what I was going for…"
"You look great, Lloyd," Misako said, kicking Garmadon. Not too hard though, since he still had a sprained ankle.
"Ow!" Garmadon complained.
"So when can I defend the city?" Lloyd asked eagerly.
Misako looked at Wu. "What do you think? Is he ready?"
Wu paused, looking at Lloyd. Lloyd looked at him hopefully. Finally, Wu nodded. "Yes, I believe he is."
"Yes!" Lloyd cheered, jumping in excitement.
"Lloyd, I must warn you, though," Wu continued, gazing at him sternly.
Lloyd looked at him attentively.
"You will be alone while fighting oni and hybrids. It will be very dangerous, and there is the possibility of getting injured."
"I know, but it's not like it's any different than the Outcast."
"Yes, but you were never alone there," Garmadon said. "You have always had backup from us. When you're in the city, we won't be there to help you."
Lloyd nodded. "I know. I'll be fine."
"Don't take any unnecessary risks," Misako warned. "And please, be careful."
"I will," Lloyd assured her.
"You will have to pack your ninja outfit in your backpack," Wu told him. "If there is an oni attack during school, you will have it with you when you need it."
"And make sure no one finds out who the Green Ninja is," Garmadon said. "It's already bad enough that you go to school. We don't need anyone taking notice of you, and then start asking questions."
Lloyd nodded in understanding.
