Hi y'all! For those of you who have favorites and followed this story, thank you! I'm glad you liked "Golden Years"!
So, this is a Jay POV. My first one, actually. So let me know how I did because...well, I'm not sure if I got his character right. It's also one of the shorter ones soooo...yeah. But whatever. Hope you enjoy it!
"That's it, you little cheater!" I cry, knocking over my king's piece.
Lloyd smugly smiles as he reaches across the board to grab the piece and began to have his king chase my king around. "Run for your life, little king! I'll always get you!" he sings, turning it into some kind of chant.
I knock my queen over, leaning onto my elbows as he gets up and takes the chase across the living room. I know the kid was raised at Darkley's but…seriously? They not teach chess sportsmanship there? It's not like being a bad sport after a chess game is evil or anything, just rude. Lloyd starts galloping, making clopping noises with his mouth, before stopping abruptly, right in front of the small coffee table we were using for the chess board.
"I'm not a cheater," he says, apparently realizing what I had said just now. "You're the one who made me play a game I didn't know."
I snort. He's lying. The kid knew how to play it. There's no way he could've beat me if that was his first game! I may not be able to beat Zane, but I'm not that bad….maybe, hopefully. Eh, who cares? The kid beat me. Must have been luck. There's no way he could beat me again. Not if he's really a newbie, like he claims.
"Alright, alright. I admit it, it wasn't fair of me to ask that," I say, anything to appeal to him, "How about a different game?"
"Do I get to pick? Since you picked the last one?"
I sigh, forcing myself not to roll my eyes. Anything to get a rematch, I guess. So, I nod, unwilling to trust my voice, traitorous thing that might burst into laughter if I give it even an inch.
Lloyd beams and rushes off, the two kings thudding to the ground right as Lloyd's black hoodie disappears around a corner. I lean over and snatch them back up, throwing all the pieces into the underside of the board and folding it in half, sealing the pieces in. I hear the rattling of plastic game pieces before Lloyd dashes into view, and barely have placed the chess board away by the time he dumps the game onto the the coffee table.
"What is it?" I ask, taking my seat back and groaning when I see what's emblazoned on the box. "Not this one…–"
"That's what I said about chest!" Lloyd replies.
"Chess," I correct, more than a little irritated.
"Yeah, that's what I said. Chest. Anyway, then you went and took all my prawn!" he continues.
"Pawns. They're called pawns," I hiss.
"Well, anyway, I'm tired of your games!" he finishes, adding a concluding nod. With that, he starts setting the game up again, falling silent.
Why am I taking this so hard? It's just a game. A hard game that took me years to get good at and then this kid who supposedly never touched a chess board in his life went and beat me on the first try. Is it just 'cause he's supposed to be lucky? Son of the most evil dude in the history of Ninjago, the Chosen One to defeat his father, the one with all our elemental powers; clearly he needs luck to survive this world with that much power, that much influence on our world.
And besides, the others would probably be disgusted how desperate I am to beat him at something. Especially Kai and Nya. Kai because he'd know how mad it would make Nya and Nya because she's a much better sibling to Lloyd than the rest of us.
Maybe I should go easier on him.
But then again…he did bring out Uno. My nemesis. Easily the worst game to exist.
After a quick game of Uno (I swear, the little runt rigged it), some memory game, and three rounds of Go Fish, I annouce the game day to be over. Lloyd smugly retrieves his prize from the competition I foolishly declared when I saw the memory game (thinking that surely Lloyd, the boy who keeps forgetting to close the door when he goes to the bathroom, wouldn't have the best chances of winning a memory game).
I watch as the last chocolate chocolate chip cookie, a rare treat I conned (OK, begged) for is devoured in front of me. Maybe poor sportsmanship really is evil, because Lloyd seems to be taking pleasure in the pain he causes as he eats the cookie. I grumble under my breath, common these days, and he ignores, equally common these days.
Lloyd finishes the cookie, wiping crumbs off his face, and looks up at me, expectant.
What now? Isn't it enough that he embarrassed me? Beat me at every game? Had the audacity to smugly eat that delicious cookie in front of me?
"Can we watch Starfarer?" he asks.
He doesn't even wait for an answer before scrambling off to find the remote. I sigh, preparing myself for a storm of bad episodes, cheesy lines, and terrible quality in special effects. When he does get the TV on and onto the channel, I sit back, trying to make myself appreciate the quiet from Lloyd this show puts him in.
But it's SO BAD. All I want to do is cringe while I watch, but since I, unfortunately, cannot tear my eyes away from screens when they're on, I'm forced to go on the ride. Lloyd, of course, falls asleep, leaning his head onto my arm, the one closest to the remote. After it's clear that he's asleep, I try to careful shift my arm so I can grab the remote and turn the TV off. I'm not dealing with this show. Not when the kid who wanted to watch it in the first place fell asleep.
After much shifting, breath-holding, and muttering words under my breath, I manage to close my fingers around the evasive thing. Aiming it so the signal travels to the TV better (because the thing is temperamental and you have to aim just right to get it to work), I press the off button. And of course, Lloyd wakes up.
"What are you doing?" he demands, pushing my arm away and snatching the remote back, like a dragon taking back some stolen treasure.
I wince as my hand hits the back of one of the dining table's chairs, a sudden burst of pain.
I really shouldn't have to deal with this.
How long until they get back? I can't deal with this any longer. Nope. I need a break. But Wu would kill me if I left his nephew alone.
Luckily, my first question is answered almost immediately, the sound of the others arguing as they pass the now open front door.
Lloyd drops the remote like a hot potato and pads up to them, halting all argument.
"Guess what?" he cries.
"What?" Cole decides to humor him, eyes flicking in my direction as he tries to guess.
"I beat Jay! In chest!"
"What's 'chest'?" Nya asks, looking in my direction.
"For the millionth time, it's chess!" I reply, not quite at a normal voice level but not quite shouting.
"You made him play chess?" Kai asks incredulously, glaring at me.
"Smart people play it." I wave my hand as if I could wave away his glare. Really, there's no doubt he's the Fire Ninja. Like, zero doubt, not even a ghost of it. All I'm doing his fanning his fire.
"But he's nine," Kai growls, taking a few steps forward, his fingers twitching.
It's never fun being the one Kai initiates his big-brotherly instincts at. And I already get those because of Nya…and adding Lloyd to it? Not fun.
I get up, trying to disguise the involuntary flinch and meet his glare.
Luckily, Lloyd jumps in and asks, "So I can't be smart? Because I'm nine?" He's more than a little hurt, those bright cherry red eyes turning to dark, menacing fire. Unsaid accusations fly from his gaze, one that makes Kai splutter and stammer to explain.
I put a hand on his shoulder, instantly regretting it as he turns his eyes to me, but no going back now. "Look, he won, Kai. That's all that matters," I say. I pause, then grudgingly admit, "And he did pretty well on it."
Lloyd beams, his eyes returning to their usual playful red.
Besides that little incident, the day returns to its normal routine. We clean the apartment up (including those cookie crumbs Lloyd left behind as a gift) while Zane prepares dinner. Then, after we eat, Kai and Cole run Lloyd through some of the training exercises and Nya, Zane, and I watch a movie, waiting for our turns to train Lloyd.
"You know," Nya says quietly, but loud enough for it to be not quite a whisper, "It was nice that you went easy on Lloyd. Just don't let him find out."
I don't correct her. Because really, after Lloyd's bragging to winning against me, got to my nerves. I think I deserve this.
"Just glad to put his other skills to use," I reply, chuckling.
Zane gives me a weird look but doesn't say anything. Probably should've guessed that the person with a sixth sense would be able to tell the truth. Though, that had been my original plan, showing the kid there's more to being a Ninja than strength. It just turned into a competition when he kept beating me.
Maybe I should look on the bright side of things.
At least I know I got a good opponent now.
And if I beat him, then that would mean I really did earn that gold (and I'll get to show him how to be a good sport; two birds with one stone!).
Let me know how I did! I'd love to hear your opinions!