Every day when he got home, Cole would quickly switch his school bag with one for "dance practice." He was always so excited to meet up with Sensei Wu and his friends to learn more and improve his skills. However, on one particular day, as he approached the front door and called out, "By Dad, I'm off to practice!" his father called out to stop him

"Hold on, Cole I need to speak with you before you go."

Reluctantly, Cole entered the practice room where his father could always be found at this time of day. "What's up?" he asked.

"Look what we got in the mail today!" his dad singsonged. He held up a letter – already opened – with large fancy print at the top that read: Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts. "They've said that they're looking forward to your application in the future, and that you're practically a shoo-in to be accepted. Or you will be." His father was beaming from ear to ear, ready to burst with excitement. "Isn't that great?"

Cole attempted a fake smile but answered dryly, "Yeah, that's fantastic. I can't wait until I can actually apply." Even though Cole was still a few years from being able to apply for and attend the prestigious school, his father was much too eager, and was doing everything to make sure that his son would be accepted when the time came. He'd written a letter to the school asking for clarification on what Cole would need to get in, as well as his current eligibility.

"It's never too early to start thinking about your future, son. Now, how are your grades? Still straight A's I hope?"

"Well . . . I think I have a few B's right now," Cole said absentmindedly. There might have been a C somewhere in there, too . . . Trainingmight have become first priority tohim, while school had taken a back seat. So what if he didn't complete or eventurn in every single assignment? "I can bring them back up," hereasoned

But his father crossed his arms and warned, "Cole . . . You know that you have to keep your grades up if you want to get into that school."

"Dad, it's not a big deal. I still have time to fix it."

"Not a big deal? Your entire future is at stake! Marty Oppenheimer's only accepts the very best – grades like that would never be good enough, no matter how much talent you have! You've obviously been getting distracted from your studies."

"I'm not getting distracted, I just –"

"No, no, I don't want to hear any excuses."

"Excuses!" Cole repeated, indignant.

"Do you not understand how important this is? Or do you just not want to get into this school? Cole, if you don't start taking your school work more seriously, you won't be guaranteed a spot at Marty Oppenheimer's, and then where will you be? You might as well kiss all your dreams good-bye!"

Cole rolled his eyes. "I've got a lot going on, okay? I can't do everything at once."

But Cole's father shook his head. "Maybe I ought to take you out of a few of your extra classes, if you think you need more time."

"Wait, what? No! That's not what I meant!" His father didn't know it, but ninja training was one of those "extra classes." He couldn't take that away!

"Perhaps I have been pushing you too hard. If you can't make do with what you have now then it would obviously be better to give you more time to focus on your studies."

"Can't we talk –"

"Put all that down, you can practice with me later. Your new priority every day from now on is to get your schoolwork done first. You can practice afterwards."

In a fit of rage, Cole threw his things to the floor. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I don't want to be a dancer for the rest of my life?" he shouted.

His father looked like he was about to say something in retort, but then confusion settled on his features as he seemed to take in what Cole had said.

Cole swallowed, instantly regretting his words. But there was no turning back now. It was now or never.

"What if . . ." he continued slowly, trying to be intentional with his words. "What if I tried something else? In addition to dancing . . . and maybe I could go to Marty Oppenheimer's . . . or maybe not. But do I have to decide all of that right now? What if I decide that I want to do something else? What if . . . ?" he trailed off, not sure what else he could say and growing increasingly uncertain of what his father would say.

His father was silent for a while. Cole was hopeful. Maybe they could finally come to an understanding. Was that too much to ask?

But his father's gaze was hard and did not look very understanding. "After everything we've worked for?" he said, his voice eerily quiet. "You want to just throw it all away?"

"No! That's not what I'm saying! At least, that's not what I meant . . ."

His father shook his head and Cole was ashamed to see only disappointment in his eyes. "You don't know what you're asking. You've been working at this for years. You can't just quit dancing and learn a new skill overnight. Look son, I know it gets tough at times, but you've got to stick with it!"

"Dad, please –"

"You're not quitting, and that's final."

"But I –"

"I'm done talking about this, Cole."

"If you would just –"

"I said that's enough!" his father shouted.

Cole stopped abruptly. His mouth still hung open, desperate to say more, but any attempt would be futile.

His father nodded, satisfied. "Good. Now I am willing to take out some of your practice time to give more time for school, but I don't want to hear any more about the subject otherwise, is that clear?"

Cole was glaring at his father but swiftly averted his gaze. "Yes, sir," he mumbled.

His father gave another curt nod. "Good." He then turned and walked away. As soon as he had left the room, Cole didn't even bother to pick up his bag and darted out of the house. He wasn't about to let his father stop him from doing the thing he loved most. No matter what, he wouldn't let him take this away.

. . . 

Cole arrived in a huff. The others had already gotten changed and were busy stretching when he came in, though Wu wasn't around yet.

"You okay, bro?" Jay asked him.

"I'm fine," Cole growled.

Jay exchanged a glance with Zane and Kai, but didn't try asking any more questions. But even after Cole had gone to change into his ninja gi and returned, he was clearly still in a bad mood. They tried to ignore it at first, hoping that he would lighten up as time went on. But their leader only seemed to be getting angrier.

Eventually, Zane decided that he couldn't keep silent any longer, and so he approached Cole to ask him about it directly. "I don't need my sixth sense to realize that there is something bothering you, brother. Please, what is the matter?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Cole huffed.

"Cole," Zane said sternly, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking him in the eye. "Please do not shut us out like this. We are not simply your friends, we are a family. But that cannot be if we don't trust each other enough to confide in one another. What is there to fear?"

Cole heaved a sigh, knowing Zane was right. Kai had been willing to trust them once, why shouldn't he? "It's just . . . I guess I've been bottling it up so long that I don't know how to let it out." He looked up at Zane, then to Jay and Kai. "But you're right. If there's anyone I'm gonna vent to, it's you guys."

Jay held out open arms and said, "Tell us of your woes!"

Cole cracked a smile. "It's my dad. He's got this dream of me becoming a dancer –" he broke off as Jay and Kai snickered, trying to hold back their laughter. "Yeah yeah, I know. Anyway. He has my whole future planned out for me, but the thing is, I don't think I want to be a dancer." He ran his fingers through the dark strands of his hair and sighed. "Scratch that. I hate dancing. I like training to be a ninja a lot more."

Jay raised his hand. "Isn't fighting a lot like dancing?"

"Sorta. I mean, maybe my experience helps me to be a better fighter. But, I just – he makes it so stressful, you know? I have to do everything perfectly if I want to get into the best school in all of Ninjago, the school he picked out for me! I'm still years away from even being able to apply! It's crazy!" Cole was getting very animated now and Zane put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"I am sorry that your father puts so much pressure on you," Zane said sympathetically.

Cole glanced at his friend, feeling a small pang of remorse. "I'm sorry, Zane. I shouldn't be complaining like this. I should be grateful to have a father who cares so much about my future."

But Zane shook his head. "On the contrary, you have every right to feel upset. Just because some have it worse does not mean that your problems are invalid."

"It's not a competition," Kai added.

"Thanks, guys." Cole sighed. "I'm glad to have you all. It feels good to be able to talk about this. I tried explaining to him how I felt today, but he just doesn't listen."

"And he never will." The boys jumped in surprise at the sound of their sensei's voice. Wu was walking towards them, his staff lightly tapping against the ground. "My father was much like yours Cole. I constantly lived in his shadow, and he could never see me for who I truly was." He paused and heaved a sigh, looking as if a heavy load of regret rested on his shoulders. "I had hoped that things would change someday, that I would get through to him. I hoped that one day, I could finally make him see me for who I truly was. Sadly, he never did."

Cole wasn't very encouraged by this as he examined his teacher, old and worn with years of trouble and regret, still living in the consequences of those long years. "Sensei, what should I do?" he asked.

Sensei Wu met his gaze and said, "Take matters into your own hands. You don't want to keep letting your father tell you how to live your life, so start living the way you want to. Do whatever it takes. Don't listen to him because he'll never listen to you. I only wish I had learned that sooner."

Cole thought this sounded like odd advice, and he wasn't sure what exactly that meant in terms of immediate action. But Sensei's advice was never straightforward.

"You must ask yourself who you want to live for," Sensei went on. "You cannot allow him to hold you back for the rest of your life. Think about it."

Cole did. He went home that day and thought long and hard about it.

The next day, his father approached him about their argument again. At first Cole was hopeful that he would be able to get through to his father, now that they weren't so angry. But it soon became apparent that his father had no interest in hear what Cole had to say. He just wrote off Cole's outburst as a something that he would eventually "get over." It seemed that Wu had been right. Cole's father would never see things his way.

And yet, what could he do about it?