"There you are, Ice Cream Maker," Jay exclaimed as Zane finally joined them. "Took you long enough."

​They were sitting at their usual spot in a corner of the cafeteria.

​"Yes, it was... interesting," Zane muttered, making Kai grimace.

"Buddy, we're eating."

​Zane simply grinned in response and snatched a fry from Kai's plate before taking his seat.

​"So? How were the first few hours of junior year?", Nya asked, biting into her sandwich with relish and shaking her bangs out of her face.

​"It would probably scare me more if it weren't for that thing last year," Jay said.

​"That thing" of course, was the Secret Ninja Force.

​"Since then, school feels pretty boring by comparison."

​Kai nodded. "Yeah, I'm with you there. But unfortunately, we still have to graduate."

​Lloyd seemed distant. Kai nudged him in the side. "Everything okay, Green Machine?"

​Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, it's just... what Jay said. We have so much responsibility for the city, but the city... well. Chad already showed me what he thinks of me this morning."

​Jay choked on his noodles. "He... on the very first day? Wow, he wastes no time - ow!" Nya had smacked him on the shoulder.

​"Well, I mean... he only sees the son of Garmadon. Not Lloyd, the Green Ninja," he added, earning a smile from the Water Master.

​Lloyd's cheeks turned a bit red, and he quickly stole a fry from Kai to cover it up.

​"Still... thank the first master the city is quiet at the moment and we can focus on school.", Kai said.

​"But training is still on for today?", Zane asked.

​"6:00 PM at the Monastery."
​Jay couldn't help but giggle. "Sensei Wu won't be pleased to see how much we let ourselves go over summer break."

​"Maybe you did," Kai grinned. "I'm in peak condition."

​"Dude, you and Nya were in Italy for almost two weeks. You must have eaten nothing but pizza and pasta," Lloyd chuckled, playfully patting Kai's stomach.

​Kai burst out laughing. "Yeah, I'm still feeling sick from the last pizza. It had pineapple on it! I thought at least in Italy they wouldn't commit such a crime!"

​This made the group giggle, and Jay secretly eyed the tan gracing Kai's skin.

​How he wished he could travel. But life in a junkyard just didn't allow for that.

​And yet, Jay loved his parents more than anything. So much, so that he never even called them "adoptive parents." They were his Mum and Dad. Because that's what they had been to him since he was a little baby.

​Ed and Edna had raised him on their junkyard like the son they could never have themselves.

They nearly fainted when they found out that Jay - whom they had always fittingly called their "gift from sky" - was the descendant of the first Elemental Master of Lightning.

​For Jay, it only got interesting when he realized he would never need a charging cable again.

​They continued eating in silence until Zane spoke up again.

"What do you think of the new guy?", he asked, glancing a few tables over, where the boy sat alone, staring at his phone.

His sandwich lay untouched and still wrapped in front of him.

​Nya, Jay, and Lloyd exchanged amused looks.

"Let's just say... he already got into trouble with Mrs. Ragid in the very first minute", Jay explained.

​"But he handled the situation surprisingly well", Nya added.

Jay chuckled, thinking back to the conversation and the new guy's ironic tone.

​"We have a new guy?" Kai asked. He probably hadn't been paying attention in History, as usual, otherwise he would have noticed him.

​"Yes," Zane said, pointing directly at the boy dressed in black. Lloyd slapped his hand away. "Don't be so obvious!"

​Kai stared over just as conspicuously, but the boy continued to just stare at his phone.

He wore a faded black hoodie, the AC/DC logo on his chest barely visible anymore. He paired it with baggy black jeans and a pair of worn-out black and white Converses.

His outfit didn't reveal much about his physique, and his black hair hung over his face.

Jay couldn't even remember his name and was about to ask Zane when Kai's eyes widened, and he grabbed Lloyd by the collar of his green sweatshirt.

​When did we actually start wearing our colors in our free time? Jay wondered, eyeing his own dark blue hoodie and Kai's red T-shirt.

​At least Zane was wearing beige and Nya had on something white-and-black striped.

​Kai's urgent whispering snapped Jay back to the present and made him think about the fact that his friends had suggested him to take an ADHD test.

​"That's him!" Kai said, and Lloyd just looked at him with wide, confused eyes.

​The others didn't understand either.

​"That's the guy from the stairwell!"
​Even though Kai was sure, he risked another glance over. Definitely.

​"The guy in the stairwell," he repeated, as if Lloyd simply hadn't heard him correctly.

​Kai sighed. Man, he was being dense today - if he were like that as a ninja... but no. As the Green Ninja, Lloyd was resourceful and confident. In school, he wasn't.
At least, not confident.

And Kai hated anyone who made his unbiological brother feel so small.

​"When I found you on the first floor this morning with Chad, I told you that someone had rushed up the stairs ahead of me who must have been watching you guys before."

​"Yeah?"

​"That's him!" Kai exclaimed, slowly but surely drawing looks to himself, so he lowered his voice. "I'm pretty sure."

​"Yeah, but Kai", Lloyd gnawed on his sandwich.
"That explains even more why he just stood there and did nothing. As the new guy? Getting straight into a fight?"

​"Still," Kai stood his ground. He found it strange and a very poor character trait. Kai had stood up for others his entire life.

​"Wait... brother... are you suggesting that Cole watched Chad and the others bullying Lloyd? Just stood there?"

​Finally, someone who understands me, Kai thought. And of course, it was Nya.

​He nodded.

​Nya grimaced. "I find that a very slimy character trait too," she said, voicing what Kai had been thinking, like they always do.

​Jay just muttered, "Right, Cole was his name"

​"Guys, calm down. Not everyone is as righteous as we are," Lloyd tried to shift the mood back in the right direction before lunch break was over.

​"Zane? What do you say to all this?" Kai asked him.

​Zane looked at Cole once more and then shook his head.

Before he could say anything, Nya jumped up, her face a little red. "I think we should tell him, he can-"

​Zane grabbed her sleeve, and she slowly sat back down. He looked each of them in the eye for a moment with his ice-blue eyes.

​"Cole is... I think we shouldn't confront him, because in my opinion, he did nothing wrong. Would you stand up against five people? Alone?"

​Nya and Kai nodded. Even Jay made a gesture.

​"Without powers? Don't forget that Cole possesses no elemental powers."

​That caused the others to lower their heads.

​"You're right, Zane. As always. I guess I was just angry. He's new here, he couldn't possibly know Lloyd's reputation, let alone Lloyd. That's why I mean, he could have said something.", Kai mumbled.

​"Or maybe he does know Lloyd's reputation and that's why he said nothing. Both options are bad," Nya added.

​"Well, my reputation precedes me," Lloyd grinned with mock triumph.

"Personally, I'm glad he didn't say or do anything. One bullying victim for Chad is enough. Although... I think Cole would know how to defend himself."

​The bell rang to end the lunch break, and they all cast one last glance toward Cole's table.

​But it was empty. Only the untouched sandwich was still lying there.

----

​He really had been hungry.
The first four hours at this school felt like four days, and his stomach had already started growling after the second. But after he had paid with his card and taken the sandwich - which was thankfully wrapped - he had looked into the kitchen in the background, where a stout woman was preparing the bread without wearing any gloves or a hairnet or something.

​The woman at the counter had growled at Cole that when he was done here, he should please move along to make room for others in the line, and he had reluctantly taken that gross thing with him.

​Cole hadn't always been like this, especially not with food. He loved eating - he was almost insatiable, so to speak - and at his old school, it had never been a problem.

But the incident with the sponge had totally thrown him off.

​In general, this day was a complete catastrophe. Cole hadn't expected it to be good, but this? He sighed, pulled out his phone, and stared at the schedule.

Two hours to go.
​
Art and P.E.

Cole shuddered.

The thought of locker rooms filled with sweaty, testosterone-reeking adolescent teenagers already made him almost gag.

But he was looking forward to Art.
It was his elective.

Cole was more than a little surprised when he saw the selection of elective subjects. At his old school, options were limited - just the classic PE classes and a few basics like Choir, Gardening, or Foreign Languages. But here, the list seemed endless:

Robotics, Forensic Science, Graphic Design, Creative Writing, and even Culinary Arts.

​Here at Ninjago High, he would have loved to choose Music as in DJ and Remixes.

However, his father had become instantly alert at the mention of them, wanting to sign him up for "Performing Arts."

But Cole was fed up with singing and dancing.

He chose Art...

​..., and told his father he'd join the Drama Club after school.

And for the first time, he saw a proud smile on his father's face - one meant truly for his son. His son: the liar, liar, liar.

​He pulled the headphones out of his bag and put them on to have a moment of peace.

​Away from the laughter and chatter in the stuffy cafeteria.

He should have just sat outside; the sun was shining right now and some students were enjoying it outside on the benches.

​He selected "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey from his playlist and was almost inclined to pull out his sketchbook and draw something - drawing and listening to music, his favorite combination and something that always helped him come down and tune out the world for a moment - but suddenly he felt watched.

​He looked up briefly, only to see the boy with the ice-blue eyes from before pointing at him. He quickly ducked back down and deepened his gaze back into his phone.

​When he cautiously looked up again, he saw him discussing something with his friends.

There was Lloyd and the girl he had Chemistry and English with. He also had Math and Chemistry with the ice-blue-eyed one.

He knew the freckled one from English and Math, too. And Lloyd as well.

And he had History with all five of them sitting at that table. That's also how he knew the one with the spiky hair.

And they seemed to be talking about him.

Fuck, what if the tie-boy told them about the situation in the restroom?

​Oh, shit, shit.

​Cole kept his head down again, pretending to look at something exciting on his phone-mh, the home screen, very exciting - and thought feverishly about what he should do now.

​Then it became clear to him. Nothing. He should do damn nothing. Their problem if they were watching him and gossiping about him.

​Probably they weren't even doing that and Cole was just paranoid.

​He stood up, took his backpack, and left - leaving the cafeteria and the contaminated sandwich behind.

​At that moment, the bell rang anyway, and Cole sighed in relief.

​Okay, off to Art - wherever that class was being held.

----

It turned out that art was the best subject of the day.

The atmosphere was calm, and the students were nice. They had done a short round of introductions specifically for Cole, since most of the other students already knew each other.

​The teacher was very kind. She wanted to be addressed by her first name, Vika, and they discussed techniques, materials, and significant artists.

She also mentioned an art exhibition at the end of the school year.

Students could submit a piece by the end of the semester; if it was good enough, it would be displayed at the summer festival, and the best work would even win a prize.

​Cole didn't need long to consider whether he would participate.
​The answer was no.

For him, art was something private, something personal.

He drew what was in his head-and that certainly wasn't meant to be displayed in front of hundreds of people.

----

For the final period, he headed to the gym.

Later, he would have to stop by the front office again to collect his books and a locker key, just as Mr. Graham had told him earlier in art class.
Cole thought it was nice of him to go out of his way to tell him that.

He even forgave the history teacher for the "chalkboard incident" and scolded himself for not thinking of it sooner.

Of course he would need books - and he wouldn't have to lug his gym clothes around in his backpack all the time anymore.

​As had been the case all day, he was one of the last to arrive at the gym.

The PE teacher, Mr. Patter, was a tall, muscular man in his middle age. He looked strict, but he was actually decent enough.

He explained to them that the first half of the year was filled with things like weightlifting, cardio, and endurance training, while the second half focused on team sports such as soccer, basketball, and volleyball.

"And of course, there are the extracurriculars - and I'm not talking about debate or chess club. Try-outs are being held again this year; the football team is still looking for a new star quarterback."

​As he spoke, he looked at a specific student. Cole spotted the spiky-haired boy, as did Lloyd and the other two from his group of friends - tie-boy and the freckled one.

​Spiky-hair lowered his gaze, while Lloyd glared at the teacher.

​"We would, of course, love to welcome you back to the team, Kai", Coach Patter added.

​The spiky-haired boy, Kai, said nothing.

​Then Mr. Patter sent them to the changing rooms. They were a large group-32 students-so there were two locker rooms for them.

Cole walked into the one on the right, picked out a bench in the far back right corner and dropped his backpack.

The stale, heavy scent of the locker room was nothing compared to what it would be later once everyone was drenched in sweat, but even now, Cole wondered why on earth these places never had windows.

​"Coach Patter is such an idiot," a voice grumbled nearby.
"He knows exactly what Chad pulled and why you quit the team. I say he should kick Chad off and bring you back-"

​"And even then, I wouldn't go back to the football team," Kai interrupted, his voice sharp.

Cole glanced over his shoulder and saw the whole gang surrounding Lloyd Garmadon enter the room.

​And... great. They were the only ones.

​It was staggering how much the other students avoided Lloyd.

Cole tried to make himself small in his corner, but despite the dim lighting, it was impossible. The five of them must have noticed him the second they walked in.

​Choosing the path of least resistance, Cole ignored them and pulled his hoodie over his head.

He caught sight of some chalk-dust stains on the fabric and tossed it onto the bench with a sigh. It was warm outside; maybe he'd just stick to his T-shirt later. He'd never been one for school showers - that was a ritual reserved for the privacy of his home routine.

​Besides, it wasn't like he needed a deep scrub. Cole hadn't signed up for any extracurriculars, and not even the "club fair" next week will change his mind.

Then all he had to do was find out when the drama club took place and just hang around somewhere a bit longer on that day - just in case his father actually happened to be home.
​Cole was a liar. But his lies were watertight and foolproof.

​For today, he couldn't wait to get through this hour, go home, and forget this day ever happened.

But for some reason, his rock-solid resolve to return to the boarding school was starting to feel a little... shaky.

​He pulled on a black T-shirt and swapped his jeans for gym shorts. He didn't spare Lloyd and his friends a second glance - why should he? - and they did the same.

​"But you were good, Kai!" the freckled one persisted. "Chad is such a prick. But whatever, if he only knew what you were doing instead-"

​"Jay," Kai warned. Cole felt a flush creep up his neck, realizing they were definitely aware of his presence.

​But honestly? He couldn't care less about their little secrets.

He was actually looking forward to PE now; he needed to blow off some steam. He laced up his sneakers and hurried out of the locker room, brushing past Kai, Jay, Lloyd, and the boy in the tie.

​As he hit the gym floor, a preppy-looking guy sauntered in. Coach Patter immediately barked at him for being late.

​It was the same guy who had been bullying Lloyd this morning.

​His two lackeys followed behind like burrs stuck to a sweater.

The only ones missing were the girls, who presumably had their own P.E. class, with the other girls.

So probably also the one Lloyd and his team are hanging out with.

​Chad just smirked. "Coach Patter, you know how it is... as the future star quarterback, I can't be expected to mingle with the common folk too early."

​Cole felt a surge of pure loathing. He didn't know Kai, but he could put the pieces together: Kai was the former quarterback, and he'd walked away because of this guy.

​Coach Patter just laughed and waved Chad toward the locker rooms.

​Chad flipped his platinum-blonde side-fringe out of his eye - only for it to fall right back into place - and headed for the lockers.
As he passed, he threw Cole a sideways glance that Cole couldn't quite decipher.

​But that brief moment made Cole realize three things:

1. He was taller than Chad.
​2. Chad's build was nowhere near what a real quarterback's should be. He was kinda.. lanky.
3. ​That thought gave Cole a strange sense of satisfaction.

​He hadn't seen either of them play, but he knew whose side he was on.

Then he watched as Chad entered the locker room where the four friends were still changing.

​Wonderful, Cole thought ironically. Poor Lloyd and his friends. But what's it to me?

​"Hey, you're the new kid, right? Come on, out to the field!"

​Cole followed the Coach's orders.

-----

​Inside the Locker Room ​Lloyd was pulling on his gym shirt and bending down to tie his laces when the door swung open again.

Three figures stepped into the pale light. Lloyd wondered who else, besides the new guy - who clearly didn't know the "Loser-Lloyd-Sickness" was as contagious as the plague or whatever - would dare be in the same room as him.

​His heart sank when he saw Chad.
​Kai stood up instantly, his fiery temper igniting, while Zane and Jay shifted into a state of quiet alert.

​"Oh, hello, L-L," Chad drawled, his smirk widening. "Looks like we have the pleasure of gym together this year. And the rest of the Loser-Lloyd brigade is here as well, I see."

​Trent and Brock loomed behind him.

Brock, with his massive frame, was usually enough to intimidate anyone.

​But these were four trained Ninja.

​Lloyd often wondered why he even let these guys get under his skin. One practiced move and Chad would be on the floor whimpering.

But that wasn't Lloyd.

He was the Green Ninja, the strongest of them all (don't tell Kai), but he was also just Lloyd - a student at Ninjago High. And as a student, he endured the bullying.

It was the perfect cover.

​Kai never got it. He often joked about "toasting" Chad so badly his parents wouldn't even have ashes left to bury.

Jay usually agreed. And Nya... well, Nya was the only one the "A-list" group actually feared.

​Apparently, that started long before they were Ninja. Back in kindergarten, Brock - who was already huge as a literal toddler - had bullied Kai and cut his hair.

Little Nya hadn't let that slide. Brock ended up switching to a different kindergarten on the other side of the city because he was so terrified of her.

His parents never found out why; he just refused to go back. Nya had only ever mentioned something about "slugs in his pants."

​These days, Nya wouldn't bother with slugs. She'd go straight for an upper-cut.

​Only Zane truly understood Lloyd.

He'd been an outsider his whole life just because he was "different." If people knew how different, they'd be tripping over themselves to be friends with the cool Nindroid and Master of Ice. But Zane wore the mask too.

He understood that a Ninja protects everyone.

​"We protect those who cannot protect themselves," Zane had said early on, earning Lloyd's eternal respect.

​Chad and his cronies were jerks, bullies, and idiots.
But if push came to shove, the Green Ninja would protect them. That was their code.

​Alright, so the NINJA would protect them. But the five friends? They weren't feeling particularly charitable.

​Kai cracked his knuckles, making Lloyd hide a grin as he finished his laces.

​Thanks to years of rugby, Chad was fit and strong, but Lloyd couldn't wait to outshine him in every single drill this year.

They had agreed to hold back - keep the long jump to a modest three meters (even though Kai could easily clear six) and don't even get started on speed.
Jay was literal lightning.

​They had to fly under the radar. But Lloyd promised himself one thing: in every category, he would be just one tiny bit better than Chad.

​He deserved at least that much satisfaction.

-----

The sun was beating down on the artificial turf as Coach Patter blew a shrill, ear-piercing blast on his whistle.

​"Alright, listen up! First day, first impressions. We're starting with a classic: the 100-meter dash. I want to see speed, I want to see heart, and I want to see who's been sitting on the couch eating potato chips all summer!"

​Cole stood at the edge of the track, crossing his arms over his chest.

He felt Chad's eyes on him - a look of pure, unadulterated arrogance. Chad was already at the starting line, theatricaly stretching his hamstrings as if he were preparing for the Olympics.

​"Hey, Newbie," Chad called out, his voice loud enough for the girls on the adjacent field to hear.

"Try not to trip over your own feet. This track is for athletes, not... whatever you are."

​Cole didn't even blink. "I'll try to keep that in mind while I'm waiting for you at the finish line."

​A few students whispered. Kai, standing a few feet away, let out a sharp bark of laughter.

"First heat!" Patter yelled. "Chad, Lloyd, Kai, and... Cole. Get to the blocks!"

Cole stepped up to his lane, his expression unreadable.

Chad was busy shaking out his legs, playing to the small crowd of students watching from the bleachers.

​"Hey, L-L", Chad hissed. "Ready to lose?"

​Lloyd didn't look at him. He was busy doing the mental math. Chad's top speed is roughly 7 meters per second. "If I stay at 7.5, it'll look like a struggle, but I'll still take him."

​Next to him, Kai was vibrating. He caught Lloyd's eye and gave a subtle nod. The plan was simple: humiliate Chad just enough to sting, but not enough to expose their "day job" as city-saving elemental masters.

​"ON YOUR MARKS!" Patter's voice boomed.

​Cole settled into a crouch. Lloyd looked at him. The new one was probably not thinking about math or secret identities.

What was he thinking about?

Did he move here or why did he change schools?

Lloyd stared at him for a second longer. Something about Cole fascinated him.

But what?
​Was it his looks? No, he looked like a normal teenager. Though well-toned, and handsome as Lloyd couldn't help but notice.

​Perhaps it was the fact that Cole hadn't shown any hostility toward Lloyd yet.

But then again, he clearly wasn't familiar enough with the school's popularity ranking.

​When the Green Ninja thought about it more deeply, however, Cole hadn't really shown or said anything at all. They knew his name, but nothing else.

He had been charming toward Ms. Radke, so he was clearly a good actor who knew how to wrap people around his finger - hardly a surprise given his good looks.

Other than that, Cole hadn't shown any reaction or interaction so far.

​Maybe Zane could help him determine exactly what it was about Cole that caught Lloyd's attention.

"SET-"

​But no matter what it was, it wouldn't be long before he, too, would begin to avoid and despise Lloyd.

​WHISTLE!

​The explosion of movement was instantaneous.

​Chad took off with a roar, his face contorted with effort.

For the first thirty meters, he was actually in the lead, his "star-athlete" training giving him a solid burst.

He looked sideways, a smug grin already forming as he saw Lloyd and Kai seemingly "struggling" to keep up.

​Now, Lloyd thought.

He lengthened his stride, putting just a hint of ninja-refined power into his calves. Beside him, Kai did the same, his sneakers hitting the track with a rhythmic slap-slap-slap that sounded like a drumroll.

​They began to glide past Chad. It was beautiful. Chad's eyes went wide, his mouth hanging open as he realized the "losers" were reeling him in.

He pumped his arms frantically, his form getting sloppy as he tried to reclaim his dignity.

​Lloyd and Kai were neck-and-neck, perfectly positioned to cross the finish line a hair's breadth ahead of Chad.

They had the win in the bag.

​And then a shadow blurred past them.

​With a sound like a freight train, Cole tore through the middle lane.

​There was no finesse, no "holding back," and certainly no struggle.

It was pure, raw kinetic energy. Cole's shoulders were set, his eyes locked on the horizon, and every stride seemed to shake the very ground of the track.

​Lloyd and Kai blinked in genuine shock.

They were supposed to be the fastest people in the city! Even "holding back," their base level was elite for their age and physique.

But Cole didn't care about their secret pacing. He blew past them so fast the wind of his passage ruffled Kai's spiked hair.

​Cole crossed the finish line first, a full three meters ahead of the rest.
​Lloyd and Kai crossed a second later, followed by a wheezing, stumbling Chad who looked like he was about to pass out from the sheer shock of coming in fourth. And last.

​The track went silent for a beat. Even Coach Patter looked stunned, staring at his stopwatch.

​"Whoa," Jay whispered from the sidelines, his jaw hitting the floor.

"Did you see that? He is not faster than me, because I am fast as lightning, but that was no elemental power... That was all... muscle...!"

​Cole didn't celebrate. He didn't even look back at Chad. He just slowed to a stop, hands on his hips, breathing deeply.

​Kai walked up to Lloyd, leaning in close while staring at Cole's back. "Uh, Lloyd? I think we might have a problem."

​Lloyd wiped the sweat from his brow, his eyes narrowed with newfound curiosity.

"Or," Lloyd whispered back, "we just found someone who's even more of an outsider than we are"

​Chad finally caught up, gasping for air, his face a humiliated shade of purple.

"You... you... that was a fluke! You probably took... steroids or something!"

​Cole finally turned around. He looked Chad up and down - actually looking at him this time - and let out a short, dry laugh. "No, Chad. I just actually practiced. Maybe try less ego and more leg day."

​The "Loser-Lloyd" gang shared a look. They had a feeling this "new kid" was going to change everything.