A/N: YO KIDDOS I'M HERE-

Sorry about the severe lack of updates! As many of you know, I'm a slowly retiring author. I'm trying to finish my current books and just participate on Wattpad socially.

This is my current book conquest. Any bets on when I'll have it done? (Hint: I can guarantee you'll be a lot closer to the truth if you put it in the six-month or more range.)

***(PIXAL's POV)***

Taylor Swift drifts through my headphones as I finish my creative writing homework. Though I'm better with math and science, English is my favorite subject. I love reading novels from a few hundred years ago and trying to recreate their magic in my own writing. Unfortunately, I find that I lack the creativity of many renowned authors of the past.

I sigh, pulling off my headphones and saving some final changes to my paper. It's not due for another three weeks – it's only the third day of school, after all – but I want so badly to do well on it.

I never feel like I do. It's always like there's this part of my writing that's missing. I always ace academic papers, but my stories are limp and fall short of my aspirations.

I close my laptop and set it aside, opting to pick up my phone and check for a message from my dad. He's the founder and CEO of Borg Industries, Ninjago's biggest technology business. That means he's practically famous and incredibly rich, but it also means he works a lot of hours. He's hardly ever around because of it.

My eyes peruse the empty hallways and quiet atmosphere of our mansion. This place is too big for the two of us, and I think my dad knows that, too.

He just hasn't done anything to fill it.

I brace my hands on my knees and rise from my spot on the ground. All my friends are busy tonight – except for maybe Harumi, who's been hanging out with us lately – and the loneliness is getting to be more than I can bear.

I pace over to the curtained dining room window and look out. Our dining room's on the second floor of our house, so I get a great view of the streets from here.

I look down and see a car leisurely driving down a backroad, the motorcycle behind it dangerously close to its bumper. I guess not everyone likes a slow drive in the country on a balmy summer afternoon, but I find the notion romantic.

The lonely feeling inside gnaws at my heart, and I blink and turn away from the scene outside. No need to be thinking of things like romance when I go to an all-girls school. I may wish I had someone to share my feelings and dreams with when life gets rough, but a boyfriend is not in the cards for me right now. In fact, I'm going to have no time for dating in the near future. I have high school to finish, college to pour myself into, then graduate school and a doctoral degree and a career to build. I've always dreamed of working with my dad. We've planned it since I was in middle school. There's no time for romance with a life that busy.

Or maybe there is, but Dad hasn't found it.

I sigh, wiping my palms on my deep purple granny skirt. I wish my dad would get out and try to date someone, but he's remained completely single for as long as I can remember. No dates, no tiny work-crushes, no nothing. And my dad and I tell each other everything, so there's really no way something's happened without my knowing.

A line from one of my favorite classics of all time, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, comes to mind.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

I cross over to my dining room table, swiping my laptop off the floor as I do so. My dad is single and in possession of a better-than-good fortune, and apparently, he has not yet found his longing to be married yet.

Or maybe he has, but he has yet to do anything about it.

I guess my dad doesn't have much time, but surely that wouldn't keep him from dating on the weekends. My dad works a ton of hours throughout the work week, then takes three days off at the end of every week to hang out with me. We go kayaking, study together, visit museums, do community service...and just spend time together, I guess. Those weekends mean the world to me.

But I wouldn't mind him spending some time dating as well. I want my dad to be happy. And it'd make me happy to finally have a mother figure. I don't remember my mom, so I've always longed for someone I can paint nails with and watch chick flicks with and get broken heart advice from.

I open back up my laptop. The reason I don't remember my mom is that she left my dad and me when I was only a few years old. She's never contacted us since then.

Maybe my dad still feels too broken to want to date.

I pull up the Internet on my laptop and debate for just a moment before typing "best dating websites" into my search engine. I click the little magnifying glass in the corner of the search box and try not to feel too guilty about what I'm doing.

There's no harm in seeing if there are any eligible women around for my dad, right?

I scroll through the options that pop up until something catches my eye. One of the websites says in its search result "most successful site for long-term relationships".

Bingo.

I click on its hyperlink and quickly scroll through the website's information. It looks legit. Apparently, its typical age range is between twenty-five and forty-five. My dad's in his late thirties, so it's perfect for him.

So I take a deep breath and, hovering my mouse over the right of the screen, click the "create account" button.

It has to be done, right?

I scan the required information for the account. You have to be eighteen to create one, and since my eighteenth birthday was last month, I don't feel guilty about that. However, I am a bit uneasy with just posting my dad's information on here. Someone will find him on this site and report it to the news, and then I'll have to tell my dad all about why he has a profile on some dating website called Joined Hearts.

Which is for his benefit, of course, but I'm not sure he's quite ready to find that out.

So instead, I go to the box that asks for my name and type "PIXAL Borg".

I'll just have to create an account for myself and do a bit of snooping to find someone for my dad.

I fill out all the required information, then finish some personality test that will try to match me with people. Of course, I'm not looking to date anyone, but I'll do whatever I must to find someone for my dad. He's going to get lonely once I leave for college, and there's no way I want him to experience that.

Finally, I finish setting up my account and see a huge blue button labeled "matches".

It's time for my dad's sixteen-year loneliness to end.

***(Nya's POV)***

My eyes slowly squeeze open, and I blink to see that it's pitch dark in my room. What time is it?

I roll over on my side and groggily pat around my nightstand for my phone. I hear it buzz with a message, and the screen lights up so I can see where it's at.

Wait...I have my notifications turned off at this time of morning. That must mean...

It's an emergency.

I grab my phone off the nightstand right as my Westlife ringtone goes off, scanning the screen to see who's calling. "Seliel" is illuminated in bright letters.

Seliel's calling? At...3:53 a.m.?

"Oh, no," I whisper. "No, no, no."

This can't be good.

I bite my lip and tap the button to take the call. The queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, coupled with the fact that this must be an emergency call, has adrenaline surging through me.

"Seliel?" I ask, swallowing hard.

"Nya," she says, her usual chill tone slightly perturbed, "I'm sorry to wake you up, but I needed to call you before Skylor got to you. You know how she can get worked up sometimes, and I didn't want her to stress you out."

"Um..." I frown, my heart dropping. "Sel, what happened?"

"Well, you see, the police just reported to my dad that something happened with Graceton tonight. Somebody...uh...vandalized it?"

"Oh." Relief floods me. I can deal with vandalism. Skylor's probably just mad that they graffitied the walls or something, and Seliel wanted to warn me before Skylor broke all hell loose or something.

Seliel coughs. "Yep."

The way she says the word bothers me. "So...what's the damage to the school?"

"Uh, that's the thing. See –,"

My phone beeps, and I see that Skylor is trying to call me. Just like Seliel said she would.

I press the phone back to my ear. "Skylor's calling. Should I ask her to just pick up and hold, or do you want her on conference call?" Things might go better if we both deal with her.

"Oh, Honey, do not pick up. She's a mess. I should've never told that girl what happened." Seliel tsks under her breath.

"Well, what is it, exactly, that happened?" I sigh. "Get to the point, Sel." The faster I can calm Skylor down, the better.

"I'm getting there. Reject Skylor's call first so you can talk to her after I've explained things."

I roll my eyes. "That's rude, Seliel. Skylor needs people to vent to when she's stressed, and her dad's probably on a business trip or something." I pull the phone away from my ear and pick up Skylor's call.

"I don't think you should –," Seliel starts.

"Nya?!" Skylor exclaims through the speaker.

"I'm here," I reassure her. "Give me just a second." I hit the button to merge her call with Seliel's into a conference call.

"Omigosh!" Skylor shrieks. "Nya, somebody destroyed half our school!"

I furrow my eyebrows. "Um...what?"

"Somebody blew up half of Graceton!"

My eyes bug as Seliel starts to talk over her. "See," Seliel stalls, "that's only part of the story.And it wasn't half the school - it was just an explosion in the right wing. Boo-hoo. But nobody was injured, and on the bright side, classes are canceled for tomorrow."

Skylor snorts. "Ya think? Duh, classes are canceled!"

I open and close my mouth as the two continue to argue.

Somebody planted a...a bomb in Graceton?

But who? And why? Why at night? Why just the building and not the students, too? When was the bomb planted? How much of the right wing is damaged? Was it some huge accident in the chem lab?

I rub my eyes. This has to be some crazy stress dream.

"It was a Ridgewood boy, mark my words!" Skylor insists. "Sure, they don't want to actually kill us, but they hate our school all the same! That's why they set the bomb at night. This is their way of sabotaging our entire year!" Her voice ends on a wail. "And it's my senior year!"

"Yeah, but at least everyone's okay," Seliel shoots back, her tone annoyed. "This could be much worse."

"This is a disaster!" Skylor snaps. "What are the odds that the guy who did it is the one who tried to run me off the road on the first day?"

"Girl, he cut you off in traffic," Seliel corrects her. "It's not like he had some personal vendetta to kill you or something. Calm down." Her eyeroll is audible.

"I am calm!" Skylor insists.

I inhale a huge breath and try to interject into their argument. "Skylor, you sound a bit touchy. Is your dad around?" The last thing that girl needs is to be left alone to wallow in her anger.

"He's on some stupid trip visiting my future not-mom I've never even met!"

I massage my forehead.

This is bad. This is really, really bad.

"Okay," I swallow. "Do you need me to come over?"

Believe me, dealing with Skylor when she's blown a fuse is one of the last things I want to do, but she is one of my best friends. I don't want her going on some rampage to find whoever tried to destroy my school.

Omigosh. Somebody actually tried to blow up Graceton tonight.

This is nuts.

"It's past your curfew," Skylor grits out. "You don't need to get in trouble, Nya. No, I think I'll come over to your house and pour my newfound energy into hamstringing your loser brother."

Indignation rises in me, and I try to tamp it down. "Skylor, I can handle Kai. You're just mad right now because of all the stress in your life. Why don't you turn on some boy band music and try to relax until I can get to your house?"

I hear her take a deep, murderous breath, then let it out.

Seliel speaks up after a beat of silence. "Um...you there, Skye?"

"Yeah," she responds after a moment, her tone much more controlled. "Nya, go back to bed. I'll be fine."

Something about the edge in her voice says she won't be.

I sigh slowly. "No, Skylor, it's fine. I'll come over. Give me twenty minutes, okay?"

I slide out of bed and begin processing the logistical issues in my mind. I'll have to use my dad's car to go to Skylor's, and since he leaves for work at seven in the morning, I'll need to have it back to him by then. I can leave a note on my front door letting him know what happened so I don't get in trouble.

I do not get paid enough to live this life.

Skylor inhales and exhales, then says, "All right. I'm gonna go. Good night." Her tone is curt, but it's lost some of its heat.

"Night," Seliel replies, the word unimpressed.

"See you in a few minutes, Skye." I end the call with her, realizing Seliel hasn't hung up yet.

The girl in question clears her throat. "Shoo-ee."

"Give Skylor a break," I sigh. "She's been through a rough patch lately, what with the upcoming move and her dad and starting school."

Seliel snorts. "You're right. Her stupid dad lets her have everything she wants, so she hasn't learned to deal with anger and disappointment right."

I nod. "Plus, she's always wanted to spend her senior year with us, and now it kind of seems like...that dream is forever crushed." I close my eyes, unwilling to think of what life will be like when Skylor moves away. And having our remaining time together cut short by sabotage of our school...

"Yeah." Seliel clears her throat. "Um...so what I'm about to tell you, you cannot repeat to anyone, especially Skylor. And not your brother, either, unless you want to him to knock you unconscious before leaving you stranded on an island in Stiix."

"That doesn't sound ideal."

"Right." She clears her throat. "Anyway, the only reason I know all this stuff about the explosion at Graceton is because my dad is the mayor and all. He woke up at one this morning with a call about the explosion, and since then, there's been...an influx of information. I may have listened in on a few phone calls, and..." She trails off.

I furrow my eyebrows. "And...what? Not much more can surprise me tonight, Seliel."

"Yeah, well, this is just the cherry on top." She clears her throat. "Principal Misako called my dad to talk about the damage and stuff, and...while venting to him, she may have mentioned where she thought we could take classes for the foreseeable future."

"Where?" I frown. "It's not like we can meet just anywhere. We'd have to rent out a building with a bunch of free rooms and use it for classes. That isn't easy to do on short notice."

"What if a family member of hers owned a place where classes could be held on short notice?" Seliel sighs.

"Huh?" I frown.

"I hate to say it, but..." She takes a deep breath. "Misako's brother-in-law is Principal Wu of Ridgewood Academy." She leaves the sentence hanging.

I shake my head. "Look, I'm tired. Put it to me straight." I grab my purse off my nightstand and head for my door.

"Nya, she suggested to my dad that we continue our classes at Ridgewood Academy."

I freeze midstep.

Because that's when everything clicks into place.

Into horrible, nightmarish place.

It all makes sense. Of course Principal Misako would want to host classes at Ridgewood. It's five minutes from Graceton. The place just had an extra building constructed last year, so it's big enough for the populations of both our schools put together. It's like all the stars are aligned.

Except for the fact that the image of my brother's white-hot-angry face is ingrained into my mind.

If we hold classes at Ridgewood, I'm dead meat. I'll be doomed to lurk the shadows while my brother schmoozes all my friends into thinking he's some great, picture-perfect guy. He'll stuff me in trashcans and dumpsters and dumptrucks. He'll probably make me the laughingstock of the whole school. I will be forced to switch institutions or be the punchline of my senior year.

I'm basically doomed.

"Nya?" Seliel asks. "Are you dead?"

"I've gotta go," I croak, nausea swirling in my stomach. "Keep me updated on the Ridgewood situation, okay?"

"Okay," she says, her voice taking on a strangely compassionate edge. She's usually not very emotional, so it's weird to hear it coming from her.

"Good night." And with that, I hang up the phone.

And as I stand there in the doorway of my room, debating whether to cry myself to sleep or go body slam whoever just ruined my high school existence, my phone buzzes with another text. Having nothing better to do besides contemplate the repercussions of tonight's disaster, I look down at the screen.

Skylor: Nya, get over here ASAP

Skylor: If a Ridgewood boy did this, we are exacting revenge

I wince, slipping my phone into my back pocket.

Yeah. Revenge is the last thing I should be after if I want to survive my brother.

A/N: HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH-

Have a good week, guys!