NINJAGO: Amateurs of Adulthood

S

Lloyd was only allowed to brush his teeth and take a donut for breakfast, which Zane protested but let him take anyway, and was being driven to Darkely's Highschool by Cole and Jay in his Earth Digger

"Now, you gone go to school, you gone learn sum, you gone be smart, okay." Cole quizzed, as if he was Lloyd's father.

Jay giggled, turning to face Lloyd with his eyes closed and finger waving accusingly. "Listen to your father, I don't want any calls home you understand?" He announced in a nasally, high pitched voice

"Are you mocking yo mama?" Cole asked genuinely. Him and Jay stared at each other for a few seconds and burst in messy laughter. Lloyd snickered along with them and turned back to the window, watching the houses fly by.

It wasn't long before they ended up at the highschool. Lloyd didn't exactly hate school, he just wasn't all that peppy about it. He didn't have many friends because of being the son of Garmadon, and some people even went out of their way to call him out. He tried not to let it phase him that much, but sometimes it got more than annoying.

"Say "Hi" to Pixal for us!" Jay called out from the car before Cole drove away

It was 12:55 in the afernoon and Lloyd was just now showing up to school. He silently hoped people wouldn't pay too much attention to him and walked through the big burgundy doors

The halls were filled with people, showing that he had come during the five minute break time people had to get to their next class. About eleven people started dead at the blonde as he walked through the halls. As he was walking, he bumps into a girl, stopping her friends behind her.

"Alice!" Her friend exclaims. The girl looks up to face Lloyd, in an instant, she recognized who he was

"I'm sorry-" Lloyd spoke, he was interrupted by her voice

"It's cool." She said quickly, she made a face to her friends and they all quickly walked away. That didn't stop Lloyd from hearing their next words

"Girly, you coulda died." One if her friend giggled

"I know. Why does he look like that?" She whispered. Her other friend laughed a bit too loud and slapped her hand over her mouth. Lloyd ignored it and kept on walking, after all, this type of treatment was nothing new.

He didn't even really like going to his classes, all the teachers who work for Darkly's are villians. Bad guys that Lloyd has literally fought in hand to hand combat, it would be too awkward, so he just went straight to Pixal's office and did his studying there.

He came up to a brown wooden door and opened it casually. Lloyd didn't really feel the need to knock, I mean, who else was Pixal expecting so often?

"Lloyd, good afternoon." Pixal said with a soft smile as her green eyes landed on him.

The warm peach colored room engulfed Lloyd in a sense of comfort. The big windows allowed natural light to dance around the room while trinkets such as potted plants and a small jar of gumballs really made the room more...Pixal. She sat at a big wooden desk with gold accents on the edges, and to the right of the desk, a big, green pillow looking couch that she liked to call "Lloyd's Thinking Chair."

"Hey, Pixal." The blonde sighed with a smile, flopping into the fluffy chair

Pixal spun her chair around to look at Lloyd. "Excuse me, but why are you just now coming to school?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow

Lloyd looked up from his notebook with a nervous smile. "I woke up late..."

Pixal shook her head with a smile, "Lloyd, as much as you have work around the city, please do find time for school. Knowledge is power."

"Is that just a thing adults say to get kids to work extra hard or do you actually mean it?" Lloyd asked with a sly smirk

Pixal smiled and turned around, pulling about three somewhat thick packets from her desk and plopping them down in front of Lloyd

"These are all the tests from previous classes that you have to complete today. And yes, I mean it."

Lloyd groaned and Pixal turned back to her computer, laughing with a wide smile

It had been a little over an hour, when Lloyd looked up from his work

"Pixal, can I go to the bathroom?"

She turned to him with a sly twinkle in her eye. "I don't know, can you?"

Lloyd's face stood stone as he turned to his side, grabbed a pillow, and chucked it at her. She laughed a loud, melodious laugh and Lloyd got up to go to the door

He walked through the empty but never silent halls, hearing teachers speak and students yell regardless of teacher's protests. Before he could even think about anything else, he was yanked by the shirt collar from behind

"Ah- What the hell?!" The blonde exclaimed, turning around with a rather angry appearance

"Chill man, it's just me." Brad laughed with his hands up, showing Lloyd he meant no harm

"Ugh, Bradley!" Lloyd groaned, the smiled as he punched his best friend in the arm

"Ahaha..." Brad sarcastically laughed, then he asked, "So, why the hell are you showing up just now?"

"Just now? I been here for like an hour." Lloyd answered

"Ah yes, school starts at 6AM and Lloyd Garmadon has only been here for an hour."

"Ah, before I forget, did you get home okay?" Lloyd asked with a soft smile

"Uh, yeah, no dilemma!" Brad smiled

Lloyd stayed silent for a bit, then smiled, "That's good." The blonde was surprised when Brad wrapped his arm around him and pulled him in

"But just between you and me," Brad whispered, "I am literally running on two cans of Monster, that's it." He then laughed and walked out in front of Lloyd

"Alright, you do what you gotta do. I gotta go get my gym shoes before Mr. Kilo eats my ass." The two shared one final smile before jogging down the hall to his locker

Lloyd didn't want to assume, but he knew the brown eyed boy too well. He was lying. When asked if he got home okay, he left something out. Lloyd knew since they were kids that Brad always winks when he's not telling the truth, not in a tic sort of way but more like an unconscious reaction, as if he's trying to make a joke. Lloyd didn't know whether to be worried or not, maybe Brad would just come out and tell him, or would he have to press for answers?

Lloyd heaved a heavy sigh that could've echoed down the hall of not for its pitifully quiet volume. The blonde placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and continued walking down the hall

Just another day in Ninjago.