They're Not All Bad. . . Well, Maybe

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As we walk out of Grande Sensei Darreth's Mojo Dojo, Cole asks me, "Why do you meditate?"

He doesn't need to know the real reason. "Why don't You?" I throw it back at him.

"I'm too busy, and I don't really have the inner peace & patience for it," he replies.

On the rest of the way home, they all take turns asking me really random questions. "How come you seem like a ninja, and you can do Spinjitzu, but you're not a ninja?" Jay asks.

Jeez, why do they keep prying at my past? Well, I guess they don't really know they are, because it's not obvious. To them, they're just asking questions. "Because, I've trained for years with Martial Arts masters," I say.

"Have you trained with Sensei Wu?" Zane questions.

"I've heard of him, but have never actually met him. What's he like?"

"He can be really hard on us, and we've always got missions to do. So many people to save in Ninjago. . ." Kai says. People to save? I probably shouldn't get involved. "But under all that, Sensei is a great person to learn from."

"But. . . If you never trained with Sensei Wu, how do you know Spinjitzu?" Cole asks, having trouble piecing everything together.

"I told you already: I've just always had a strong mind. I don't know truly how I did it, so you can't really ever know, I guess," I say.

"That bothers me," Zane says.

"Why?" I turn & walk backwards, looking at him. I trust my senses to know if I'm going to hit anything.

"I'm always thirsty for knowledge, and also, if a piece of the puzzle is missing, it can obscure the whole picture."

That's a little confusing, but I think I get it. I must have a confused look on my face, because Jay elaborates, "He means that if he doesn't know one thing, he might not be able to figure the whole thing out."

"Yeah, I think I picked that up..." I say, turning back around to Cole, who seems closer than before. I step towards the outside a little bit in each of my strides until I'm comfortable with the space between us.

We finally arrive at our houses. Theirs comes first. "Well, it was nice getting to know you, and finding out that you aren't completely hardcore," I say, dismissing myself.

"Hey!" Cole complains, "I AM completely hardcore!" He lifts up his shirt to show me his 8-pack abs. I glance away. I don't need him thinking that I like him. I don't, so it'd only hurt him to think that of me. "Look," he says, his voice steely.

"I believe you, but that doesn't mean I have to look to believe," I say.

Kai walks over, grabs my hand with a forceful grip, and pulls my hand to feel Cole's abs. "If you're not going to look, then you could be at least a little more courteous and feel them!" He rests my hand on Cole's sculpted middle. This feels odd. . . yet, kinda good.

Stop it Ember! You can't be falling for a guy you just met! And certainly not one who causes you to be grumpy! I can kinda see Cole look at Kai, with the I-can't-believe-this-is-happening look written across his face. Ugh. Kai smirks, and loosens his grip on my hand. I take the opportunity to pull my hand away, and back up, brushing my hands off on my middle. They look amused.

"See you," I start to turn around. A hand rests on my shoulder. I grab the arm extending from it, whip around and twist Jay's arm around his back. Not a comfortable position. "First rule: don't touch me unless I touch you," I say from behind him.

"Got it," he says with a strained voice. I let his arm go, and a breath of relief escapes him. He turns around to face me, "I was going to invite you to have dinner with us. You can meet Sensei and Nya, Kai's sister. And we can get to know a little more about each other over pot roast."

"Jay. . . We've just met her; Kai forced her to feel Cole; and you're making her uncomfortable. She's already sending off stress vibes, and now you want to pressure her even more?" Zane asks.

I give him a steely look. I don't like to be described as the Damsel in Distress. Even though that's not how he worded it, I get the feeling that under those words, that's what he meant. "You guys are really weird," I say turning to leave again.

Just then, the door to their house opens, and a figure steps into view. One with a long, white beard. "Oh, you are back. Dinner is almost ready. Who's this?" The figure says to the ninja.

I turn around as Cole points to me, "That's Ember, she's a bit odd herself," he looks at me while saying the last part. I sneer at him.

"Miss," the figure says, stepping out of the house and walking down the path towards me. "I don't believe I've met you before. Do you enjoy pot roast?"

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