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Chemistry. Ugh.
Cole sat, feet propped up on the table as he endured what had to be one of the most mentally exhausting and uninteresting lectures on the molecular structure of rubber in the history of his life. His brain was nowhere near focused on anything he was saying, and he was walking the line of consciousness and unconsciousness. They weren't even in college, and yet the teacher insisted on preaching like he was a professor. If he had to hear any more of his droning on and on and on, he'd genuinely flip out. That, or fall asleep. It irritated Cole beyond belief. Could the city get in trouble again sometime soon please?? Where were any of the escaped prison convicts or wannabe Garmadon successors when he needed them??? He couldn't take this anymore- he needed out of this classroom, and now.
He raised his hand and called out, "Can I get a bathroom pass??" The teacher finally stopped talking mid sentence, and glared at Cole. "First of all, you wait until I call on you to speak. Second of all, it's may I please have a bathroom pass. And third, you are aware that you are on your last bathroom pass of the 6 weeks, yes?" Cole stared at his teacher through uninterested eyes, everything he said going in one ear and breezing out the other. "So can I get one?"
The teacher sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand, massaging his forehead with the other. "Yes, Cole," He muttered, exasperated, "You can 'get a bathroom pass'."
Cole shot out of his chair, sending it clattering to the floor, hooked the lanyard off the nail on the wall, and dashed out of the room, his peers staring at him like they had been the entire time. The teacher continued his lecture as the door closed behind him. Finally out of class- even if it were the last time for the next two months- he didn't have to deal with any more of his teacher's rambling. First stop, not the bathroom.
The metal door of his locker slammed against the one beside it. Cole reached into his locker and grabbed his boombox. Of course, he'd been told off multiple times, and even given detention for blasting music too loudly in the hallways before, and he wasn't too keen of the thought of getting written up, either, so he'd always kept it set below the first 5 volume knobs- specifically set to 2, because if it were on anything but an even number or interval of 5, he'd have to rip all of his skin off. He flipped the stereo on, his Alt Rock thoom-thooming through the speakers gently.
The halls were empty, save for the occasional student heading to that place Cole said he'd be, or a teacher assigned to hall duty. Luckily for him, as long as he had a pass, he wouldn't get told off and sent back to class. He wore the bright yellow lanyard like a badge of honor, breezing down the hallway with a pep in his step and radio pressed to his ear.
Ohhhh, he wanted something sweet now. He loved food just as much as he loved music and animals (if not more). And listening to music while enjoying a tasty snack?? You're threatening Cole with a hella good time. But, being the thoughtful friend he was, he wanted to bring enough snacks back to share with the others at lunch. Meaning he needed more hands to carry treats of course. Who's hands though, that was the big question.
Immediately, he ticked Kai and Jay off the list. Kai may be more willing to break school rules than anyone else, but his rowdiness and rambunctiousness and impulsiveness and any other synonym for 'just really super hyper and obnoxious' would likely get them both sent straight to the office. Jay was a major wimp, as much as he loves the guy. He also had a tendency to complain a lot, and Cole wasn't in the mood to hear the guy whine about how nervous he was to get caught off of school grounds during the day, or how sore his arms were from carrying all those bags. Lloyd was also a no go, given that his dad was the Garmadon, the citys' absolute worst enemy. Why did that matter? Well, Lloyd has opened his heart and spilled his guts out to his friends countless times, telling them how he was trying to keep his slate as clean as possible so that the city folks' suspicions of him would lower. Not that it ever helped, but Cole would respect his wishes regardless, so yeah, Lloyd wasn't an option.
He also crossed off Nya, which took a considerable amount of thinking. Nya was by far the chilliest of them all, besides himself, of course. She was always down to lounge, had great taste in music, and was the first person to figure him out. But, as chill as she was, she shared Kai's rambunctiousness whenever she got irritated, and again, he didn't have time to deal with that if someone bumped into her or looked at her the wrong way. And anyway, she was on her last pass of the first 6 weeks as well, and he didn't wanna make her sacrifice her own free time for snacks.
So, who was left?
Ah, how could he forget Zane? He by far was the best option. He may have been programmed to follow the rules, but with a little bit of gaslighting convincing, he could get Zane to break them. Take lying, for example. Last year, in their sophomore year, they'd all been preparing a surprise for Lloyd's 15th birthday, and multiple times, they had to get Zane to lie to keep the secret. It was nearly blown, like, five times, until Kai finally got Zane to understand the benefit of a lie in some cases, like this one. But what was the benefit of sneaking out of school just to get some cake and risk getting your first strike on your permanent record? He'd figure it out as he texted, his stomach was currently screaming at him and Lunch was hours away.
Luckily for him, Zane had linked all of his phone's communications to himself, so any message Cole would send, he would immediately receive. One thing that absolutely wasn't allowed in the halls was a phone, so he ducked into the bathroom and into a stall for extra measures. Wow, he used his bathroom pass for the bathroom! Now they couldn't say he was breaking the rules. His boombox sat on the toilet paper dispenser, seeing as it was the cleanest surface- for the boys bathroom. Then, he opened his phone and began typing;
'do u wanna go get some paris bagette w/ md for the others'
'*me'
And sent! The response wasn't immediate, since Zane was in class and likely actually paying attention, so he closed the app and opened his streaming platform, pulling out his headphones and sorting through a playlist. In the middle of the second song, Cole's phone buzzed in his hand, and a text preview slid down from the top of his screen. 'Pick up the phone!!' His text tone screamed at him, the music's volume automatically turning down so he'd hear it.
'I appreciate the offer!' it read, 'But I am in class, so I cannot, as leaving the school premises would be considered skipping. Also, it is spelled as 'Baguette'.'
Cole rolled his eyes at the correction and opened the message, reading it over again before typing up a response.
'just use 1 of ur bathroom passes dude u havent used any of them at all this year'
Zane's response was quicker now, and he initially only responded with a 'But', and then sent a wall of text that took Cole two reads to comprehend.
'Cole, the bathroom passes are for just that- going to the bathroom. Not for sneaking out of school and going to a pastry shop. We are juniors in high school, about to be seniors, and since we are ninja, we barely have enough time as is to focus on any of our assignments or homework, which is why you always end up copying from me! At the very least, if we can't get in a proper study session, pay attention in class and don't skip out on any lessons if not necessary.'
Cole started at the text for a second and scratched his head. Maybe he'd have to reconsider Nya?? But he really kind of wanted to spend time with Zane.. an ultimatum, perhaps would help?
'ok what if while we're out we also do like a patrol'
'like where we watch the streets fir jerks'
'and if we catch any while we're getting snacks we can get them to the police'
'And then after school maybe we can do a study group if the streets a re clear'
'alsooo we'd get to spend more time 2gether if u came with me
Cole tapped his foot against the tile floor, beginning to sweat just a little bit under his headband. A minute passed, and he wondered if Zane had even bothered to read the string of messages. Maybe that last one was a bit much? He considered deleting it, but then a response from Zane pushed the message up.
'Where should I meet you?'
"I still think that this is deceitful, and that we should not be abusing our passes like this," Zane reiterated, uncertainty laced in his voice. They had met at their lockers and made their way to their super awesome and secret ninja base under the school that surprisingly no one had found yet, considering how huge it was. Cole held his boombox on his shoulder. They'd slipped into their gi, and were now standing by the entrance. Their passes were tucked between the tied fabric. "Would you really even consider it abuse when I actually went to the restroom? Think about it." He tapped his forehead with his free hand. Zane was quiet for a second, truly processing it. He grinned after a moment, his optics glowing brighter for a moment before returning to their normal state.
"What you say is the truth.. I suppose that they would not mind if I also use my pass in this way. Though, I have not been to the bathroom yet." Cole shook his head and clapped a hand onto Zane's shoulder. "You can step in and out when we get back. I'm sure it'll be around lunch time by then, anyway." Zane was quiet again, optics wiring and shifting and turning as he calculated. "Negative, if we keep our pace and have no obscurities in our path, we should return around 5th period, just an hour before lunch. But your point is received." And without another word, Zane began rolling out of the base. Cole watched him go for a second, disappointment making itself known through the soft huff that escaped his lips at the thought of having to endure Financial Math, before running up and matching Zane's pace.
The city was rather peaceful at the moment, which neither ninja would complain about (Well, maybe Cole would, considering that without some sort of hindrance to their initial path, he'd have to go through the horrors of budgeting and personal savings and finance). Now that he was in the general public with no bossy teachers to tell him off, he cranked his speaker up to 10. He began to feel better as the music thrummed through his body and relaxed his mind and muscles. Zane was quiet, save for the occasional whir of machinery whenever he'd change something about his pace. They walked the familiar streets of the city to the pastry shop.
Paris Baguette was basically empty, the only other characters being a group of two that looked like college students sitting at a corner table with a computer and some papers, likely a study session. Zane noticed the two and glanced at Cole, his eyes being the only part of his face that was currently visible through his mask conveying a heavy message to him- 'We should be doing that right now.' Cole sighed and brought the speaker down from his shoulder, resting it by his hip. "We're already out this far, White," he said, gently shoving his companion's shoulder, "And besides, we're on patrol. It's not like we're skipping class for something dumb like the mall or anything." Zane squinted at Cole, but said nothing and rolled up to the order counter, surveying the pastries on display.
He was beginning to understand the black ninja's love for sweets such as these, for they looked absolutely sublime. The frosting and fondant decorations contrasted beautifully with the various sheet cake colors, and the small descriptions listed next to the cakes sounded like they tasted so much better than they looked. Cole was on the nindroid's left, staring down a donut-shaped pastry. It had thick, circular lumps varying throughout the whole of it, and the top was glazed with a patch of forest green frosting. Zane was baffled, as he'd never seen a donut this strange. He walked over to Cole, pointing to it and tilting his head. "I'm not sure that I have this specific type of donut documented in my database. What is it?" He asked, voice filled with wonder.
Cole looked up at Zane and then averted his gaze to the fried sweet. "Oh, that? It's a mochinut. It's like a donut, but it's chewy like mochi, and it's super delish. I think this is the matcha flavour, i've been waiting weeks for them to restock it!" Cole rang the bell, and a kind old lady adorned in a pale brown apron, white shirt, and black bell bottoms appeared from the back, sliding gloves over both of her hands. 'Mystaké', her name tag spelled. "Hello, you two. What might I get for you?" she said slowly, clasping her hands together and smiling. The Earth ninja pointed with his free hand to one of the matcha-mochinuts on display. "Can I get like, six of these? Аnd like, six more of every other flavour. And four of those cream puffs, strawberry only though. And umm, those cream foot-long-breads, four of those, too."
Cole turned to Zane. "What do you want?" he asked. Zane was quiet for a moment, processing all that was in front of him. He didn't know. "I don't know," he admitted. "I have never tried any of these before, so I am unfamiliar with the flavour characteristics of any of these, as I have not been here often." He points to a bright yellow square. "That though, has piqued my interest. I will get one of those to try." Mystaké reached in and grabbed a small piece off of one, handing it to Zane. "Here, try some of it now, on the house." Zane took the piece and bowed gratefully, pulling his mask up just a little to eat. "I myself despise whenever I buy an entire pastry because i'm curious, just to discover that I don't like the taste, or worse, the texture! It just feels like a waste of money, doesn't it?" Zane nodded as he chewed the small chunk of- what was it? He focused on the flavour now, zesty and almost bitter, yet sweet and melty, like a cloud inside his mouth. He decided that he didn't prefer the taste, but loved the texture; the fluffiness had him feeling like he was chewing on clouds.
Cole smirked as he observed Zane. He had his eyes shut, though it was still visible through the only exposed parts of his face that he was enjoying the experience of the sweet treat. His eyes opened, finally. "I do not find the taste to my liking, but the texture is superior. If there are others like that in different flavours then.." He trailed off, skimming the selection behind glass. Mystaké grinned and bent down again, picking a piece off of the one beside it. This one was a muted red, marbled with a brown-hazel like color. "The one you just tried was a lemon meringue. I can see you don't like lemons, that's a shame, but it's good to know that you like that category of treat. This one's a chocolate." Cole's ears perked at that, and he looked right at Zane, eyes wide. "Zane.. Zane let me try.." he whispered, pulling at the ice ninja's gi. Zane took the chocolate treat and bit half of it off, giving the other part to Cole, who ate it eagerly. "..And 10 of those, too." he said, dusting his hands together. Zane nodded. "Chocolate is superior."
The grand total came out to be what Cole heard as 7000.000 nigo, but what truly equated to 750.00. He was the one paying, with money he'd earned from working DJ gigs during spare time. Mystaké bagged all the items for them, and the two accepted them, Cole being unable to suppress the excited smile that sported his face. He was glad his mask was covering him, because First Master knew that he looked whipped as hell for these whipped treats. Now it was time for the trade off. He handed the kind lady two fifties-
Well, he tried to, anyway, but it was snatched out of his hand before it could even touch hers by some guy that came completely out of nowhere! "Hey, what's the big idea???" He hissed. The guy flipped onto the counter beside the group. One of those kids from the study table-?? "Thanks for the money, money man!" he said, voice grating. "I'll be off now. Krux! I got it, let's go!!"
The other college student looked extremely embarrassed, pulling his hoodie strings to hide his face, which was red as the red velvet sheet cakes, by the way. "You were supposed to use my code name.. Numbers, Numbers!! It's literally so easy to say!!" He groaned, standing up suddenly and sending his chair flying backwards. "Now i'm not using your code name, Acronix!!" The one on the counter gasped. Cole was tired of the back and forth; he wanted to eat his cream foot longs as soon as possible, and he never ate until the owner was paid. So he swung his boombox and tripped the counter thief. He yelped as he went flying to the floor. Cole bent down and picked up his money.
"Acronix you dolt, you cant do anything right, can you?" Cole suddenly couldn't move anymore. It was almost like a barrier surrounded his skin and his skin alone, rendering him motionless. Acronix shot across the bakery and grabbed the two fifties out of black's hand, before helping his twin to his feet. Then, they both turned tail and bolted out the shop doors. Cole watched them go through his peripheral vision before the barrier wore off and he could move again. He stumbled forward and caught himself on the counter, then shot a glare in the direction of the two thieves. "Excuse us, ma'am," Cole said, swinging his boombox over his shoulder, "We'll be right back with that." And he was out the door at lightning speeds so horrifying they could rival Jay's. Zane bowed and hooked the bagged treats over his shoulder before dashing after Cole. Mystaké watched them go with a crooked grin. At least she didn't have to worry about them stealing 750.00 nigos worth of baked goods.
The twins stuck to crowded areas, using the concentrated amount of people to their advantage. That doesn't mean it didn't take them longer to get away from their victims, given they were running through crowded areas. At one point, they were basically stagnant because of the high level of foot traffic. But regardless of all that, they'd gotten away! They were maybe 3 or 4 blocks away from the pastry shop, and thanks to Krux's time stopping abilities, they'd been given a head start. 'There's no way those ninja are be able to catch up,' Acronix thought.
Not a moment after he thought that, the ground began to shake. A mob, perhaps? It was rather crowded, they could be crowding more for some event? They simultaneously peeked their heads above the crowd around them to see a mech maybe 3 feet taller than them running directly towards the two, the driver's bronze gaze set in a determined scowl. Atop the mech sat the Master of Ice, his gaze maybe twice as determined as the Earth's.
Before Krux could use his time freeze, he felt his entire body temperature drop rapidly, and he went stiff. He realized that the white ninja had shot a blast of ice directly at him, freezing him in his tracks. Acronix didn't wait another moment and began running right in the opposite direction, away from his victims turned pursuers. He shoved through the crowd, ignoring the protests and cries of incredulity. The Crowd was dwindling down now, he was almost home free- or so he thought. Right as he shoved past the last civilian, the earth in front of him crumbled and burst, boulders rising out of the ground and surrounding him, cutting off his exit. He didn't have his brother's time reversal powers, but maybe he could slow the ninja down enough to give him time to get away? He fumbled for his necklace- Just to have an ice stalagmite shank the jewel out of his grasp and onto the ground. "Looks like you're out of time," The pilot of the mech quipped, before laughing at his own pun. The passenger let out two monotone 'Ha, ha's, before jumping off the top and walking up to Acronix.
The last thing the time twin saw was a blast of white before darkness engulfed his vision.
Zane stretched his fingers, powers ebbing from his hands and back to the core of his being as he completely encapsulated the second criminal in ice. Cole flipped a switch and hopped out of the mech. A moment later, the great machine began to convert, ending in its disguised shape of a simple boombox. He picked it up with one arm and admired it with a grin on his face. "This thing is really nifty. I have to thank Nya for it again sometime soon." He dropped his arm and walked up to the petrified criminal, lifting him off the ground with a little bit of force to break the ice, and slinging him over his shoulder. Zane wheeled over and picked up the small bejeweled necklace, holding it firmly in his hand. "You have already thanked her various times. I doubt she would want to hear it again, as repetitive thanks can eventually become irritating." He replied. Cole dug through the thief's pockets and grunted when he came out empty. "I guess, though if I ever made something super cool for someone to keep forever, i'd wanna be thanked until they died."
The two walked back to the event, where a small crowd was beginning to form around the other frozen twin. He was beginning to thaw, a small puddle of water on the ground surrounding him. His fingers were partially free, and he struggled for his necklace. Zane shot another beam of ice at him. "That is a personal preference, and you do not know if Nya would want that as well." He was quiet for a moment and then grinned. "Though, now I know how to react whenever I receive a gift from you." Cole smirked and stacked Krux on top of Acronux, digging through his pocket and pulling out the money that was rightfully theirs.
Krux and Acronix had their time necklaces confiscated and were dropped off at the police station. Cole and Zane finally made the proper exchange with Mystaké, and walked back to the school with a bag of pastries. Zane beeped. "The time is 12:15 pm, and we will arrive back at the school at 12:23 if we keep this pace. Lunch is in 10 minutes." Cole rolled his eyes. "Well in that case, let's walk slower."
They in fact did not walk slower, as Zane insisted that he needed to go to the restroom before the class period ended, or else it would be considered abuse of a pass. So they returned to the school with 2 minutes to spare, and stopped by the bathroom. Back in his regular clothes, Cole stood outside while Zane rolled in a circle in the disabled stall. Finally satisfied, he rolled out with a wide, toothy grin on his face. His sweater was a little disheveled due to the speed he was rolling at, which he would not specify, but otherwise, he looked just as fine as before. Fine was an understatement, in Cole's opinion, though. They parted ways with a wave, and Cole and Zane walked and zoomed back to their classes respectively.
Cole stepped into the classroom- and just a moment later, the bell rang. The teacher started at him through squinted eyes. He obviously looked angry, but for what, Cole couldn't understand! Oh well. He took the bright yellow lanyard off his neck and hung it up beside the door, dashing off to the cafeteria with his pastries in hand.
"Oh yeah, awesome!!" Nya shouted as she was handed a cream puff. "When did you guys have the time to get these?!" Zane and Cole looked at each other. "We actually returned just a few minutes ago." Zane replied. Jay and Kai were shoving footlongs into eachother's mouths, seeing how long they could go without chewing them. Lloyd watched in astonishment, mouth prepared to bite a mochinut but never actually biting. "Don't do that you two, I spent 7000.000 nigo on these, and if you vomit, i'm gonna kick your asses." Kai and Jay stopped and began chewing. Lloyd finally bit into his mochinut and nearly spat it out. "This is.. really chewy. I wasn't expecting that texture." He chewed thoughtfully. "It tastes good though. Where'd you guys go?"
"Paris Baguette. I found out about it one day on the way to school, stopped by, got a mochinut," He gestured to Lloyd's treat, "been a regular patron ever since. I can get some of these like, every Friday if everyone chips in." Everyone liked that idea.