Well, I only got two chapters in before I decided to do a full rewrite of my rewrite so here's the original chapter two. 😂

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CHAPTER TWO |

RANDOM SONG OF THE CHAPTER:

The Start Of Something New : High School Musical

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"Don't be a butt. It's as simple as that."

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If you thought my talents stopped at drawing then you were wrong! I am absolutely amazing at anything and everything!

Except for stuff like basic normal conversation, going on diets, pottery, respecting my brother, eating asparagus, being quiet, winning a try-not-to-sing challenge, driving, and most forms of physical activity.

Cough.

So, as I was saying I also do other stuff. Like painting! I've loved painting ever since I found some mud when I was two and scored the liquid dirt down the sides of my neighbours car. I think I made a very impressive deformed duck.

Now that I am in my twenties my painting expertise has improved. But I can still make deformed ducks, let me have you know!

Y'know how I rambled for way to long about the feeling of pencil lead on a piece of tree corpse? Well I shall bore you more about the great feeling of paint on a canvas!

Paints smooth and squishy and annoying impossible to get off of your clothes...

I frowned as I tried to rub off the blob of yellow. Fiddlesticks.

"Is that a dancing banana?" A girl asked from where she was sitting.

I glanced down at my painting. Ah. So it was.

"Yes." I told her confidently. Sometimes you just gotta act like you know absolutely everything your doing even though you really have no damn idea.

At that moment my phone buzzes aggressively in my pocket. I smile at the girl as I take it out, already dreading the lunatic on the other side I start to put my things away.

"Where are you?" Kat spoke shrilly into the microphone.

I moved the device away from my ear as I yank my hair out of its messy bun. "I'm at the art studio, where else would I be?"

"At the restaurant- where you agreed to be?!" Kat said through gritted teeth.

I glanced at the time, stepping onto the street. I narrowly missed being clipped by a car. "WATCH IT IDIOT!" I screamed at the driver as they zoomed away. I huffed, rolling my shoulders as I moved to my little broken down olive green car.

"I'll be there. Just tell me where the restaurant is again?" I sighed, slipping the key in and moving out of park.

"We're at Aitai." Kat told me.

Silence.

"Downtown?"

Still nothing.

"Beside the thrift store and the crazy cat lady place?"

"Ohhhh..." I flicked my turn signal and hit the gas, weaving between a Jeep and a red car with two arguing passengers.

"Gwen, you should know your way around by now." Kat tsked.

"Relax, I know exactly where I'm going." I adjusted the phone in my coffee holder as I glanced around. Buying back a huff when I realized I went down a one way street that led to a dead end.

Alright, Gwen, easy peasy. Nice and slow, turn, turn- ACK! I winced as my hood hit some garbage cans, sending them flying across the road.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" I piped. "Oh no, a flying monkey just flew in, gotta go!"

"WHAT?-"

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I made it at last.

This food better be good.

I leaned against the doorframe, stumbling into the cute little restaurant as I tried to find my friends. It wasn't too busy. A small group of laughing friends and a few couples. I wrinkled my nose. One of them smelled funny. I sniffed. Maybe it's some weird cologne?

"Excuse me, miss." A clipped tone prodded me out of my little smelling test. I glanced over to see a middle aged woman regarding me with screwed up eyes. "Can you please stop smelling my husband?"

Gwen, you stupid weirdo.

I let out a nervous laugh. "Of course, sorry about that." I gave a little wave and made my escape.

"Is that Gwen?"

"Who else would be smelling a strangers sweater?"

"Haha." I rolled my eyes, plopping down beside my terrible friends. They both already had their meal. Hmm. Looks like they're sharing a noodle bowl.

Mina handed me the menu, classic comfort food that reminded me of home covered the pages. I smiled as my fingers gently pushed the laminated paper, moving to the next page.

"What would you like?" I nearly jumped. A tall, broad shouldered girl with tattoos and multiple piercings loomed over me. She raised a studded eyebrow.

"Well?" She asked impatiently.

"Uh...the chicken teriyaki please." I peeped out.

Scary Girl snatched my menu before moving to the bar. I twisted in my seat, eyes widening as she relayed my order to the young man cooking there.

I watched as he expertly began to move around the cooking space, hands grabbing and mixing at an incredible rate. He tossed something in the air, making me gasp as it dropped the ingredients into the container and landed perfectly on the counter. The young man glanced up when he heard my sharp exhale but I only saw a flash a blue before Kat kicked me hard in the shin.

"Ow!" My reflexes caused my knee to jerk, hitting the table top and making the whole thing move. I fixed my scowl onto the tiny boy. "What do you want?"

"Mina was saying something." His words held this coldness to them that made me know exactly what she was saying.

"So, who are you setting me up with?" Mina questioned eagerly. Her deep brown eyes sparkling.

She really was a pretty girl. A kind girl. A sweet, amazing person. Good grief, Mina was a great girl, who wouldn't want to date her? I almost wished she was a horrible person so this would be easier. But if she was a horrible person I probably would've hated her and then moved out after many various revenge plots.

"Haven't been able to think about it." I swigged the complementary water. "It's only been a few hours."

Mina nodded, trying to appear chill and relaxed. "I just really want to me my one."

"Your one?" I echoed with a teasing tone. My nail tapped against my glass. Rat-tat-tat. Rat-tat-tat.

She smiled at me, propping her chin on her hand. "You're always talking about true love and all that Gweny. I want to have What dances in your beautiful imagination."

"Unicorns dance in my imagination, mio amico." I replied dryly.

"What does meeo ameeco mean?" Kat questioned, butchering the pronunciation as one does when repeating words in a foreign language.

"My friend." A clear, almost familiar, voice called. I glanced over to see the chef there, he bent low to place my food on the table, I couldn't quite see his face. "I am quiet certain it's Italian."

My attention was pulled elsewhere when Kat dove his fork into my food.

"HEY! That's my dinner!" I shoved him away. "You already have yours!"

"Well, I'm paying for your food. I should at least get a bite!" I tried to fend off the food monster but he ate on anyway. I glanced at where the chef was but he had disappeared just as quietly as he came.

Ghostly. I mused, my interest moving back to my food as I quickly ate what I could before my friends did.

I jolted when the horrible screech of sirens blasted like...well like sirens and a fire truck whizzed by. Like a scarlet chariot with flashing lights. I glanced with concern at my friends as the Scary Girl turned on the small television in the restaurant.

"I have to go." The chef said quietly to his coworker before he threw off his uniform and departed through the back door.

An angry red glare made me look at the screen. I couldn't stop the horror from slipping into my face as I stared at the flickering flames on Borg Tower.

"We need to go." Kat said urgently.

I nodded numbly but focused on grabbing Mina by the arm. I grabbed my keys and yanked on my coat.

"You drive with Kat." I told Mina as we stepped out.

Billowing grey smoke wafted through the air like angry storm clouds. The smell was burning and acrid, stinging my eyes and tearing at my lungs. Mina pulled the bottom of her deep blue hijab over her mouth.

"Be safe." She told me, voice slightly muffled. I coughed, waving my hand to clear the air. I nodded with a forced smile, trying to push aside the fear as I got into my car.

Kat and Mina left first, I pulled out after, the whizzing cars flew by, going way past the speed limit as people shouted and screamed. My route unfortunately went by Borg Tower. I tried to keep my eyes on the road but when I saw the angry red fire in the corner of my eye I couldn't look away.

I stared, gaping at the tar black cloud rising around the flickering pyro disaster. The blast of a horn startled me. Another fire truck, but I was in the way. I shrieked and whipped the wheel around, swerving aggressively off to the side. My heart plummeted into my stomach when I over-turned, crashing into the trees lining the streets and straight into a park bench.

I screamed, but the bench was wood and wasn't rooted into the ground well. It simply flew into the air, my car jerking from impact. The light and concerningly easy-to-steal park bench wasn't enough to make my air bag explode in my face but I did launch forward and smack my face into the steering wheel.

Not so nice words exploded from my mouth. Little panicked whispered as I struggled to breath. My hands were shaking, my body was shaking. Frantic fingers gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles white as I hung on for dear life. I stared at the destroyed under bush before me, what looked like bent metal from my bad viewing point in the drivers seat. I swore again, the fear rolling into anger as I slammed my hand onto the steering wheel. I heaved a deep breath, and another, doing a dozen more before I finally looked up.

"Are you okay, Miss?" Someone shouted.

I screamed so loudly, a horrible banshee-like shriek that made the little blue clad figure make a girl-like scream and toppled off my dash board.

I felt like one of those fearful chihuahuas with the buddy eyes. My gaze traveled to the dude currently scrambling to his feet. Holy chocolate fudge cake it's a ninja.

I wasn't sure which ninja though.

You may be thinking- uh, Gwen, you live in Ninjago City, the heart of the Ninjago and home to the world famous ninja. HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW?!!!

Well let me tell you something.

I have weird parents who rarely let me look at the news and all the gossipy magazines. Now I'm old enough to get them myself but I mostly just cut them into billions of pieces for a collage or lay them on the floor to protect Kay's precious hard wood floor from my crafts. So my ninja expertise wasn't the best.

I knew the easy ones. Green ninja. He wears green. Duh. It's a little on-the-nose but hey, I won't judge! Fire ninja, red, like a fire truck and just as loud. I've seen his Instagram. It's mostly littered with selfies of him attempting to make himself look handsomer while wearing a mask over his face. Black is earth. Like... Earth when it's destroyed by humanity. He sounds fun. Then there's the ice ninja. He wear white. Like a snowman. Or like figure ice skates. Or like Santa's beard. Then things get tricky. Colours grow weirder. Elements less basic. I dunno, I'm more concerned about the reruns of my favourite geeky comedies.

Oh wait, there's a blue dude staring at me with his face pressed against my window. I opened the door, which was probably stupid because he was right there. Whoopsies.

"What's happening? Is there a fire?" I asked frantically. The slow part of my brain said: well duh Gwen, of course there's A FIRE!

"Yeah, lightning doesn't really do well with fires so I'm helping getting everyone to safety." The squeaky short ninja said sheepishly.

I noticed a more feminine shape doing dangerous parkour up a burning building. The wasabi beside her smashed a window and she blasted water in. A little jet of water. Yes that will definitely help.

"Is someone rigging the plumbing?" I said, panic itching into my voice as my brain went to the many, many lectures on Borg Tower.

"Ew." Blue Raspberry said.

I rolled my eyes. "The plumbing goes all over the building since there's so many washrooms, sinks, and water needed for experiments." I explained. "There's a special way to get into the system so that it can put out the fire from the inside."

"Gwendolyn, you're a genius!" Arms wrapped around me and I was being hugged. A little weird but I like hugs so I hugged back. I frowned over his shoulder as his words finally promised.

"Gwendolyn?" I shoved him back.

"Er... I heard someone say it. To you." He said sheepishly. Light blue eyes nervous. Cobalt wrung his hands awkwardly.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "It's Gwen."

"Yup. Gwen. Got it." Mr. Blue-Guy presses a finger to the side of his head, his voice began rapidly relaying what I said to whoever was on the other side.

He paused, glancing at me. "Do you know where we could get into the system."

I hesitated. It was right in the thick of it. "I'd need to go in..."

His head was shaking fast, like a bobble head, moving in jerky gestures. "Ice will go. You just need to give him direction."

"Oh." I'm much more comfortable with that. "Okay."

"Ice!" Bobby Head screeched into his communicator. "I need you at the base of the tower!"

I inspected the damage made to my forehead from smacking it on my steering wheel as I waited for the dude to come. Were my ears ringing?

That's normal.