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Cole knew Ninjago City Middle School wasn’t the most well-maintained school in the country. A majority of their funding already went to repairs whenever Garmadon attacked, so he could almost forgive the A/C constantly breaking, the roaches that scuttled around classrooms, and even the hole in the ceiling of the science lab. Almost. That A/C thing was really annoying during final exams.
Rats falling out of the ceiling though? That was pretty new. Especially into his mashed potatoes during the middle of lunch.
“Oh my First! It’s a rat! ” One guy next to him shouted, scooting away as quickly as he could. “Kill it!”
Cole stared at the creature, still laying belly-up in his spuds. “I think it’s already dead,” he murmured, though it had little to no impact on the chaos steadily unfolding, rippling out like a wave, throughout the cafeteria. The guy who originally sounded the alarm was running to get a teacher while everyone else at the table scurried away to others, taking the opportunity to point and loudly announce the furry rodent that appeared where they once were.
The rat itself wasn’t even that gross-looking, aside from the thin government-defined potatoes stuck in its fur. It looked closer to the ones Cole had seen in pet stores than the ones found in the gutter, small with bright black-and-white fur.
Then it got up and Cole couldn’t help but jump a little. It shook, sending little drops of mashed potatoes everywhere, and stared at Cole with its beady black eyes.
“Hey, little guy,” he said, softly, “you’re not from here, are ya?”
The rat shook his head. Cole wasn’t sure if it was an answer or an attempt to remove the rest of the food from its snout, but he took it as a sign. Plus, that kid was coming back with Mr. Kim, the lunch monitor. Before they came up, Cole scooped his new pal up and tucked him in the pocket of his jacket. As they approached, Cole caught the tail end of whatever rant this guy was on.
“—rehensible! It could spread diseases! And it's right—” He stopped and stared at Cole’s plate. The only sign of a rat was the crater left from its impact.
Mr. Kim narrowed his eyes. “Where is it now?”
Cole shrugged. “Ran away. Didn’t see where.”
“But it was right there!”
“Ugh, the last thing we need is rodents… Todd, I will let the principal know what you saw. Thank you for informing me. Now, get back to lunch, and next time there’s an incident like this, please don’t cause everyone else to evacuate.”
Todd was still staring at Cole, now with a hint of scrutiny. “Yes, Mr. Kim.”
“And Cole? Please throw that plate away. It’s probably contaminated.”
Cole nodded and Mr. Kim left. Todd sneered at Cole. “What’d you do with the rat?”
“Nothin’ you can prove.”
Todd huffed, but just grabbed his tray from next to Cole and stomped off to another table. He barely had a chance to sit before the bell rang.
Cole’s new friend peeked out from his pocket, roused by the noise. Gently, the boy tapped him back in. “Hang tight, little buddy. We’ll find your owner soon enough. Just gotta survive Literature.”
Surviving Literature class was easier said than done. Cole’s teacher, Mrs. Reid (who, Cole sometimes thought, probably got hired because of her name), was singularly the most boring woman he’d ever had the misfortune of being taught by. It didn’t help that whenever her back was turned, the class would go crazy for the split second they were unsupervised. Pencils and paper airplanes would fly across the classroom, perfectly lined up spitball shots hit bullseyes, and one time Willa Zhang smacked Donnie Lowen in the back of the head with her textbook.
Luckily, his new pal was really well-trained. He kept inside Cole’s pocket, occasionally peeking his head out and sniffing the air before darting back in. While trying to keep his eyes open through a lecture on the symbolism of curtain colors in the short story they read, Cole also tried to figure out how he’d find the little guy's owner. He definitely had one, considering the evidence so far, and Cole was more or less certain there weren’t literal lab rats in the school. Taking him to the front office didn’t seem like the best option, they’d probably freak out and hurt him. Maybe he could take him home? His dad might be mad, but Cole was sure he could deal with it. He could put up missing pet posters and wait it out… How would Cole take care of him in the meantime though…?
His thoughts were interrupted by the classroom door opening. In burst a boy in an oversized bomber jacket and orange scarf, odd attire for mid-September, but Cole wasn’t one to judge.
“I’m so sorry I’m late, I was looki--”
“Please sit down, Mr. Walker, we can discuss after class. I’m in the middle of an important part of the lecture.”
He bowed his head and took his seat next to Cole.
As Mrs. Reid returned to her lecture, Cole’s new friend peeked out of his pocket again. Except this time, he didn’t go back down. Cole felt him rustling around, trying to scurry out of his pocket. He tapped the rodent’s snout, trying to make him hide. The last thing he needed was an incident in this class.
“Mr. Brookstone?”
Crap.
Cole looked up, only to find Mrs. Reid staring at him, her eyes narrowed. “What in your pocket is so interesting that you’re not paying attention?”
“Nothin’.” By this point, he was having to use his palm as a wall to keep the little guy from scurrying out.
“Then you can answer my question.”
Even if he had a clue what she was asking and wasn’t preoccupied with rat shenanigans, probably not.
“Um…”
“Take your hand out of your pocket and answer me.”
“You don’t want me to do that…”
“No excuses!”
Have it your way . Cole took his hand out of his pocket and his new friend immediately sprung out and fell on the floor, his claws scratching the linoleum. A tornado of panic followed as Mrs. Reid let out an ear-piercing screech and ran out of the room, followed by the rest of the class. The rat was still dusting himself off from the fall by the time they were all gone, all except the kid next to Cole, whose eyes drifted to the furry creature on the floor.
“Min-ji!” he cried, stooping to the floor and holding his cupped palms out. “There you are girl, where have you been?”
To Cole’s surprise, the rodent scampered into his hands. The boy rose, cradled Min-ji against his chest with one hand and pet her with the other. He looked at Cole. “Where did you find her?”
“Fell from the sky.”
“ What?! How’d she do that? I only lost her last period.”
Cole shrugged. “She ended up in my potatoes.”
“Sorry about that. Normally I keep her at home, but I had a test today and was hoping she could help me out. Then she got loose and… well, I think I might’ve failed that test, probably got some kind of write-up, but I’m just glad she’s safe. I thought she was a goner when she got into the vents!”
“I’m glad you found her.”
The other boy looked at Cole. “What’s your name?”
“Cole. Yours?”
“Jay.” He stopped petting Min-ji and held out a hand. “Nice to meet you.”