Chapter Text
Jump up, kick back, whip around and spin,
then jump and do it again
Ninjago, Ninjago,
Come on, come on, do the Weekend Whip!
Lloyd flailed his arms out to hit the alarm. It took him an embarrassing amount of tries to actually turn it off.
“First try” he said to himself, dragging out the ‘try’.
His expression soured when he remembered what day it was. First day back to institutionalised trial hell. Commonly known as high school.
Yay.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he got up and out of bed to get ready.
Brush teeth.
Shower.
Change.
Shove whatever seemed relevant into his bag.
Eat something for breakfast, grab his school lunch and get out the door before his mom woke up. And try not to wake her. At least when she had the graveyard shift.
Ninjago High was okay. Especially because he wasn’t actively being physically assaulted by everyone. It was better to be hated silently and ignored. Rather than have that hate shoved in your face for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 182 days a year. Like how it had been in primary school. However, high school was…more judgy than middle school had been to say the least.
Being the son of Lord Garmadon meant that the first day of school was the worst day of school. More so than usual. He hated school, but he dreaded the first day back from the summer break.
Kids were already cruel to each other. You only had to commit the crime of dressing weird. Or being too awkward or being smart to become some other kids’ punching bag. Verbal and/or physical.
Being the son of the guy who destroys your favourite shop. Or kills your cat. Or forces you to walk to school because the bus isn’t working. Or hangs you off the side of a bridge as you in said bus trapped. Or…you get the idea.
It was enough to bring everyone together. In hate. For him. You know what they say, nothing brings people together like mutual hate…or something.
People didn’t like Lord Garmadon. Well dislike was too mild, more like despised and feared and were really fed up with the sharks. But Garmadon lived on a volcano that was always somehow menacingly a part of the coastal view.
Lloyd however lived in Ninjago City. A very accessible place for all the victims of Garmadon. Lloyd also did not have an army dressed up as a variety of sea life at his beck and call. So who got the brunt of the hate and anger? Who had to deal with an angry populace as they…aired out their grievances against his dad? You guessed it!
Lloyd. The answer is Lloyd.
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Every time he stepped out of the house, he felt prickling sensation right between his shoulder blades. But only when he was Lloyd. Never as Green. He could feel the stares and poorly hidden glares.
The commute to school was usually a silent one. Hood up. Head down. No drawing attention. Today was not a day to make a scene. Garmadon liked to attack and make it a scene. So Lloyd did the opposite. Especially on days like this. Because at any moment, the alarm could go off, telling him to duck and cover. It would make the next day 10 times worse. People were crueler and didn’t hold back as much in the days after a Garmadon attack. But the shrill shriek of the alarm never came.
Garmadon had never, ever, actually attacked on the first day of school. It seemed like today would be the same.
The bus stops’ atmosphere went from the typical first day of school blues to an intense feeling of hatred as soon as Lloyd arrived. All pinpointed at him. He was able to ignore it on normal days. Today he felt that familiar pit open up in his stomach, swallowing all hope of a good day. It left Lloyd feeling exhausted before the day even started. He hadn't even fought Garmadon, or dealt with Chad yet.
You can’t get rid of me through spite alone, he thought to himself as he awkwardly smiled at the other kids. It was a part of his ‘kill them with kindness’ campaign, one that his mom had been trying to get him to try for years.
It did not work on a single one of the kids at that bus stop. All of whom occupied the farthest corner away from him. How they all fit, First Spinjitsu Master knows.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Their phones went off, sending off texts to their friends warning of his return.
Well more like to bitch about the fact that he had to gall to expect an education. And the fact that he didn’t join his dad on his embarrassing, yet disastrous, conquest of Ninjago City.
Contrary to popular belief, Lloyd didn’t actually want to oppress the populace of Ninjago. He didn’t want to be feared and hated.
He had wanted to be the person who was loved by all, but Lloyd knew better than to hope. Hope was a dangerous thing. Especially to the chronically optimistic with the luck of one Garmadon, Lloyd. He had learnt from sharing his dreams. From having those dreams taken and shred apart by the jeering laughs of his peers. And then lit on fire, stomped on and thrown in the trash with the other rejects.
He knew better, now. He would never be a famous inventor. Never know what it was like to be loved as you were. As your whole, true self. Every single side accepted.
And if you asked Lloyd, he was perfectly fine with that. He had long accepted his fate. Now wasn't the time to ruminate on the 'what ifs' he had already accepted long ago.
Now was the time to get onto the bus and start his ‘commute of shame’, as he called it in his head.
The cheery yellow of the bus mocked Lloyd. More than he realised
Calm down Lloyd. Now is not the time to make a scene, he took a deep breath in, counting from 1 to 10, remembering what Red had told him. Breathe. You can do this! Maybe. I hope. Lloyd had never one for pep talks. At least to himself.
“Does he actually have fangs?”
“But he doesn’t even have four arms?”
“Why is he looking over here?!?!?”
"Is he looking at me?"
“I heard he eats human flesh.”
He could spot the freshies, they were the most bold out of the kids on the bus. They were always so obvious with their staring.
In the end, they all whispered the same things. Things he’d heard before. The cannibalism one was a new one though. Nice to know that they were getting creative with their accusations.
He got on last. All eyes were on him. He sighed and sat down in his seat. Three rows down, on the left. No one sat on the same side as him. Maybe out of fear, of hatred, or of conformity. He'd probably never know. It was all the same to him. All he knew was that being the Most Hated Person in Ninjago City™ was not fun. And that the sound of the right side wheels screeching on the tarmac was atrocious. Weighed down by all the kids piled onto that side.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets. put in his earbuds, and played his music. Stared out at the mismatched buildings, neon signage, and moving cars of Ninjago City. The older buildings dwarfed by the shiny new skyscrapers. The food stalls on the side of the road. And the people. Walking. Sitting. Laughing. Always moving, never stopping.
None of them knew.
He turned to look at the kids all piled up on the other side.
They were so oblivious to the truth. All completely unaware of the secret identity of their precious Green Ninja.
The beacon of justice and hope.
Protector of Ninjago.
The Leader of the Secret Ninja Force.
Lloyd Garmadon, the most hated person in the whole city.
The one person with the most motive to hate this city and its inhabitants.
He had been Green publicly for 4 years now, a part of the Ninja Force for 6, and a ninja for far longer.
It made Lloyd feel somewhat bitter that he had to wear a mask to be treated with a shred of basic human decency. To have friends. Albeit somewhat temporary friends who would never want to be his friend if they ever found out his identity.
And they'd never know, not if Lloyd had anything to do with it. It was better this way anyway. No one would ever suspect Green to be Lloyd Garmadon. And no one would ever want Lloyd.
The bus screeched to a halt. Lloyd got off first, as per usual, and started the “Trek of Shame” to his locker. All eyes on him once more.
Just great.
He kept his head down and eyes trained of the floor straight ahead of him. Even with his music blasting he could feel the oppressive silence. It made the hairs on his back of his neck raise and gave him goosebumps on his elbows.
He trudged to the receptionist’s desk, snatched his schedule and made his way to his locker. Furthest from the entrance, way away from everyone else. Just how he liked it. Same as always.
“HEY, GARMA-DORK!”
He flinched and stopped in his tracks. The uneasy, prickling sensation in his shoulder blades intensified.
“Hey Chad,” He said with an impassive face he knew would annoy the shit out of Chad Bren.
“What are you doing?” Chad said as he circled Lloyd with a wicked smile plastered on his face, giving it a sinister air.
“Walking to my locker,”
“Hah! If you thi-”
“MR. BREN! What do you think you’re doing? It is the first day of the school year, the first bell hasn't even rung!” Ms. Price scolded, “You have to go see Mr. English. You have to discuss your, ah, situation. Not waste your time with this- this miscreant!” Pointing at Lloyd as she speed-walked over, her obnoxious heels clacking all the way.
“Of course Ms. Price, I was merely reminding Garmadon of his…place here at Ninjago High.” Chad smiled sweetly as he stalked away. Not before mouthing the words “Watch your back, Garmadork, I will get you.”
“And Mr Garmadon, what do you think you’re doing by wasting your upperclassmen’s time, huh? This is Mr Bren’s last year with us, if you mess this up for him, you will answer to me and his father.” And with that she turned and walked away. Her heels clacking away on the linoleum floors.
This was going to be a long, long, long day.
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First up, he had homeroom with Mr Ellison who taught English. Lloyd arrived 20 minutes early and sat in his spot. Middle left of the room, closest row to the door. Not in the back where the clowns and slackers sat. Not in front where the honor rolls sat. Not in a spot that was too…obvious?...that stood out. Just in the middle, where the forgettables sit. Where no one would mind him. Head down, hoodie up.
It was peaceful. As peaceful as it could get. It was pretty nice.
But nice things didn’t last.
And so, when the rest of his class came in and filled the classroom, Lloyd sat. Hoodie up, eyes down. Mr Ellison entered and they started with the typical ice breaker activities.
Great. How fucking fun.
Teachers really did know how to make first days more excruciating than they had to be.
Only seven more hours til I get to see the others.