The Liar (ON HOLD)

Chapter 11

Nya

Nya was extremely nervous. She was going to talk to her brother for the first time in ten years. That is...if Lloyd convinced Kai to eat lunch with them. Nya and Pixal fetched their lunches and started to make their way outside to the tables. It was crowded so it was difficult to reach their table. Lloyd and Cole were sitting at the table chatting while a brown spiky haired kid stared at them blankly. 

Nya sighed, "This is going to be harder than I thought." Nya thought aloud.

"Hey," Pixal said as she put a hand on Nya's shoulder. "It's going to be fine." She added reassuringly. Pixal smiled and Nya returned it.

"Hello boys." Nya said as she walked up to the table. She frowned, "Where's Jay?" She asked. 

Cole looked down, "He came down with a fever last night. He won't be in school for a few weeks." Cole replied sadly.

Nya sighed, "Will he be ok?" She asked as she sat down next to Kai. Her heart was racing but she kept her cool. Nya was in fact genuinely concerned for Jay. He was really sweet and funny, and she really liked spending time with him.

Cole nodded, "I think so." He answered. 

Pixal was the first to speak to Kai, "So Kai, how are you?" She asked. Nya could tell that Pix was trying to start up a conversation to make it easier on everyone. 

"Fine." Kai said blankly. Nya saw him slide a book into his bag. 

"Oooook." Lloyd said, he was obviously uncomfortable. "So Kai, these are my friends-" Lloyd began.

"Nya Lawrence, Pixal Borg, and Cole Brookstone." Kai finished as he looked up at Lloyd, "I know." He added with a smile. The smile was small, so small that it was barely visible unless you were close enough but Nya could tell it was a smile. 

"That's a start." Nya thought.

"So, what do you do for fun?" Cole asked.

Kai started at Cole blankly as if trying to guess his motives, "I play Prime Empire." Kai answered after a minute.

Cole smiled, "That's awesome! Jay and I play it all the time." Cole stated.

Kai nodded, "Nice to know." He answered. Kai grabbed out a half-eaten sandwich and began eating it.

"Is that all you brought?" Nya asked. Now that Nya had a closer look at him, she saw that he was pretty skinny. Not extremely skinny, but skinny enough that he looked really thin.

"Yeah so?" Kai asked with a glare at Nya. 

Nya looked away and did her best to hide her emotions, "What did they do to you Kay Kay?" Nya thought.

Lloyd cleared his throat. "Kai, be nice." He ordered with a stare. Kai turned to him and returned the stare. Lloyd broke eye contact first. 

"Listen Lloyd, I'm going to be honest; I don't want to be here." Kai stated as he leaned back against the wall. 

The bench was aligned against the wall of the school, so it was shady and cool with a gentle breeze. 

Lloyd sighed, "Kai, we know you have no friends, that's why we wanted to reach out to you. You're alone all the time and your mean and sad and we want to help. You bully everyone and care about nobody but yourself. So, stop your shitty attitude and be nice for once in your life!" Lloyd snapped.

Nya tensed and she saw everyone else did too. She turned to look at Kai who had frozen in shock. She put a hand on Kai's thigh to try and calm him, but he pushed her hand away. Kai looked down. Nya glanced at Lloyd who covered his mouth as if he wished he could take the words back.

"Kai, I'm sorry I didn't mean-" Lloyd began

Kai held up a hand and Lloyd stopped talking. "No, you're right. I'm mean and selfish and I'm fucking messed up. Next time maybe consider staying away from me instead of trying to be friends, cause all I ever do is hurt and drive people away. Now if you'll excuse me I have math class in a few minutes." Kai stated. He stood up and walked away leaving all four kids shaken. 

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that." Cole stated as he tried to break the ice.

"Guys, what just happened?" Nya asked. 

Lloyd looked over at Nya sadly, "Sorry Nya, I don't know what came over me. I-"

"No-no it's fine Lloyd. It just all happened so fast." Nya said.

"I think we are off to a good start, and before you ask why; Believe it or not, I noticed that Kai was quite relaxed when we started talking. At least more relaxed than he usually is." Pixal declared. 

Cole looked at his watch and stood up. "Well class is starting in five minutes, so I suggest we eat really quick." Cole stated.

Nya nodded and looked down. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a book. Nya gasped and everyone looked over at her. Nya reached down and grabbed the book. "Look at this." Nya said as she lifted up the book for the others to see. 

"Do you think Kai dropped it? Or is it someone else's?" Cole asked.

"It's definitely Kai's. I've seen that guy take that thing around everywhere. It's his sketchbook I think." Lloyd answered. 

Nya opened the sketchbook and her mouth dropped as she flipped through the pages. 

"Oh my god, how? What?" Nya exclaimed as she kept looking through it. Then she saw the last sketch and stared wide-eyed at it. "Guys, look at this." She stated as she turned the boom for the others to see. 

Pixal smiled as she studied the drawing. "Impressive, he is a talented artist." Pixal stated.

Lloyd and Cole looked stunned as they looked at the picture. It wasn't colored, but the sketch was complete. On the top of the page were notes on how the shading and coloring would go. 

"It looks so real." Cole muttered as he almost reached out to touch it. 

"It's like he brought it to life, and it's not even colored!" Lloyd exclaimed as he stared. 

Nya closed the book, "We should give it back to him. He'll soon notice it's missing." Nya said slowly. 

Cole nodded and held out his hand for the book, "I have math class with him, I can catch him after." Cole stated.

Nya smiled and handed Cole the book. "Thanks Cole, tell him hi for me will ya?" Nya asked.

Cole nodded and stuffed the book into his backpack. 

They all quickly finished eating and as they were packing up their stuff the bell rang. 

"Do you guys want to hang out tomorrow at the lake?" Nya asked suddenly. The others turned to her and nodded. "If one of you see Kai after school please invite him." Nya begged. The others laughed but quickly agreed. 

"How about noon? We can go get some food and then head straight to the lake." Nya suggested. 

Cole nodded, "That's fine with me." Cole answered with a smile. "Wish Jay could come though." Cole muttered.

Nya put a hand on Cole's back, "We'll have a 'you're all better' party once he recovers." Nya said with a wink.

Cole laughed, "Ok!" He replied. 

Lloyd smiled at Nya, "Noon is fine for me as well. Pix what about you and Zane?" Lloyd asked.

Pixal blushed a little but quickly straightened her expression, "I will be coming as well, I'll text Zane and let him know he's invited." Pixal replied with a smile.

Lloyd smirked but turned to head towards class. "See you guys tomorrow!" Lloyd yelled as he walked away. 

Nya smiled, "Well, see you guys tomorrow." Nya said. She turned and walked back into the school towards her next class.