REMEDY [ninjago jaya]

4. Inconsiderate

• Nya Smith •

Nya managed to catch up to Mr. Borg in the hallway after her first period, when the five-minute break allowed both students and teachers to switch classrooms.

"Mr. Borg!" she exclaimed, walking faster to be right next to him. He stopped and turned around, his hand smoothing down his tie. "I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" His aging eyes regarded her warmly.

Cyrus Borg was one of the older teachers at Ninjago High. Since he was having difficulties walking, he needed to use a walking stick. Actually, he was in need of a wheelchair with the way both of his legs ached every time he walked more than ten steps at a time, but his stubborn self refused to accept it.

"The robotics club," she said. "I'd like to join it if there are any empty spaces. I know it's past application time but—"

"Of course you can join," Mr. Borg interrupted her before she could start doubting herself. "What is your name?"

"Nya Smith."

"All right, Nya." The teacher looked down at his wrist watch. "To keep it short—since I do have a class to teach in two minutes—the club hours are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays after school ends until four thirty in the afternoon. Do you know where it is?"

Nya nodded, her heart racing. This was it.

The first step into a life she controlled the direction of.

"Good. Just come to the club's room today and we'll see how we can integrate you. I'm sure you will find your place among the other robot enthusiasts." With a small chuckle, Borg kept walking, and Nya turned around and walked back to her next class.

On the way to her anatomy class, she thought about the interaction with the boy from the robotics club earlier that day.

She had already expected to have some difficulty fitting in, thinking her reputation would cause her more harm than good, but having witnessed it firsthand was less than ideal.

The boy, whose name she didn't know yet, had acted strangely toward her, and she had quickly understood why.

His prejudices had infuriated her so she had insulted him without hesitation, resulting in the ice to thicken between them. That had not been her intention, but him just assuming things about her felt like little stabs to her chest, and she didn't like them. It hurt.

Walking into the science lab, Nya took a seat at the front next to the window. Only a minute later, Skylor walked in, with her bag in her hand, regarded the other students in the class, rolled her eyes upon seeing Kai staring at her, and took a seat next to Nya.

"Your brother is getting annoying," she told Nya, who turned around in her seat and looked at him.

Kai was sitting on top of a desk near the back, a few girls with hearts in their eyes trying to get his attention back on them. But his eyes were locked on the redhead next to her.

If she hadn't known better, she could have sworn he was looking at Skylor longingly. But this was Kai, and there was no way he would ever long for someone like Skylor, who he had never considered "worthy" of his time and attention.

Nya was disgusted by her brother's virtues.

Turning back around, Nya shook her head. "He's not getting annoying, he is annoying. He's going to throw another party today." She sighed.

"On a Monday?"

"Mom and Dad are coming back tomorrow and want to actually stay until Thursday, so I guess he wants to use today as his last partying day."

Nya didn't know why her parents bothered to stay those upcoming two days when she and Kai still had to go to school, so half of those days were already spent away from them again.

But Kai was delighted they were coming to stay. He had not been as moody throughout the weekend, even when Nya had barely seen him on Saturday and Sunday. She had gone out go hang out with Skylor, like most of the time she did.

Staying at home was not an option for her any longer. The Smiths' mansion was large but empty. With their parents gone, the whole building belonged to Kai and Nya, and Kai threw tons of parties that Nya hated being around at.

She had never counted the amount of guests, but she guessed well over fifty, if not a hundred.

There was no way she would stay at the house when there were more than five strangers at the same time in it.

"That's so...so...so inconsiderate of him!" Skylor fumed quietly, so that only Nya could hear. "If he doesn't value his academic career, fine. He can do whatever he wants to. But messing with his sister's is so messed up! How can he be so selfish?!"

Nya shrugged. She was used to Kai's inconsideration. "He's always been like this."

Skylor sighed, her head shaking from side to side. She was mad at herself to some extent as well. "How was I so blinded last summer? I actually spent my teenage days being with him of all people." She shuddered. "How can you live with him?"

"Actually, most of the time I don't. He just never cares about me spending my nights in a hotel. I've stopped eating at the same table with him a long while ago, too. It's like we don't know each other, and by all means, Kai doesn't know shit about me."

Nya threw another glance at the back, where the girls around Kai's table were still looking at Kai in a starstruck manner, but he was still not paying attention to any of them.

But instead of looking at Skylor, he was looking at Nya now, and she couldn't decipher the weird look on his face.

It wasn't longing, nor was it any other somewhat positive look, but Nya couldn't quite understand why he was staring at her like that.

So she scrunched her face up in disgust, shook her head at him provocatively, as if to say what do you want?, and turned back around in her seat, just as their professor entered the room and the class started.