REMEDY [ninjago jaya]

11. A Bit Distracted

• Jay Walker •

The pencil was placed on the paper, his fingers were sketching an image in soft, gray curves and lines, but Jay's head was empty, not a single idea in it. His scribbles made no sense.

Groaning, he slapped the pencil on the table and let his body flop against the back of his chair, his head tilted upward. Why was it so hard to come up with a good idea? He hadn't had any brain fog in quite some time, but now that he needed to think clearly, he couldn't.

"Sweetie, dinner is almost ready!" his mother called out, the sound registering in his head.

Maybe eating food would help him focus.

"Okay, Ma!"

Jay stood up and stared at his notebook from a distance. He was meant to come up with a real-life problem he and Nya could solve by creating an invention, but he couldn't think of a single thing. His hopes of impressing her fell short because of his outrun creativity. Usually, his head was full of ideas he couldn't possibly fit into his notebook, but now his well was dry, empty, and he just didn't know why.

His phone buzzed, pulling him out of his self-inflicted misery. He picked it up and checked the notification. It was a simple Hello sent by a number unbeknownst to him, until it clicked.

He had given his number to only one person that day, not that he regularly had any other people he deemed worthy of being in his phone. Still, he was cautious enough to ask them who it was. A response came only a minute later, the name Nya appearing on his screen.

Smiling, Jay saved her contact and wrote out a reply.

Hi!
sent 07:52 p.m.

Nya
Do you have time to video
chat? I'd like to talk about
our project
sent 07:52 p.m.

Jay nibbled on the skin of his lower lip as he debated his options. He was in his childhood bedroom in the trailer he called his home, and he really didn't want to show his tiny space to someone who wasn't Cole, who knew about his living situation.

In a panic, Jay looked around and hoped for a solid background he could hold his phone in front of. Right behind his desk was his bed, and right above his bed was his window, and that window left no room for interpretation with the sandy horizon in clear view. So sitting at his desk was not an option. If he put his phone on his bed and turned around in his chair, his desk would be seen, but he had to angle phone correctly the whole time unless he wanted his cupboards full of his clothes to be on display. Besides, Jay feared his phone would be able to escape its constraints and still manage to show his entire bedroom, and he was not taking any chances.

His only other option was his door. His coats and jackets and bathrobe were hung on it, but Jay acted on quick instinct and unhooked every clothing item and tossed them all on his bed.

Before he could do anything else, he stormed out of his room and found his mother in front of the stove preparing dinner.

"Ah, Jay, are you already—"

"Ma, is it okay if I eat dinner a bit later today? I have an important call to make!"

His mother turned around with a raised eyebrow. "Important call? You? With who? Is it Cole?"

Jay refrained from rolling his eyes at his mother's words and shook his head. "No, Ma, it's not Cole. And is it that uncommon for me to communicate with other people outside of school?"

"Well, yes—"

"Listen, Ma, she's waiting for my answer and I really can't let her wait so long—"

"She?" His father came into the small kitchen area with a surprised look on his face at the mention of a female pronoun.