Earth, Fire, Ice, and Lightning. (a Genderbent Ninjago Fanfiction)

Brain Freeze

Zinnia

My eyelids slowly opened, and I found myself gazing up at the wooden ceiling of my bedroom. A soft, silvery glow poured in from the window, announcing the start of the morning. The clock on my bedside table indicated that it was exactly 7:43am. I got up and walked over to my closet. My bare feet padded softly on the hardwood floor. My small house was silent, but it was, after all, only me living here.

I slipped off my blue nightdress and pulled on a white sweater and tan denim pants with black boots. Grabbing an apple and pulling on a jacket, I headed out the door and began my trek to the place where I worked- a small cafe in the middle of town. My cottage in the woods was not too far from Ninjago city, at least a mile and a half.

My boots crunched in the thin layer of snow lining the road. Some people asked why I did not purchase a vehicle, or take a bus to the cafe. But I prefered to walk, and take in the loveliness of the world and nature around me. Taking a bus or car would only damage it more. Though, a bycicle might be an option, I didn't have the money to afford one along with all my other daily expenses.

About a half hour later, I arrived at the shop, about 15 minutes before it opened. I took out my key and opened the door, the little bell above it jingled lightly. My fellow employee was already at the desk, wiping it down with a paper towel.

"Hello, Zinnia," she greeted cheerily, giving a little wave.

"Greetings," I replied with a small smile.

She snorted. "Why do you always say that?"

"Is that not the proper way to greet another?" I asked, confused.

The girl, whose name was Delilah, laughed some more. "You are too much, Zinnia!"

I shook my head, not understanding. I did not understand most things the people that are my age... or at least what I think is my age.. say.

I do not remember much of my past, I have been an orphan for as long as I can remember- and again, that is not very much. All I do know is that my name is Zinnia... and how to function and speak proper English of course, along with a variety of other languages. I believe I am 21, but, to be honest, I am really not sure.

"C'mon," Delilah said between laughs, "The store opens in five minutes."

I sighed, nodding, and pulled my straight, shoulder length, light blonde hair up into a ponytail and put on a green apron in which I had to wear as part of the uniform. On my way to walk behind the counter, I flipped the cardboard sign on the window to say "We are open!" instead of, "Sorry, We're closed."

~*~

Later on that day, a few teenage girls walked into the cafe and came up to the counter in front of me, as Delilah was tending to her own customers.

"What can I help you with?" I asked politely.

The one in front spoke up. "Um, I'll have a Frappuchino... make that three... you know.. for my friends." The two girls behind her nodded.

"Alright, that will be six dollars and seventy two cents," I explained. The girl gave me a ten, and I got the girl her change and began making the drinks.

I handed them to them, in which they thanked me and the girl in front placed a dollar in my tip jar. They went to sit down.

I watched them, as there was nothing else left to do in the cafe at the moment. They gossiped and chatted amongst themselves, when suddenly, one girl cried out, "Brain Freeze! AH!"

I was confused. "A human brain can not "freeze", as you have described, by merely taking a large sip of a cold drink," I explained.

The girls looked over at me oddly for a second, and burst out laughing.

"What is so funny?" I did not understand.

"You are so sarcastic! Oh my God! Its totally hilarious!" one chortled.

I still did not have clue about what they were talking about, so I resumed my duties as an employee.

~*~

At the end of the day, I emptied my tips into my hand- fifteen dollars and fifty cents. I pocketed the money and started on my trek home. It was only three thirty in the afternoon, so there was about two and a half hours of daylight left.

Once home, I decided to practice my meditation with the remainder of the day. I was going to continue on my mission- to be able to meditate underwater for a full five minutes. So far, I had done it for a full three minutes before I ran out of breath.

This time, I was determined not to fail. Changing into a bathing suit and grabbing a towel, I walked down to the pond near my cottage, shivering. I lay my towel down on a tree stump and took slow, deep breaths.

After preparing myself, I gazed into the crystal blue water of the pond. My reflection stared back at me. My still tied back hair, pale skin, skinny figure, and ice blue eyes.

Taking more deep breaths, I was finally ready.

Stepping towards the bank, I walked into the water. It was freezing, the shock, however, did not effect me as much as a normal human being would have felt. Sometimes I wondered whether I was really human.

Once I was in deep enough where I could no longer stand, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and plunged under the water.