~..Silent Wishes..~ A Ninjago Christmas Story Collection.

~A Wish To Show~

    Cole bit his lower lip, squeezing his eyes closed, as the teacher continued to rant off the roles for the Christmas musical. Ever since he found out, he had his hopes set on being the lead: Joseph...okay, not the lead, but pretty darn close to it! The teacher had already gone through the shepherds, wise men, animals, and Cole was getting more and more anxious after each time his name wasn't said. But, he was also relieved, because that meant he wasn't a small role. He had a chance!

 "Now, the role of Mary goes to... Elizabeth!" The teacher exclaimed, handing a script to another young student. She smiled gleefully, and began reading over her script, the classroom applauding half-heartedly. Many girls shot her some nasty looks as she sat back down, envious of her role.

  "And, the five students that will be angels are.... Abigail, Rachel, Kayleigh, Thomas, and Cole!" The teacher exclaimed, handing out the scripts. Cole froze, the script simply being placed on his lap. Angel? He looked down at his script, scanning the front page. Cole Brookstone-- Angel 5. I can't even be lousy Angel 4!?

    "Is something the matter, Cole?" His teacher asked.

 "Yes, actually.." He said, clearing his throat. "I auditioned for Joseph..A-and I have a lot of experience on stage.." The look on his teacher's face made him fall silent. He hung his head, and shook his head.

  "No, Mrs.Smith.. Nothing's the matter." He replied. She smiled, and nodded.

 "And, the role of Joseph goes to Jeremiah." She smiled, giving away the last script. The script Cole had wanted so bad to be his. He watched as Jeremiah took it from the teacher, his eyes alight with joy.

 "Remember, there are no small roles.. A musical is like a body--everyone is needed! Dismissed." With that, all of the kids took their scripts, and left the auditorium. Cole stood on the stage, alone, looking down on the paper. He flipped through, looking for lines, to find he said nothing. He read over the routine page, and sighed. Nothing but a simple routine. He wiped away a tear, and quietly left the gym, trying to hide his disappointment.

    That night when Cole walked into his small house, he ran to his room, and let all of the tears he had been holding back go. He laid on his bed, head buried in his pillow for about an hour, until he could cry no more. He stared blankly at his pale blue wall, the fabric of his pillow case clenched tight in his fist. There was a gentle knock on the door, and his father popped his head in.

 "Hey, Cole.." He said, limping into his son's room. Cole sat up, as his father sat down on his bed next to him. "How did the auditions go?"

 "I'm Angel 5." Cole mumbled, hugging the pillow to his chest.

 "Hey, congrats!" Lou encouraged, smiling. "I'm so pr--"

 "No, dad, you don't get it!" Cole whined, flopping back down on his bed. "I wanted to be Joseph, not some angel!" He nodded slowly, patting his son on the back. "I really, really wanted to be Joseph.."

 "Well, Cole... sometimes, life gives us small roles to play, to prepare us for the lead one day." He said, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile. "I used to be a back up dancer in my quartet, you know."

    "Seriously? I thought you started the Royal Blacksmiths?" Cole asked, sitting back up.

 "I did.. But, it was someone else's time to shine... And, a few months later, he fell ill, and he had to leave. No one had any idea what to do! Without their brave leader, they were like lost sheep.. So, I stepped up, and I lead the performance that night. Oh, we had two encores! They ate us up... from there, I was their leader. And the rest is history. You see, Cole? Sometimes, you need to let others shine." Cole nodded slowly.