Tiny Troubles

Part 13

Previously on Tiny Troubles...

Cole thought about it for a little while longer. Jay waited, impatiently bouncing on the balls of his feet. Finally, Cole sighed and said, "Alright, fine. You can carry me."

Jay beamed. "YES!" he shouted, already reaching to pick up the little ninja.

Cole backed up. "Ah, ah, ah! You can carry me. But, I get to decide how you carry me and how long you can carry me. When I say that I want to be put down, you have to put me down. No questions asked, and no complaining."

Jay quickly nodded his head, too excited that Cole had finally allowed the blue ninja to carry him to care too much about all the rules. "Deal!"

Cole smirked, and Jay suddenly felt slightly nervous. What have I just agreed to? The blue ninja wondered.

~~~~~

Part 13

Kai was giving him a lecture.

Lloyd knew that he was currently being lectured, but after saying "I'm sorry" a hundred times and having Kai rant at him for ten minutes straight, the green ninja had completely given up and had tuned out the lecture he was receiving.

Would he get in trouble for this later? Mmmm, maybe. But for right now, he didn't care.

It wasn't his fault that he had lost sight of Cole!...okay, it wasn't totally his fault. Cole could have shouted or yelled or said something that would have let him know that the little ninja had fallen behind. Lloyd would have stopped and waited for him!

But noooo, Lloyd had to be the one to take the blame while Cole would probably get nothing, just because he was currently only five.

It. Wasn't. Fair.

And he knew that life wasn't fair--heck he's even said that 'fair wasn't a word where he came from' on one occasion. But it didn't have to be so unfair at times. At least let Cole have a little scolding or something!

And no, Lloyd was not jealous of Cole.

".....oyd....Lloyd....LLOYD!"

"Huh?" Lloyd snapped out of his little funk and looked around at his surroundings.

Kai glared at him. "You weren't even paying attention, were you?" the red ninja accused.

"Sorry," Lloyd apologized, not feeling very sorry. "Zoned out for a bit."

"Like you zoned out while you were walking with Cole?"

Lloyd scowled. "How many times do I have to say that it was an accident and that I'm sorry?!" he snapped back. "Besides, Cole's not technically five, he can take care of himself."

"His body is still that of a kid's, Lloyd," Kai argued. "If someone were to try and take him, there wouldn't be that much that he could do to fend them off!" The red ninja sighed heavily before grumbling, "Look, let's just talk about this later. For right now, let's meet up with the others."

"Fine by me," Lloyd grunted.

For the next few minutes, the pair walked in silence. The mall was bustling with shoppers darting to and fro among the many outlets. As they got closer to the food court, the crowds got slightly smaller, which made sense considering it was still a little too early for it to be lunchtime.

"Do you see them?" Kai asked, scanning the tables for their friends.

Lloyd looked around for a few seconds before he spotted Zane standing at a table nearby. "Over there," he told Kai, pointing.