It all begins in Ninjago City. The sun is smiling at an old-fashioned house painted in black - like almost every other building in the city.
"Why me?" Zane complained.
He runs upstairs to look for his notebook. A man - Dr. Julien - walks up to the bottom of the stairs and grabs the baluster.
"Zane! You're going to be late for school. Not the best way to start high school, is it now?"
"But father! I cannot attend school without the notebook you designed for me." Zane cried out from upstairs.
Thuds can be heard and Julien can tell that Zane is searching in a hurry, rummaging through every possible box.
"Have you even checked your bag?" Julien wondered. The thuds immediately cease. Zane comes running down and returns to his white bag in the hall with a chuckle.
"Of course I have. I'll just check again; to be absolutely certain." Zane holds up a golden notebook with literal stars in his eyes. "Here it is!"
"Now hurry, class starts in ten minutes. And please ignore that bully. We do not want any unnecessary antics." Julien informed. He walks past Zane and opens the door for him.
Zane exhales.
"I'll pass this first test and make you proud." He grinned.
"You can't pass it if you aren't there when it starts." Julien clarified, making Zane yelp and run out on the beige porch.
"And remember!" Julien cried out. "You were built to protect those who cannot protect themselves!"
The school is two blocks away but if Zane hurries, he can get there right in time. Zane is shortly standing on the school ground panting.
The yard is full of pink and tall trees that are dropping petals everywhere. And the school is looking very fresh - like a modern monastery, huge and comfy. The doors are just three stair steps away.
However, Zane is stopped by an unfamiliar voice behind him.
"Pardon me, young man."
Zane turns quickly to meet an old man. He's standing three feet away from Zane, supporting himself with a neat stick. The man is also wearing a bamboo hat and a white shirt together with a beige coat matching the hat.
"Who are you?" Zane approaches the man. "How may I help?" He smiled.
"You can call me Wu. By any chance, do you know which floor Cyrus Borg is working on?"
"One hundred. I detect hunger from you. Do you want a sandwich?" Zane wondered. He opens his bag, and the man beams back.
"But your class." Wu pointed out. Zane looks up in stress, holding a blue lunch box.
"There you go. I have to run but perhaps we can meet again sometime."
Zane gives Wu the entire lunch box before rushing away like an arrow into school. Wu is waving after him even when Zane is gone.
After class, Zane makes a huge effort to leave the building. He fails and crashes right into the guy he tried avoiding. Zane glances at the brown haired guy wearing red.
"Oh, hello, Kai." Zane nervously greeted the boy. "Here is a thought. Since it is the first day of high school, why not pretend this meeting never happened?"
Kai looks at his friend, who's leaning on a locker. "What do you say, Cole?" Kai jokingly said. "I don't remember agreeing to a friendly competition, do you?"
Kai's friend with black clothes sets his arms akimbo and grins. "I say we show this robot who owns the place."
Zane quickly comes up with an escape plan.
"Kai," Zane points behind Kai. "Look. Is that boy wearing the same cool jacket as you?"
"Huh?!"
The school clock rings a second time while the sun is setting by the horizon. The only place in school students would stay for is the impressively big library with a glass ceiling.
Zane flees into the library and enters an empty corridor of bookshelves where he can breathe out. He then sighs and cups his own face.
"Why does he have to be so mean? Every day the same. I'll wake up tomorrow without change. Although I would not mind some luck."
Suddenly, a book is removed from the other side of the section. Out of curiosity, Zane turns and peeks to the other side.
The book was elected by his new classmate, Pixal. She's a robot like him, built by the most famous inventor Ninjago has ever seen, Cyrus Borg.
Zane watches the girl who takes a seat beside her friend at a round table. Soon, she's happily ranting about the book she picked. Their discussion lasts a long time before the two of them rise from the chairs.
"Thank you for accompanying me, Jay." Pixal uttered, hugging the boy who's wearing a blue sweater. "Even if I almost lent in my homework late."
"Yeah! That was close. However did you manage to run from here to Borg Tower and then back?" Jay enthused.
Pixal glances down at her purse. "Pure luck." She fibbed. "I am so content in my father's decision to stop homeschooling me. So long as I also keep the contact between Kai Smith. He's waiting for me outside."
Zane peeks at them from behind the shelf. It was the first time he saw Pixal acting like a normal student. Usually, she's everywhere on posters and in video ads. She's just posing and acting in Borg's content.
Zane is lost in thought without keeping track of time. So much that he doesn't realize the two friends leave. Pixal walks past Zane with a curious look.
Shortly, Jay taps on Zane's shoulder to ask him why he's brooding.
