Disclaimers/Notes: I don't own Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, nor do I own 13 Going on 30. For the sake of my sanity, this fic is going to follow the timeline of the movie: The first two chapters are going to take place in 1987 and the rest will take place in 2004. It's very much an AU, and I hope I can pull it off while remaining true to the characters of OO.

13 Going On 30

The small girl in the pink sweater was roughly shoved to the front of the line. "Go dork." Rose Ortiz kept her eyes on the ground as she sat down in front of the backdrop. She handed her card to the photographer.

"Look this way, Rosa," the middle aged man instructed as he adjusted the camera's lens.

"It's Rose," she corrected. She readjusted her books, hoping to hide the dorky sweater her mother had made her wear.

"Put your books down and look this way, Rosa," the photographer said.

"It's Rose," Rose said again. She grimaced. Was one vowel really that difficult to remember?

Two weeks later, when Rose picked up her school photos, she saw how horrible the photo had come out. Apparently, the silent 'e' was a difficult concept to figure out. If he had just bothered to listen, maybe the ugly look on her face wouldn't be there and she would finally have taken a cool picture for once. "Oh God," Rose muttered, horrified.

As she continued down the hallway, a bell rang and all around her, kids tumbled out of classrooms. "Enough already, Hartford," someone snapped. The boy in question, Mack Hartford, turned away and spotted his best friend Rose. Grinning, Mack snuck up behind her, slipping his arm over her shoulders and snapping a quick picture.

"Mack, please. No more pictures."

"But Rose, it's your thirteenth birthday. I have to document it for you."

Rose rolled her eyes and looked down the hallway. Mira Trix, better known as Mir-Mir, was strutting down the corridor, her gang of girls following close behind. Everyone moved out of Mir-Mir's way as she approached.

"Hi Mir-Mir," Rose said hopefully. Mack fiddled with his camera; the Six Chicks made him uncomfortable, and it hurt him to see Rose go out of her way to be accepted by such cruel girls.

"Hey Rose. Beaver." Mack looked away, hating Mir-Mir's nickname for his slightly chubby body. He wished Rose could see Mira for what she was, but Rose desperately wanted to fit in. "So how'd yours come out, Ortiz?" Mir-Mir asked, brandishing her own envelope full of photos.

"Terrible." Rose made sure her own ugly photos were out of sight.

"Mine aren't so great either." Mir-Mir pretended to look ashamed. There were murmurs of disagreement from the other five girls. "Oh whatever." Mir-Mir revealed her photos. Rose was envious of the haughty, proud look on Mira's face.

"You're so photogenic."

Mack adjusted his backpack straps. "I'll meet you outside, OK Rose?"

"Do whatever you want, Beaver; Rose doesn't need a play by play." The followers giggled, and so did Rose. Mack pushed his way through the Six Chicks angrily. Rose felt the tiniest prick of guilt as she watched Mack leave, but Mir-Mir was talking again. "Rose, can I talk to you a tiny sec?"

Rose nodded and followed Mira over by a row of lockers. "I told Will Aston me and the Six Chicks were coming to your party tonight, and he said he'd come with."

Rose felt her eyes widen. "Really?" she asked incredulously, feeling the tiniest spark of excitement. Will Aston was the cutest boy in seventh grade, and Rose had had a crush on him for years.

Mira nodded. "It's too bad we won't be able to make it. Miss Appleby's totally up our butts for the group project, and Will's coming over to help, so he can't come either."

Rose's heart sunk; her one chance to be popular had just gone down the drain. Unless… "I could write the report for you," she said quickly. She knew it was wrong, but it wouldn't take her long to do, and she wanted to be one of the popular girls.

"You're a doll," Mira declared, sauntering away from Rose with a smirk on her face. Rose was so desperate to be popular that she'd sell her own mother if Mir-Mir told her to…and Mir-Mir was fully aware of this. Rose watched them go with a smile on her face. The Six Chicks and Will Aston were coming to her party tonight!

Rose met Mack in front of school so they could walk home together. "You know, I don't understand why you want to be one of them. They're just a bunch of clones."

"Mir-Mir is my friend," Rose said, "And I'm going to be a Six Chick, Mack."

"She's not your friend, Rose," Mack said sadly. It killed him to hear Rose say that. "Anyway, you can't be a Six Chick. The whole point is that there's six of them and with you there would be seven. It's mathematically impossible. You should know." He nudged his brainy friend. "Besides, they're so unoriginal. You're way cooler than they are."

"I want to be popular, Mackie, not original."

Mack shrugged and reached into his back pocket. "Razzle?"

"They're for kids."

"Exactly." Mack shook some candy into Rose's palm and popped one into his mouth. "Arrivederci," he said as Rose began crossing her lawn towards her house.

"Au revoir." Mack watched her go, snapping one last picture of his retreating best friend.