Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers
A/N: Title come courtesy of Lex_Munro from AO3
Conner rushed into the library, muttering curses under his breath because, of course, he was running late. He paused at the front desk and smiled at the girl sitting there, "Could you tell me where the tutors are?" He asked politely as he adjusted his backpack again.
The girl regarded him over her glasses for a moment then pointed, "Up the stairs, second floor, in the back."
"Thank you," Conner replied and all but ran for the stairs. Long legs and practice made it easy for him to take the stairs two at a time, as if he could possibly make up ten minutes that way.
He hurried across the library to the back, where a woman with a clip board stopped him before he reached the study corrals, "Sir, this area is for tutorials," she said quietly.
"I know," Conner said, he half lifted his hand and sighed, "I'm running late. My name's Conner McKnight." He pulled out the scrap of paper, "I'm supposed to be meeting with Nia Porter?"
"You need to be on time next time," the woman said, making a note on a piece of paper and pointed, "Nia is the young woman sitting by herself."
"I will," Conner replied and hurried across the study area. The girl was pretty in an understated way, with long, dark hair. "Excuse me," Conner said, "Nia Porter?"
"That's me," the girl said and looked up, "the late Conner McKnight, I presume."
"Yeah," Conner replied and slid into his seat, "I'm so sorry. My friend," he paused, unable to help a grin, "my friend just got offered a recording deal out in New York and we got to talking and I lost track of the time."
"Congratulations to your friend," Nia said, "next time, though."
"Next time, I'll be on time," Conner said as he pulled out his text book, "I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you agreeing to help me. I have to pass this class."
"If you don't, there's always next year," Nia pointed out.
Conner sighed and tapped his chemistry book, "I know, but, my science teacher was my mentor during my senior year." He half smiled at the thought of Dr O, who had stood over all of them to make sure they got their homework done after training. "I wouldn't have done half as well as I did without his encouragement. He wouldn't really say anything if I failed chemistry, but he'd get this look. Of course, Kira and Ethan would never let me hear the end of it either." He shuddered and pulled out his notebook. "Of course, that's neither here nor there. Please forgive me for being late?"
Nia hesitated a moment and then smiled, "Just this once, Mr. McKnight."
"Please, call me Conner," Conner corrected her.
"Now then," Nia said, "where are you in class and how is it giving you trouble."
Conner leaned back in his chair, feeling a mild rush of relief and flipped open his book to the appropriate page. He could do this, he told himself as Nia looked at his work, no problem.