Okay, so this is my first fanfic! Let me say that I came up with this idea when my friend and I recruited our friend to join us on a volunteer project. Every year our state county train station does simulation of the Polar Express around the Christmas season starting in November. Pretty much what happens with this is that there are passengers (mostly younger children and their parents) get to listen to one of the workers on the train (dressed in Christmas clothing) read the story of the Polar Express while on a trip to the "North Pole." The "North Pole" is actually just a lit up destination point the train goes to every trip it makes for this event and the place is lit up with lots of Christmas lights and decorations. The passengers get to view them from the windows as the train rolls by. Many people volunteer (including us) to be "festive elves" on the train that help serve cookies and hot chocolate to the passengers while talking to them and being, well...festive! So this seasonal event along with my love for the Power Rangers franchise got me started with this story. I WARN YOU NOW, there is only one male ranger. The characters are slightly based off of my friends that are volunteering with me this year, so I gave this Power Rangers mini-series a female domination! :) So if you want to visualize the characters a bit more (which I recommend), at the end of this chapter there will be a profile for every main character introduced up to that point. So enjoy, and constructive criticism as well as compliments are encouraged!

This is the Polar Express!

It's a normal October day at Ridgeway High School. Three average high school students Aleyna, Bridget and Kyle have their daily end-of-the-day complaint session, whether it being about how much homework they have or how their math teacher can't explain things. The three of them are pretty good friends, having a lasting friendship since freshman year. As they start their junior year, they feel a bit overwhelmed with everything. However, they still find time for a little fun…

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Kyle asked as he shut his locker. "I've never done something like that before."

"Of course!" Aleyna exclaimed. "It'll be so much fun with the three of us!"

"Yeah! ", Bridget said. "Besides, Aleyna and I have done it before. We can give you a crash course if you can't make the training sessions!"

"Plus, you need volunteer hours to get into the National Honors Society, right?" Aleyna added.

"That's true."

"Then this'll be perfect!"

"Alright.", Kyle replied. "I just hope I don't regret getting myself into this."

Last year during the holiday season, Bridget and Aleyna volunteered at their local train station as elves for its yearly simulation of the Polar Express. They both had a lot of fun acting in the Christmas spirit around the train passengers while listening to the classic story and serving refreshments to them. Not to mention they got to take any of the extra cookies home with them afterwards…

After finally convincing Kyle to be recruited as part of the crew, all three of the teens signed up for the event. With all of them signing up for the same days, they were guaranteed to be on the same train cars together at all the same times.

After a long month of waiting (even though Halloween was a blast for them) the first Polar Express trip finally arrived. The girls were super excited for it, especially since Aleyna's 15-year-old sister, Vicki joined the group as well. The group of now 4 volunteers got to the station in their festive "elf" clothing, received their train car number, and settled down in their train car before the first trip of the year. Everyone's elf outfit was uniquely different. Aleyna had a mish-mash of items from her closet. She wore a white t-shirt with a green skirt leftover from last year's "Sailor Jupiter" Halloween costume. Underneath were mid-calf length leggings and a bracelet full of jingle bells.

Bridget's choice of attire was slightly different. She wore and elf costume shirt that she used last year with a large black belt around it. She also wore black leggings as well as a pair of Christmas slippers. Don't forget, she also wore an elf hat to match!

Kyle and Vicki, being new to the whole thing didn't expect everyone to dress so festive. They threw a few things together, but didn't go full out like some of the other volunteers. Kyle put together a white t-shirt that said Merry Christmas on it, a pair of jeans, and some red tennis shoes. Vicki went a little further than him, having on a red hoodie, green skinny jeans, and a green headband.

"Kyle, you know you're going to have to be more dressed up than that." Aleyna said, indicating that his clothes weren't "spirited" enough.

"What?" Kyle replied. "You said wear red and green. It's not like I wear green pants on a regular basis or anything!"

"Lucky for you, I brought a few emergency items." Aleyna said as she walked over to the shelves where she kept her belongings.

She reached into her knapsack bag and pulled out a few things.

"Here", Aleyna said as he gave Kyle the emergency items.

Kyle laughed hysterically as he saw the backup clothes.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Nope."

Kyle wanted to protest, but Aleyna forced him to put them on.

"What exactly did you give him?" Bridget asked.

"You'll see." Aleyna replied.

After five minutes, Kyle revealed his new outfit to the girls. On top of the no-so-festive-as-it-should-be outfit he wore, he added a long green cape, red star sunglasses, and a pair of giant, feathery elf slippers. Aleyna and Bridget tried to hold back their laughter.

"This doesn't feel right, guys." Kyle said. "I feel so…awkward."

"That's how you're supposed to feel, new elf buddy!" Bridget exclaimed.

"Now you're officially a Polar Express elf." Aleyna announced.

Kyle looked in the reflection of himself in the window and he started laughing.

"Ha! Wow Aleyna, I never expected this! I look pretty ridiculous!"

"Don't worry about it." Bridget assured him. "All the kids will love the cape!"

"Well, I guess it'll work for now, even though I look like a Christmas superhero more than anything. Remind me to bring some better clothes next time."

Kyle took his first step and slipped on his cape. Landing face-first into the ground, Aleyna and Bridget laughed again. Vicki just shook her head.

"You ok?" Bridget asked, still laughing.

Kyle started laughing at himself a bit.

"Yeah." He replied. "Guess I'll this'll take some practice."

Once he said that, a middle aged man came up to the four teenagers.

"This is train car number 34 I presume?" the man asked.

"Yep, this is it." Bridget replied.

"Hi, my name is Dan. I'm the reader for this train car tonight. I'd like you to meet Abbey. She's new to the Polar Express, so I've been telling her a bit about how everything works around here."

"Nice to meet you, Dan and Abbey. I'm Aleyna."

"I'm Kyle."

"I'm Bridget."

"And I'm Vicki."

"Well, it looks like we have a wonderful group!" Dan announced. "You're in luck this time, Abbey! I never see too many kids your age doing something like this. Never thought they'd actually volunteer, especially during this time of year."

"Oh don't worry, we love doing this!" Bridget told Dan. "Aleyna and I even got a few new recruits!" She points to Kyle and Vicki.

"Well that's great you guys are helping out." Dan replied. "Do you think you could show Abbey around the train car? I have to get everything set up for when the passengers arrive."

"Sure thing." Aleyna said. "We'll give you a grand tour!"

"Sounds good." Abbey said.

The definition of a "grand tour" isn't really much of anything. The train cars are generally pretty small, with passenger seats on both sides and about a 1-person width aisle down the center. While Aleyna acting as a tour guide, she continued:

"The cookies and hot chocolate are stored back here. We come and get them right after the story is finished being read. Then we serve them to everyone on the train."

"Alright." Abbey replied.

"What's wrong?" Bridget interrupted. "It doesn't seem like you want to be here."

"I don't," Abbey said coldly.

Being slightly offended by her harsh reply, Bridget took a small step away from Abbey and let Aleyna finish. As Aleyna was about to complete her tour, Abbey interrupted.

"Look, my mom made me sign up for this." Abbey explained in a harsh tone. "This is really the last thing I want to do with my time, so I'll make this simple. I'll do my part, and you do yours. Other than that, don't bother talking to me."

Abbey walked over to the shelf where she kept her belongings. There was a period of silence due to the bit of shock the others got from Abbey's harsh explanation. After a short pause in conversation, Kyle was brave enough to end the awkward silence.

"I've never done this before either, Abbey." Kyle said. "So it may seem stupid. But I'll take Bridget and Aleyna's word for it- it's pretty fun."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll grow on you." Vicki added.

Abbey turned around and faced the others.

"I doubt it." Abbey said with the same tone of voice she had before. "I don't understand how doing something THIS silly could be any fun at all."

"I think you'll change your mind by the end of tonight." Aleyna reassured her. "Trust me on this one."

Abbey rolled her eyes at the teens as she sat down in one of the empty passenger seats. She opened her cell phone and started looking at her text messages.

Letting time slip by, before they knew it they reached the passenger station. The passengers loaded group by group and were seated in their correct seats. Everyone except Abbey was looking forward to the exciting night on the first trip on the 2012 Polar Express.

Deep in the surrounding forest, far away from the passenger station of the train stood a pine tree glowing with a luminous green light. A woman dressed in festive elf clothing arrived near the tree. She looked around the glorious green plant and noticed something. Something she's feared for years…..

Alright, that's it for the first part of chapter/episode 1! Now here are the profiles I mentioned earlier. Don't worry, I didn't include any spoilers yet! (as if there are any)

1. Aleyna Williams - age 17, dark and wavy brown hair (medium to long length), gray-blue eyes, above average height, can be a bit soft-spoken but can be very social, acts like a big sister at times to Bridget, who's her best friend, biological sister of Vicki Williams, athletic, has exceptional singing ability, participated in the 2011 Polar Express with Bridget Hartman

2. Bridget Hartman - age 16, wavy/curly blonde hair (medium to long length), royal blue eyes, average height, a bit shy and insecure, but is very talkative around her friends, best friends with Aleyna Williams, most naive of the group, very committed dancer, got introduced to the Polar Express last year from Aleyna

3. Kyle Winters - Age 16, straight, dark brown hair (short length), brown eyes, very tall, can be a bit hyper/immature at times, but is serious when needed, can be a source of unintentional humor in the group, plays multiple musical instruments and is a swimmer, has a funny fear of germs (germophobia?), had a crush on Aleyna Williams freshman year, but didn't work out because Aleyna wanted to remain friends

4. Vicki Williams - Age 15, straight black hair (medium length), gray-blue eyes, average/shorter height, source of humor in the group, most outgoing and creative of the teens, quite clever for her age

5. Abbey Anderson - Age 14, straight/wavy strawberry blonde hair, green eyes, average height, most secluded of the volunteers, a bit colder personality to strangers, new to the Polar Express, hates having to volunteer for it

6. Daniel - Story reader for Polar Express train #34