Kimberly Hart was going to Harvard.
She could tell Billy concealed disbelief behind effusive congratulations but she didn't mind. She knew the whole thing sounded crazy. But winning at the Pan-Globals and then doing quite well for herself at the Olympics helped quite a bit and really it was a lot easier to do well in school when you had your own tutors, who, unlike a certain blond genius, actually spoke your language. And she did pretty well on the SAT's too, about what she expected in English, boosted with all the funny words she learned from Billy, but really blew the math section out of the water because one of those tutors managed to relate math to gymnastics and apparently it was all in your approach. So yeah, she was going to Harvard.
But the really awesome part?
So were Trini and Zack.
It wasn't quite the whole gang back together but for all that Kim absolutely adored Adam, Aisha and Rocky, she had missed the good old days. Before Zordon and monsters and super powers and… yeah... So this, this was like rocky road with a mound of whipped cream and girly movies and sunbathing on that podunk little Angel Grove beach.
Did she say awesome? This was going to be morphinominal!
Except minus the morphing.
It was too bad Billy was off-world and Jason opted to go to college in California, claiming homesickness, but Kim was going to take what she could get and, after all that time without any of her lifelong friends, this was definitely life in an upswing.
She grabbed her bag and bounced off the plane, squeezing her petite frame into the smallest openings in the crush of the exiting passengers. She brought nothing because she really didn't have much, stuff going the way of childhood against the reality of the nomadic lifestyle of a world famous gymnast. But that was okay because she was going shopping with Trini and all of her endorsement deals were paying the bill.
Kim privately thought that if she got any more excited her head might just explode.
She got through the airport hurdles as quickly as possible, a little faster maybe than possible for someone who wasn't a medaled gymnast, and dashed outside into a New England fall, eyes peeled for that familiar swing of dark-dark hair and the Mona Lisa smile.
Well…
The Mona Lisa smile was still there but in the meantime Trini had shed her long locks for an asymmetrical angled cut that brushed her jaw-line.
Kim paused and tilted her head.
Yeah, it worked for her.
And then Kim remembered just where she was and why she was there and squealed, descending on Trini with the full speed of a runaway locomotive, completely heedless of the people around them.
"Trini!"
"Kim!"
And there was hugging and crying and all kinds of incoherent affection that they both perfectly understood.
When it was all over, Trini linked elbows with Kim and flashed that Mona Lisa smile again. "Come on. Zack is waiting and I can't wait to see his face."
Kim grinned. "Let's go!"
They made their way to the car where poor Zack was probably twitching right out of his shoes. Trini had told him nothing about who they were picking up and why and he didn't do well with waiting or patience or curiosity. Which made tweaking him all the more fun.
He stood on the sidewalk, head swiveling left and right, when they snuck up on him, Kim poking him in the side with a vengeful finger. She had a lot of Zack torment to make up for.
He squeaked and jumped around to face her, his expression going from shock to disbelief to excitement to… well Kim couldn't see his face anymore since he summarily snatched her up and swung her around. She laughed, squeezing him tightly, even as she gulped in that cool Boston air.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, setting her down and pulling lightly at a lock of her hair.
"Oh you know, I heard Boston was pretty awesome," she drawled.
"So you're visiting?"
"In a manner of speaking." She sniffed lightly and tried to look down on him imperiously. Since she was terminally short and he… wasn't, it didn't work very well.
Zack's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he looked from one girl to the other. "…what?"
Trini's lips took on the faintest, snarky curve. "Well, I figured since we missed her so much, she can just stay and be my roommate."
Zack said nothing.
"You know. At Harvard," Kim added, lightly flipping back her hair.
Zack still said nothing.
"I think I'm going to major in architecture," she said.
Zack's left eye twitched.
Trini delicately flicked the back of his head.
He jumped and coughed. "That's awesome, Kimmy!"
Kim rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. How the hell did you get into Harvard… Veeeerrryyyy carefully." She grinned and lightly bumped Trini with her hip. "Let's go."
Zack climbed into the back seat of the green hatchback, grumbling, and the girls exchanged a look.
And then they were on their way, tires eating Massachusetts streets, and the future wide open as tawny leaves fluttered past the windows.
It was nothing like California sunshine but, Trini's soft contralto humming along to Joan Osborne, somehow it was just like home.
