The field was empty.
When he had left, practice was in full swing. All he'd managed was to mutter some lame excuse about letting the dog out at home before he ran off. His boss was so going to be mad about this. Truth be told, Jake wouldn't blame him.
"Jake," A voice from behind him caused Jake to jump. He turned to find Conner, arms crossed, and not looking happy. "A word?"
"Uh, sure, Coach." Jake panicked as he followed Conner into his office, closing the door behind him. How could he possibly talk his way out of this? He'd screwed up, he knew that, but there was no way that Conner McKnight would understand. It wasn't like he'd intentionally skipped out of practice. This was Ranger business. Saving the world stuff. Sometimes, Jake really wished that the whole secret identity thing wasn't an issue. It would just be so much easier if he could tell people where he really ran off to.
"I'd like to talk to you about your sudden—"
"Okay, I can explain," Jake blurted out before Conner could finish. "I'm really, really sorry, but something came up and…" His voiced trailed off as he tried to imagine how he could possibly finish this sentence. What, barring spandex, was important enough to leave his boss alone with a practice field full of third graders, on the first day, no less?
"Something just came up?" Conner asked skeptically. "Something you can't explain?"
"Exactly." Jake sighed. "You should know that this never happens. Usually, I'm Mr. Reliable, or try to be, but I promise you that I'm going to do everything I can to make sure this doesn't happen again."
"I don't think that's a promise you can keep," His boss said, picking up a folder. "I had such high recommendations for you, you know. Teachers, coaches, some guy at a smoothie bar for some reason…"
Jake could feel the impending doom. His heart sunk in the realization that he was probably going to be fired. "Coach, I know that this looks bad, but before you fire me, I'd just like to say that, even though I flaked out today, working at this camp has been my dream since I was twelve. Soccer is my passion and nothing has ever been more important to me."
Conner sighed, setting the folder back on his desk. "I was once just like you, you know. Soccer was the only thing I ever thought about. Well, except girls, that is. But one day, I had to face the facts." Jake studied Conner's face. He seemed to be lost in a memory. Shaking it off, he turned back to Jake. "You're growing up, Jake, and with the kinds of difficulties I know you're facing…"
"Difficulties?" Jake's eyes grew wide, hoping he had just meant the high school balancing act. "What difficulties?"
"I know what's going on, here, kid." Conner ran his hand back through his hair, as though he were trying to come at his next sentence from an angle. "I know that you have bigger issues."
"I don't know what you're—"
"Ranger duties come first, and I get that."
"What? You think I'm a Power Ranger," Jake tried to laugh it off, but Conner's solemn expression didn't change. "Me, a Power Ranger? That's… Ridiculous. Don't take this the wrong way, Coach, but maybe you've taken one too many soccer balls to the head."
"Jake. You know what they say about Power Rangers, right?" Jake shrugged and looked away. "It takes one to know one."
"You mean…" His eyes light up in recognition as Conner smiled smugly. "You were a…" Conner turned a frame around from his desk. A newspaper clipping with a photo of three rangers posing by an explosion stared back at Jake. The headline read: "Power Rangers Save Reefside Once More".
"I recognize those suits…" Jake said, thinking back to Gosei's base. The Dino Thunder team statues...
"If you can't always make it, I understand." Conner walked to the door and opened it before placing a hand on Jake's shoulder. "But just so you know, those who skip out on shifts have to fold the nets and pump up the soccer balls at the end of the day."
Jake laughed. "So, does this mean I'm not fired?"
"You're a good kid, Jake. Just be careful, huh?" He smiled. "Now, go on. You've got some nets to fold, rookie."