Ethan James looked up at the domed building as he passed it by on his walk. He couldn't believe that all of that hard work in school and weeks spent with Hayley was actually going to pay off. Though Reefside Tech was great and not a bad college at all, Ethan was a little disappointed with how senior year had gone for him grade-wise.
Saving the world as a Power Ranger was an amazing opportunity and experience that he wouldn't forget it. He had made friends he had never expected in his senior year with Kira, Trent, and Conner becoming his brothers and sister in crime-fighting.
However, all of it did hurt his GPA and gave him less time to work on college essays and applications for all of the college's engineering programs. He was content with going to Reefside Tech for his freshman year, but after thinking it about it some more, he decided to apply to transfer to MIT. It was his dream school. Some of the most successful software developers and computer engineers in Silicon Valley had gone there as well as many other famous scientists and mathematicians with Ethan personally knowing alumni like Hayley and Cam Watanabe of the Ninja Storm rangers.
He had put in so much effort in his school work while at Reefside Tech just to get this opportunity and to his utter surprise, they had accepted his application
Now here he was. He was at the premier tech school in the world, going to study Computer Science and further his dream to become a software developer at Silicon Valley like so many alumni.
The only thing that was bugging him was his roommate. Though he had asked for a single, he got placed in a double suite. He wasn't opposed to a roommate, but he was nervous if they were going to get along. If they didn't, it would make life harder for him every day coming back to the dorms from class exhausted only to deal with a roommate who wanted him as miserable as Mesogog. Well, maybe not that miserable, but still miserable.
As he was walking down the funky hallways with the curved walls, he tried to remain optimistic. He was just overthinking again. Like he always does. No need to worry or panic just yet.
Ethan rode up the elevator, looking at the envelope containing his room key card as a way to take his mind off the situation. As he walked down the corridor while pulling his luggage, he found his room, 509, at the end of the hall, swiped his key card and opened the door.
It seemed that his roommate had already arrived and stepped out for the moment because no one seemed to be there, but the kitchen was full of bags. They appeared to be bags full of food and tableware upon Ethan's further inspection. One of the doors to the 2 bedrooms was opened and from what Ethan could notice, his roommate and he clearly shared a favorite color as he could see that the room was decked in mostly all blue. Ethan stepped into the doorway, just to get a quick peek at what his new roommate might be like judging by his room.
The room was partially unpacked with open drawers brimming full of junk, and clothes that need to be hung up laid on the bed with a stack of hangers below it on the floor. The desk was covered with all sorts of gadgets that seemed out of Dr. O's former lab and wires tangled up connecting them. There was a collection of photos sprawled out on the nightstand.
Ethan's curiosity got the better of him as he sneaked into the room to take a look at the photos. To his amazement, the first photo seemed to be of a high school graduation. But on a closer glance, he noticed that it was not just any high school; it was Angel Grove High. His roommate was from California! Not just from California, but from the home of the original Power Rangers. The ones who were Dr. O's original team and fought in the considered "monster capital" till 1998 when the forces of the United Alliance of Evil attacked and invaded, and were opposed by the Astro Rangers. He had met them and some of the other teams at ranger parties as well as finding out through Dr. O's video diary.
Well at least, he could relate to his roommate in that aspect. His roommate was certainly alive during those years if Ethan was alive when the news reports showing everyday monster occurrences happened in Angel Grove, the times before he became a Power Ranger in Reefside. Also, he's a Californian. He could relate to the departure of the climate into harsh weather-changing New England better than anyone.
All of a sudden, he heard a click coming from outside. Great. His roommate's here and he's snooping through his stuff. This isn't going to make a good first impression if he finds him in here.
Before they could open the door, Ethan ran out of the room as fast as his legs could take him into the kitchen, opting to snoop through the food instead,
The door opened, revealing a tall brunette man that looked a little shorter than Conner. He was carrying a laptop under his arm. He also seemed to share the same color scheme from his room as he was also wearing mostly blue. Looking closer, Ethan could see 2 mischievous, youthful eyes on his roommate's face. There was something familiar about his face, but Ethan couldn't think what it was about that made it so.
The roommate turned towards him and smiled "Well, I see someone already found the food. Good thing too, some people in my classes don't seem to eat constantly. Looks like I won't have this problem with you."
"Oh no. Definitely not me." Ethan replied. "I've developed somewhat of a fast metabolism a few years ago. I'm constantly hungry throughout the day."
"Don't worry. Same with me. My friends in high school boosted up mine. Playing soccer for the youth league and practicing martial arts constantly seems to do that."
That's interesting, considering his background. He knows that Angel Grove was frequented by martial artists from what Dr. O had told him about the many tournaments, exhibitions, and competitions held there. Maybe, he met Dr. O and his friends at one.
"So, where are you from?" Ethan asked.
"I'm from California." his roommate replied.
"Huh. What a coincidence. I'm from California too." Ethan said, trying to appear like he hadn't known before. "Where in California are you from? It's a big state after all."
"I graduated from Angel Grove High School. Class of 2003."
"Oh. So that would make you a junior here at MIT?" Ethan asked.
"Yep. Studying Materials Engineering. And you're from?"
"Reefside. Class of 2004."
"Interesting. They've seemed to put a sophomore and junior in a suite together. This doesn't happen often."
"By the way, I didn't think I caught your name before." Ethan
"I didn't say it. No worries. "
"So, what is your name?" Ethan inquired
"I'm Justin. Justin Stewart."
Ethan couldn't believe it. Now, he knew why he looked so familiar and the Angel Grove connection now made sense. Justin was a former Power Ranger. He worked with Dr. O when Divatox's forces were trying to invade Earth and get revenge on the Turbo rangers. But of course, he wouldn't recognize him at first. Justin was only 12 when he became a Power Ranger and he's now around 20, meaning he grew up and looks different from Dr. O's video diary.
"I know you!" Ethan exclaimed excitedly.
"How do you know me? I've never met you before." Justin inquired confusingly.
"Does the name Tommy Oliver ring a bell?"
"Yes, it does. Wait. How do you know Tommy?"
"I graduated from Reefside in the year 2004. What happened last year?"
Justin took a moment to think about it. It came to him after a few moments.
"The Dino Thunder rangers appeared to battle Mesogog and his forces," Justin stated.
"Yep. Let's just say blue spandex had been my favorite outfit that year." Ethan joked.
"You're a former Power Ranger, too?"
Yep. Just like you, Justin. Or should I say, Justin, Blue Turbo Ranger?"
"So wait. Tommy took up the mantle again."
"Yep. Apparently, our mentor just can't get rid of the spandex. It just seems to follow him around wherever he goes. I mean, he was our teammate and organized that Forever Red mission to the moon a few years ago."
Justin and Ethan took a seat on the couch in their suite's living room, ready to inquire more about the other's tenure as a ranger.
"So, how the hell did you become a Power Ranger at 12?" Ethan asked. "I mean Tommy said in the diary that Zordon chose teenagers to become rangers."
"Wait! A diary? What are you referring to?"
"Oh. Dr. O ma-"
"Dr. O?"
"Yeah. He became our science teacher and he has a Ph.D. in Paleontology. "
"Wait. The last time I saw him, he wanted to become a race car driver. He was kind of obsessed with it. Lived out in a trailer at the track away from the others and isolated. It was weird. When did he want to become a high school teacher?" Justin asked
Ethan burst out laughing. "Wait, he was wanted to become a race car driver? And for all the crap he gave to Kira about not wanting to college." He sighed. "Oh, I hope this gets much funnier. You got to tell me old stories about when Dr. O still had long hair."
"Don't worry. There are more stories to tell about Tommy from over the years. Rocky and Adam told me plenty of them over the years."
"Oh. I can't wait to hear those."
"Oh, you will. Trust me." Justin said jokingly. "Besides we've got all year together to exchange them. But on to a different topic. So, what did you come to MIT for anyway?"
"I want to become the head of my software company, so I wanted to study Computer Science at one of the best schools in the world," Ethan replied.
"Oh. That's really cool. I hope you succeed."
"Thanks," Ethan said
So what's your team like?" Justin asked
"Well, you already know about Dr. O. And then there's Conner, Kira, and Trent. Kira, our yellow ranger, is an awesome musician and great singer. Always got a witty mind to her and is never afraid to be herself. She's currently getting gigs in New York and starting to be offered recording contracts by various record labels. Trent, our white ranger, wasn't originally part of our group. He was brainwashed and was our evil 6th ranger for a time, But, he's a hardworking, altruistic and repentant guy, always trying to make up for every past action he did wrong. He's also a fantastic artist and has been working on creating his own comic book series to pitch over the last few months. I may have also contributed some ideas for it. And then there's Conner."
Justin noticed that Ethan sighed a little after he said that with a longing in his eyes and a small smile.
"I'm betting he was more than a friend to you by the way you look." Ethan giving him a nervous, worried glance while Justin said that. "Don't be alarmed. From what I've noticed of fellow Power Rangers, we tend to be much more tolerant than the normal public on these things. We tend not to be homophobic and given the people on my team and their unorthodox relationships, you should be absolutely fine. Also, not my place to judge if that's the case. "
"Thanks, Justin. I appreciate it a lot. Conner's our red ranger, or was our red ranger. He didn't start off as the guy I fell in love with. He was a sexist jerk to both me and Kira at the beginning. Didn't respect anything about what I loved and insulted my interests. But, being a Power Ranger helped him grow into someone I now know and love. He was more selfless, altruistic, and less cocky and arrogant. He had revealed hidden talents and passions about himself like his mother having him learn to play the piano or him loving ballroom dance." Ethan suddenly thought of an explanation in his head about why Conner was the way he was, based on the stuff Conner told him and the growth he witnessed over their tenure as Rangers. "Actually, I feel that Conner just was influenced by what everything society was telling him to do and be to become a real man. He was supposed to put down people who threatened that or treat women like objects to desire, but he didn't do it out of intentional malice. He did it because of everyone and everything around him pressuring him into it. With him interacting with me and Kira, he allowed himself to be who he really instead of what the world wanted him to become. Anyways, his soccer career has taken off since he had signed on with the Reefside Wave to play Minor League Soccer and the Majors seemed to have noticed him as well as the USA national team through what Conner has told me."
Justin said in silence for a minute, taking in all that Ethan had just told him regarding his team. He sensed a real close friendship between all of them to know what was going on in each other's lives like that, and Ethan talking about Conner really revealed his true feelings towards this guy in ways Ethan unintentionally did while talking about him. "Wow, Ethan. It seems all of your friends look to be very successful as time goes on." Justin said.
"Thanks, Justin. You know, I think we're going to be great roommates." Ethan said happily.
"I fully agree."
"So, I heard a rumor about that you got baked into a giant pizza once. TJ can't stop talking about it for some reason.
"You were also supposed to tell me about Tommy's video diary he apparently made. Don't forget about that."
The two new roommates laugh and chat while Justin helps Ethan unpack and settle into their new suite, exchanging stories about their lives as rangers as they start the slow journey to form another bond of friendship between each other.