Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers
Sorry this took so long. I had a severe case of writer's block.
Thank you, Brankel1, for your kind reviews.
Author's Notes: This is set a couple of weeks after the last chapter.
Chapter 7: At Work
"Ah, there are my two best employees, Eugene and Kim." Paul exclaimed as the mentioned walked through the door.
After several days on the job, Kimberly had become an excellent waitress. This combined with Skull's piano skills made them invaluable additions to the restaurant.
"Hey, Paul." Skull replied to the kind manager. "It's time for another fun day at work."
That's good; I need someone to work in the kitchen." Paul chimed. "Are you up to it, Eugene?"
Skull winced at his boss's question. If there was one thing Skull can ruin, it's food. However, he still wanted to impress Paul (and Kimberly), so he had to make the hard choice.
"Sure." He replied with a nervous smile.
"Okay, here's your apron and Mike will show you the ropes." Paul said as he handed him the item. Mike, a big brawny fellow, led Skull to the kitchen.
Paul turned to Kimberly. "And you'll be waitressing, Kim."
"Okay, what do I wear today?" Kimberly asked.
"You don't have to wear anything ." Paul answered. "We don't have a theme today."
"Okay, then I'll go and get started on those customers." Kimberly responded, as she grabbed her own apron and her notebook. She then approached an elderly couple.
After several hours, Kimberly had served a good amount of people and received a generous amount of tips.
Skull, unfortunately, had better days. No matter what he touched, he managed to ruin the food. When he was making a smoothie, he accidently forgot to put the top on the blender before turning it on. The smoothie was splattered all over the walls and ceiling. After that, he confused two different drinks for two customers. And as he was bringing in the drinks, he tripped over something and spilled the smoothie all over the floor before it completely drenched his clothes.
Kimberly gasped at the sight of her friend in the puddle of fruity liquid. She ran over to help him up. He slipped several times before he got firmly on his feet. He had fallen straight into the smoothie which had completely stained his once white shirt.
Hearing the noise, Paul rushed out of his office. "What was that?" When he saw the mess, he apologized to the customers whose drinks were ruined and offered them new ones on the house. He then walked over to Skull and Kimberly.
"What happened?" Paul quaked.
I'm sorry, Paul." Skull stuttered. "I must have tripped on something. I'll clean it up."
"No, don't worry about that." Paul said. "I'll have someone else do that."
"No, I should clean the mess." Skull objected.
"No, it's alright." Paul insisted "Look, just go home and clean yourself up."
"Okay." Skull moaned.
Skull hung his head low as he left, in order to avoid the many eyes on him.
Paul sighed as he put his hands on his sides. "Is Skull that bad in the kitchen?" He asked as he turned back to Kimberly.
Kimberly chuckled softly. "Are you kidding? Before I came, all his meals either had cereal or bread in it. And even then, there were problems."
Paul laughed softly with her. "I guess I better him keep out of kitchen then. Well, we should get back to work."
Kimberly nodded as she went over to the next customers. Paul called another employee to mop up the spill while he prepared the new drinks.
At about six o'clock, Kimberly was relieved of her shift and returned back to the apartment.
"Skull, I'm home." Kimberly called as she entered. She opened door to find a sad Skull lying on the couch and watching a cartoon. Strangely, he wasn't laughing at the wacky character's antics, some of which even Kimberly found funny at times.
"Skull, are you okay?" Kimberly asked as she closed the door behind her.
Skull only grunted in reply. Kimberly never saw Skull act like this. She approached the chair next to the couch and sat down.
"Skull, would you turn that off, please?" Kimberly asked.
Skull's eyes focused on her for several seconds, before he grabbed the remote beneath the arm rest of the couch and turned off the cartoon.
"Now, can you tell me what's wrong?" Kimberly asked.
Skull got up into a sitting position. "I really made a fool of myself today. And now, I feel like the only thing I'm good at is playing the piano."
"What's wrong with that?" Kimberly questioned.
Skull sighed. "Well, playing music is great, but I want to afford a house one day. Piano gigs won't get me there. I was hoping to impress Paul today and maybe he would me promote or something."
Kimberly gave what he said some thought. "Well, Skull, why do you need a house?" She asked.
"Well, how am I supposed to raise a family in an apartment like this?" He replied.
"Skull, you shouldn't focus on the future." Kimberly told him. "The future is a mystery. We shape our future by enjoying what we have right now. I mean do you not like where you're at right now?"
Skull shook his head.
"Okay, then don't take for granted what you have." Kimberly stated. "If you focus too much on the future, you'll miss out on the present.
"You're right." Skull said, stepping out of his depression. "Thanks Kimberly."
"No problem, Skull." Kimberly smiled. "Now, I'm going to take a shower and I'll cook us some dinner."
With that said, Kimberly walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Skull thought about what Kimberly said. "We shape our future by enjoying what we have right now." Maybe it was time for Skull to ask Kim a very important question.
There you have it. The seventh chapter. The next few chapters will focus on Skull and Kim getting closer. I'm thinking of having them go on a picnic in one chapter. Your feedback is very important, so please rate.
