All standard disclaimers in ch. 1
Note: This chapter is a repost. Sara W. alerted me to the fact that I'd made a mistake in the timeline – the TV series I'd originally mentioned in this chapter hadn't been created yet at this point in the future Rangers' lives. Since I absolutely hate gaffes like that, I decided to rewrite the passage – even though it's been eight years since I originally wrote this story. Yes, I'm anal that way. On with the story!
This time, it was English grammar that the five kids had to sweat over, and not a few sighs could be heard in the classroom as they waited for Mr. Jenkins to call the break. Once more, they filed out into 'their' courtyard, and after some swapping and sharing of foodstuffs, settled in to hear the next one's story.
"Drugs, Trini?" Jason queried curiously.
The pretty Asian groaned.
"Not really. Well, if you want to get literal about it, yeah, sort of, but …"
"Either you had drugs on you or you didn't," Zack piped up. "What was it?"
Trini scowled at him half-seriously.
"About the same thing as your 'weapon'," she told him, still feeling cross about the whole affair. It was so unfair! "I was taking some ginseng pellets, and when Sylvia Abrams asked if they helped, I offered some to her, too. And she had to go and tell the school nurse."
"Help with what?" Kim wanted to know.
Trini gave her a look that spoke volumes. Turning slightly away so the boys wouldn't see, she placed a hand over her lower abdomen and mouthed the word "period" at the other girl.
"Oh." Kimberly nodded knowingly, but couldn't help a blush from forming – which naturally aroused the boys' curiosity.
"Yeah, help with what?" Zack asked, dancing around the two girls in an attempt to look at both of their faces at once. They kept facing away from him, and the ensuing antics were pretty amusing to watch until Jason, with a bemused headshake, collared the shorter boy with an admonition to cut it out already and let Trini get on with her story. Grinning unrepentantly, Zack plopped down in his seat, the expression on his mobile face one of exaggerated anticipation that made the girls giggle and forget their embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Billy stared at the far wall, lost in thought as he processed the information. Thinking out loud, he started to enumerate facts.
"Ginseng is a herbal remedy often used in Chinese medicine; it's most commonly used to treat gastric and digestive disorders caused by nervous tension, like loss of appetite. It also is used as a very mild stimulant." He directed an earnest look at the pretty Asian girl. "As you said, technically it is a drug. Just not of the type that is commonly referred to by that name."
"Yeah," Trini mumbled. "I don't usually take it, just every now and then …"
"Whatever for?" Jason wondered. "I mean, why would you need that stuff in the first place? You're not sick or anything, are you?"
Zack picked up on the 'nervous tension' part, blurting out something he'd heard on TV. "Or hysterical?" He wasn't quite fast enough to dodge Kimberly, who bopped him on the arm.
"Don't be such a dork!"
For a second, Billy felt appalled at this display of what his brain instinctively called VIOLENCE in big, red warning letters, but he realized almost immediately that Kim's action wasn't meant to hurt Zack in any way. It was just a means of getting his attention and meting out a light punishment simultaneously. To judge by Zack's sheepish grin and subsequent settling down, a very effective one, too, and Billy filed that information away for future reference.
Exasperatedly, Trini blew a strand of hair out of her face as she addressed both boys. "No, of course I'm not. If you have to know, once a month my stomach all cramps up so I can hardly swallow a bite – and I get faint if I don't eat. The ginseng is to help me get over that."
"Why only once a month?" Jason asked, obviously completely at sea.
The girls rolled their eyes. Seeing that Trini was too embarrassed to explain, Kimberly huffed at her fellow students.
"Sheesh. Don't you know anything? She was having her period! I feel kinda down all the time, too, and don't like to eat much either when I have mine. And those cramps are NOT fun, let me tell you!"
"Oh." Comprehension dawned on all three boys' faces, and they sported blushes to match – which gave the girls no small amount of satisfaction. It hadn't been easy to reveal a rather personal thing, given that due to their tender age they were still very sensitive about their changing bodies, but the guys had insisted on knowing, so …
*Serves them right!* was written clearly in their eyes as they watched Jason, Zack and Billy squirm.
"Um, okay," Jason muttered. "But couldn't the nurse have given you meds? I know a few girls on the track team who always go see her when they, uh …" he felt the color rise even higher in his cheeks.
"Yeah; she can give you Midol," Kimberly added. "That's allowed."
Trini grimaced. "I know. Only – you know about these leaflets in the package, telling you about possible side effects? I get them. Each and every one of them. I tried, and it's just no good." She sighed, looking rather forlorn. Giving in to impulse, Kim hugged her new friend.
"That's such a total bummer," she commiserated, and was rewarded with a bright smile.
Zack was looking puzzled.
"I don't get it, though," he wondered. "Didn't your folks explain when you got detention for that? I mean, it's not as if you didn't have a good reason not to go to the nurse."
"Yes, but it was no use," the slender girl explained. "They told us that regulations were for everybody, and they couldn't make any exceptions, especially not over something as serious as drugs."
"Quite understandable," Billy put forth. "Besides, I think it may also have been a consideration that ginseng, as well as other herbal remedies often distributed in alternative medicine, is not generally a part of Western treatment methods. Even if their efficacy is a well-documented fact." He looked at the others, half-proud that he remembered this and half afraid that he would be scoffed at. He needn't have worried.
"Exactly," Trini nodded. "My parents do go to a regular doctor all the time, but they prefer to get simple stuff like that from an apothecary shop in Chinatown. The owner was raised in China – I think his parents were missionaries, or something – and when he returned to America, he decided that he could help both his birth country and his adopted country by trading in homeopathic medicines. They often have fewer side effects, too."
Jason suddenly grinned. "Am I the only one to think 'Kwai Chang Caine' here?" he asked no one in particular. Zack chuckled and snapped his fingers as he made the connection.
"Oh yeah. 'Your path lies elsewhere, grasshopper'. Cool moves, though!"
Kimberly stared at the two snickering boys. "What are you two talking about?" she demanded to know, seeing that Billy was as bewildered as she and that Trini was torn between amusement and exasperation.
"A TV series," Trini explained with a withering look at Jason, who had the grace to duck, then shrug apologetically. "It was called 'Kung Fu', played in the last century and the main characters was an American who was brought up in a Shaolin monastery in China, then returned to America to look for his family. Then it became nothing more than a Western, only with a fake Chinese hero instead of a cowboy. Hmph," she huffed.
. "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Jason hastily amended, not wanting Trini to think that he was making fun of her heritage. "It's just, I thought it sounded kinda similar when you said from whom you get your medicine."
"Not that much!"
"Maybe not," Jason conceded readily. He offered Trini his hand in silent apology. "No offense?"
Hesitating only for a second, she accepted and the two children shook hands. "It's okay," Trini smiled back, liking his frank gaze. "None taken. Actually, my parents think it's one of the few things on TV where Asians are portrayed positively, and some effort is going into explaining the philosophies …oh well, never mind," she stopped herself. Her parents had taught her it was impolite to talk religion, philosophy or politics with strangers; for now it was better to be safe than sorry, and who knew – maybe there would be a time in the future when she could discuss such topics with Kimberly, Jason, Billy and Zack. Trini was certainly beginning to hope so!
All four students were glad that this hadn't evolved into a serious misunderstanding. They felt outcast enough as it was, since a few of their classmates wouldn't stop teasing them about being in detention, and tended to bring up the reasons for the punishment at every opportunity. It was beginning to create a bond even during regular school hours, drawing the five closer the better they got to know each other.
The burly boy ran his fingers through his short wavy hair. "But say … speaking of Caine … I don't wanna sound like a cliché or anything again, but do you know anything about kung fu?"
"Because I'm Asian, you mean?" Trini had to laugh at his sheepish nod. "As a matter of fact, I do. I've started taking lessons when I entered school. Why?"
He brightened visibly. "Because I'm studying karate," he said. "How would you feel about getting together some time and compare styles?" Jason colored slightly; he'd never asked a girl to share any kind of non-school-related activity before, and hadn't stopped to think how his innocent proposal might be received. To his relief (and Zack's barely hidden amusement), Trini didn't seem to think that it was an unusual request.
"I'd like that," she replied, still smiling. "When and where did you have in mind?"
Just then, the youngsters were recalled into the classroom and they filed out of the courtyard one after another while Trini and Jason quickly made arrangements to meet in the park the next day, listened to closely by an obviously very much interested Zack. Kimberly and Billy just shrugged indulgently and trailed after them, each wondering about the attraction martial arts seemed to have for their companions.
***
On Monday morning, Kimberly met up with Trini at the lockers.
"Hi. Did you guys have a good workout or whatever yesterday?" she inquired, feeling mildly curious and a bit sorry that she hadn't given in to the temptation to show up as well, even if only to watch them do whatever they had been doing. Her own Sunday afternoon had been rather boring, despite lounging on the patio all day with a new issue of Teen magazine to read. Which up until now had been her favorite weekend entertainment.
"Oh yes! Jason's quite good at karate; he has both power and speed, and his reflexes are pretty awesome," Trini almost gushed. "We sparred some, and I really enjoyed that. Plus, I think he'll make a great teacher one day; he showed Zack a few moves, and he explained things rather well. I think Zack's going to start studying at Jason's dojo this week."
"Wow. Sounds like you guys had fun," Kim commented a bit enviously, wishing more than ever she had joined the others. *Next time they meet, I'm NOT gonna stay home!* she resolved mentally. *At least it would've been more interesting to watch them than those silly old musicals with my Mom …*
"Definitely. We're meeting again tomorrow, after school. Um, would you like to come with?" Trini offered a bit shyly, knowing that Kim had very little interest in sports outside of her gymnastics, but feeling strangely reluctant to exclude her from further activities with the others. "Maybe Billy will want to come, too."
The petite brunette beamed. "You're reading my mind," she exclaimed happily. "If my folks don't object, sure; I'd love to! Billy and I can sit and criticize you guys," she added with an impish twinkle in her brown eyes.
Trini giggled, feeling suddenly very good. "You two don't know enough about martial arts to criticize anyone," she complained good-naturedly as the two girls wandered off together to Biology class. Kim gave her a wide-eyed innocent stare.
"But that's what's going to make it fun," she declared with a perfectly straight face. "What good is it to nag somebody about something you have a clue about?"
Laughing, Trini opened the classroom door, letting Kim enter before her.
"And that is logical how?"
The shorter girl looked back over her shoulder and winked, enjoying the banter with her new friend.
"Hey, I'm a cheerleader. We're supposed to be, like, cute and cool, not logical!"
"Right," Trini snorted, hugely amused. She was preparing a suitable reply to Kim's outrageous remark, but was cut short by the teacher's arrival. Smiling at each other, the girls sought their chairs, knowing that they would continue during break – and very much looking forward to it.
***
"I really fail to see the merits of watching others participate in physical exercise," Billy muttered, not looking at Kimberly as the two sat on the still-warm grass in Angel Grove Park, waiting for Trini, Zack and Jason to finish their warm-up exercises. He really had more important things to do, like waiting for his new computer to be delivered so he could set it up, but the invitation to join the others had been so unexpected – and such a rare occurrence – that he hadn't stopped to think before accepting. Now here he was, trapped in an activity he usually disdained, just because a few other kids, chance acquaintances really, with whom he had nothing in common but the fact that they all were in detention together, had chosen to offer him inclusion in their leisure time.
To Billy's surprise, the thought sent a feeling of warmth through him. *Nobody's ever offered that to me before,* he slowly realized. *I must be needing companionship with my contemporaries more than I was aware of. Hmm. Maybe the Principal did have a point after all in her assessment of my situation…* He was distracted by a little nudge from Kimberly.
"Look, they're starting!"
Sitting up straight, Billy focused his attention obligingly on the three others. Jason demonstrated a series of moves, explaining things to Zack and Trini as he went along. It looked smooth and quite complicated to the bespectacled blond, making him painfully aware of his own deficiencies in coordination. Not surprisingly, Trini copied Jason's exercise with little effort due to her own martial arts background, but even the neophyte Zack was able to follow the instruction with only a few minor mistakes.
"I could never do that," Billy murmured without thinking, for once wishing he had better motor control. The tiny girl sitting beside him gave him a startled look as she detected the note of envy in his quiet voice.
"Sure you could," she shrugged. "Whyever not? Even I could learn that. If I wanted to, that is. Which I don't."
"You're already an accomplished gymnast," the slight boy protested. "You are used to physical exercise. Whereas I have little to no interest in sports, and less ability …"
"But why?" Kim was curious now; she forgot all about watching the others and turned towards Billy. "I mean … don't you brainy types believe in 'a healthy mind in a healthy body'? My gymnastics coach is always going on about that," she explained artlessly. "I think she just wants us to, like, not get bad grades or something. 'Cause if we do, we lose our place on the team."
"Um … well, yes, in theory your instructor is right," Billy hemmed and hawed, having heard that very same admonition from his father on occasion. When he remembered, his parent had often expressed a wish that Billy would spend less time over his experiments and be more sociable, despite his pride in his son's accomplishments. "However, it is not exactly easy to schedule time better spent in intellectual pursuits with more physical endeavors …"
"That's a cop-out, and you should know better," Kimberly exclaimed, warming to the subject. "How can you do your stuff when you get sick because you haven't exercised enough? And you will get sick eventually if you never get out and sit at your desk all day, or read, or do experiments or whatever!"
Uncomfortably aware that she was right, but unwilling to concede as much to someone he considered his intellectual inferior, Billy went on the defensive.
"What would you know about these things, anyway?" he challenged her.
Kim blushed at his unconsciously condescending tone. But she wouldn't back down, not for anybody! Not even someone so much smarter than she was. Defiantly, she met Billy's eyes. "Because my mom's a physical therapist working for a big company." She named a well-known Angel Grove corporation. "She has a lot of clients who get headaches and bad backs and stuff just because they're in the office all the time and don't work out. She knows about these things, and so do I – because she told me." Her voice quite clearly said 'So there!'.
Billy felt himself flushing. He obviously had insulted Kimberly somehow, and that made him quite uncomfortable. How to rectify the situation? A memory from their conversations during their Saturday morning breaks surfaced.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," he offered a tentative apology – not something he was used to doing much. "I didn't know." Which was another unusual thing for him to admit; usually he found that he was knowing too much.
Kimberly looked at him hard for a few seconds, then smiled. It had been the right thing to say, and Billy felt an unaccustomed sense of accomplishment that he'd acted correctly for once in interacting with kids his own age.
"It's okay," she dismissed the matter. "Don't you do sports at all?"
"I do participate in PE," Billy replied with a small grimace, recalling some of the less sterling moments he'd had in that class. "It's required."
"Yeah, but what about stuff for fun? Like games, or swimming … don't you ever got to the lake to just mess around in summer?"
"Not customarily, no …"
"Well, we'll have to see about that, then," Kimberly said decisively, totally ignoring the slight boy's instinctive gesture of denial. "You do know how to swim?"
Her peremptory tone, so much like a person's in authority, got an immediate answer from Billy.
"Yes. My parents insisted I learn, for safety reasons."
"Good. I'm sure the guys and Trini do, too, so we can all go to the indoor pool on Friday; there's going to be water games with slides and stuff. It's gonna be major fun with all of us!"
Before he could protest, she scampered off towards the others who greeted her plans enthusiastically, and willy-nilly Billy found himself included once more, scarcely knowing how that had come to be.
*I KNEW associating with my fellow detainees would divert my attention from my lab work!*
However, for some reason that once-alien concept suddenly seemed not a bad idea at all.
To Be Continued …