Disclaimer: None of the characters from Power Rangers belong to me, which include the Season 3 Rangers, Kimberly Hart, and the Wild West Rangers. However, Amber McRoyan does belong to me, cause I made her up. I hope ya'll like it!
Lovin' In The Past
by Froggie Lover
Chapter One
Amber McRoyan flipped off of the balance beam with perfect grace, and landed just the same.
"Good work, McRoyan! Hart, get in there!" Coach Schmidt yelled.
Kimberly Hart rolled her eyes and exchanged a high five with Amber as they went in opposite directions. Amber stopped at a corner of the floor, running her routine through her mind. The assistant coach turned his attention to her as she began.
A few hours later, the gym - that was bustling in time prior - was almost completely empty, given the coaches and the gymnasts that were just finishing their practice for the day. In the locker room, Amber McRoyan sat on a bench, one arm cradled in the other. Coach Schmidt came in and sat down on a bench beside her.
"So, I noticed that that double handspring going across the beam needs work," he said gently.
"I know. My arm is healed, but it still hurts to hit that," Amber replied. She thought back to the incident where she had dislocated her right shoulder and broken a couple bones in her arm. Everyone was practicing really hard, and Amber couldn't seem to land the double handspring on the beam. It was almost break time, so she gave it one more try. She ended up slipping, hitting her arm on a nearby balance beam on the way down. For about four weeks, she was out of commission.
"The Games are in a few weeks. You really need to get it straightened out," Coach Schmidt said.
Of course, he was talking about the Pan Global Games, only the biggest competition in sports other than the Olympics.
"I know," Amber said quietly.
Schmidt sighed. "I think you need to take a vacation. Go home, rest up, heal that arm fully, and come back refreshed. In that order."
Amber nodded. "How long are you giving me?"
"A week."
~*~*~*~
Amber carefully picked up one of her bags and hefted it onto her right shoulder. The pain subsided as she picked up her other bag and carried it in her left hand. She walked into the parking lot and found a car waiting for her.
"Yo, sis, get in!" her brother called from the driver's window.
Amber laughed and proceeded over to the black Explorer. "Alex, you're a trip."
Alex McRoyan smiled as Amber got in the passenger's side.
"Ah, the familiarity of home," she said once the two had pulled up to the McRoyan home.
"It's called the suburbs of Arlington, kid."
"Better than a dorm in a building in Miami, Florida."
"I'll give ya that."
Later that night, Amber was up in her room, gazing out of the window. It was a clear night. Every star could be seen from any angle. She sighed, mentally thanking Coach Schmidt for giving her a week off. She loved being at home, especially on a beautiful summer night like this one. As Amber leaned on the sill, she could hear the sounds of the city wafting across the Potomac River. The sounds of horns honking, the strains of club music, and the quieted hubbub of Washington DC nightlife. Even from the distance of her location, she could still see the lights of late-night workers in office buildings and car lights in the capital of the country. Together, it was all quite a sight, to the eye of a tourist at least.
"Bored," Amber muttered. "There's gotta be something to do besides sit here."
As she climbed out of the window and went to shut it, she was reminded of why she was home in the first place. "Ouch."
She sat down on her bed and glanced around the rather large room. "Okay, computer's got a virus, nothing on cable but informercials and porno, and I've read every book I own."
"It's official; I have to venture outside of my house to find something to do. Maybe a stroll in the back routes of the neighborhood will do."
Amber changed out of her pajamas and into the outfit she had been wearing earlier that day. On her way out, she grabbed her keys and a pocketknife; one could never be too careful at this time of night, and in the DC area, even if it was in the suburbs. She locked the door and continued on outside. It was quiet out, as usual. But it wasn't too quiet; there was still the barking of dogs from the neighbor's houses and loud hip-hop music from a particular house on the block. In short, all was normal. Or in Amber's view, boring.