2A/N: As for this chapter, which also had to be removed of lyrics. Search out "Blue Monday" – but I don't know the original artist, just the current one. And it sums it up as you can tell in my other notes, and whenever you can, look back at Hoobastank's "The Reason" throughout the story, all right? Later daze. I'm out before my head hurts.

THE REASON - Part Ten: Blue Monday

Summary: Dr. Oliver shows up late, and Principal Randall isn't too happy with it. His mind is still on the events of the previous night.

Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs and will always belong to Saban Entertainment, BVS Entertainment Inc., Renaissance Atlantic Entertainment, Village Roadshow KP Producations Limited, ABC Kids, ABC Family and Disney. And to all other affiliates with the Power Rangers concept (ie. Sentai–the original Power Rangers). And, yes, before I forget, the main title of the story does tie in with Hoobastank's "The Reason". Gotta give you guys credit, so don't sue me, please!

A/N: First off, I did in fact use the song "Blue Monday" in this segment–hence, the title of the chapter. Now, I can't recall the original artist of the song, but I do know that Orgy did do a remake of the song. It's sort of a random thing at school, but ties into the next chapter. Oh, and the office secretary is just some side character made up by me. Enjoy. And hit me back with a reply. And back to reality–my reality of the Power Rangers universe. (Sorry. Just had to say that) Until next time.

"It's been a long night. And Mondays are just not meant to be any easier because of it. Mondays suck!" –Eclyptyk Neo

Next day. Monday morning.

Tommy quickly threw the covers over his head in confusion, looking about the room.

He peered at the clock. 7:45am.

"Oh shit!" Tommy groaned pulling himself out of bed and ran into the bathroom.

He was supposed to be at the school 30 minutes ago.

First period.

The students in Dr. Oliver's science class were growing somewhat restless. Or so it seemed. 20 minutes after the tardy bell. No teacher. No sub. No word on where he was. Small groups talked. Paper balls and paper planes flew all over the room.

Conner, Kira and Ethan exchanged looks as they brought their stools into a triangle formation.

"Hey, have any of you guys seen Dr. O?" Conner asked with some concern.

Kira and Ethan shook their heads and shrugged.

"I hope everything's all right. Ya know, he's been acting a little weird lately," Kira said.

"Yeah. It's seems like something's been bothering him. He's never ran this late. Sure, maybe five minutes or so, but not this long. Do you think that something's wrong?"

Ethan looked away, scratching his head absently. He knew exactly what was keeping their teacher on the fritz lately. And after last night proved to be something he didn't expect to see at all. Now, he was hoping that their mentor didn't run himself off a cliff or decided to go on some anger rampage throughout town. "Nah. Ya know how those dino-eggs always got him all worked up."

"But even he knows the concept of punctuality," Kira stated.

Ethan wanted to say something, but knew it would be best not to. He figured Dr. Oliver would strangle him to death if he even came close to cluing anyone in on his situation at hand. He decided to change subjects. "So much for the paper being due today. If we're lucky, he may not show up until the end of class."

"You really don't mean that, Ethan." Kira looked at the door, hoping to have their mentor pop into the room. But there was nothing. "Besides, Principal Randall might have his ass for this."

"That bitch would make no hesitation to do that," Conner leaned in closer, "but I hear that the school board is planning to keep him in on as long as possible. So, even if he did get his ass fired, the school board would probably hire him back."

"But of course, remember last time he didn't show up at school?" Kira declared. "He was captured by Mesogog, and we ended up finding out more about him than we expected."

Ethan shook his head. "But he probably meant for us to find it. I mean, why else would he leave that diary on the computer? I mean, he knew about how I am around computers."

They each exchanged another look and shrugged again. They only hoped it wasn't anything too serious. Or if Mesogog really decided to snatch Dr. O off the street again for some other crazy idea.

Dr. Oliver stumbled through the main entrance of the school, his briefcase in one hand, his laptop case over a shoulder. He looked at his watch, cursing as he made it through the building. "8:15. Nice, Tommy. Class started thirty minutes ago, and if I don't clear the hall, Randall is gonna have my ass." He walked passed the main office, just as someone came out, running into the person. He cursed again, stepping back, fumbling to fix the strap over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't see..."

But before he could finish, the stern, stiff woman known as the wicked-principal-of-the-west looked at him, eyes alert. Leering. "Dr. Oliver."

He shied a smile, but figured it wouldn't do much good for him. "I'm sorry, Principal Randall. I didn't see you and..."

Principal Randall absently fixed her glasses before meeting him with another stern look. "You're an hour late, Dr. Oliver. I would assume you have a reasonable explanation for your tardiness."

"Actually," he hesitated for a moment, than looked down at his sprained hand. "Car problems. Ya know, my jeep has been having some really bad problems lately. And I haven't gotten time to take it into the shop..."

"I am not paying you to show up at school any later than you need to. Do you want this job or not, Dr. Oliver?"

"I know, I'm sorry." he apologized, fixing his glasses. "I swear, it won't happen again. It's been a rather rough morning."

"It better not. But, you should go look out for another job if you know what's best for you." She turned away heading back into main office.

Dr. Oliver nodded and set off for his classroom.

Principal Randall disappeared into her office, locking the door behind her.

She took a seat at her desk, her set of dark blue apparel was changed into the leathery outfit of her real self. Elsa. Servant to Mesogog. She opened up the laptop encrusted with a dinosaur eye on its cover.

The screen immediately turned on and the menacing, dino face of Mesogog appeared on it.

"Elsa, report." he hissed.

"I must apologize, sir. But I have been unsuccessful with finding that power source you are talking about."

"That is no excuse, Elsa." he shot back, eyes glaring. "We must find it before Dr. Oliver does. We must strength our forces before it's too late."

"Of course, my lord." she bowed. "I'll make sure to find it."

"You'd better, if you know what is best for your future. Keep an eye on him, Elsa. Dr. Oliver is not a person we must lose contact with."

She nodded again, before closing the laptop, hiding away her anger for what failure her master was blaming her for.

The door to Dr. Oliver's class opened slowly. Everyone ran across the room setting up chairs and clearing away the debris of paper littering the floor.

The absent-minded teacher entered the class, and walked over to his desk without saying a word. Each of the students eyes bared down on him.

Dr. Oliver removed his glasses, dropping his head, rubbing his forehead. "I must apologize for my tardiness, class, but I had some things to take care of."

The room fell silent.

Conner, Ethan and Kira exchanged another set of looks, noting that something was bothering their teacher greatly.

"Hey, Dr. Oliver, I don't assume than that you're not going to collect our papers today," someone called out.

Everyone turned to the guy who said that. Devin. "Sshhh!"

Dr. Oliver replaced the glasses on his head and made it around the desk. "No way. C'mon, you guys, pass them up. I gave you the whole weekend and you've been working on it for nearly three weeks now. So, let's go."

Everyone groaned, passing up their reports.

Dr. Oliver rubbed his forehead again. He couldn't get the images of the previous night out of his head. How could I have thrown her out into the cold? Why couldn't I just listen to her? Did Ethan really see that dark side of me? It didn't go away.

Conner got off his chair, handing his teacher some of the reports he collected. He could see the uneasiness and loss in how his teacher stood. He also noticed the bandage around his teacher's hand. "Hey, Dr. O, you all right?"

Dr. Oliver absently took the reports, nodding. "I'm fine, Conner. Why? Does something look wrong?"

Conner looked at his teacher again. "I don't know. You seem a little out of it. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Conner." he stated sternly.

Conner took a step back, but looked at the damage of his mentor's hand. "What happened to your hand?"

Dr. Oliver rubbed his wrist, shaking his head. "It's nothing. Just a sprain."

Conner wanted to try and get more information, but figured he wouldn't get anywhere. He learned to trust Dr. Oliver, even if it took him awhile to respect him for lying to them about what he knew about the Power Rangers and his own connection to them. He retreated to his seat turning to Ethan and Kira. "Smacked down."

"Something is definitely wrong with him," Kira declared, looking back at their distracted teacher. "Look at him. I never seen him so upset."

"Are you sure that's upset? That looks more like "Don't-Talk-To-Me-Or-I'll-Kick-Your-Ass" look." Conner shook his head.

Ethan turned away, looking back at their teacher, a saddened look on his face. C'mon, Dr. O. I know you may not want others to know, but you gotta at least tell Conner and Kira. They have a right to know that an ex-Power Ranger is in town–let alone, it being your first and true love.

Kira and Conner raised an eyebrow, turning to look at their Ranger counterpart with some confusion.

"Do you know something about him acting like this, Ethan?" Kira asked.

Ethan looked back at them, slightly shaken. "Who, me? No. Why would I? He just doesn't look like he wants anyone to talk to him. He's just having a rough morning. They don't call these Mondays for nothing."

Dr. Oliver clapped his hands together, calling attention to the class. "All right, class. Since, we don't have much time to go over your reports, I want you guys to read the anatomy of Earth's history in your science books and give me a one-page summary by the end of class."

The class groaned.

"Hey, Dr. O, that's impossible. We can't write a summary in less than 20 minutes," a student called out.

"Yeah." others agreed.

Dr. Oliver straightened his glasses, looking at his class again. "Do you want to make it two pages?" The class eyes dispersed as each of them began to take out their books. "Besides, you guys just did the report, so it shouldn't be that hard. Now, let's go." He turned away, and retreated to his seat. He removed his glasses, tossed them on the desk, dropping his head again. He definitely was in no mood to even teach a class today. Maybe I'll just give the rest of my classes a pop quiz or something. Oh god, what the hell is wrong with me? But he did know what was wrong. He couldn't stop thinking about Kim. He wanted to apologize so badly in person, but didn't know where to find her. He just wanted to sit with her. Talk to her. Find comfort in her. He didn't know if he could make it through the entire day without seeing her.

Kira looked back at her ranger counterparts, who seemed to act as if they were working on their summaries when really they were just as concerned about Dr. O as she was. But, she was the first one to make the move as she found her way to his desk, looking at him. "Dr. Oliver?"

Dr. Oliver looked up slowly at the disturbance. "Yeah? What's up, Kira?"

"You don't look all too well. Are you feeling okay?"

He sat back in his chair, and turned it toward her, shaking his head. "Just had a long night, Kira. That's all."

"Looks like something else. Are you sure?"

Dr. Oliver looked back at the class, who appeared to be working. He looked back at his young Ranger protege. "Yeah. Just one of those nights."

Conner and Ethan met their Ranger counterpart, looking at their mentor with great concern.

"Maybe you should just go home, Dr. O." Conner suggested.

"And have Randall on my ass even more for taking a sick day on a day I show up late, that's not going to happen, Conner."

Dr. Oliver directed his attention away from his counterparts for a moment. Many things were going on his mind. Kim had just re-entered his life. He's been dogged on by all his friends about his work ethics. The girls have been pestering him about even getting one moment to talk to Kim. The guys sent out signs by any means. Mesogog hasn't made any effort to make a new attack plan in nearly three weeks. It was hard. A burden on his shoulders. He looked back at his three students, who could only stare at him, waiting for an answer that could resolve some questions in their minds.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kira grew more curious.

Dr. O nodded slowly. "I'll be fine. Let's just say, I've been having a rather rough month."

They drew out a breath, surrendering. They knew they couldn't get any farther than that. Dr. O was known to keep things under wraps until it was time to speak of it, but than again, he was known not to say something that ended up revealing more than he really liked.

Conner and Kira retreated to their seats. Ethan looked at his teacher one last time, who dropped his head again in an agonizing defeat. He knew that his teacher was thinking about what had happened the night before. So was he. He just wasn't sure how to confront his teacher about it. He was never in love, in true love, like Dr O anyways. He didn't know how it felt. What it would be like when you finally found your true love. He just hoped that it wouldn't effect his teacher anymore than it was doing right now.

A small knock came to the door.

Then it opened, and a small aging women poked into the room. Ms. Arling, the main office secretary. She looked about the room before finding the person she was seeking out, pointing at Dr. Oliver. "I'm sorry to bother you, Dr. Oliver, but may I speak with you for a moment?"

Dr. Oliver exchanged a quick look with the other Rangers, than slowly got off the chair and proceeded to the hall with the secretary.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Oliver." she apologized.

He shook his head, holding up a hand. "No, it's all right. What is it?"

She looked down, hesitating. "Look, I know you've been having a rough morning. We all get that sometimes, but there is someone in the office who would like to see you." she rubbed her forehead trying to remember the name. "Um...oh yes, a Ms. Kimberly Hart? Do you know who that is?"

Dr. Oliver took a step back, catching his breath. What the hell is she doing here? How did she find out–no wait, never mind. Damn it, Jason, stay out of my business, bro. But what is she doing here? I mean, I know I invited her for a chance to talk. But here? Oh, damn. Now, my ass is really ridin' on the lines.

"Dr. Oliver?" the secretary tapped him on the shoulder.

He blinked, looking up at with some confusion in his eyes. "Um...yeah. I'm sorry. Did she state her business of visit?"

She shook her head. "Not that I could recall, but it seemed urgent. So, should I direct her to your classroom..."

"No." he said quickly. "How about I come down and see what i'is all about. There is no sense in disturbing my class."

She nodded and walked off.

Dr. O returned to the room. Several students looked at him with some curiosity. The most concern came from his three Ranger proteges. He held out a hand indicating nothing bad had happened, and looked at the clock on the wall.8:30. 15 minutes left of class. He groaned with frustration. There's no point in trying to work their little minds, especially with it being first hour on a Monday morning. Fine, class, you win this battle. "All right, class. It's obvious that I am not at all thinking straight right now, so, you don't have to do that summary..."

"Yes! Thank you!" the class said happily slamming their books shut.

"...but," Dr. O directed clearly, "that doesn't mean you'll be getting days like this all the time. You guys can just hang out until the end of class. Right now, I gotta go take care of something, so I'm leaving Kira, Conner and Ethan in charge. So, don't try to throw anyone out the window or set this room on fire while I'm gone. I'll be back in a few."

He turned and left the room without saying another word leaving in a big rush.

Conner turned to his teammates. "So, what do you think that was all about?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's trying to win back some of Randall's trust before he gets fired." Ethan suggested.

"Hardly." Kira scoffed. "Did you see how he looked? He almost looked happy, and up to this point he looked like a semi ran over his heart."

Ethan looked away, feeling the pain of that diss. It was true. After last night, Dr. O's heart was smashed into a million more pieces than it should have.

They relayed a sigh, saying nothing more.

tbc...