Adam Park stared blankly at the blindingly white pages that met his vision, forcing his mind to absorb the material that the black in contained. He mumbled softly to himself.
"The Pythagorean theory states that …" he brought a pencil to his lip and unconsciously began chewing on the bitter, powdery pink eraser with his incisor teeth, frowning at the bitter taste his saliva brought to his tongue. "So if A squared plus B squared equals C squared … and C is equal to 81 centimeters in length …"
He bitterly threw his pencil down onto the vile math textbook. Adam leaned backwards, against the backrest of his chair that was intended for its user to be in a proper, upright position at all times. He gazed around at his surroundings - the Youth Center. He tried to get his eyes focused on the brightly colored walls, but after staring at the textbook's white pages for hours on end, it was hard for his brain to comprehend any other form of color at this point.
His ears perked up, hearing footsteps approaching from the adjacent hallway to the giant room in which he sat studying. A large frame filled the doorway and in stepped a young man, roughly around his age. The youth had short dark chestnut colored hair, cut close to his head. He seemed like a powerful individual, walking with his chest, slightly covered by a red tank top underneath a brown football uniform jacket, large arms swaying slightly by his sides.
"I thought I'd find you here, Adam," the young man said.
"Jason," Adam replied, nodding his head in recognition of his friend, "it's good to see you here."
"Is math getting the better of you?" asked jokingly, briefly analyzing the textbook that sat in front of Adam's tired form.
"A little too much," Adam admitted, closing the text. He picked up the heavy book with one hand, grabbing blindly under the table for a green backpack. "Ms. Appleby decided to give us a test this Friday. I've been too caught up with all this Power Ranger business to keep up with my studies. Man, we should really be getting paid for all the crap we put up with."
"Hey," Jason laughed, slapping Adam's back slightly, "aren't Asian dudes supposed to like Math?"
Adam rolled his eyes in response. "I'm only half Asian."
"And that means you only study for half as long as the typical Asian does, huh? It's still early – three o'clock. I figured you'd be here at least until five tonight."
"Not on Wednesdays, buddy. I have final period off every Wednesday so I usually come here, get some work done and take off a little earlier than I usually do."
"So you getting a little stressed out with Power Ranger duties?"
Adam sighed, running his fingers through his frazzled mop of fine black hair. He didn't want to act like he didn't appreciate being a Power Ranger. On the contrary, he was honored to have been chosen to be one in the first place. But sometimes, the stress of saving the world would catch up with him. Leading a double life as one fifth of Earth's greatest heroes, and as a regular high school kid took a lot out of a seventeen year old. But it wasn't surprising that he was chosen, in fact.
Adam was, although his small, thin frame and childish face might suggest the opposite, a vicious fighter. Having trained in the Korean martial arts since he was a child, he could open a can of whoop-ass against anybody, even someone who easily outsized him like his friend Jason. But Adam would never lay a finger on Jason, being very well aware and respectful of the fact that he too was not only an experienced fighter, but possessed incredible strength in the battlefield.
Jason was one of the five original Power Rangers when they were first established three years ago, serving as the team's leader before leaving the organization for good for a peace conference held in Switzerland. Jason's sudden return to the group after so long was a pleasant surprise, though he had shed his once vibrant red costume for a darker, more gothic black one. His experience as a Power Ranger was something that Adam had looked up to, and he didn't want to seem ungrateful, especially in front of a veteran Ranger like Jason.
"I'm getting a little tired," Adam said, "physically, I mean. I haven't got much sleep the past couple of nights. I barely made it through the last quiz in Mrs. Appleby's class and now she decides to spring a test on me." He let his head fall, hitting the surface of the table with a thud."
"Don't worry about it, man," Jason said, placing his supportive hand on Adam's shoulder. "Just go home early and get a good rest. You've got a full day to study tomorrow."
"Oh shit!" Adam cried, shooting straight back up into a sitting position. "What time did you say it was just now?"
Jason's eyes darted back and forth in their sockets in confusion. "It's … uh … three o'clock."
"Damn it! I'm going to be late!" Adam reached under the table and snatched his bag off the ground, slinging one strap on his shoulder with one fluid motion. He began walking quickly towards the exit, the same way Jason entered from.
"Hold on, where are you going so quickly, man?" Jason asked, scratching his head.
"I'm going to be late for my orientation if I don't get out of here right now!" Adam turned right and walked into the hallway, disappearing from view, though his frantic footsteps echoed throughout the building.
"Orientation for what?!" Jason called.
"Babysitting!" Adam's reply was faint, indicating
that the lightly built teenager had covered a lot of ground in that short
amount of time. Jason was impressed. But why in the world would Adam, of all
people, decide to baby-sit!?
* * *
There was screaming everywhere. It seemed to bounce off the walls of the white room before infiltrating his ears and stabbing his brain with it's high pitched sound. Adam nervously looked around the waiting room before deciding to approach the receptionist, a nice looking lady with curly brown hair reaching down to her shoulders and thick-framed glasses.
"Uh …" he cleared his throat, "Excuse me."
The lady looked up, beyond the rim of her glasses and smiled. "How may I help you, sir?"
"I'm looking for the coordinator of the volunteer experience program," he replied politely. "Today is my orientation day."
The lady nodded and smiled nervously. "Yes, you are Adam Park, is it?"
"That's right."
"I'm terribly sorry, but the coordinator is running a little late today. Until she shows up, we have a temporary replacement for her to show you around. Would you care to meet him now?"
"Sure."
The receptionist stood up from her desk, revealing a curvaceous body hugged tightly by a professional business suit top, and a matching knee length skirt. As she walked around the counter and towards the back room where all the screaming emitted from, her black suede high heel shoes clicked against the luminous white tile floor. "He'll be out in a moment," she said, before disappearing around a double swinging door.
"Ahh!" This scream sounded closer this time, and not a moment too soon, the swinging doors opened again, outward this time as a frantic looking kid came dashing through. He wore baggy jeans and a black T-shirt that had been twisted uncomfortably around his torso and was ripped in several places. His sneakers were worn out and caked with dirt. When Adam took a second look, he realized the dirt was also smudged on the kid's face and arms. The poor trooper looked very exhausted, panting as he slowed from a terrified dash to a jog, and finally down to a slow walk. Grapping the closest chair in the waiting room, he let his body sink into the comfortable leather and took a deep breath.
"Are you … okay?" Adam asked, unsure of what to do at this point as he slowly approached the beaten kid.
"I'll be fine," the boy responded, raising a hand signaling for Adam to stop where he was. "Those fucking brats are gonna be the end of me."
Adam cocked an eyebrow. For someone so young, he had already developed a foul mouth. "I'm supposed to be meeting the coordinator so I can be showed the ropes."
"Yeah she's running a little late so I'm her replacement for now," the boy explained, extending his hand towards Adam. "My name is Kenneth Feng, but you can just call me Kenny. Are you the volunteer that was supposed to be coming today?"
Adam nodded his head. "Oh, I'm Adam Park," he said, shaking the kid's hand. "It looks like we are going to be working together. Um, just out of curiosity, how old are you, exactly? I was always under the impression you had to be a little older and more experienced to baby-sit …"
"First of all," Kenny snapped, "this isn't babysitting, this is supposed to be youth work. But it just so happens that lazy parents love to drop off their devil spawn here, thinking its some kind of daycare. And second, what exactly do you mean, 'older and more experienced'?"
"Well I didn't mean it like that, but I just thought you were a little … um … young, is all."
"Alright buddy," Kenny said grinning, "just for that, you can forget about the orientation. I'm gonna throw you dead smack into the middle of work."
Four hours later, the pair emerged from the same pair of swinging doors, this time Adam looking just as beat up as his younger co-worker. His once green T-shirt was stained in various places. Blotches of baby milk gave it a darker green where it stained, and baby powder gave it a white glow. His face was bruised from the more violent babies who seemed to be contained sitting in filthy diapers all day long.
The main door that led into the reception room opened to reveal a very familiar face walking through.
"Mrs. Appleby!" Adam exclaimed.
A large smile spread on the rotund woman's face, as she approached the teenager. "It's so good to see you devoting your time to the children," she said. "I never expected to see you here. I'm sorry, I would've been here sooner if it weren't for that horrid traffic accident on the road. I see you've already met Kenny."
"Hold on," Adam said, "are you the coordinator of this joint?"
"Yes," Mrs. Appleby replied. "It's strictly volunteer work of course, but after six hours of dealing with prepubescent, hormonal teenagers all day, this is a good change of pace for me. Not that I don't love my children at school." She smiled wider this time. "How was Adam's first day?"
"Not too bad," Kenny said. "He seemed to pick things up pretty quickly."
"A good job, for the both of you," she commented. "I'm very pleased with today. I suppose after all this screaming, you would both like to go home." They both nodded their heads.
* * *
The sun was already beginning to set as they stepped outside the building. The cool evening air blew against the both of them, causing their skin to sprout goose bumps.
"How do you plan on getting home?" Adam asked.
"I'm just going to walk it," Kenny replied.
"You need a ride?"
"Uh …" Kenny stumbled for a moment unsure of what to say. "I don't wanna have to bother you …"
"It's no bother at all," Adam said, motioning for Kenny to follow. "Come on." Kenny reluctantly followed, getting the feeling that this wasn't the best decision in the world.
They jumped into an army green jeep. Adam looked over at Kenny whose face wore a mask of concern. "Is everything alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's all good," Kenny said. "I appreciate you doing this for me."
"Just as long as you don't live too far off, like in Stone Canyon or something," Adam joked as he stuck the keys into the ignition. With a simple turn of the wrist, the jeep's formidable engine roared to life, and the two of them pulled quickly out of the parking lot.
The wind continued blowing, stronger this time due to the lack of a roof on the jeep. Kenny wrapped his arms around his body, hoping to provide some warmth.
"There's a blanket in the back seat, if you want it," Adam offered.
"Sure, thanks." Kenny reached behind and pulled the wool blanket to the front, wrapping it around his shoulders and covering his legs. "What are you doing with a blanket in your jeep, anyway?"
"Uh hah!" Adam laughed nervously. "Tanya and I like to go out sometimes and look at the stars."
"Tanya?" Kenny asked curiously. "Or is it none of my business?"
"She's my unofficial girlfriend," Adam replied shyly. "We've been kinda dating for awhile now, but we haven't really taken it that far yet."
"Is she cute?"
"Well, yeah."
"Then what are you waiting for?!" Kenny exclaimed.
"Until we're both ready, I guess."
"Alright, I think I've stuck my nose where it doesn't belong enough already," Kenny said, chuckling. "New topic. Why did you decide to start volunteering at the youth council center?
"Well," Adam explained, "I was finding something that I could earn money with. I did not realize that this was a volunteer job until my teacher told me that I wasn't going to be paid. What about you? Why did you start volunteering here?"
"Well …" Kenny was unsure how to put his story into words. "You know how you said I was a little young, right?"
"Yeah, I was wondering about that."
"We typically council youth that are my age at that place. Theoretically, I wouldn't know where to begin counseling somebody my age cause we're in the same part of our lives. But the thing is …"
"Uh huh, I'm listening."
"I've always had a different kind of life."
"Well, what kind of life did you have?"
"The homeless kind."
Adam wanted to slap himself for being so stupid. That's why Kenny was so uneasy about being driven home. He didn't have a home! "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't know …"
"That's fine," Kenny replied. "I don't want any sympathy or anything."
"So where were you planning on having me drive you?"
"There's a bridge about a block north of 7th avenue and Main Street. I live there with other homeless folks too. What I do at the youth counseling center isn't really volunteer work. They give me some money for my services. Not enough to buy a house, but enough to get food, some clothes, and the occasional shower at the detoxication facility nearby. Life isn't really so bad though. It used to be worse when I was a lot younger. I'd compete with the older kids for food and other stuff. They'd always win, you know, being bigger and stronger. Sometimes they made fun of me, taunted me with scraps of food that they dug out of garbage cans. But after landing this position at the youth counseling joint, things began to get better. Mrs. Appleby actually decided to give me a chance and talk with the superiors. She somehow managed to convince them to give me the job. I'll always be thankful for that. Those shithead bullies I used to compete with are probably still starving somewhere …"
"People used to make fun of me too," Adam said. "I was short and was never respected because of my small size. But martial arts strengthened my confidence and now I am just like anybody else." Kenny nodded his head looking sad. "Don't worry. Things will get better for you. You're just starting to live like normal people. It's gonna take a little getting used to."