I know I didn't put a disclaimer in the first chapter but I don't own any of the characters etc. Please keep in mind this story is a work in progress and many questions you may have will be answered in the upcoming chapters. And in case you did not notice this is supposed to take place in the present day. Thanks for reading.
By the time 8:25 rolled around, Kimberly was dressed in her brand new pink skirt and a stylish white oxford shirt, and of course no outfit was complete without pink open toed heels. For a while after she left Angel Grove she had stopped wearing her signature color because it only connected her to her role as a Power Ranger, which made her sad. But when she returned home it only seemed appropriate that she adorn pink again.
Now at work, her hair was pulled up into a professional-looking ponytail and she had decided that because of her age and her sense of style if she wanted to be respected by her students and co-workers then she needed to wear glasses. It was funny for her to think that she spent so much money on a pair of designer glasses that did not even serve an optical use.
As she entered Angel Grove High School all the heads turned, mostly the boys'. She had already been a teacher at the high school for about three months, yet every time she entered a room all the eyes were still on her. Her first day there everyone thought she was a new student until they had her class. Soon all of the students came to find out that Ms. Hart was more than qualified for the job and she was damn good at it.
Kimberly rounded the corner and entered the main hallway, to her right she spotted her favorite spot on campus, her old locker. Every morning she acknowledged it and the same string of memories popped into her head. That was the spot where her and Tommy met, although he had stolen her heart long before that at Jason's karate tournament. That locker was also the spot where he met her nearly everyday after school to walk her home or to the Youth Center. It was also where Tommy and her had stolen kisses between class periods when the teachers were not looking. And now everyday started with those memories and everyday Kimberly's eyes became watery at the sight of it. She could have taken another route to her classroom yet somehow that spot comforted her, it assured her that it had all actually happened and it was not just some schoolgirl fantasy.
Kimberly crossed the threshold of her classroom as the first bell rang; she still had at least 3 minutes before her students began trickling in. She opened her planner to double-check her lesson plan, watercolor.
Kimberly was the new art teacher at Angel Grove High. It was luck that there happened to be an opening at the high school the week after she came into town, even though it was the middle of the semester. She pounced on the opportunity and because she had always been one of Mr. Capplain's favorite students of all time she was a shoe in. But, she had to admit it was really strange being Mrs. Applebee's co-worker and Mr. Capplain's employee. Bulk and Skull told her she was nuts. She loved it though, and the kids were so good to her. If only she had Tommy life would be perfect. Heck, if she had Tommy and was starving on the streets life would be perfect.
As the last bell of the day rang Kimberly was jerked out of a daydream. She did not mean to let her mind stray from her students but she could not help it. The art room always reminded her of the time Tommy's unsuccessful attempt at an art project resulted in another one of Zedd's poor excuses of a monster. Of course this memory only led to so many more.
"See ya' on Monday Ms. Hart," she heard one of her students say as they walked out the door. But she was in so much of a daze she never even noticed which student it was. She just replied with "Have a nice weekend."
By the time she finished cleaning and putting away all of the supplies her white shirt was a multitude of colors in a multitude of places. "Good job Kimberly," she muffled to herself, as she noticed that her brand new skirt remained spotless. "At least you don't look like a total slob."
The clock read 4:05 and Kimberly Hart was ready for her weekend, but then she cringed at the memory that she had promised Skull she would run the Youth Center for him until 9:00. As it turned out Bulk was out of town for a few days and Skull promised to pick him up at the airport. Kimberly knew that there was no way it was going to take Skull four and a half hours to go to the airport and back but she figured it would be rude of her to question his motives. Besides, at the time she did not mind doing it because it would give her a chance to catch up with the students that were not in one of her classes but frequented the Youth Center.
Now she wished she had never agreed to it. Her shirt looked like it belonged to a three- year old, her cute heels were not so cute anymore because she could barely feel her feet, and she was tired from the week, and uncountable hours of missed sleep. It was a good thing that she had not scheduled any gymnastics practices for this evening, she usually taught one class every afternoon.
Kimberly sat behind the juice bar on a stool, which she stole from the front of the counter. She knew Skull would not mind if she took it easy on the job as long as everyone was served. But, she was feeling better now that the apron she was required to wear covered up all the hideous stains on her shirt and she ditched her shoes the second she got behind the counter.
Not only that, there were only a few kids left in the Youth Center. It was Friday night and everyone was at the movies or the mall. The only kids remaining were three boys sparing on the practice floor, and two girls drinking sodas and giggling at each other's whispers. As she watched them a smile was permanently plastered on her face. If she closed her eyes she was sure that when she opened them Jason, Zack, and Tommy would be standing there instead. But with every blink came disappointment.
As she sighed with disapproval of herself she heard the familiar sound of two voices bickering about something stupid, and she knew she was a free woman. Bulk and Skull entered the room engaged in a heated argument about air traffic controllers. Kimberly giggled at the sight of them. Once those two got together it was as if they had never graduated from high school.
"Well my dear, your services are greatly appreciated but I think we can relieve you from here," said Bulk.
"Thanks guys. I can't wait to get home and take a nice long bubble bath, and hopefully have a relaxing night. That is if I can find the energy to walk home in these ridiculous things," replied Kimberly as she shoved her foot into her worn shoe.
Bulk whispered something to Skull and he smiled like it was Christmas morning. "Hey, you know if you'd like I can drive you home. It's no problem, really."
"Yeah Kimberly, I don't mind closing this place up by myself. I have been gone for three days, it's time I take my turn," replied Bulk.
Kimberly thought about it for a second, it sounded so tempting and she was so beat. But, she knew that if she accepted the evening would end with her crushing Skull's hopes again and then she would be feeling guilty the entire weekend. 'No thank you', she thought. She did not need that kind of baggage when she could hardly survive as it was.
"Gee Skull that's so sweet of you to offer but I really was exaggerating. My feet don't hurt that bad, and besides with the two of you closing up you'll get out of here in no time. And I know how much you two look forward to going down to the bowling alley every Friday night. I'll be fine walking."
Skull looked so disappointed, Kimberly felt like she had just told a child that Christmas was not coming this year. But she had to stand firm or else the consequences would be worse.
"Okay, if that's what you prefer. But please be careful. I know that Angel Grove hasn't had much excitement since we were in high school but you never know."
He was so sweet to care so much about her but before Kimberly had a chance to change her mind she swallowed the shooting pain she felt in her feet and raced out of the room.
"Thanks, I'll be careful. Have a good time tonight."
Because it was already dark, and because Kimberly had no choice but to carry her shoes or risk losing her feet, she decided the best move would be to cut through the park. It was a nice evening, the perfect temperature to be out side. Kimberly took a deep breath and exhaled with happiness. She was home again and even though she had stirred up so many bad memories she felt safe.
She smiled to herself at the thought of returning to her home. Which, coincidentally happened to be the same house she shared with her mother and her brother all of those years ago. She could not believe her luck when she drove into town, and turned down Rose Avenue to find 256 with a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard. She really could not afford the white two-story house with pink trim and shutters yet, but she just had to have it. So she fought and fought with the bank until they agreed to give her a loan. And even though it would take her an eternity to pay the house off at her salary it was worth it.
As she strolled along passed the playground she felt a raindrop hit the tip of her nose. "Perfect!!!!!!!" She yelled as the down poor began. The rain was so loud and it made it even harder to see where she was going. So many times she had walked that route from the Youth Center to her house, but all of a sudden it was as if she had never set foot on that ground before. As Kimberly looked from side to side she had absolutely no idea where she was or in which direction her house or the Youth Center was.
'It's okay Kimberly, you can just stand here and wait it out. I'm sure it will clear up in a few minutes and you'll be fine,' she thought to herself.
But for some reason she wanted nothing more at that moment than to take off running in a screaming fit, she was scared out of her mind and she had no idea why. She just had this very unsettling feeling, so she took off in the first direction she turned. But, it did not take long for her to come to a halt. This was because her left shoulder hit a very hard structure with such force that she yelled out in pain with a high pitched scream, which would have been heard all the way back at the youth center, had it not been for the pounding rain. She nearly passed out from the zap and decided that it was by far the most painful thing she had ever experienced.
As she lay on the mushy ground drenched in rainwater and freezing in excruciating pain tears fell from her eyes. Just then the first bolt of lightening struck the lake and its glow was so bright it was very clear to her that she had not ran her shoulder into a tree like she had assumed. She had instead been intentionally hit by something she had prayed she would never see again. And, as the second bolt hit, her fears were confirmed, there standing before her was an unnaturally tall figure with glowing red eyes and sharp monstrous fangs. The light reflected off him like flames on water, and the reflection was almost blinding.
Kimberly scrambled to get to her feet but her left arm was useless and the mud was too slippery. She tried to scream but she did not hear anything escape her mouth. Kimberly did not know if it was because of the loud thumping rain or because her voice was scared into submission. By the time she realized what was going on Kimberly Hart was in the death grip of one of the most evil creatures ever in existence, Goldar.
Hopefully I will have the third chapter up in the next couple of days. You can expect Kimberly's encounter with Lord Zedd and Rita as well as an explanation for their return. I would appreciate reviews. Thanks.