Chapter 2: Play Time

"So, they seemed nice at first, right Mom?" Jason said as he gave another stack of pictures to Connie.

"Yes, Nancy, the mother, looked liked she was nice enough, but she would only let James out to play."

"Why?" Zack said with a confused look. "I don't remember. Too far back."

"We didn't find out until about three weeks later when both she and her husband, Frank, weren't home and James was playing with some boys down the street. It was summer and Amber was taking care of Nick and cleaning the house..."

"Tag! Kim, you're it!" Zack said as he touched Kimberly in the shoulder.

"No!" Kimberly yelled and she turned to try to tag them back.

"Negative, Kimberly," Billy said. "Abutting the individual that initially impressed the designation of being 'it' is not permitted."

"What!" Jason said with a puzzled look.

"No tag backs," Trini said.

"I don't like this," Kimberly complained. "I can't tag anyone. I can't run fast enough."

"Well, then what now?" Zack said disappointed. "What do we do?"

"I know," Jason said. "We can ask if Nick can play."

"I don't know, Jason," Billy said. "Nick appears to be socially challenged, and in addition, his parental guardian may possibly reprimand him from leaving his place of residence."

"What?" Zack said.

"He might be too shy to come out and his mother might be mad if he goes out to play," Trini said.

"Precisely, Trini," Billy said with a smile.

"I don't care," Jason said as he started walking toward Nick's house. "It doesn't hurt to try." The other six year-old future Rangers followed Jason to the front door of the house and rang the doorbell. Nick answered the door with a broom in his hand. He was wearing a dirty long sleeve white sweatshirt and paint-stained jeans. "Hi, Nick. Wanna come out and play?" Nick retreated a little from the door.

"I...c...can't," Nick said. "My mom...will be...m..mad at me...i...i...if I don't finish my ch...ch..chores. I'm...s..sorry."

"Oh...ok." Jason said a little disappointed. Just then, Amber came up to the door.

"What's the problem here?" Amber asked.

"We were wondering if Nick can come out to play," Zack said as he pushed the door open a little bit more.

"He can," Amber said.

"But, Amber...! Mom and Dad'll..." Nick said with a horrified look.

"It's ok. I will do the rest of your chores. I am almost done with mine and I know that you are almost done with yours. Don't worry. It will all be done by the time Mom and Dad get home. Go. Have fun. It is four now; so, be back before six."

"Are you...s..sure?"

"Yeah! Go!" Nick gave the broom to Amber and walked out the door.

"Come, Nick," Jason said. "Let's play in my backyard." The six little children went through Jason's house and saw Connie making chocolate chip cookies. "Mom, this is Nick. He is the other little boy from next door."

"Hi, there," Connie said as she bent down to look at Nick. "You are such a cute little boy."

"Mom, stop it!" Jason said. "Guys, let's go in the backyard."

"I am bringing cookies out to you later. Go have fun."

The six got into the backyard and Kimberly ran to the swing and sat down. "Now what?" Kimberly asked.

"Why don't we ask Nick?" Zack said.

"Affirmative," Billy said. "What venture would you like to indulge yourself in with your new companions?"

"What did he say?" Nick asked.

"He asked 'what would you like to play,'" Trini said. "He always talks like this. He is a smart kid."

"A child-prodigy," Bill said. "Well, at the minimum that is what my male parental unit stated."

"So, do you have any ideas Nick?" Zack asked.

"Ummm...I...don't really... know," Nick said shyly. "I haven't really... been able...t..to..play with...other kids."

"What?" Zack, Kimberly and Trini said at the same time.

"Do you have a disease or something?" Zack asked.

"Zack, that wasn't nice," Jason said. "He probably is really shy and is afraid of other people. Remember when Billy he moved in right behind you?"

"Oh yeah," Kimberly said. "I remember. Billy was really shy and always on the computer with the educational games. It wasn't until Trini accidentally hit the baseball into his window. He told us how she did it by hitting the baseball in the middle of the baseball bat and that the ball was thrown as a fastball. He was right on."

"And he became all scared after he explained all of it," Zack said, "but we knew that he would be a good friend anyway."

"Did you guys...move here too?" Nick asked the others.

"My parents and I were friends with Zack's parents for years," Jason said. "I lived in my house since I was born."

"Me too," Zack said pointing to his own house. "Only, it's that house."

"I moved her when I was three," Trini said. "I live right next door to Billy's house behind Zack. I don't remember what happened when I was three."

"They took my tale," Billy said. "I moved in about four months ago."

"I moved in when kindergarten started," Kimberly said. "That was about a year ago. I live three doors down from Jason." She pointed in the opposite direction from Nick's house."

"And we though that you were really stuck up," Zack said. "You acted like a little brat."

"Shut up, Zack!"

"So," Trini said looking back at Nick, "do you know anything we can do or play?"

"Well...," Nick started out to say, "how... about where some of the boys are...knights and the girls...are like princesses."

"Sounds like fun," Zack said. "Why don't we play that?"

"No!" Kimberly said. "I don't want to play a helpless princess. I want to be the one saving people!"

"Me too," Trini said.

"But that's how you play that!" Zack said. "The girls are supposed to yell for help."

"Wait you guys!" Jason said. "We need to agree on something."

"I know," Nick said. "How about all of us are the heroes instead of someone being the princess?"

"Yeah!" the other five said.

"But who is going to be the bad guy?" Zack asked.

"I will," Nick said. "I can be a monster that tries to terrorizes people."

"Or you can be an evil knight, Nick," Jason said. "We don't have costumes yet."

"Ok. I can be an evil knight that terrorizes people."

"Who are you going to terrorize first, Nick?" Billy asked.

"Your mom, Jason!" He ran into the house with Jason and the other future Rangers following right behind him. Connie had just finished putting the last batch of cookies onto a plate when Nick came running in and start growling at her.

"Nick, what are you...?" Connie said.

"I am the...the..." Nick said but then realized that he didn't know what to call himself. "Oops! Who am I, Jason?"

"What is your favorite color, Nick?" Jason asked as the others came into the kitchen with toy swords.

"Ummm...green."

"Ok, you are the evil green knight that is terrorizing my mom out of taking her cookies and keeping them all to yourself."

"Yeah!" Nick said and turned back to Connie with a fake evil look on his face.

"Oh noooo..." Connie said jokingly. "Don't kill me, evil green knight! Have a cookie, but pa-lease don't kill me! Jason, you and your friends can have one too."

"Great!" the six children said and they took one cookie each. When they finished with the cookies, they continued to play until it was 5:45pm. At that time, Mark, Jason's father came in from work.

"I gotta go," Nick said with a very sad look on his face. "Sorry. Bye." He ran out the door past Mark.

"Us too, Jason," Zack said as he, Billy, Kim and Trini started going out the door. "See ya later."

"Whoa, slow down!" Mark said. He went to Connie and kissed. "How was your day, honey?"

"Bye," Jason said. "Mom, I like Nick. He is creative."

"I like him too, Jason-bear," Connie said as she hugged Jason as she watched the other children run out the door.

"Who is Nick?" Mark asked.

"One of the little boys from next door, dear," Connie said.