A/N2: Sorry guys. I am really bad about updating, but I have been busy. I hope you really like these next set of chapters. They were actually hard to compile with this little mind of mine. So, I had to get a lot of help. Thanks again for all the reviews and insight. You're greatly appreciated for all that you do. See you around and hope you like what I decided to write up. Enjoy!
'TIL I COLLAPSE- PART FORTY-SIX: OPERATION: PROTECTION
SEQUEL TO: ORDINARY WORLD
SUMMARY: Seniors at Reefside High unleash a series of pranks the school is never gonna forget.
DISCLAIMER: Power Ranger is not mine. Never will be, but I guess you already know that. So, don't sue me. please. I just own how this will end. I also want to thak the show "High School Stories: Scandals, Pranks and Controveries!" on MTV2 for some work added toward the pranks.
A/N: I figured I should end on a lighter note to all of this. There is only a matter of four more chapters after this and this story is gonna be shelved for completion. This is related to some pranks at my school, so enjoy!
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"We gotta to this. We gotta leave our mark on this school so that no one will ever forget what has happened to the class of 2005. We have been through a lot and I just hope there are a lot of people with a sense of humor. Prank or not, even if I get in trouble. This has to be done to prove we can do something in our life."-Eclyptyk Neo
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A few days later. Sunday night, May 15th, 2005.
Not much could really be said about the last few days in the rangers' lives. As far as they could tell, it wasn't like it would matter much in the following week, especially for the teens. They were graduating soon and they were all on the verge of needing to get out of there and onto new and better things.
Most of the rangers that didn't reside within Reefside had returned to their normal lives, and it was clear that they were glad the mayhem was all over. The only remaining members from the line of rangers stationed in Reefside, besides the dino rangers, were Billy and Adam. The rest of them literally stormed out of there as if they didn't want to get involved in anymore mayhem.
Anton Mercer had been moved over to Reefside Hospital, with Elsa and Trent on hand and foot waiting for his progress. But it was clear that with Adam's heavy heart, he was doing all he can to revive the scientist. But he had not responded to anything in the last few days, and it only made him more worried.
"Go on, Trent," Adam had instructed the teen upon his visit to his father's room in the hospital. "You still got an exam to study for, let alone, school to worry about."
Trent had not wanted to listen to him about that, but could only hope and knew that he was right. For a long time, he felt locked in his own pain for letting this happen, and he was making it show at school. He didn't talk to anyone at all except if it was anyone associated with the team – Conner, Ethan, Dr. Oliver, Coach or Kira. He didn't even go about talking to Hayley while he was at work, so she had forced him to take a long and much needed vacation.
The medical doctor moved around the bedside to place a hand on the teen's shoulder. "I will do whatever I can to help him out, Trent. But I can't do it without his help. And he hasn't respond to the most rigorous of tests I've put on him. Don't give up hope. But try not to worry. You still got finals to worry about big time."
"Thanks, Adam. I really appreciate all that you're doing," Trent said quietly as he moved out of the room.
The man watched the teen go, letting a sigh escape his lips. He turned to the corner of the room where the high school science teacher/legendary ranger had de-materialized from the powers of his dino gem. "I don't want to lose him like I did David. But, I'm not so sure I can do anymore for him, Tommy."
The man in black nodded slowly as he looked at the closed door leading out in the hall. "I know Trent is hurting. We all are. But he is the most. He will be hurting for a long time after this and I do know you're trying your best, Adam. Just keep it up."
The medical doctor let out another sigh as he moved over to the bedside, watching the unconscious man on the bed. He had worked countless hours over the past few days, trying every little Oriental remedy he could think of. He was also trying to use acupuncture and some ninja magic, but had got nothing from the scientist. It was like he had entered a void and nothing was there. No way to get to him. "What if I fail? I mean, I failed you when I failed to save David. I just..."
It was a shock to Tommy as he had heard and seen the fear running in his friend. In all of his years as a ranger and friend to the Korean man, he had not seen the man show any sign of fear or worry. He didn't as much as shed a tear, but then again, he was a rather reserved guy. But, now it was like all of his barriers were opening up and he couldn't do it. He just couldn't hold on to all he had locked away.
Tommy walked over to his friend, placing a firm hand on his shoulder before Adam turned to look at him. "I don't blame you for the loss of David. I don't. And you shouldn't. I mean, it was just something we couldn't fix or save. It's in the past. This is now. Let's worry about now, and what we can do for Anton."
The Korean man held his breath as he nodded letting the emotions slowly leave him through every breath that he took. "Well, I should get back to work. And you need to get some sleep and not worry so much about this."
The black dino ranger nodded. "I'll try not. Keep me informed, buddy."
Tommy turned and left the room, leaving the medical doctor to work his magic on his prime patient.
XXXXXXXXXX
Trent had returned to his house with Conner and Ethan on his heels. The red and blue dino rangers knew though, that Trent was still hurting. They didn't have to be told by his girlfriend, or anyone else. It was in how he stood and presented himself. He didn't talk much at all. Or he refused to get involved in chatting.
But they had work to do. Conner and Ethan exchanged a look, before each of them wrapped an arm around the teen in white calling his attention.
"Bro, I know you're hurting. But let's lighten the mood a little," Ethan said.
"Yeah, we got a lot of work to do before the night is done," Conner said with a nod and a wink.
And he was right about that. They did have a lot of work to do. For the last few days, they were meeting secretly over at Trent's house – like it was a big deal, when the huge house only had one occupant. They had been working closely with their science teacher in the shadows along with a few other guys to set up a line of pranks to show off at school. And they were sure they were gonna get their class known for their line of pranks.
Walking into the living room, there was a line of papers, mostly in code for them to read on plans to hit up on the school with a line of pranks. Quietly, they settled in until the door bell rang.
"And let the fun begin," Ethan chuckled as Trent moved to the door.
After getting a line of secret codes to enter, the teen in white had permitted the group of guys into the room. It was Operation: Manhood under way. The group had consisted of Kevin, Kellen, and Jordan from the soccer team along with their friend Sean, Michael from the dance team and Jon, Ken from Trent's Advanced Art class, and Robert, Steve and Daniel from the computer club crew. All of them were desperate to leave their mark on the school, and they knew many others were trying to come up with their own set of plans to hit up the school. But they knew theirs would forever be remembered by the staff and students of Reefside High. Not that they were trying to say that girls were welcome to join, they just sorta felt like they would blow their cover.
Getting squared away, the team had gotten down to business. Each guy had pulled out a bag full of oreos that had all been filled to the max with Rembrant Brand Toothpaste. A classic joke just to see someone bite into it and see their initial reaction by the face they made. But, that trick was gonna get laid out for the teachers and staff.
"Dude, how do we know this is gonna work?" Jordan asked as he took one oreo out, smelling it. The mint smell falling in line with his nose. "If I even smelt it, I would know there was something up."
"That is why we got the extra candy to cover up the smell," Ethan said.
Conner was beginning to laugh as he thought back to the prank he had played out with the "minty" oreos. "And it is funny to see how people react. If you saw their face, it is a priceless moment."
"Now, what if they ate them all? I mean, we're giving them all three. Are you sure it's not gonna make them sick?" Kellen asked as he began to lay out his bag of oreos on the table.
Michael, Ken and Jon were already working around making the bags to place the goodies in. Ethan was on his laptop typing up the little messages to place on the little goodie bag.
Conner shook his head. "I think after the first one, they should get the picture. But it's not they'll get sick. It will take a whole tube of toothpaste to do some real damage."
"But anyway, we need to get to work and set these things up," Michael broke into the conversation as he began to pile three oreos atop on another, two good and one bad, reaching for the mix of candy in the middle to complete the goodie bag.
"How many do we need?" Ken asked as he began to count the heap of stuff on the table.
"At least 100," Trent replied as he looked over a list of staff at Reefside High. "But, I'm gonna leave you, Michael and Jon and the computer crew to work on that. The rest of us need to discuss the other issues."
"The chicken run," Sean spoke up. "I talked to my uncle about it, and he was cracking up about the idea. He loves it. And we can also use one of his cows. We just need to let him know when it will go down."
"All right," Conner nodded. He, along with Ethan and Trent were the main brains of the operation, so they ran with the ideas set by their friends. "Now, we don't want to attack them all from one side. But we need to build on it."
"I still think we should hit them up with something nice. And then slowly get worse," Kevin suggested as he began to set up the goodie bags for the teacher.
"Well, you got Senior Council to thank for that. I know, it's a little weird but we'll be releasing a line of balloons in the hall for people to pop. They'll be candy, loose change, confetti and lots of empty ones. Some of them actually have fake passes that will have the students going to unknown places or a teacher hoping to get a surprise, but get nothing at all," Trent said with a shrug.
"Who does that?" Jon asked as he shook his head.
"The class of 2005 senior council, that's who. And it was hell to fill up all those balloons. Luckily, I had the hook-up and had a party company help us out. So, we got a whole lot more balloons than the council actually realizes."
"If there is gonna be loose change, we might as well and hit up the coins glued to the ground," Kevin said.
"It's an idea, but that will be a lot of work," Conner said. "We got one night to pull that off."
"Yeah, that's true. But didn't you guys say that you had Dr. Oliver in on this operation?" Kellen asked as the lead trio nodded. "But wouldn't he ruin the fun and go and destroy the concept of the oreos and toothpaste, or even some of our other ideas?"
Conner looked over at Ethan as he shrugged before looking over at Trent. The teen in white got to his feet and left the room. He had to check in on the science teacher about the whole operation.
XXXXXXXXXX
Reefside High School, 10:15pm.
Dressed from head to toe in a black garb, the figure loomed in the shadows despite what powers he had locked inside to hide his image. Dr. Tommy Oliver had been scouting the area under invisibility for the last fifteen minutes to calculate shifts in security, cameras and other things that could hinder the operation of jokes.
He had gotten the head's up from Trent, Conner and Ethan, that they would be starting their run for the pranks this night. And he had to give them the heads up about what to do and how to go about their operation. Luckily, there was only one guard that watched the entire school as he slowly paced the outer perimeter of the school buildings.
Tommy had followed him on his routine in the darkness of the night, keeping low, knowing from time to time he might have triggered something if he stood normally. But he knew it wouldn't be too much of a problem, when he had a line of computer geniuses to work their magic on the cameras and security system for the school.
By the time 11:30 was coming around, he knew the team would be moving toward the school to begin the first line of pranks for the school. He had to admit that it was wrong to do this, but he felt like since he never got a chance to do it back at Angel Grove, as bad as it was, he had to do it now. Get that part of him out into the open and let the pranks fly.
He continued on walking casually behind the guard until his phone went off. And that's when he had cursed quietly as he quickly checked his pockets for it. He had forgot to put it on silent as he rang the melody for his wife.
He zipped around the corner just as the security guard had turned around. The guard searched the area with his flash light put found nothing. He scratched his head, shrugged and moved on.
Tommy peered around the corner to see the guard had been well around the other side of building and out of earshot range. He let out a breath as he pushed the receiver to his ear. The nervousness slowly leaving him, but was still there. "Hey, Beautiful."
"Tommy, Handsome, where are you? It's late and you need to get some rest. You got a class to teach, and don't you need to issue out the final for your seniors?" Kim asked, a tinge of anger lingering in her voice as she spoke.
Tommy knew that he couldn't tell her the truth. Nor did he forget to tell her that he would be coming in late, because he had some things to take care of. And if he told her, she would kill him. She was all for not playing off pranks at all, though it would be a crack, but had not approved of it at all. He didn't even want to ask her opinion or she would put two and two together and figure it out. "Sorry, baby. I know, you're right. But Adam really needs me up at the hospital. I'll be in late. But don't worry, things are squared away."
"So, what's the progress on Anton anyway?" she asked with some concern.
Tommy breathed a sigh of relief. If he kept it up, she would believe anything he said. "Well, there really isn't much. Adam thinks that my dino gem might be able to wake him, if not Trent's as well. But it is only theory."
"Well, okay. Just as long as you don't stay out too late. This bed gets really lonely without you in it."
Tommy smiled at the gesturing, thinking more of it. "Yeah, well, that bed can do a whole lot more too..."
"Don't get any ideas right now, Handsome," his wife countered. "These next two weeks will go by faster than we could have imagined, and we'll have the whole summer to think of what more we can do on this bed..."
The science teacher nodded slowly trying to relay any thoughts of doing what he wanted to do to his wife. But he had to get back to work, and he knew Kim needed her rest. Being around a line of rangers was one thing, but still being pregnant was another. "Anyway, I should let you go. You need some sleep, Beautiful. I should be in by the end of the night. Love you and good night."
"Good night to you too. Please don't stay out too late, and love you, Handsome," she replied.
Moments later, the phone clicked and Tommy let out a breath. He was glad that he had pulled that off. If he tried to explain himself, especially in person, he wouldn't pull it off. He would screw up big time and show every line of lying in how he stood or say something. And Kim was known to pick out when he lied almost every time. Other times, he would just pop and admit it, knowing he can't keep all secrets to himself.
He continued to move through the school grounds, keeping an eye out for the numerous cameras hidden on campus. Throughout the past few days, he had made mental note of all of them, making sure to inform the technical part of the team about each one they would be encountering on their way through the pranks.
He rounded the corner, only to realize that the security guard must have shifted directions and was now coming his way. Fora moment, he froze hoping his black garbs could act as a bigger shadow for him, but had almost forgotten that he had the power of invisibility so it wasn't even a problem. Only except that his cell had gone off again, and the sound of the vibration could be heard. Tommy jumped around the corner, quickly flipping it open and pushing the mute key before racing around to the other side of the building.
Tonight was not his night, but he could only conclude that it was a Sunday. The final Sunday before the Seniors would be dismissed from classes a week before everyone else. But their graduation would not be until the following Saturday on the 28th of May. And he knew that security was taking extra precautions hearing of the constant rumors of pranks being played on the school. But theirs would be foolproof. No one would be able to point fingers at any of them, and that was exactly what he and his partners of crime were planning.
"You know, this is my second close call tonight. Are you sure you wanna pull this off now?" Tommy asked in a whisper into the phone as he peered around the corner, hoping to not see the security guard coming his way.
"We gotta, Dr. O. So, lay it on me. What do we need to know?" Trent replied in an anxious need to get these first set of pranks done as fast as possible.
"One security guard and several cameras. I got the keys, and we got the computer geniuses to reset any codes for triggering the doors after we get inside. Move quickly. I say the faster you guys get here and set the pranks, the quicker it will be to jump the gun."
"I say we'll be there around 11:00," the teen replied.
"Cancel that. That's when the cops hit fast. Give it another thirty to forty-five minutes. By 11:45, the cops would be scouting the downtown area, so all we would have to worry about is the guard. Ethan and his team should have a program to reset the cameras at different intervals without any glitches to the system."
"All right, Dr. O. I guess you can hang out for awhile...we'll get there as soon as we can. Trent out," the teen in white replied as he ended the call.
The science teacher let out a breath as he left the wake of the corner and headed back into the limelight of the quiet night.
XXXXXXXXXX
Trent had returned to the living room where his partners in crime were divising a set of plans to unless their line of pranks on the school. They very well had plenty to count, but it was hard to decide and figure out how and when they were gonna set them all up.
He had informed the team of the situation as he found most of them work to get the goodie bags done for the staff. They had hoped the staff wouldn't make something of it when they had heard a constant number of rumors about pranks being planted the last week of the seniors' presence. Nor hope their goodie bags was a trick because they really wanted to see the initial reaction of the teachers as they ate the "minty" oreos. And they would be a week too late for Teacher Appreciation Week, which was the week before.
They had already agreed to gluing lose change, coins, to the ground and have people attempt to pick up a quarter, only to find out it was stuck. And they were planning to the salt the field, if not bleach it. If they had it right, it would be evident by the time graduation came around and stay there for awhile, especially if they did it big. With some mathematical help, they had used a special spray paint evident only by the use of a goggles with a blacklight in them, helping the team to salt the exact dimensions of the sign.
They were also gonna do the fishing line around the poles, wait and watch people trip over them. They could only hope that they would not fall victim to their own pranks. Yet, there was a whole line of pranks they were needing to pull off.
After getting all the goodie bags set and getting their other items, the team had switched gear into a black appearel. And headed out the door all going to the line of black Honda Civics to begin their mayhem.
XXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, over at Reefside High, Dr. Oliver had moved away from the school, keeping tabs on the time and how long it would take to pull off their first set of pranks. He knew they had to move quick, because if he wasn't mistaken, there had been a few suspicious cars looming around the high school. None looked too out of the ordinary but it was clear that some of them were planning something.
He walked up the street that lead to the back fields of the school where he had his own black jeep parked in the shadows of the night. And not too long after, four black Honda Civics had pulled into the darken alleyway. Dropping the sight of his invisibility, he sunk into the comfort of the jeep waiting for the team to assemble.
To him, it felt like an operation set by the rangers, but he had to remember not to go completely ranger-like with this crowd of people. But he had been among situations that had regarded sneaking in and out of a place, and he had come out successful most of the time. This shouldn't be any harder.
The trio of guys that the science teacher had recognized as his young proteges stawked over to his jeep, waiting for his sign to move along with the plans.
"So, what do we got, Dr. O?" Conner asked as he felt his adrenaline pumping. And this wasn't like the times where he had to battle some crazy monster Dinoshade out of the blue, it was something more set on reality. It was far more riskier than being a superhero. This was beyond the code of anyone who never as much as being comical or liked to play jokes. It was a whole new world to him, but he had to admit, he kinda liked the rush of adrenaline at this level.
"It seems we're not the only ones who want to pull a few on the school here. Either, people have the same idea as you guys, or wanting to hit it harder than we would have liked. So, we have to be cautious. Don't get caught. And we already discussed the escape route once the pranks are set," the science teacher stated in his usual serious tone. Either he was really freaked about the whole thing, hiding it well, or he was just as freaked as them about wondering how well they could pull off the first night. They knew once this night was done, the security could increase in the following few nights they were hoping to attack.
Ethan sunk his shoulders, feeling his body shake with fear. "This is big, though... I mean, this could cost us the chance to walk at graduation, if not more..."
"Don't tell me you're having doubts?" Trent looked over at him, slightly surprised. Ethan was one of the first people to make the suggestions about laying out a few pranks on the school, and all of a sudden he sounded like they were gonna bail.
"But we planned ours accordingly, Ethan," the science teacher. "Unlike the rest of these guys they may not have a good inside connection as me right here. I got all the links. Now, we need Daniel and Robert to run the program on the camera system. We gotta moved from the south end of the school and retreat out the same way. They also need to run the systems to reset the security codes as well."
Ethan nodded as he raced toward one of the cars instructing his friends of the news. Conner and Trent loomed a little closer to their teacher, feeling a new sense of fear run over them. After Ethan had made that last comment, their hearts just stopped and their stomachs sunk. They had waited far too long to screw this up, to go up on stage and grab that high school diploma they had been working to get for nearly 18 years of their life.
The man turned to the two rangers, seeing their sinking faces. "You think you got it worse? Try sitting on the teetering edge of losing a teaching career for good, and possibly losing the love of your life because you decided to be funny and set a few pranks on not only her, but an entire school. Yeah, that's worse. But ya know, you guys said you wanted to leave your mark and that's what I'm gonna help you do."
"So, is this the rebellious side of you, Dr. O?" Conner asked trying to push open a smile.
The science teacher winked. "I got your back, right?" He hopped out of the jeep as he directed the team to follow. "C'mon, let's move out now."
The team had followed the swift movement of the science teacher. Those who had known him long enough or about his other side had joked that the man had moved much like a ninja. Each fixed with an earpiece to hear the word of the technical geniuses back at the rendevouz point. Getting on campus wasn't a hard thing. They were hanging out under the bleachers as the science teahcer gave them one last set of directions.
"All right. I don't normally do something as low as this, but I must say your class as a whole, 2005, is unique. But we all got our jobs. If you at all hear other voices that you don't recongize bail and get the hell out of here. Don't stick around for anyone of us. Each team has a reliable leader on their watch, so listen to them. And listen in on Daniel and Robert, too. They got the cameras under their watch, they see everything. May the..." Tommy paused for a moment as he bit his tongue. Wrong phrase. "Good luck."
Splitting into four different teams, Conner had melted into the shadows with his soccer teammates, Kellen Kevin and Jordan to work out Operation: Salt the Field. Trent had taken his art buddies over to the main building with the mission to set up the goodies bags. Ethan, Michael and Steve headed out to the quads and outer hang out spots to work on the fishing line idea. Tommy had taken Sean with him to work on gluing the coins to the ground throughout the campus.
Time passed slowly.
But within the hour, the pranks had been set with little or no problems as they had moved from the campus out to the rendevouz point. And back into the darkness of the night where they could enjoy some relaxation.
XXXXXXXXXX
Next day. Monday morning.
Tommy had slowly strode out of the jeep with his wife/P.E. teacher at his side. For a moment, he had kept the laughter to himself as he watched students attempt to pull the coins off the ground. Then he watched a line of people trip over the fishing line against the poles and heard a slueth of people talk about the set of pranks laid out around the school.
"What the hell is going on?" Kim asked as she looked around.
"It seems the pranks are beginning," Tommy replied simply as he took a step away from here. He had to get into teacher mode/professional mode, which meant none of the close knit touching or holding. Not that the two were seen in the halls from time to time holding hands, it was not their domain or respectful to do it.
"I'm not so sure I want to go to class, now," Kim breathed as she followed her husband over to the main building.
Like any staff member at Reefside, they had to check in at the main office before heading off to teach or do what they did around school. It was to keep their records straight about sickness, absences, etc among teachers.
Upon signing in, was a basket full of goodies for the teachers and staff at Reefside. It had consisted of three oreos and an array of candy to finish it off with a tag thanking the teachers for all they did.
"Did it say who they were from?" the science teacher asked as he grabbed one looking over it. But in the back of his mind he knew, but felt the sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew, but not sure how, wildfire and rumors hit the senior class from all angles. And if word got out about his involvement in these pranks, he'd be dead for sure. But he had to play his cool and be one in the crowd.
The secretary shook her head as she looked at the one on her desk. She shrugged. "Well, I figured it was either from Student Cabinet or maybe Community of Caring, but Teacher Appreciation Week was last week."
"Maybe they were working really hard to get them done, but hadn't got the time until now," Kim shrugged as she grabbed one for herself. "Well, it was awfully nice of them to do that."
"Yeah, no kidding. We'll catch you later, Ms. Arling," the science teacher stated as he pulled his wife along, escorting her to the gym. But in all honestly, another sinking feeling fell over him as each held their attendance and daily annoucements in hand along with the goodie bag. But he had to keep his cool. And keep it there for a good long two weeks, if not more.
The walk was not so easy though with some students trying to pry the coins off the ground, or others would point and laugh. As they made it outside and over to the gym, the science teacher had moved a few steps ahead to catch the door, only to forget the fishing line caught between two of the poles. He nearly stumbled forward landing against the door, but caught himself as the P.E. teacher cautiously moved over the line.
"You okay?" she asked as she helped him stand upright as he looked back at the pole. "Fishing line." She shook her head. "Those seniors are gonna make this one hell of a week, aren't they?"
"As long as it isn't too harmful, the administration is actually allowing them to do some of this stuff," Tommy replied with a shrug as he caught another student who tripped over the line. Bashfully, the young freshman girl said a quick thank you and bolted into the gym without saying anymore. "Now, I'm not so sure about this fishing line thing, but the coin thing is pretty funny."
"But can you imagine the work the janitors would have to do?" Kim asked as she looked around, shaking her head.
Tommy sighed quietly knowing she had a point, and had pointed out on the last day of the pranks, the team should assemble a line of being nice and deck out some huge spectacular thing as no joke, but it would in reality set up for the final prank up their sleeves. He had wished his wife a good day, warning her to keep her eye out for any crazy pranks and left to teach his science class.
After issuing out their final exams for their last science final of their high school career, Dr. Oliver had sat casually at his desk looking over grades for the seniors in the class. But from time to time, he would see his students look up at him as if urging him to take forth and partake in a little chocolate cookie. He knew that they knew what was in those and were longing to see the reaction on his face.
And he knew he would have to follow through and do it. So, he absently pulled away the string and opened up the bag, looking at the screen reading the latest news around the city. And casually popped one oreo into his mouth and didn't think twice as he began to chomp on it. But after that one bite, his face just sorta went sour. Chopping down on it several times his face grimaced as he wanted to gag. But he taken it in and and swallowed, furrowing his eyes grabbing another and lookng at it.
"Okay, either my taste buds are not working with me, or that was a really bad oreo," he shook his head.
Some of the seniors began to snicker quietly, while a few had no idea what was going on. Trent had not said nothing or indicated much of anything, zoning out like always as he finished his test. Yet, Trent was like that sometimes. Too absorbed in something if need be, but not that it was a bad thing. It gave him a sense of direction, allowed him to focus on the task at hand.
Tommy didn't even bother eating the other two having no idea if he got played out and had three bad cookies. One was bad enough, and he didn't need anymore toothpaste in his stomach. He wanted to gag, still tasting the after effects in his mouth. He quickly popped in a chocolate hoping to neutralize the taste, but it only made it worse. And if he popped in a piece of gum, it would only make his stomach churn even more.
By the time thirty minutes had gone, the whole class was done and he had left to run the tests through the scantron machine and enter the grades for them to know by the end of the class. The class itself were hanging out and reflecting on the year's activities and events.
XXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, over in the gym.
Kim had watched her students pace around the gym running through the drills. She had been holding the little goodie bag in her hand eyeing the cookies inside. She was in need of fulfilling her little cookie needs as she opened it up. She looked over it before shrugging and popping it in her mouth.
The chocolately goodness filled her mouth as she smiled wide. She had to admit, she had not had an oreo in a long time, and it tasted so good to her. She didn't hesitate to pop the next one in. Again, it filled her mouth with its chocolate and cream mix. And after that one, she had just jumped to the final one as she was hoping to get a new fill of chocolate and cream.
She bit into it, feeling and tasting the oddness to the cookie. For a moment, she thought nothing of it but as she continued to bite down on it, she began to realize the minty taste in her mouth. And she knew it wasn't a minty oreo, it had green cream, and there was sorta a taste that made it more disgusting. Her face grimaced in grotesque. And she just lost it, she began to spit out the remains of the cookie on the ground.
Students stopped to see their teacher gagging, rushing over to her to see if she was all right. Some on them stopped and started laugh. But it was clear that the pregnant teacher was pissed, yelling at the top of her lungs. She was pissed, and as she continued to spit out the remains of the minty oreo, the students had left, getting back to work, working a little harder to make her happy.
XXXXXXXXXX
The school day ran slow enough. And to add to the line of pranks, Senior Council had unleashed the balloon idea throughout the school sprinkling them all over and allowing students to stomp them. Bringing out a huge bang for anyone who came in contact with them. Many people didn't understand the point of those pranks, but had to admit, it lightened the mood over the errors on the coins and fishing line idea.
But word soon got out about the goodie bags, but by then, most of the teacher had had their fill of the minty taste if not more. And students laughed and joked, many finding out what was planted in the oreos and seeing the initial reaction of their teachers as they ate them.
But one day was one, and it was off to another night of pulling off a line of more pranks.
The team had assembled in another back alley not too far from the school discussing the next set of plans. They knew never to meet in the same spot twice, or their cover would be blown easily. Like always, Dr. Oliver had come a little bit earlier, using his stealth invisibility to scout the building. And he was correct, there were four more guards to total up to five different guards on campus, so it would make it much more tricker this night to get inside when two were scouting inside the school, the others outside.
"Well, we pulled that off easily," Kevin said with a shrug. "But about this night? Dr. Oliver, you said there were more guards out now, right?"
"That is right. We're not out of this yet. Now, that the administration knows that the seniors are doing this, they're taking harder precautions about what can and can't be done," the science teacher spoke.
"So, what do we got?" Michael asked as he held the items in hand, baby oil, duct tape and saran wrap. They all had it hidden in their packs.
"Split up. Two to a hallway and work your magic. Remember, we got Robert and Daniel on watch, so get in, lay it down and get out," the science teacher instructed.
"Time out, Dr. Oliver. How are we supposed to do the duct tape thing. We need to get out of the classrooms, but the doors open in, not out. So, how do we get out of a classroom if the tape is gonna be on the doors?"
"Hey, Dr. Oliver come in," Robert called out from the earpiece in the science teacher's ear.
"Go ahead, Robert. What's up?" the teacher replied.
"Looks like you're not alone tonight. We got a couple of stragglers on the football field. And we got people already inside the building playing off the duct tape idea..." he reported as they heard.
"And we got the saran wrap done by another," Daniel added.
"Hmm...it seems time is on our side tonight. Trent, you said the balloon thing is going on for the entire week, right?" the teacher sighed quietly.
"Well, yeah until Thursday," Trent replied with a nod.
The science teacher began to make mental plans as they flew through his head at top speed. He wasn't surprised to hear some other people, if not seniors themselves, trying to pull off a few more pranks on the school. But after Daniel and Robert had made another report, it seems another group of people were planting the baby oil and petroleum jelly on locker handles, doors and rails. It was a no go for tonight.
"Dude, who do these people think they are?" Jon shook his head as he clenched his fists in frustration.
It was clear the other guys were just as upset as him wanting to get this done, but it seemed word had gotten out to others about the other pranks, or they had come up with them on their own.
The science teacher sighed as he shrugged. "Well, it looks like we're out tonight. But maybe that's a good thing. What else do we got left to do?"
"Chicken Run and Betsy Upstairs," Ethan reported as he looked at his organizer. "And we got Operation: Protection set for the final night."
"And that's when you guys had set up the entire tailgate/fundraising event for the clubs at school, correct?" the science teacher looked over at Trent, who was their main link to the council.
The teen nodded. "That's correct. Mrs. Jackson knew this would be Senior Hell Week considering it was our last week of high school, but she wanted to close it off with contributes and fundraising working closely with Student Cabinet to get it all set up. I guess it's almost like a farewell party for the seniors as they move on in life. Each club is gonna have either food or some sorta activity going on. Just your regular run of the mill semi-carnival event."
"And that's going on this week?"
Kevin and Kellen had nodded, the duo of the team who was also Student Cabinet.
"And that was a lot of work to set up. We've been working on it for the last three weeks just to keep it in line," Kevin sighed.
"It should be happening Wednesday night. We were gonna do it on Friday night, but didn't want it to conflict a whole lot with finals for the underclassmmen," Kellen reported.
"All right. But I got the impression if people are gonna attack at this time, hit it up later on in the night. Meaning, we'll have to make an early bird appearance for the next two nights. Let's aim for around 4:00 for the Farm Animal idea and then 3:00 for the Operation: Protection event. For now, get some sleep and gear up for your finals if you got them to worry about."
The group had split up and went off into the night. Unfortuately, this was one night that had not gone according to their plans, but they still had enough up their sleeves.
XXXXXXXXXX
The next day had consisted of more pranks being pulled. Students were too disgusted to use bathroom facilities, touch railing or even their lockers not knowing exactly what was on them. And one passing period there wasn't any petroleum jelly on the railing or baby oil on the locker doors and the next time it was which had many teens frustrated with the jokes.
But the balloon idea had played out a few times which had some happiness, but the coins on the ground were still laying about, but the fishing line was now gone. As for the doors, that was harder to comprehend. For the longest time, classes were put on hold as teachers, janitors and other staff members had a hard time getting into the building, if not their classrooms.
And there were times when saran wrap had been in the hall, or in the bathroom to leave a huge mess all over the place.
It had seemed others were just as smart about setting off pranks as anyone else in the senior class.
The following night had the team assembled in the shadows of trees just beyond the soccer fields on the school. Without the coverage their cover might have been blown easily. The science teacher had told them to split up with the chickens, having them released on the campus from different angles and not straight away the same area or the guards could point out the source.
As for getting the cow into the school was a whole other thing. And Robert and Daniel had reported another unlikely set up of surprises for the team. It seemed others had already gone into the school, planted several desks in the halls blocking them off as well as placing a few adminstrative's desks in the gym along with a swimming pool party style event on the upper decks of the gym.
The frustration was starting to hit the group, but the science teacher had kept them calm and collected.
"Okay, so this has definitely turned into Hell Week especially for us but..." then he had heard a noise coming from the other end of the field.
The science teacher had pulled off from the group peering into the distance to see a huge crane enter the stadium heading for the gym. Two cars had been sitting not too far from the gym building. And as Tommy used his heightened sight to get a better look, he saw a construction worker alongside a certain principal in the passenger seat. And as he concluded who the cars had belonged to, he knew he had another set of ideas. The two cars had belonged to two other adminstrative staff members which many people could not stand, Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Titus.
The raced back over to the group, a little smile passed his face. "I got another idea. But this is one I gotta do on my own, but leave the cow. I suggestion you guys get out of here before someone finds you."
The group had nodded and turned to disappear into the shadows of the night. The trio known as the dino rangers walked over to their mentor wondering what was on his mind.
"So, what do we got, Dr. O?" Conner asked as he peered out of the trees into the distant where he saw the crane. "Is that a crane?"
"It seems there is someone else pulling a major prank on her fellow adminstrative staff. It seems Elsa gots plans of her own."
"Is she putting their cars on the roof?" Ethan caught a laugh in his throat nearly choking on it.
"It looks like that to me," Trent said.
"I forget those two are real early birds and like to come to the school early to inspect things before the day is done..." the science teacher spoke.
"Yeah, but they failed to stop what happened with the duct tape, which I will never understand got pulled off," Conner shook his head.
"Yeah," the teacher nodded. "But, how about we leave a little surprise for Mr. Titus and Mr. Clarkson? Load up that cow with laxatives and let's get it on out of here."
After a few moments of feeding the cow with the milky liquid, the science teacher had moved to the other side of the field where the crane had already placed Mr. Clarkson's black Mercedes sedan on the roof of the gym.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't a certain science teacher out in the early morning hours of school. Aren't you usually known for running late, Dr. Oliver?" the pricipal greeted as she had recognized the stride that belonged to him alone.
"Well, I didn't expect to find you here either, Principal Santos," the science teacher countered as he hopped onto the big vehicle beside her. "Nor did I expect you had a sense of humor to do something like this to your fellow staff."
"Funny, Tommy. So, what do you want?" the principal grew more serious, knowing that something must have been up. Either she knew that he was in the mix of pranks, or he had informed her of a few he had requested permission to do. The science teacher had forgotten several conversations with the principal.
"Mind adding a cow to your priority to Operation: Rooftop?" the science teacher hinted at a smile.
The principal joined in her own smile as she winked at him. "Is it packed up?"
The science teacher nodded. "Oh yeah, I'm sure by the time those two find a way to get their cars down they be seeing a rather messy transport."
"You know, you're really bad about this, I hope you know that. I never would have seen this from you."
"Well, I wouldn't be the only one losing my job, now would I?" the science teacher countered.
"Our little secret. I'm also sure your wife would kill you if she found out what you've been doing."
"Not all of these were set by me, just to let you know,"
The principal nodded as the cow had slowly strode onto the field. The science teacher had slowly directed the animal onto the panel as it slowly lifted and dropped the cow off on the roof beside the two cars. Without saying anymore, the construction worker had moved the crane out of the field and back into the darkness of the night.
For a moment the two had admired their new line of work. The trio of dino rangers still hidden in the shadows couldn't help but laugh at the accomplishments. The science teacher had told the trio to stay there, not wanting the principal to put any blame on them, or think they were responsible for some of the pranks on the school.
But looking at their watches, they knew they had to bolt out of there and cover their tracks before anyone could point fingers.
Tommy had raced out of their with the other dino rangers to the outskirts of town where they stripped off their black garb, tossed them into a dumpster and slipped on casual sweats, a T-shirt, and sweater to make it look like they were out on an early morning jog. Without saying anymore, the four had split and gone their own ways as they headed off back home and got ready for the next school day.
XXXXXXXXXX
Tommy strode into the house quietly as he raced up the stairs. It was inching around 6:00 in the morning as he peered into the room where his wife slept. He had hoped that she had not noticed he had been gone for so long, or even gone at all. He moved around to the other side of the bed, laying a kiss on his wife's forehead before laying one on her lips causing her to smile.
"Hey, Beautiful. Time to wake up and get ready for the day," he whispered along her ear before laying another kiss on her lips.
The small pregnant woman moaned quietly as she turned to lay on her back, opening her eyes slowly. "Where did you go? I noticed you weren't in bed nearly thirty minutes ago."
"I woke up early and couldn't go back to bed, so I went out for a run," the man replied.
She nodded and sat up as her husband wrapped an arm around her waist laying another kiss on her forehead. She tossled his hair, feeling the sweat running down it. "Eww, you're sweating, Handsome."
"I told you I went out for a run," Tommy replied as he placed a hand on her round tummy. She pushed open a smile and placed her hand atop his. "But how are you holding out? I mean, you got how many more months to go?"
"I'll be fine. I've gotten this far, so I think I'll be fine."
"I can't help but notice that you're getting rather big for your size. No offense," Tommy stated.
"Yeah, I noticed to. I got an appointment scheduled for the weekend to go check it out." she said as she slowly got to her feet, her husband helping her to stay steady. "I'm gonna go get ready. And so should you."
Tommy pulled his wife into another warm kiss before telling her how much he loved her and escorted her to the bathroom. He knew he had to get ready himself, but he was also trying to figure out if she had any idea what he had been up to for the last few nights.
XXXXXXXXXX
By the time school had started, a crowd of people had assembled out of the gym building pointing and laughing at the two cars on the roof and the cow mooing beside them. Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Titus was in a panic since none of the construction companies wouldn't be starting work around 10:00 so the use of getting a crane to get their cars and the cow down would have to be posted.
Many of the students had been dressed in summer fun gear as they had heard about the swimming pool party in the gym. Security and janitors were working aimless to clear the halls of of the cluttering desks and getting the desks back into the main office. But not only that, some of the teachers had noticed their desk drawers had been switched, and they had no idea whose drawer they had.
It was mayhem, and it was only getting worse. But it gave the school another line of laughter, but some fear for what could be going on in the rest of week with only two days left.
Ethan, Conner and Trent had lined the back of the crowd as they looked at the cow and cars on the gym building. Some had brought cameras, busted out phones and captured the moments of the joke on camera.
"How is that gonna get topped?" Ethan shook his head.
"Don't forget we got one more plan to set up," Trent said in a low voice.
"Yeah, we already got the school excited about the day's events. I mean, we cut classes down just so there would be enough time for fun on the field for that little good-bye to the seniors," Ethan said.
"Dude, you just got punk'd," Conner couldn't help but laugh and say. With thel ine of pranks that had already happen at chool, it was the non-stop talk around school. And he wasn't sure how it would effect the underclassmen, but he could care less. He was nearly done with all of the mayhem of high school drama.
"Yeah, I'll be working to set up for that all morning," Trent sighed.
"Which gives us plenty of time to pull off another prank on the school," another voice entered the conversation, as the trio of guys jumped up in a panic. Turning toward the voice, they relaxed a little to see it was Kira. She laid a kiss on her boyfriend's lips before he had wrapped an arm around her waist pulling him close to her. "So, does that give me the okay to pull off my own prank?"
"You're not actually thinking about doing the tuna thing, are you?" Conner asked in a low voice, recalling the earlier talk with her in the week at the cyber cafe about her and a line of others wanted to plant tuna all over the school. He knew very well how bad the smell could travel around the school, and the damage it could do if it lingered for too long.
Ethan couldn't help but laugh. "But that smell will spread if placed in the right areas, especially if done right."
"Hey, as long as you guys do it at lunch, I think the rest of us got your back. Most of the staff will be working to set up for today's festivities after school, especially during lunch. That's when you can make you're move," Trent replied.
"We're just wrong. And who decided to put up those 'For Sell' signs all over the front lawn?" the teen in yellow asked.
The guys could only shrug as the bell rang for the start of the day. With the series of prank Reefside High had already gotten, it was hard to keep up with all of the mayhem of finals and just trying to have some fun. But the staff was directing the students toward class, so they had to get back into school mode quickly.
XXXXXXXXXX
Lunch time had come around.
Kira had been hanging out in the empty science room of Dr. Oliver with several other people, many of them were apart of Science Club, not that she could judge them when she had one or the other in one of her classes. Some of them were members of Senior Council and had been working in the shadows to set up their own set of pranks for all to see.
"So, did each of you remember to bring at least two cans of tuna?" Kira asked, having taking the inititive for the operation.
"Now, we just need to figure out where to plant them," Samantha stated with a chuckle.
"Well, according to Ethan, he says planting it in one classroom in each hallway would do the trick," the teen in yellow stated as she pulled out the can opener in her backpack. She had a series of zip-block bags as well knowing they would use those to place them in other places.
"And for any other classroom, we need to hit the band room, choir room and auditorium, as well as the gym. And there are plenty of places to hide them there," Erin said with a nod.
"No, we can't do it in the band room, I still got class in there," Michelle protested.
"Well, I could careless, by Friday it wouldn't be a big difference," Jessie stated.
"Okay, we need to decide on each classroom within the main hall – Science, Math, English, Social Studies, Foreign Language and Electives hall," Kira said.
"We got the quad areas, too. There are plenty of hiding places there," Katie said with a laugh.
"I say we hit Mr. Derby in science. No one likes the guy for teaching at a college level when it comes to chemistry and physics," the president of Science Club said as everyone had agreed hands down.
"We should go for Mr. Jinn in the English hall. I mean, he already gots mold and abestos growing in that classroom despite how old/new this school is," Ken said, who had also been working in the shadows with Operation: Protection. "And I'm sorry, but we gotta hit up Mrs. Woods over in art. I mean, dealing with one pregnant P.E. teacher is bad enough, but an art teacher...um, no."
"Well, we got more than enough cans to do some real damage. So, let's split up and hit up what we can," Kira stated.
A small knock came to the door as she moved to it, the rest of the seniors in a panic to hide the tuna, but she had shook her head as she pulled it open to reveal Ethan and Conner along with their fellow partners in crime. Despite the fact they had their own group with a new line of pranks, they wanted to help out with this one. Many pranks during the day were much harder to pull off, but so much more fun.
After filing out the last set of instructions, they had split up, three to a group totaling up to eight different teams. Casually walking through the halls, two would cause a distraction while another would make the move and plant the tuna in the series of hiding places they found would work out to.
But by the time lunch had been over, all of the tuna surprises had been set and the team had dispersed to head off to class. And another prank had been landed on the school of Reefside.
XXXXXXXXXX
After school.
The carnival itself had a series of activities and games going on for people of all ages, food from different vendors and artwork displayed by the Advanced Art students that could be auctions off for money. Most of the proceeds were gonna go toward a split for the clubs at school, the rest was set for local shelters and charities in the area.
It was a big turn-out, more people than the members of Student Cabinet and Senior Council would have expected. But it had ended, and well into the clean-up stages as it was hitting the late hours of ten at night. Many people left were only on the clean-up crew, so it was a little less a challenge to complete.
The dino rangers were on the move, planning out the final prank for the school. But it was one with a lot of risk and difficulty to master. In the shadows of another hidden alley, alongside the swift crafty style of Adam Park, the five rangers were discussing their final prank on the school. At first, they didn't want to pull Kira into the mix, but figured she could cause a distraction, especially with her ptera scream if all else failed. As much as others wanted to get involved, Conner, Trent and Ethan had told their friends, this was one plot that had to be planned accordingly with little helping hands as possible.
"I hope you guys know this is wrong," Adam shook his head as he put the heavyweight object on the ground with the help of Tommy.
"C'mon, this is fool-proof," Tommy chuckled. "If we had a Gladiator over at Angel Grove, you know we would have done it either way. Someone was bound to do it."
"So, what do we gotta do, Dr. O?" Conner asked as he rubbed his hands together. He was getting really excited about their final prank, but had no real idea how they would do it, especially if there were a whole lot of people at the school.
"Well, Adam and I have been working on the design for awhile now, so you guys have to figure out how to get it on," Tommy said as he grabbed his friend and turned away.
"What! No, time out, Dr. O. We didn't agree to that..." Ethan protested.
Tommy laughed as he turned to join his teammates shaking his head. "I'm kidding. If I left you guys to do this on your own, it would get screwed up big time."
"Nah, ya think," Kira said in a mock glare. She had known their mentor and science teacher was kidding, but had to wonder what he had in mind.
"Trust me, this thing won't be coming off for awhile the way we designed it. And by the time they figure out how to take it off, they might have to just wield it right off the statue. And there is a little added feature that involves it moving up and down," Tommy said with a laugh.
The teen boys couldn't help but laugh as Kira groaned and shook her head. She had gotten used to the concept of hanging around guys, but sometimes, they were a little too much.
"So, how is it gonna go down?" Ethan asked.
"Well, I set you and Kira to be the look out. Trent, Conner, Adam and myself will be at the statue working our magic. So, let's get this done and over with before I change my mind about the whole thing," the science teacher stated with a nod.
The team had been given their instructions. Ethan and Kira had moved away from the group, splitting to keep an eye on the area around them. Tommy and Adam grabbed the heavy object and followed Conner and Trent out of the alley toward the statue that was in much need of his manhood.
In position, Ethan and Kira had given them the okay to move along with the plans. Tommy and Adam were stuck holding the huge metal shaft while Trent and Conner had strapped it on under the instruction of Adam. It was a series of locks and hidden latches that no technology could quite catch up with and understand unless you were a ranger yourself. Conner and Trent had to literally climb up on each other to get the thing into place.
"Are you sure this thing is gonna stay in place?" Conner asked as he made the final snaps to the belt holding up the huge shaft.
"Yeah, it should. We already ran the test," Adam stated as he struggled to hold it up. Not that it was that heavy, or extremely, but had required a lot of upper body work to hold up just to snap onto the statue.
Tommy groaned as he was trying to hold up his end. "Okay, are you sure you're done, my arms are getting tired?"
"Almost done, Dr. O," Trent stated as he used the support of Conner to lock the final lock into place.
As one, the four literally collapsed on the ground in front of the statue as they breathed a sigh of reliefs. Either, they had worked fast enough to not get caught, or it was literally that easy to pull off the series of pranks. But it was planted as they tried to stiffle their laughter over the accomplishment.
Operation: Protection had been set and like they had planned, their school mascot of a Gladiator had been given its manhood for the whole world to see.
But then they had heard noises, Trent grabbed Conner using his chameleon powers as a shield as he followed the swift movement of the ninjas out of the area. They jumped into a brush of trees and shrubs not too far from the statue each of them peering out to see who decided to show up.
Hidden in the darkness of the night, a total of ten people had moved into the area. But they stopped short when they had noticed the added object to the statue; they had been carrying what seemed to be their own shaft, but it was made of wood, and not properly thought out or designed.
"Hey, who's that?" Conner breathed as he peeked out to get a better look.
"They're all wearing black and ski masks. I wouldn't be able to tell you," Trent said as he shrugged.
"It seems others had the same idea," Adam said as he can only conclude.
"Yeah, but there's isn't as full proof as ours," Tommy said.
The gang of people had began discussing other things, only concluding that when a truck pulled up to them, they dug into the back and began to press lawn flamingoes into the ground. Two of them had moved closer to the statue getting a closer look at it as they began to mount a sign at the base of the statue.
And just as quickly, they had moved out of there. The four rangers had waited a few minutes before moving out onto the area.
"So, what's the sign say?" Conner asked in confusion.
"Um... 'Protect Yourself! From Charlie and the Class of 2005.' Huh! That's interesting," Adam said as he scratched his head in confusion.
"Why?" Trent asked.
"Why would they put a sign like that up, and then go on and put all these flamingoes up? I mean, that was last year's prank, but..." he shook his head.
"You don't think those guys were from the class of 2004, do you?" Conner asked.
Adam and Tommy had exchanged a look before shrugging. Then they heard other rustling and voices as they slowly, but swiftly moved out of the area, only to find that it was their two remaining ranger teammates.
"Dude, you were supposed to warn us when you found someone coming," Conner stated as Ethan held up his hands in surrender shaking his head.
"Hey, I don't even know what was going on. There was no one coming from where I was hanging out. I didn't even hear the engine until I actually saw it gunning out of here," Ethan said as a way of defense and excuse, and it was hard to tell if he was telling the truth or not.
Kira could only shrug herself. "I didn't see anything either and I just thought it was a car that was lost. I mean, it didn't turn toward the school or anything."
"Hmm, that's strange," Tommy thought for a moment. A couple of guys...actually ten guys... just sorta came and went, but not without leaving behind a flock of flamingoes and a sign. "Well, come on. Let's head on out before we get caught."
The dino rangers and black ninja had moved out of the area and on back home to catch some sleep. There was still two more days left for the teens, and Tommy needed to get some rest so he would be ready to torment the underclassmen tomorrow with more review work.
XXXXXXXXXX
The next day had finally come.
Like always, Tommy had been taking his time to get ready for school as his wife was preparing breakfast for the family. After making one last minute check on his hair, he had slipped out of the bathroom casually walking downstairs as he fixed his tie moving into the living room. Serena had been sitting on the couch watching the TV, usual cartoons, with a bowl of cereal in her lap.
He walked over to her, laying a kiss on her head greeting her. "Hey, baby. What are you watching now?"
"Scooby-doo," the little girl replied before taking another bite from her bowl and grinned widely at her father.
The man took a seat beside her, before fiddling around with his tie, making the last loop through it as Kim moved into the room handing him a glass of orange juice and some toast to start off his breakfast. They greeted each other with a warm kiss before Kim had reached over for the remote, requestiong some moments to check how the weather was going to be for the day.
"What's the point of checking if you're already dressed?" Tommy asked his wife before moving aside, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her down to sit beside him.
"Just wanna see how good the rest of the week is. I'm trying to figure out if it's better to make them run today or tomorrow," she said as she began to flip through the channels.
The channels switched as she found the local news, Reefside Eyewitness News, but instead of the weather it was a report of what appeared to be a statue. A line of people had been lined around it of all ages. Some were in complete awe, others were laughing and making the most of it.
"Hey, wait, isn't that the statue in front of the school?" Kim asked. She leaned forward, squinting trying to make clear of what was on it. A hand fell to her mouth. "No way, is that what I think... Serena cover your eyes!"
Tommy breathed as he reached over, pulling his daughter close to him, shielding her eyes. He wasn't surprised to find it on the local news, but he had hoped it wouldn't turn into anything extremely drastic. He couldn't afford to feel the boot if he did crack or any of the others.
The report began to file out several opinions on the change to it. A statue that held such importance, going to the Smithsonian Company to take care of it. And there it was de-materialized and vandalised by people who thought it was funny. The report even stated the several other pranks that had gone on at the school, and it was clear it seemed to be getting a bad rep.
"Who would have the nerve to put that on a statue like that?" Kim shook her head, clearly not putting two and two together.
Tommy couldn't help but laugh. "Well, you must admit it is sorta funny, because I don't think I would have ever thought of something like that."
"Baby, they got firefighters and wielders on it trying to get it off. And that's a good thing. I mean, we don't need the youth to see something like that."
"But they haven't gotten anywhere. Even wielding hasn't done a whole lot with it. I mean, yeah, we need to find those guys who did that and punish them, but you still gotta think about it. It is funny. I mean, he must be getting a lot of action with that thing..."
"Thomas Anthony Oliver," Kim smacked him in the back of the head as she pointed to the small figure in her husband's arms.
Tommy cringed for a moment, knowing he had said enough as he shook his head. So, he made one split up, but it wasn't his fault. But when he had heard his full name, he knew it wouldn't be the best to argue with his wife at all. He would lose hands down, no matter what he did. Now, though, he felt the sinking in his stomach, that if he stayed in the room any longer he would crack and blow their cover, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. So, he got to his feet and slowly moved out of the room.
"Where are you going?" Kim asked him.
"I need to get another tie. I just realized that this one doesn't really match this shirt," he replied as he jumped the stairs to the bedroom.
After he finally got into the room, he quickly pulled off the tie and let out a breath. He didn't know if he could hold out. He knew there was no way the firefighters or wielders would be able to get that thing off. And he didn't know if he could keep his cool about this entire thing. Especially with the press all over it and the constant questioning. He could only hope there wouldn't be an investigation. The last thing he needed was an interrogation. He would probably fail, despite how serious he could be. And he knew there would be a whole lot more to deal with he did not need.
And he was slightly a little worried about his teammates. He had hoped they wouldn't crack. With all the hype and media it was getting now, it would be worser once they got to school. With authority all over the school, it would make his worry about his fellow partners in crime. He figured they would have to get that thing off as soon as possible, but not in the light of day. He just needed to figure out how.
XXXXXXXXXX
By the time he had gotten to the school, it was actually hard to get through. People had lined outside on the street just to see the statue wondering how someone managed to pull off something like that or question if the team of workers around it would get it off.
Authority actually had to card everyone that entered, asking for school ids just to let them through. It was a little too controversial than Tommy had hoped. And it was clear he was starting to freak out more. And his wife had noticed him shift uncomfortably as she reached over to place a hand on his own.
"Hey, you okay?" Kim asked him gently.
Tommy looked over at her and nodded slowly, letting a breath escape his mouth. "Yeah, I'm cool. Just a little worried to find anymore surprises for us as a school, ya know. What other pranks might have been pulled or will be pulled on us."
"Yeah, it makes me wonder what other ideas these seniors can come up with," Kim had to admit with a shudder. "That swimming pool party wasn't cool, getting everything wet. I mean, we couldn't really do anything when janitors were trying to figure out how to get the desks about of the gym. And then that little goodie bag. Who puts toothpaste into an oreo and calls that a prank? Okay, being pregnant and having one of those things doesn't usually affect me since I eat a lot of weird things, but that was just wrong."
"Yeah, but what about that smell?" Tommy had to recall as he groaned.
There was an unusual smell lingering in the halls of Reefside High, and no one could figure out what it was. It was all over the place, which made many people lose their appetites during lunch since the smell was so bad. Janitors were thinking it was rats, but couldn't be certain when the smell was all over the place. They couldn't pinpoint a direct source to where it was coming from.
And for the past few days, some teachers actually took their students outside just because they couldn't stand the smell anymore. It was far too much for them to handle.
But upon arrival to class, each teacher had found a basket of condoms on each of their desks. A note attached to it: "Remember Teachers! It is that time of the year where things can get a little hectic and racy around students. Express your deepest gratitude and the feeling that you care for your students by handing these out. Their futures depend and start with your guidance. Protect yourself and your partner. Practice safe sex...or just masturbate. --From your school mascot, Charlie and the Senior Class of 2005. P.S. This time, this is no joke. We truly do care about our futures and those around us."
Some teachers had to admit it was one thing to see their statue and mascot being vandalized by a joke to give him his manhood, yet sorta weird but thoughtful to have someone, if not actual members of the class of 2005, take the time to hand out condoms. Or if it was just apart of jokes they had set out on the rest of the school, but with the sincerest of thoughts in the note, they didn't find a problem and play it off.
Luckily, for the rest of the day, there were no more pranks. Not a single one, aside from the stange odor that still lingered in the air. No one had a clue what it was, and for those that did, they were playing it off rather well.
Lunch had come around as the five dino rangers had secretly met in the science room to discuss their plans to remove the shaft on the statue. It was clear none of them had expected to see all this hype with their joke, and they knew they had to get it off before it got any worse. Trent and Dr. Oliver had already moved throughout the school with help of their powers to remove the coins still stuck to the ground. They had used a component that would dissolve the adhesive and the coins could be easily swept up with a big push broom.
"I mean, Adam and I could come by during the night and get it off. It'll be likely they will take a break by then, so all we gotta do is reset the code and it'll fall freely," the science teacher said.
"I thought it would have been a good joke. Not one that would go all over the news with many people freaking out about it," Conner shook his head.
"Yeah, well some people just don't have a really good sense of humor, and I guess that is normal, especially with some of these people. All this mayhem with saving the world and protecting the city, people just lost it."
"Why do you think we decided to do some of these pranks, especially with the school? I mean, as a school we have been through a lot, especially back when Zeltrax, Mesogog and Elsa was all we had to worry about," Ethan said.
The science teacher shrugged again.
"We just wanted a laugh," Trent said.
"Yeah, but what about this condom idea? We didn't come up with that," Kira said.
"Someone either truly cares, or it could be another sick and twisted joke played out by someone else," Conner said.
"I hear the salt on the field is coming along nicely. It is slowly starting to form the 2005, and I don't think anyone has noticed it right away," the science teacher nodded.
"Yeah, it should be seen by graduation day, even though a certain someone decided to scorch the field by placing the mascot in the center of the field," Ethan reported. "It sorta ruined the huge 2005 we planted."
"Well, don't worry about the shaft. Adam and I will get that. Besides, you guys only got one more day before you're outta here," Dr. Oliver said.
The teens breathed a sigh of relief. They had made it. They were so close to graduation and getting out of high school. And they had to admit that it was so good to be getting out of there, especially after Senior Hell Week. It definitely was hell week, and they could only hope that nothing more would be coming their way.
XXXXXXXXXX
Nightfall had finally come around. But it was no good to move early in the night, so the two ninjas had moved closer to the 2:00 hour. And as they figured, no one was there to greet them aside from the mounted hidden cameras all over the place. Using a little ninja magic the duo had disabled the cameras and moved into the area.
"So, it just proves that this was a bad idea, like I said," Adam whispered as he shook his head. "But it was probably the best prank we managed to pull off."
"I am just so glad we got these powers, cause if we got caught I don't know what I'd do," Tommy replied.
"Yeah, well, if Zordon found out we were using these for personal gain, he'd strip them from us."
"Luckily, he ain't here or this would be a whole lot harder to accomplish."
The duo swiftly moved from the brushes, opening up all of their senses as they moved toward the statue. There were already scorch and wield marks all over the man-made metal shaft, but it had not moved an inch. Pulling out a device, Adam pushed a few buttons to see the hidden latches slowly break free as it shifted, the weight barely holding on. Tommy had used the control of the air to lift the shaft off the statue and let it sorta float in the air before him and his teammate.
"That was a whole lot easier than I thought..." Tommy said, but stopped when he had heard the voices in the distance.
The two ninjas exchanged a look, Adam jumped back into the shadows, Tommy melted into the protection of his invisible powers, leaving behind the shaft on the ground. The duo moved back into the brush as they saw two officers look at it bewildered and confused. But they breathed a sigh of relief as they inspected the statue. There was no damage to it once so ever, and they didn't question each other more, calling forth an assembly of firefighters to dispose of the metal shaft.
Tommy and Adam breathed their own sigh of relief as they moved out of the area just as quickly as they came.
"I think it's clear for me to say I'm out of the pulling prank business," Tommy sighed as he let out a breath.
"Ya know, I doubt it. The world needs a good laugh, and it wasn't like any of them were completely damaging," the black ninja shrugged.
"Yeah, well, thanks for your help. Is there any progress on Anton's condition?" the science teacher looked over at the medical doctor.
Adam let out a breath and shook his head. "I don't know. His heartbeat and brain wave patterns have slowed to almost nothing. To tell you honestly, Tommy, I don't think he's gonna make it. I've done everything, even things that could very well strip me of my medical degree with this ninja magic, but he has not responded to a single thing I've done."
The science teacher breathed a sad breath. He knew if Anton wouldn't make it, it would take a whole lot out on Trent. And that was something the teen did not need. He had wished his friend a good night before racing on home, clearing his mind of the recents events and hoping to find some comfort in his wife's arms.
to be continued...
A/N: Yeah, I know, this was a whole lot longer than anticipated, but I hope you like it. There were a few changes to the next few chapters but I hope that you like them. Until another time, see you when I do. May the Powers Always Protect You.