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Angel Grove sucks.
From the crappy water to the crappy neighborhood district lines, and all the way down to the crappy schoolyard bullies.
If it weren't for being a Power Ranger, Kimberly would have packed her stuff and ran away. Left her parents with no note. Found a place far away where nobody knew her and wouldn't wanna know her. But, she has the Power Rangers. Her friends.
They belong to each other.
Zack texted for her and everyone else on Billy's phone. HE wanted them to meet him up in the third floor boy's bathroom.
He pulled out a couple of musical instruments out of Jason's gym bag, confessing to stealing them out of the band room—"Don't give me that look, Crazy Girl! I said I BORROWED them! There's a DIFFERENCE!"—and reminding them about Billy's idea of starting a band.
Trini crackled, grabbing a pair of drum sticks while Billy curiously examined the flute. Kimberly tapped the wood maracas rhythmically against Jason's skull playfully, giggling while he waved her off to grab the small, metal cymbals.
After twenty to thirty seconds of a practice session, Mr. Caplan marched in, glaring.
Detention every Saturday and Sunday until winter break.
Luckily, they all end up in the same detention.
Kimberly plans on behaving, fluffing her hair and minding her own business as some of the other rowdier teenagers kick each other. Mr. Decker has already stepped out, probably to take a swig of alcohol-laced coffee and flirt with Ms. Binks.
"Look at me—you deaf or somethin'?"
Her eyes wander.
She remembers the ginger kid who used to taunt Billy. He's decided to pick a new victim, hunching himself over Trini pointedly ignoring him. She snaps her gum in her mouth, staring blankly at her Calculus II homework.
"You ugly hussy—you can't even get a date for the prom, right—"
The corners of Trini's eyes water.
"—nobody's gonna want a dyke anyways—"
"Hey!" Kimberly shouts, masking her rage with a fierce grin. "Trini doesn't need to go to prom," she adds, shoving into bully's shoulder with only a fraction of her true strength. He stumbles, crashing against another teen's desk. "She's my date."
A chorus of wolf-whistles.
Kimberly leans over, slinging her arm around Trini who gives her sarcastic 'are you kidding?' eye-blink.
Slowly, Kimberly's anger fades.
She grins down at her best friend, massaging her fingers lightly into Trini's nape. Kimberly bites down a laugh as Trini shivers.
"Yeah!" Jason declares, smiling hard. He joins the two Rangers, clasping Kimberly's fingers at her side. "And Kimberly's going on a date with me! Later!" Trini snickers into her hand, and Kimberly glances to Jason, sending him an obviously thankful look.
"You forgetting our date on Saturday, man?" Zack yells, walking off and punching Jason's shoulder.
Instead of whistling, there's excitable gossip between their classmates.
Zack slings his arm around Jason, like Kimberly did Trini, roughly yanking Jason in and puckering up his lips like a kissy face. To his utter delight, as well as Kimberly's and Trini's, Jason squints and mirrors Zack's kissy face right back at him.
Billy perks up. "And mine! My date! With Jason! And Zack!" he says, tripping while clamoring to get over to them. "Right?"
"Right," Jason and Zack repeat in unison.
They crack up.
Kimberly drapes herself into Trini's lap, nuzzling her, as Trini embraces Kimberly's waist and gives the bully an overly smug look. He turns a humiliating shade of red, cursing under his breath, sulking to the end of the detention-room.
"… We're all not really going on a date, are we?" Billy asks after a moment of silence, his lips quirking down.
"Sure we are," Kimberly says cheerfully, nudging her foot into Zack's thigh.
Billy's mouth quirks back up.
Jason nods. "I'm thinking the arcade. How about it? They got some new 80's pinball machines."
"Nah, that's lame," Trini blurts out, smiling, her eyes no longer watering.
"You're lame," Zack teases, ruffling Trini's hair.
She giggles.
"BACK IN YOUR SEATS!"
They scramble, wincing and wheeze-laughing, as Mr. Decker returns with a full cup of coffee.
It doesn't all suck, Kimberly thinks.
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