Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; they belong to Sabasbro. (Saban+Hasbro...see what I did there...this is what happens when I've got too much time on my hands...)
Author's Note: Anybody see the trailer for Beast Morphers or the cast reveal? I'm excited.
CHAPTER 7
Adam didn't know where the time had gone. Suddenly, it was Wednesday again, and he was totally unprepared for class. He glanced up at the clock. Class was in two hours, and he was so rattled he didn't even have a plan for the day. Rocky sat across from him, double-checking the registration forms for the county tournament and getting them ready to mail. Since when is Rocky more on the ball than I am? Adam wondered.
"Yow!" Rocky yelped, waving a hand with a registration form in the air wildly.
Adam blinked and looked at him. "You okay?"
Rocky nodded. "Yeah, it's just…" He wiggled his fingers. "Papercut."
Ah, there he is. "I should cancel class," Adam said, leaning against the window. "I have no idea what to do today. This whole Rachel and Jenna thing…it's all I can think about."
"That means you care," Rocky pointed out, propping a foot on the desk. He set it on the envelope with the forms, then changed his mind and put it near the phone. "And canceling class would not be a good way to back that up."
"I know, but I have zero plan for today, and the kids will know. Jenna will know," he added. "If she even comes."
Rocky bit his lip, thinking. Then, he grinned. "What time's school get out at Reefside?" he asked.
"Same as Angel Grove…" Adam's eyes widened, realizing what Rocky was on to. "But I think Tommy's prep hour is his last hour of the day." His hands were reaching for his phone even as he said it.
Two hours later, as Adam's students filed into the dojo, most of them stopped dead at the doorway at the sight of not only Adam, but Sensei DeSantos in full uniform and some random guy with glasses they'd never seen before, standing in front of the class.
Adam let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding when Jenna Connors came in. Her eyes also widened at the sight of the three men at the front of the mat. Adam watched her take her place in line, and his students were all staring openmouthed.
"Good afternoon," Adam greeted them, and a chorus of echoes came back at him. "Today, I thought we'd do something a little different."
He heard Rocky snort and ignored him. "You all know Sensei DeSantos, some of you are in his Tuesday classes. He decided to come out of hibernation in the office today and join us for our lesson. This gentleman right here-" Adam stepped over and put a hand on Tommy's shoulder, "is Dr. Tommy Oliver, and he's a friend of ours from Reefside."
Tommy nodded and stepped forward. "I actually went to high school here in Angel Grove with your teachers," he explained. "We taught a lot of self-defense classes over at the Youth Center, spent a lot of time there just hanging out." He looked out over the class. "Your teachers asked me here to talk to you about bullying."
Adam watched Jenna Connors. Her face had gone slightly white.
"Now, I'm sure both Sensei Park and Sensei DeSantos have talked to you multiple times about martial arts and bullying. How what you're learning should never be used aggressively."
Adam watched Jenna. She was tense, her eyes on the floor now, instead of on Tommy. Ah ha. Now we're gettin' somewhere… He looked out of the corner of his eye at Rocky, saw that his friend was noticing the behavior shifts too.
"So today, we thought we'd show you a couple of scenarios and how to respond to them peacefully. Believe me, I understand better than anybody that sometimes, a different response might be necessary, but not until you've exhausted all other avenues first." Tommy looked at Adam, who gave him the okay, and stepped up.
Tommy shoved him, hard enough that he staggered back a couple inches. "What are you looking at," he demanded.
Adam ignored him, moved to walk by him again. Tommy shot an arm out, sticking his palm in his chest. "Did I say you could leave?" he growled.
Rocky turned to the class. "Ignoring a bully is a good place to start," he explained. "Don't give them any ammunition. Ask them to stop."
"Leave me alone," Adam told Tommy. The taller man snickered.
"But why? It's so much fun," Tommy said.
"If there's an adult nearby, you can report the bully to them," Rocky said. "Any adult you trust- teacher, mom, dad…"
Adam took his eyes off Tommy for a second and looked at Jenna. His student was fidgeting in line.
Rocky waited a second. "But, if you feel threatened, if all else fails…"
Adam grabbed Tommy's wrist and upper arm, slid under his outstretched arm and wrenched Tommy's arm behind him into a solid arm bar. Then, he shoved a foot in the crook of Tommy's knee, driving him to the floor.
After a moment, he let him up and the two of them shook hands. "Questions?" Tommy addressed the class, and Adam grinned at his 'teacher' voice.
Abbott raised his hand. "Dr. Oliver?" he asked Tommy. "Could…could we maybe see the three of you spar each other? I mean," he clarified quickly, "for observational learning only," he added.
Rocky grinned. "How about it?" he asked them.
Adam turned to Tommy…who was already in a ready stance.
"Sure," Adam told Abbott, and the kids cheered.
Tommy's foot lashed out at Adam's face. Adam dodged it at the last second as Rocky jumped in, aiming for the middle of Tommy's back with a sharp kick. Tommy whirled, grabbed his foot and threw it. Rocky used the momentum, backflipped out of the way as Adam came in low, trying to swipe Tommy's legs out from under him. With his trademark kiyah, Tommy dove over his foot and the students in the front row scrambled out of the way. Adam advanced with a flurry of punches that Tommy blocked easily. Rocky came at him with a flying side kick, and Tommy staggered. Adam followed with a push kick, sending him through the line of students nearly to the back wall. Then, as one unit, Adam and Rocky drove through the group of kids, Rocky low, Adam high.
Tommy leapt into the air, cocorkscrewing off the top of a rolled-up mat behind the two of them as Adam's foot slapped the mat.
He heard an approving 'whoa' from someone out in the crowd, and allowed himself a grin before Rocky was on him with a connected series of kicks and punches.
"Rocko," Adam called to him. "Phaedos."
Rocky grinned, backing off of Tommy to a safer distance.
Tommy frowned. "Phaedos?" He remembered the jungle planet, but didn't understand-
Adam came at him from the left; Rocky from the right, two feet extended, aiming for his ears. His eyes widened, and he shot both hands out and managed to catch their feet just inches from the sides of his head.
Then, he dropped their feet and the three friends chuckled as they shook hands and the kids applauded wildly.
Tommy provided the necessary distraction as class ended and parents came to get their children. A lot of their attention was on him, so Rocky and Adam could focus on Jenna. The two of them watched the teen intently as she packed up her things to go. The door opened and Rachel Connors came inside, looking around.
"Hi Mom!" Jenna greeted her mother as she shouldered her bag.
Rocky strode over to the two of them. "Hey," he greeted them both. "Mrs. Connors, could I meet with you and Jenna really quick about the county tournament?"
Jenna's eyes widened and she looked up at her mom. "Can we?" she asked.
Rachel looked from her daughter to Rocky. She glanced at her watch. "I guess we've got a few minutes," she agreed.
Rocky put a hand on Rachel's shoulder and gestured them toward the office. He glanced over Rachel's head at Adam, one eyebrow raised.
"Now's your chance," Tommy whispered to Adam, clapping him on the shoulder. "Good luck, man."
Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah. Thanks."
He waited until the last of their students had left the dojo, then he knocked quietly on the office door and poked his head in. "Can I come in?"
"We're just finishing up," Rocky said with a grin. "Um, so Mrs. Connors, I'll get you the waiver for the tournament if you just want to hang on a minute." He got up out of the office chair. "I'll be right back; they're in my bag." He nodded to Adam and closed the door behind him.
"Sensei Park, Sensei DeSantos says I'm good enough to be in the tournament this weekend," Jenna said excitedly.
Adam smiled. "He's right. You've come a long way in a short amount of time. Did you take lessons in Mariner Bay?"
Jenna and her mother exchanged a look. "No, sir," Jenna replied.
"All natural talent," Adam nodded. "So, what made you move to Angel Grove?"
Silence. Here we go, Adam thought.
"Just looking for a change," Rachel said after a moment.
Adam just decided to dive right in. "Mrs. Connors-Rachel- I know that you called me the other week during class from an unlisted phone number. The next morning, I saw fresh bruises on Jenna's arm at the Youth Center. She tried to cover them up with longsleeves," he added quickly, as Rachel turned to her daughter, shock in her eyes. Jenna shrunk down in her chair. Adam leaned forward across the desk. "I have to ask…what's going on?"
Rachel stood up so fast she almost knocked her chair over. "We have to go."
"Mom!" Jenna protested.
Rachel turned and almost ran into Rocky, who was standing in the doorway. "Mrs. Connors, please," he said calmly. "Please, sit down."
Adam nodded thankfully at his best friend. Rocky winked.
"Mom," Jenna said quietly. "Mom, just tell him."
Rachel Connors looked like she was going to pass out. Rocky helped her sit down. The two of them waited patiently, Rocky leaning against the office windowsill.
"Jenna and I moved to Angel Grove to get away from my husband," Rachel opened, resignedly. "Jack was…is…short tempered when he's drinking. He used to work at NASADA, but with the government budget cuts…they let him go. The drinking happened after that."
The story sounded plausible enough; Adam knew he could call Andros or Carlos to verify if he needed to.
"He showed up that night…the night I called you," Rachel told Adam. "At the house. Jenna was at the dojo, as you know."
"Why call Adam? Why not the police?" Rocky asked her.
"I-I don't know," Rachel replied. She looked at Adam, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "Your cell was listed on the registration forms when I enrolled Jenna. I plugged it into my phone…I guess you were the first number I could get my hands on. I lied, told Jack I was calling the police and that he needed to go."
"And Jenna's arm?" Adam asked.
Rachel looked at Jenna. "I don't know…I-I didn't know she was hurt-"
"I went to go see him," Jenna said quietly, tears in her eyes.
Rachel turned to her daughter, alarmed. "You what?"
Adam looked up at Rocky. Rachel didn't know?
"I skipped school that day and took the bus to Mariner Bay," Jenna said, looking down at her hands. "I wanted to see Dad. I-I thought maybe, maybe he was better. Maybe, if I went to talk to him…"
She sniffed, the tears spilling over. "He got mad at us for leaving. He grabbed my arm and twisted it. I stepped on his foot, and I ran out the door and all the way back to the bus stop." She buried her head in her hands. Rachel reached over, gave her a hug, rubbing her back and whispering to her.
Adam got up, motioned for Rocky to come with him to give them a few minutes. The two of them stepped outside onto the mats.
Rocky whistled. "Geez, Adam…you were right."
"I didn't want to be," Adam groaned, running his hands through his hair. "What do I do, Rock?"
Rocky looked back inside the office, then back to his friend. He gave him a small smile.
"You go be a hero," he said. He grinned. "Again."