I see that some of you are worried that Rita is actually thinking for once, lol. She's gotten smarter in her time away from tormenting our fellow Rangers. As I've said, these chapters are going to bring back more focus on our favorite characters. Next chapter will end part one of this fic. I'm surprised it's turned out so long so far. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Teen angst!

Chapter 12 The Falcon Tries to Cope

It had been a few days, but Tommy still could not shake his feelings. He avoided his friends whenever he could. He didn't want questions or to talk. He just wanted to be alone, to think. Whenever a monster came to Angel Grove, he fought, but not with the usual vigor or courage that he used to. His reason to truly fight was lost.

Tommy sat in English, absent mindedly staring off into space. His pencil tapped on his open notebook as he half-heartedly heard the teacher's lecture. His mind was still thinking of her and why. He just wanted to know that. That was all. He knew she'd met someone else, but why? Why was her mind on someone other than him.

"Tommy? Thomas Oliver pay attention!" demanded the teacher strictly.

As Tommy looked up he noticed the teacher standing right in front of him. He bowed his head in shame. "Sorry, Mrs. Bolton. It won't happen again," he murmured.

Mrs. Bolton had heard that excuse a million times before from so many students. She wasn't going to take it from him. "Hmph. Well Mr. Daydreamer, can you give a reason why Kafka portrays Gregor as a beetle?"

"No, ma'am."

"Mr. Oliver, have you even read the Metamorphosis yet?"

Tommy wished a hole would appear right under his desk so that he could disappear. He had really meant to read the book, but that had been before he received the letter from Kimberly. He didn't answer his teacher right away.

Tapping her foot impatiently, Mrs. Bolton waited for an answer. When she didn't get one, she answered for him. "Didn't read the book, did you Mr. Oliver?"

Tommy barely had the strength to shake his head no. "I meant to…" he trailed off.

"Meant to means nothing in this classroom. See me after class and we will discuss your detention term." Mrs. Bolton turned and began to ask another student. "Adam, will you so kindly answer the question that Mr. Oliver could not? And I do hope you have read the book, or else you'll be joining your classmate in the same predicament."

Adam gulped. He really felt sorry for Tommy, and wished he could do something to help out, but Tommy would allow no one in his space. Everyone had taken to listening to him, except for Kat. She just wouldn't budge. She stayed around Tommy and tried to get him to open up to her, but Tommy refused. He continued to push Kat away. "Yes ma'am. I've read the book," he answered respectfully, hoping to calm the teacher some.

"Good. Then what is the answer?" asked Mrs. Bolton.

Tommy didn't hear Adam's response. He was too embarrassed. He knew he'd forgotten to do something. Actually, he'd been forgetting to do a lot of everything. If it weren't for the communicator on his wrist, he was sure he'd forget to be a Zeo Ranger as well. The one thing he couldn't forget though was Kimberly. He wanted to forget her, but she just wouldn't stay out of his mind. Every little thing reminded Tommy of Kim. Every time he rushed into battle with the rest of his team, he thought of Kimberly. Every time he glanced over at Katherine in the pink Zeo Ranger suit. Even though Kimberly had never been a Zeo Ranger, it was hard not to think of her when he saw pink. Pink was Kimberly.

The ringing of the bell brought Tommy back to reality. He gathered his books and rose from his seat. He watched Adam lip speak to him that he'd see him after the teacher was through with him. Tommy made his way up the row and to Mrs. Bolton's desk. He waited patiently as she seemed to take forever to erase the chalk board. Tommy knew she was doing it on purpose to antagonize him. Finally though, Mrs. Bolton turned around. "Mr. Oliver, I trust you will be reading the book this evening?"

"I plan to," he answered.

"You will have no choice but to. Starting this evening, you will serve detention until you finish the entire book and write me a double-spaced, five page paper on whether or not Gregor was a prisoner in his own family or the one imprisoning them. I expect at least one resource to prove your answer. Detention is in room 203. I will be there personally after school to make sure you are serving."

"Yes ma'am," answered Tommy. He was angry, but he wouldn't show it. He wouldn't give her the joy of seeing pain.

"Oh, and there's one more detail I forgot to mention. The longer you take to read the book and write the paper, the more points you will lose. Every day I will dock five points off your grade. That is all," answered Mrs. Bolton with a smirk. That would teach him to not read books for her class. No student of hers was getting away with being unprepared. She'd make sure of that with insane detention assignments. After all, suffering initiates learning in the lazy.

Adam waited by the lockers outside the classroom for Tommy. He saw Tommy leave the room in a hurry. The red shirt he wore really accentuated his anger. Tommy punched the nearby wall and Adam hurried over. "Hey Tommy, calm down. Whatever she did, it can't be too bad."

Tommy turned to face Adam. "I promise you that there is no way in hell I'll ever become a teacher," he growled as he stomped off toward the cafeteria.

Adam watched with his mouth agape. "Okay, so maybe it was bad," he said to himself as he slung his bag over his shoulder. He sighed and headed for his next class instead. He wouldn't see Tommy again until after school. He could almost guarantee that Tommy was either heading to the Juice Bar or to the lake, or both.

Cafeteria food was not the best way to drown out a rough day, yet Tommy was surely trying. He sat in a corner of the cafeteria by himself and picked at his food. The menu for the day was supposed to be Salisbury steak and potatoes, but Tommy didn't care. Food was for eating. Eating was done to live. A tray clunked down across from him and Tommy didn't glance him. He had a feeling he knew who it was anyway.

"Get stuck with the mystery meat too?" asked Katherine, smiling.

Tommy didn't answer. Instead, he continued to focus on chewing his mashed potatoes and ignoring the girl across from him. She wouldn't get the point, no matter what he said to her. He tried to keep his anger in check with her, but she was drawing on his final nerve. Why wouldn't Kat just give up?

Kat wasn't intimidated by Tommy's lack of an answer. She began to eat the fruit cup on her tray, trying to think of a way to start a conversation. "So… how was the morning so far Tommy?"

Grunt. Tommy definitely wasn't telling her how the morning had truly gone for him. He knew that word would get out though, courtesy of Adam. Everyone had been keeping tabs on Tommy's public life lately and nothing that Tommy did was secret anymore. Kimberly's letter had caused everyone to take on a super spy mode, taking in Tommy's every move. Even Zordon had been keeping closer tabs on him, reminding him to get more rest. Tommy didn't need more rest. What he needed was Kimberly, and she didn't want him. Get a hold of yourself, Tommy. You've got to get over her. She's in the past now, doesn't want you. You need to do the same. No matter what he tried to tell his heart, the heart wouldn't listen.

"Bad day, huh? There's always the Juice Bar after school."

Tommy shook his head no. Stop pestering me Kat! He wanted to say. He wanted to say so many things to her, things that he couldn't make his lips form because he was too kind to say so.

"So, going to the lake instead?"

Again, Tommy shook his head no. He knew what was coming next. The whole bit with "why". He didn't care to give her the why. She'd find out soon enough.

"Why not?" asked Kat, concerned.

That was it. Tommy had had enough. He was not going to tell her how he'd landed in detention, nor what the punishment entailed. All he'd get from her was sympathy, and there was enough of that oozing from her to take on three people. Instead, Tommy grabbed his bag and his tray, and left the table, dumping his tray before heading outside. He noticed that Kat didn't follow him, which was what he wanted.

As he headed for a secluded spot outside, he noticed that anyone in his path quickly moved aside, without him ever saying a word. At least he didn't have to deal with speaking to them. Tommy sat beneath an oak tree in the school yard and began fumbling through his book bag. He pulled out the Kafka book and flipped to the first chapter. Might as well start reading it now…As he turned the page, a piece of notebook paper fluttered from the front of the book, and Tommy realized it was Kimberly's last letter she'd sent him before the breakup one. He didn't want to even look at it, and would rather have shot it with his blaster, but something drew him to it. He unfolded the piece of paper and began to read the dark pink cursive writing.

May 2, 2006

Dear Tommy,

Hey there handsome. I know we just talked on the phone moments ago, but I can't help missing you so much already. I wanted to write you this letter instead, and I know how much you love receiving my letters. 3

I think I'm almost ready for Pan Globals later this summer. Things are tough and I wish I could come back home to visit before the games, but I know Coach Schmidt would hear nothing of the sort. He's very focused on making sure we are completely ready and in top physical shape. He's also told us that Coach David Blair would be at the games, scouting the girls for possibly training with him for the Olympics. Imagine that Tommy! If I could train with him, I know I'd do awesome and would definitely have a shot at the Olympics.

I really miss you guys back home. How is everyone doing? I've heard you've had some really tough battles with King Mondo. I really wish I could come and visit and go shopping. You could carry all my bags for me, haha. And perhaps we could work on getting some more red for your wardrobe now that you've added a third color to your Ranger attire. I think you just like trying out all the colors.

My roommates are out again tonight. They really like going clubbing even though they've spent all day at the gymnastic compound. I don't see how they can handle it. They find our long distance relationship strange, but I don't care because they don't know how much I love you. I may miss home, but what I miss most is you. I miss your strong arms around me because that's where I feel truly safe. I miss going for long walks by the lake and talking for hours afterwards. I just miss my knight.

Well, I think I'd better close this letter. It's getting really late and you know how early I have to be up tomorrow. I hate early mornings simply for that fact, but I get by. I'll send this out as soon as I get a chance and I'll talk to you on the phone again soon. Perhaps we could talk about you coming down here for Pan Globals and spending some time together.

Love always,

Kimberly

The letter had been sent about a week before Kimberly had sent the breakup letter, but this one was totally different. This one was heartfelt, whereas the other was cold, unconcerning. It seemed like a letter to be sent to someone you'd been dating only a few months, not a few years. Tommy's first urge was to crumple up the letter and toss it in the trash bin, but he decided not to. Instead, he would add it to the box he'd gather of everything Kimberly had given to him. He just couldn't bare to throw it away. Kimberly was a part of his life that he wanted to forget, yet still remember.

The bell rang in the distance, and Tommy reluctantly rose to go to his next class. He hadn't had a chance to read any of the book except for the first page of chapter one. If he couldn't keep his mind focused, he would never finish the book and would flunk the assignment given to him. He couldn't afford to flunk Mrs. Bolton's class either. English wasn't his strong suit and his previous assignments weren't his best according to Bolton.

Tommy headed toward his locker to gather his books for United States History and Trigonometry. He felt someone thump him on the back and say "Yo Tommy. How's your day?"

He turned and saw Rocky there, grinning like a cheshire cat. Of course he would be since it was his lunch period right now. "Hey Rocky," Tommy said dejectedly.

"Wanna go to the Juice Bar after school to spar?" asked Rocky.

"Can't. I've other things to do."

Unlike Kat, Rocky knew when to leave well enough alone. "Maybe this evening perhaps?"

"Maybe. I have a lot of work to do," responded Tommy.

"No problem man. I'll see you there if you do come. I'm off to lunch. Later!" called Rocky as he headed down the hallway. Angel Grove High's Salisbury steak lunch was one of the school's better lunches and there was no way Rocky was missing out.

At least some people know when to leave me alone thought Tommy as he slammed his locker door shut and locked it again. He turned and headed down the hallway, ignoring a sympathetic glance he received from Kat.

After school, Tommy reported to room 203 for his detention term. There weren't many students there, but he did find Bulk and Skull with their mouths agape. To avoid any banter they might have, Tommy walked over to where they were seated and glared right at them. "Say one word, just one, and I'll give you something to really gape at, got it?" he growled. The two bullies nodded stupidly. Tommy took a seat.

As he looked up, he noticed Mrs. Bolton in the doorway, staring at him. He pulled his book out, opened it up, showed it to her, and then began to read. He kept glancing out of the corner of his right eye to see if she'd left yet. After about five minutes, her presence was gone, and Tommy had an entire hour to work on reading the book.

When the bell rang again at four o'clock, signaling the end of detention, Tommy quickly rushed out the door and away from that cursed room. He didn't know where to head to next, but he decided to head home and finish his book so he could start on the paper he had to write. He knew that if he went anywhere else, someone would try to be sympathetic. He wanted to avoid that at whatever the cost. Tommy didn't need anyone's advice or sympathy. If he couldn't have Kimberly back, he wanted to be alone.

Bet you didn't see Tommy's detention punishment coming. The paper he had to write is one I actually did write my senior year in high school for AP English. It's the best paper I've ever written. Mine wasn't double spaced, but it was 4 pages typed, well more like 3 and 1/4 but still. I thought the idea suitable for Tommy. Mrs. Bolton is a reference to one of my education professors, Dr. Bolton, but she isn't mean as this character is. I just liked using the name.

SPECIAL: All reviewers receive a Kimberly wallpaper I made back in January for my little sister, because she's a gymnast. If you review and leave an email, I'll send you the wallpaper. It's quite cute, I must say.

Next time on Windmill into the Fall: We now focus on the time right after Kimberly was released from the hospital. Trini stays with Kimberly and helps her to adjust to her new lifestyle. However, the month soon ends and Trini must depart. Read all about it in the next chapter of Windmill into the Fall: Adjusting to a New Lifestyle!