Thank you for reading! Each chapter will also focus on one particular character and the things that they do-their jobs, family life, and whatever else.
Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Rocky DeSantos parked his blue SUV into a spot and walked into a local Starbucks before heading into work, whistling and thinking about random things that he saw around. He walked in and immediately headed for the line, knowing exactly what he wanted.
"Good morning," Rocky said, grinning at the cashier. "Can I have a tall caramel macchiato? Thanks." Rocky paid for his drink and moved down to be near the counter, waiting for his drink.
A couple minutes later his drink was ready and Rocky took it from the barista. "Thank you, Ms. Walker."
"I always tell you-just call me Katie."
Rocky laughed. "Okay. Well, thanks, Katie." He smiled, checking his watch. He still had a couple of hours before he needed to go into work, so Rocky decided to head to the bookstore that the Starbucks was connected to.
He browsed through a number of aisles and noticed a couple of boys arguing over a comic book. They were sitting in the middle of the aisle and an older man was nearby, keeping an eye on them. The man was sitting at a table close to the kids. Rocky watched them for a bit, listening to their argument before deciding to jump in.
"Hey, why the arguing over here?" he asked, taking a seat next to them. Rocky looked around and made eye contact with the man, who sat near them. Rocky nodded to him and smiled and the man smiled in return.
"Bridge thinks the green ranger is the best," said one of the boys, wearing a blue and red striped shirt.
"And Sky says it's the red," argued Bridge, with a full mouth.
Rocky smiled and wrinkled his nose at the crumbs spewing from Bridge's mouth. He remembered watching the Power Rangers TV show when he was a kid and thought about how much he loved the show and played Power Rangers with his friends. "Well, why do you think the green ranger's the best?" he asked Bridge.
"Because he used to be evil," Bridge answered in a matter-of-fact voice, nodding as he said this. "And that's why he's cool! But now he's good and is helping the rangers."
"Because the red ranger broke the spell on him!" interrupted Sky.
Bridge shrugged his shoulders, taking a bite of some toast that Rocky wondered where it came from. "Mmm. Buttery."
Rocky laughed at Bridge wiggling his fingers in front of his face. He turned to Sky. "Why is the red ranger the best?" He moved out of the way so a blonde lady in pink could get through the aisle.
"Because he's the leader," said Sky. "And he likes to save the world and follow the rules and everything. The other rangers have to listen to him because being the red ranger is cool!"
Rocky smiled. "Well, both of those things may be true, but without the red ranger leading the team and the green ranger helping the team...and even the other rangers-pink, blue, black, yellow-they can't fight the monsters and save the world. None of those rangers ever won against a monster by him or herself, right? They needed each other and they were all friends."
"Oh yeah," said Sky, with a satisfied look. He and Bridge looked at each other.
"Yeah, I guess so," said Bridge. He offered his toast to Rocky. "Do you want some toast? It's really buttery." He wiggled his fingers in front of his mouth again.
Rocky laughed again. "Why does he do that?" Rocky asked Sky.
Sky shrugged. "Who knows-it's Bridge."
"They're best friends," a voice said. Rocky looked up and saw the man nearby gesturing to Bridge and Sky. He pointed to Sky. "That's my son, Sky." The man stood up and held out his hand to Rocky, who also stood up. "I'm Wes Collins."
"Rocky DeSantos."
Wes gestured to the boys again. "They have that argument all the time. Except half the time, Sky also picks the blue ranger. It's the one thing they just can't seem to agree on."
Rocky smiled. "They remind me of myself when I was at that age. Playing Power Rangers with my friends and all. I was usually the red or the blue ranger, too."
Wes laughed. "I was the red ranger! Always red for me! One of my friends even tried to be the red ranger after me. He came up with something new and different, instead-he was the 'Quantum Ranger,' whatever that was. I just thought he was the wannabe red ranger."
The two men laughed. Rocky checked his watch. "Oh, I've got to head to work. It's been great meeting you, Wes. The boys are pretty entertaining, too.
Wes nodded, shaking Rocky's hand again. "You too. Have a good day."
"Thanks! You too!" He patted Sky's and Bridge's heads. "Have a great day, kids."
Rocky headed toward the exit and stood in line for a bit to purchase the books that he had picked earlier. He jumped into his blue SUV, but didn't drive off for a bit-he read the back of the books he just bought and skimmed the first few chapters of some of them. The restaurant he worked at was only across the street, so he wasn't worried.
Rocky turned on the radio to listen to some music. He always liked starting his mornings with music-it always put him in the good mood for the entire day. When he found a song that he liked, Rocky started bobbing his head to the music.
"And that was the new one from Tanya Sloan," the DJ said. "I'm Vida Roc and I've got a surprise for you: Tanya Sloan is in the studio with us today!"
"Hi everyone!" Tanya Sloan's voice echoed through Rocky's car.
"Tanya's here to answer some of the questions that any of you crazy fans out there might have. So call us up-"
Rocky changed the station, trying to find some other music to listen to, but just settled for the sound of silence, instead. A couple of minutes later, he drove into the parking lot of the restaurant he worked at and parked the car.
Before entering into the back door, he stood around his car for a bit. He grabbed some things and then decided to head in, even if he was a few minutes early.
Seven or so hours later, one of the servers entered the kitchen and called him up to the front. "Yeah, what's up?"
"One of my tables wants to see you. He likes the food."
"Sure thing," Rocky said, rushing to wash his hands. "I love compliments!" He wiped his hands on his apron and took it off, hanging it on a hook in the kitchen. He followed the server into the dining area of the restaurant to a table where an Asian man with closely shaved hair sat. The man wore a long-sleeved black shirt with blue jeans. "Hi, I heard you like the food." Rocky stuck out his hand and the Asian man stood up. "I'm Rocky DeSantos."
The man smiled. "I know." Before Rocky could he respond, he took Rocky's hand and shook it tightly.
Immediately, lost memories flooded Rocky's mind. He smiled as he saw himself and Adam as children on the playground and later on, in elementary, middle, and high school. He saw himself and Adam, along with one of their other friends, rollerblading through the park. He saw a familiar-looking cave where he found out that his new friends were rangers. He saw Tommy using the sword to transfer Jason's power to Rocky. He saw himself at Ernie's, playing on the Pachinco machine and he also saw himself amongst a strange-looking elf. Rocky laughed in his mind a bit. That was when he, Tommy, and Kimberly were trapped in her favorite storybook. He was then playing volleyball with his friends and became a ninja. He saw himself acting as a teacher at his old high school. He was a young child in Mexico, saving a village from a volcano. He remembered wearing a funny suit as an extra in a science fiction movie. The last memory he saw was of his wedding day, standing next to his beautiful wife with his best friend at his side.
"Adam?" Rocky said. He dropped his hands to his side and walked slowly toward his friend. "How could I forget?" he asked, giving his friend a hug.
"You didn't," Adam said with a grin. "You just needed a push."
Rocky grinned. "So what do we do now?"
"There's a lot of work to be done."
Rocky nodded. "I'll come. My shift's pretty much done here, anyway. And besides...this is more important."
Adam smiled and nodded. He reached into his pocket and handed Rocky the folded-up sheet of paper. Rocky took it and read over it quickly, nodding as he refolded the paper.
"I'll grab my things," he said, walking back towards the kitchen. He took his things and waved to the kitchen staff. Rocky walked back out and met up with Adam in the lobby. "My car's there," he said, pointing to the back of the restaurant.
Adam nodded. "I'll drive," he said, opening his hands for the keys.
"You sure?" asked Rocky, pulling out his keys.
"Yeah." Adam motioned for the keys.
"Well, okay, then." Rocky shrugged his shoulders and gave him the keys. The two of them jumped in the car and buckled their seat belts. "Where are we headed?"
"You'll see," Adam said, pulling out of the parking lot. He paused when he saw a Lincoln Town Car driving next to him. Technically, the Town Car had right of way, so Adam waited for a bit. The driver of the Town Car waved him to go, so Adam pressed the gas and held up a hand in thanks.
About twenty minutes later, the two of them arrived at a local beach. Rocky followed Adam out of the SUV, walking on the crowded boardwalk.
"The beach?" asked Rocky.
Adam nodded. "Let's go."
Rocky and Adam headed down to the beach. "You sure we're dressed for this?" Rocky looked down at his slacks and red shirt. "Cuz I know I'm not."
Adam laughed. "We'll be fine." He pointed to a spot down the beach. "Let's try there." He walked down a bit and saw a young lady in a light blue wetsuit, holding a surfboard and heading for the water. "Excuse me," Adam said, smiling at the teenager with blonde hair and blue eyes. "I'm looking for Trini Kwan. I heard she trains on this beach."
The teenager shielded her eyes from the sun. "Um...I think she's down there." The girl pointed to an even more crowded spot down the beach.
"Hey Tori!" A spiky-haired young Asian teenager, who was in a navy wetsuit, approached them. "I think I'm about ready for my surfing lesson." He grinned, gesturing to the board he was holding.
Tori nodded. "Okay, Blake. Hang on a sec, though." She looked at Adam. "Yeah, I think she's down there. The beach volleyball courts are all down there, so she would most likely be down there or something. Maybe around there."
Adam nodded and smiled. "Okay. Thanks for your help!"
Rocky grinned at them. "Have a great day surfing, guys."
"You guys have a great day, too!" said Tori as she and Blake turned in a different direction. Rocky heard Tori whoop in excitement as they walked away from the teenagers.
Adam and Rocky headed in the direction that Tori pointed to earlier. In spite of their clothes, they jogged down to the beach volleyball courts and watched a couple of scrimmages go on before they saw Trini standing off to the side, signing autographs and taking pictures amidst a large group of people.
"Excuse me, Trini?" Rocky asked, tentatively walking through the crowd of people. He stood next to her and grinned at her.
A tall, long-haired Asian woman turned and faced them. She smiled at them. "Hi, would you guys like an autograph?"
Adam and Rocky looked at each other, before Adam nodded. She signed a small, handheld volleyball and gave it to Adam. Rocky looked at Trini's face closely as Trini's hand brushed against Adam. Nothing happened.
"Can I get a picture, too?" asked Rocky. Trini nodded and Rocky put his arm around her. Immediately, a wave of memories involving Rocky and Trini entered his mind. He looked at Trini from the corner of his eye and again saw that nothing happened. So, Rocky just smiled at her, knowing that she didn't see anything. He didn't know what he should do now. "Thank you."
"Well, have a great day, Ms. Kwan," said Adam. He and Rocky turned to leave after she said goodbye to them.
"What? So that's it?" asked Rocky.
Adam nodded. "She may not be ready yet. Or we may not be the ones to do it. Everybody will be ready in their own time. And everyone touches one another in different ways. We'll see her later, though. I'm sure of it."
Rocky sighed, looking back at Trini. He followed Adam toward the car, onto the crowded boardwalk. "Oh, excuse me," he said, accidently bumping into someone in the large crowd.
"Oh, it's okay," said an African-American woman that Rocky recognized.
"Adam, watch out!" Rocky exclaimed as Adam wasn't paying attention to where he was going and bumped into the same woman that Rocky just bumped into, two seconds ago. The force from the accidental hit knocked the woman to the ground.
Adam gazed down at her in amazement. She looked up at him with equal amazement and surprise written in her eyes and all over her face. "Tanya..." Adam said.
Tanya Sloan furrowed her brow. Adam reached out a hand to her. She waited a moment before grabbing it to lift herself up. When she grabbed it, Rocky saw the recognition in her eyes and figured that he must've looked like that when Adam was shaking his hand. Adam grinned at Tanya, reaching for her other hand and pulling her up to standing. He kept her hands in his own and pulled her closer.
"Adam!" she exclaimed before throwing her arms around him.
There's that chapter. Please review and let me know what you think!
Next: Tanya.