11. Olive These Things

"I've made a huge mistake."

Lilly, who had been diligently (and quietly) working on her article for the latest Temporibus, continued to type but cast a glance over to where Schuyler was whining two chairs away. "Define mistake."

"Everything. Half-assing my history project, getting detention for running out during the lockdown, quitting the juice bar, getting a bike with really crappy green paint that's peeling constantly-"

"Wow, that's kind of a lot-"

"And most of all, most of all," she pounded her fist on the leg of her chair, "compromising my journalistic integrity."

Lilly was unable to stop herself from snorting. "We're in high school, Reeves. Nothing we do has integrity."

"Tell that to the star pupils." She groaned, poking the spacebar several times. "Sure, the Rangers showed up the other day and kicked that thing's ass before it could even come close to us, but I still could have written something biting and critical. And what do I do instead? I made it hopeful. All because of... ugh."

Lilly smirked over at her. "You really like him, huh?"

"Oh please. I don't really find it attractive when someone's calling me stupid."

"He wasn't calling you stupid, unless you left something out of that angry retelling you gave me." She leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms over her head. "So what, he called you out on your bullshit. If anything, that means he's a keeper."

"It wasn't bullshit, I was being brave!"

"It was the same thing Bulk and Skull were doing."

"...Fine, it was bullshit."

"And he gave you what for about the Rangers, right? I mean... if it had to come from someone, might as well have been from someone too nice and shy to really hurt people's' feelings."

"He wasn't shy then. To be honest, it was really attractive." She tried to stretch, groaning at how restricting her jean jacket was. "I have a lot of regrets about what happened, alright? Not standing my ground, not looking cooler than Bulk and Skull, upsetting him." She scratched at her head. "But... hell, I dunno. Now I wanna just give up."

Lilly stared at her for a few moments, before saving her article and moving to sit in the seat next to her. "Want me to tell you a story? About me?"

"If it's about how perfect you are and how you never do anything wrong, I don't think I can take it."

"I thought you said that everyone gives up?"

Schuyler scowled as Lilly slung her arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close with an exaggerated sigh. "I really hate you."

"Once upon a time there was a freshman who hated the way the school paper was being run. It was like... five kids basically using it as a free period and the supervising teacher was useless. So she breached the subject of a staff turnover in exchange for kids who actually gave a shit about writing a good newspaper running it and the teacher being able to go wherever he wanted all period long. And it worked."

Schuyler blinked. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the school paper didn't really exist until two years ago. And I was the young, plucky editor in chief who had everyone from freshmen to seniors answering to her because everyone just wanted to produce good writing. And I was really scary and authoritative."

"I'm, I... I wouldn't've thought. Like, at all."

"I know, right? Only a few kids are still here from those days. Most of them quit when Melvin took over mid-last year." She chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I just... I was fickle, you know? As teenagers are. I got bored with it, all the work with no payout – kids just didn't care about the news. And all the while there's this freshman nerd who's even more enthusiastic for news working under me and keeps dropping hints 'when I become editor someday I'm gonna blah blah blah' so I was just like 'fine, dude – you want it, you can have it, I'm out'." She chuckled. "Because I wanted so badly to focus on my kickboxing."

"Kickboxing?!" Schuyler shrieked so loud everyone's' attention turned to them for a moment, before they just went back to what they were doing. "Lilly, are you a goddamn Power Ranger?"

"Pfft, no. If I was, I wouldn't be stuck here; that's for sure." She shrugged. "So yeah – Melvin turned from an innocent little... thing, I dunno, into some tyrannical dictator who made the news all about capitalism, bear attacks, and his own exploits for a few months."

"Wow. I thought he was always kidding about the bear stuff."

"I wish." She slumped in her chair. "Anyway, I couldn't stand what he was doing, so I gave up on being free of the paper and tried to wrestle control back. Obviously it didn't work since I couldn't just go and beat him into submission. But we compromised; he'd bring me back as co-editor and stop making the paper so completely unbearable – or make it unbearable, like-"

"Yeah yeah I get it. Make the paper unbearable as in no more bears. Very nice."

"But in return he got final say on everything and got to kiss me. The end."

Schuyler cringed. "You had to trade that for a job?"

"Oh, it was very brief, just a little peck; I made him brush his teeth twice before. And it made him happy for a while, so," she shrugged again, "whatever, I just – yeah, it's a dumb high school newspaper, but it was my baby and he was smothering it."

"...So is there a moral to this story? Not that I'm not fascinated by your superhero origin story, or whatever this is."

Lilly rolled her eyes, finally relaxing her grip. "I know about regrets, even ones that seem superficial and dumb. And fine, give up on stuff, it's a human thing to do; people who are plucky and enthusiastic all the time are robotic and gonna burn themselves out." Schuyler chuckled. "But pick something, just one thing, to keep going with, or to start over and look at from a new angle. It's gonna seem lame at first, but it's gonna feel pretty good eventually."

Schuyler actually seemed to take a few moments to ponder this, bouncing her leg up and down. "A couple of questions."

Lilly sighed, going back to her original seat. "If you have to."

"Do you resent Melvin?"

"Oh, all the time. Sometimes I fantasize about staging elaborate accidents for so I can take over again. Not killing him though, obviously."

"Do you actually want to try that and can I help?"

"No."

"Do you still kickbox?"

"Hell yeah."

"Could you kick my ass?"

"Of course."

"Would you ever kick my ass?"

"I fantasize about that too."

"Right, why did I ask?" She sighed, rubbbing the back of her neck. "One more – can I borrow some money for a candy bar from the vending machine?"

"Sure." She dug around in her backpack for her simple purple wallet, snatching a dollar bill out and handing it to her. "What for?"

"A peace offering, I guess? Not that I know what kind of chocolate he likes." When Lilly's face lit up, she scoffed. "Hey, shut up; you should spend some time trying to figure out your own love life."

"Don't need to with such quality entertainment playing out around me all the time."

She marched out of the room, missing Billy's arrival by just a few seconds. "Oh thank god," one of the junior writers exclaimed, hurriedly going over to him. "Please, for the love of all that's holy, do a quick interview for me for the science section while Melvin's gone! He never lets it be about anyone but him and dead guys."

"That's um, unfortunate." Billy forced a smile, prying himself free of the other boy's grip. "I can't stay long, though; I was actually looking to have a quick word with Melvin."

"He's getting something from his locker, he should be back soon," said Lilly, giving him a nod as he walked over to sit on the editor's desk and wait.

"Well well well." Melvin leaned in the doorway, propping his elbow up on the frame and actually managing to look not terribly awkward. "If it isn't the prodigal son."

Well, there went that formidable facade. "Hello, Melvin."

He shuffled in, keeping his eyes on Billy while taking a detour behind Lilly's chair. "You let him in?"

"I did."

"Why?"

"He was nice about it."

Melvin snorted, turning to his rival and plastering on a terribly fake smile. "If you're here to get in the science section, don't bother, I've written a stunning tribute to-"

"No, it's not that." He shrugged a shoulder. "I just wanted to speak to you about the science fair."

The color drained from Melvin's face as he fell into his chair, confirming Billy's suspicions that he had been so occupied with the discovery of Rita's staff (and wallowing in hatred and self-pity, probably) to work on his project. "Of course." He rapped his knuckles on the desk. "If you're here to boast, kindly see yourself out."

"Actually, I won't be participating this year."

Billy thought Melvin couldn't be any more surprised, but the smack of his pencil bag falling to the floor portrayed otherwise. "You can't be serious. We've gone up against each other every year since the sixth grade."

"I am. Other obligations have cropped up, as they do. I simply haven't had the time to dedicate to building my matter embogulator. After a thorough examination of my blueprints, it seems to works better in theory than in practical application, anyway."

Melvin sputtered, staring at him like a deer caught in headlights. "I don't even know what that word means," he whispered, his voice having apparently left him in his shock.

"Allow me to teach you sometime." Billy gave him a genuine smile. "How about you? How is your invention coming along?"

"Well, I uh... it's-"

"It's sure to win." Billy took a moment to collect himself, swallow his pride, and focus his ability to act. "We both know we're the smartest people in the school, the other entrants don't stand a chance against even the most basic of your ideas." I'm so sorry everyone, he mentally added.

As he suspected, however, Melvin started to act more like himself, straightening and puffing out his chest. "That's right."

"But you must not have time. With the newspaper and your... um, other activities."

"Don't project your problems onto me."

Billy blinked, close to dropping the act, but he forced himself to keep going. "My apologies. I'm just inferring; your work here on the Temporibus is so important, to devote anything less than all of your free time to it would be slacking."

Lilly snickered behind them, but thankfully Melvin was too absorbed in this, er, 'conversation' to notice. "I agree."

"So if you want to win but don't have any time to spare... hm. There's no real competition," Again, I am so sorry, "why not just cheat?"

Melvin put his hand to his chest, scandalized. "William Cranston. You tarnish the name of science!"

"Can you afford to spend whatever little time you have trying to make an invention? I doubt you'll win." Billy crossed his arms over his chest, trying to hide how exasperated this was making him. "One of the years I won, I passed off my mother's mini-vac as a replica of my own design; I was equally busy at the time, and it worked."

Melvin continued to play up the disgusted act, scoffing several times, but the look in his eyes betrayed him. He was indeed considering it. "How lucky for you."

"How lucky indeed." Now was another tricky part – how to subtly breach the subject of the staff. "You know, I cannot tell you how many times I wished I could get my hands on the alien technology that the Power Rangers come into contact with. Methods of hypnotism, weapons... staves that can make things grow." He cleared his throat. "Imagine how an invention based off that would wow the masses."

It was a miracle that Melvin was so predictable and easy to coerce; Billy could see the gears turning in his head, and he thanked his lucky stars all this painful bullshitting wasn't for nothing. "Yeah. Imagine."

"Well then, I really must get back to class. Thank you for the conversation, Melvin, and really, I'll show you my blueprints at your convenience." He left Melvin to stew in his plans, letting out a sigh of relief once he was out of the room.

Lilly stared at the door, chewing on her lip, then back at Melvin. "How're you doing? That must've been-"

"Don't bother me, I'm busy." He picked his notebook and a pen off the floor and began to vigorously take notes. She watched him, her internal 'this stuff is too weird' meter on the fritz.

"Dammit, Reeves, where are you when I actually need to discuss stupid conspiracy theories with you?"

Schuyler had been in the bathroom the whole time. After buying a Hershey bar from the vending machine in the cafeteria, she took a detour to the girls' room to splash water in her face and pep talk her reflection. It wasn't the worst way she'd ever wasted time.

"So you like a guy and it might be more than just teenage lust – so what?" She slapped her cheek, shaking her head out. "Sure, he and his friends can be really annoying, but you know, everyone has flaws." She slapped her other cheek. "And if you don't try, well... well there's always the next two years, actually. Maybe I'll just eat this mys- no." She threw some more water on her face, yelping at how cold it was. "All you have to do is just be his friend. That's it. It's all good." She adjusted her jacket in the mirror, pulling out the hair that was stuck in her collar. She just kept staring at herself for a good few minutes, even flexing to moderate success.

The bell signifying the end of sixth period rang, and she burst from the bathroom, bracing herself by the door as the stampede began while trying to remember where Adam's locker was. She didn't have to, as she saw him coming out of a classroom close by, by himself once again. She didn't spare herself a moment to note how lucky this was lest she jinxed it. She waited until he passed by her before sidling up to his side. "Hey Adam, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh, sure." They went over to the wall by the stairs, thankfully devoid of people. Grinning, she pulled the chocolate bar from her pocket and held it out to him.

"For you."

He looked taken aback. "Really?" He gave her a smile, if a confused one. "Why?"

"Consider it a an olive branch - you know, just one that tastes better. I was an ass the other day when you were just trying to make sure I didn't become monster bait. What you really deserve is a medal for getting Bulk and Skull to listen, but at least you can eat this." Her own smile faltered as he had yet to take it from her. "Please just accept it before I take it for myself."

He chuckled, taking the candy gratefully. "Thanks, Schuyler. Really." He took a moment to put it in his backpack. "You know, I admire what you do. Putting yourself out there to document those fights. I mean, it's not wise or safe, but it's brave, and it makes for some really good reading."

Now it was her turn to be pleasantly surprised. "You read my articles?"

"Yeah! You're a really good writer. And you know, aside from all the times you doubt them, you really make the Rangers out to be real heroes."

Well that wasn't quite the most glittering praise she could have received – if anything it made her a bad writer, painting them in an entirely different light than she intended – but it was coming from Adam, so naturally it meant the world to her. And even more naturally, she couldn't say a damn word in reply.

"Listen, I have to get to geometry, but I'll see you around." He smiled at her one more time before turning to leave as she struggled for something to say.

"I uh, hey!" She caught up with him again, not even sure of what she was trying to do. "I am... going to write another article. About um, kids in our school who kick a lot of butt. And you, you sir, would be a prime candidate."

He flushed, looking down at his books. "Oh uh, no, not me. You should ask Rocky, or Tommy. They'd really like to be in the paper."

"Oh. Okay." He gave her a wave as he walked up the stairs. "Bye." She rammed her head into the nearest locker, groaning. It could have all been some sneaky, elaborate set up for a date he wouldn't even know he was on, but no, he had to be overwhelmed by the notion of attention and she had to just let him go. She couldn't even afford another candy bar to console herself with.

"It's just freaky." Some girl said to her friend as she shooed Schuyler away so she could open her locker. "How of all places it could have gone, that monster came here."

"Maybe it smelled the cafeteria food?" Her friend offered, which she scoffed at.

"Even a monster wouldn't eat that." She sighed, shutting the locker closed. "At least the Rangers showed up super fast before it got in."

Schuyler couldn't help but think about their conversation even after the girls left. Yeah; it was kind of weird that the monster chose to come to the high school, when surely an elementary school would be easier to terrorize, or downtown had more property to destroy. Angel Grove High comparatively didn't have all that much to offer when it was just looking to kill the Power- wait.

"Lilly!" She screamed, racing through the halls. Surprisingly, she found the blond waiting by her locker with all her stuff. "Lilly, holy shit, I just had a revelation."

"Yeah, well, me too." She looked far less enthused. "You first."

"Dude, I think the Power Rangers go to our school. Whether they're students or staff or whatever, that's why that monster came here last week. It wasn't looking for victims to abduct, it was looking for them."

That brought Lilly's spirits up a bit. "You're sure?"

"I don't know, but it makes sense, right?"

"I guess. Probably good, because we need them to solve a problem going on with some other students."

Schuyler furrowed her brow as she finally took her things. "What do you mean?"

"I blame you for making me so paranoid about this, first of all, but..." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I think Billy and his 'star pupil' friends are planning something. Something not good."

"What in the- are you feeling alright?"

"Oh stop it and listen to me. Billy came in while you were gone and was being all weird with Melvin about the science fair. He even brought up that staff Melvin keeps claiming he has. I think he's trying to get him to bring it to school or something so they can do something with it. Not that it actually exists, mind you, but... ugh, I just have a bad feeling, alright?"

"Why all of them and not just Billy?"

"Well, I dunno, you might be right about them – the fact that they're so good all the time seems suspicious now."

"Adam did seem extra dodgy today." Or maybe that was just her wounded ego making things up, as that was just who he was. A part of her was worried about how all-too-quickly she was jumping onto the bandwagon, but damn if she wasn't bored. "Wow. We've got a whole goldmine of investigative reporting in front of us, and I'm actually excited. Lilly?"

"What?"

"Does this mean you're Daphne and I'm Velma?" Lilly immediately turned around and walked away. "Hey!"

"I'll just call your house later, alright? You're making this even weirder than it already is."

Schuyler stood there, wondering how she was supposed to sit through her last class. A conspiracy theory she could actually get behind for once was thrill enough, but... maybe Bulk and Skull had the right idea, despite their ridiculousness. Maybe de-masking the Power Rangers was a worthy avenue to pursue.