What happened?" Billy asked. He pointed to her. Trini looked down and frowned noticing that where Khoa had grabbed her the night before had turned an ugly brown color. She should've noticed that morning, but the pain from her shoulder had been more prevalent. "That looks like you've had a nasty fall."

"Oh," Trini said, as if just noticing it for the first time. She smiled up at Billy. "I must have."

Trini frowned as she thought about how easily she had lied to Billy. The words came from her lips quicker than she thought they could. Bubbled out with the ease of water flowing down a drain. Her emotions went with it after that. She could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage with shame.

She didn't lie.

Never lied.

Not unless she had to.

She lied to her parents about being a ranger. Lied to those she had grown closer to over the years about her activities that had her running away at a moment's notice. She had to. No one would be safe had she had gone and said, "I'm the Yellow Power Ranger." Honestly, she wasn't sure if anyone would've believed her anyway. None of them were sure. Zack had made an offhand comment about it in the Youth Center once and it caused a massive conversation about who the rangers really were and what they were doing for the city.

Funny how all those teens—their classmates—and Ernie had their own opinions but couldn't see the smirks the rangers shared. Funny how none of them knew the rangers were sitting right with them, inconspicuously drinking their smoothies and chiming in every now and then who was the better ranger. Of course, they used it to feed their own egos. But Jason had never been like that. He'd never said the red ranger was the best one.

"I think none of the rangers would be able to protect the city as well as they do without working as a team," was all he said…before receiving a round of thumbs down from his friends, Zack going as far as to blow a raspberry as well. Then Jason would laugh along with them, but every time the conversation would come up he'd say the same thing. Zack and Tommy tried to goad him into admitting he thought he was better than them, but Jason would never take the bait.

He was that way in public, but in private Trini had heard him joke every now and then that without the rest of the team, he would've been just fine. She'd point out that Goldar had managed to thrash him time and time again as if he had forgotten. He'd just roll his eyes, but Trini knew he wouldn't forget. He'd never forget about his rival.

Trini started to smile a little. Was that pathetic? That just the thought of her upcoming date made her smile like a loon? She hadn't smiled that much in a while, now that she thought about it. Since Khoa had showed up she didn't feel like smiling so much. Just the thought of him set off her nerves. She used to be so calm and collected with almost nothing setting her off—except, maybe heights—and now she was nearly leaping out of her skin.

He did hit you, the little voice in the back of his head pointed out. And shoved you to the ground. And lied to your dad's face.

Anger flashed through Trini at that exact moment. Anger she couldn't quite hide. She clenched her hands into fists, holding them beneath her desk so no one else would see. No one had ever seen her angry either, now that she thought about it. Angry towards monsters maybe, but not in her personal life. She could get over things with calm, rational thought and conversation. That didn't mean she wasn't tough and could speak her mind, oh no.

People made that mistake time and time again.

So what was it about Khoa that was keeping her from being able to do the same thing? What was it about her parents that was keeping her from speaking her mind when she'd done it so many times before? She'd had to convince them that she wasn't becoming too lose or crazy with being Americanized. They'd gotten used to that, took it with grace, but now it was like speaking her own mind didn't exist anymore…

Trini sat up when she heard silence suddenly change around her. She glanced towards Ms. Appleby, who had taken a break in the reading she was doing from the book that was nestled in her arms. Then Trini glanced around the room to see what everyone else was doing. Bulk and Skull were snoring loudly, loud enough that Ms. Appleby surely noticed it. Over the years she had grown well versed in tuning them out.

Too bad we can't do the same, Trini thought with a small smile. It was a daily thing, really, of Bulk's and Skull's picking on them. She didn't think they were that bad, honestly. A little lonely, maybe, but not that bad. Jason and Kimberly were listening attentively to Ms. Appleby, though Trini could see Kim texting under her desk every few minutes. Or maybe she was shopping, she had that peculiar 'I'm going to buy this and this and this' look on her face she always got when she was shopping.

Tommy was busy looking through his backpack, probably trying to find his notebook or some other school supply he forgot. He'd been late to class again, too. Zack tapped his feet up and down to an invisible beat playing in his head, Billy was simultaneously taking notes of everything Ms. Appleby was saying but was also working on equations for something else—of which Trini couldn't quite place—and Avalon sat slouched in her seat, listening but her gaze focused on the pen she tapped up and down with flicks of her fingers.

They were great students but every now and then school wasn't so important to them.

"So what can you say about this poem?" Ms. Appleby asked, lifting her chin so that her gaze roved over the class. "Apart from the obvious sentiments that are being said." Silence stretched out around the room for a few seconds. Then Ms. Appleby lifted her eyebrows, a silent a warning that someone needed to say something and fast.

Multiple hands went up.

Guesses were guessed.

Still, it didn't seem like anyone was close to the answer. Poetry was always difficult, Trini found. There were so many interpretations of what was being said. She wasn't even sure if liked poetry herself. She read the written word of her ancestors as well as what was assigned to her for school but had never been able to personally connect with it. Romance poems were nice to read, they gave her a warm feeling every now and then. She remembered her and Kimberly pouring over them and wondering what it'd like to have a real boyfriend when they were younger.

But now…? It seemed nothing more than a fairytale.

Ms. Appleby's gaze swept Trini's way and she tried to look like she was paying attention. Even flashed a small smile to help her case, dimples appearing in her cheeks. Ms. Appleby nodded back then lifted the book, snapping it shut with a slap of her hand. "I understand poetry is hard to decipher, how about I recite one of her quotes instead? The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." She paused for a second. "Maya Angelou is one of the greatest poets of all time; the way she intricately uses imagery to give intense emotion to some of the most basic human thoughts and feelings makes her a poet many can relate to."

Trini nodded, running the quote in her head over and over. It struck her for some reason, made her feel a little sad, or maybe nostalgic? She wasn't quite sure.

She should've paid closer to attention, however. Had she known what was coming for her, she might've paid more attention.

Khoa sat quietly in the driver's seat of his car, the sound of his engine echoing across the parking lot of Angel Grove High school. He glanced at the photo in his hand then back at the front of the school.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Yes, he was sure now. It was the right school.

A smile came to his lips, an evil glint to his eye. Anyone that passed his car would've thought he was merely a student who was skipping class. Nothing to question. Maybe he was waiting for classes to change so that his sneaking back in wouldn't be unnoticed. No matter what the reason was, it would be questioned later once everything hit the fan.

Once it was too late.

A/N: I don't think you understand how much I'm enjoying this story, lol. I'll have it updated again soon.

~Av