Author's notes – Just a quick note to explain some of the dialogue in this chapter. I have kept most of the show's continuity, in my stories. But my series is MMPR-grounded, so while the same things happened, they just happened in a slightly-different order. So in this chapter, Scott references a recent adventure the team had with the Wild Force cast and villains.

Onwards with chapter three. Enjoy!

Part Three

Chapter One

9 months ago

With September came the bright colours of spring. Afternoon showers made everything feel green and alive. The jacaranda trees that lined the coast's streets bloomed purple with flowers, while travelling around on foot or bike became a matter of life and death thanks to the annual menace of swooping magpies, fiercely defending their nests. After the holidays ended, we all headed back to school for the final term, everyone soon settling into a well-practiced routine. None of us enjoyed much free-time over the holidays to work on any assignments. By the second week back, we were all a little behind. So one lunchtime on Tuesday afternoon, Scott found himself in the courtyard outside our homeroom helping Teresa and I get the hang of the botany theory we'd been wrestling with all week.

"…and that's the basic gist of photosynthesis," Scott explained, tapping the textbook on the bench before us. "Light equals life."

Teresa nodded, scribbling down notes in her workbook. "I'm so glad we're in these classes together," she said.

"Billy could do a better job explaining this than me," Scott replied.

"Maybe, but we'd need Trini and probably Alpha to translate," I joked.

Scott laughed, but looked past us to the end of the courtyard. "Oh hey," he said. "Cool kids proximity alert."

Three students were making their way towards one of the tables, two boys and a girl. Their faces were blank but for sly grins at some inside joke, their hair in edgy styles that flirted with the school rules but didn't break any. Their uniforms were tousled and unbuttoned to show how much effort they'd put into looking effortlessly cool. Students stepped out of the way to let them pass, and the table immediately vacated to let the trio sit down. I recognised the dark-haired boy in the middle as Drew Banks, but I couldn't place the other two.

"Who are Drew's friends?" I asked.

"The blonde girl's Emma, she's Drew's best friend," Teresa explained. "They're in our phys ed class. I think the other guy is Artie? Anyway," and Teresa glanced to her communicator, "we need to go. We said we'd meet Sarah on the oval."

"Oh yeah," I said, and we slid our books into our backpacks. "You want to come?" I asked Scott.

"I would," Scott began, "but I really want to finish these prac write-ups. Raincheck? Say hi to Sarah for me."

"We'll see you this afternoon," I said, and Teresa and I left the courtyard. Scott had only been working for another few minutes when a shadow fell over him.

"Scott, right? How you going?"

Scott looked up to see Drew standing over him. The Blue Ranger smiled in confused delight as Drew sat down, joined a second later by Emma. Artie stayed standing, a few feet away. Scott couldn't help but notice the entire courtyard was watching the table with a kind of giddy anticipation.

"Um, hi?" Scott replied. "Why are you talking to me?"

Drew laughed lightly. "We're in maths and science together, I thought we should hang out," he said. "I have so much trouble in that class though. It's just so boring."

"I know, it's like so boring, isn't it?" asked Emma, with the exact same voice as Drew. It was unnerving.

Scott chuckled, then looked back to Drew. "My, uh, my other friends are all better in English and history than me," he began. "But I've always liked maths and science, you know? Numbers make sense to me."

"You're lucky," Drew replied. "I couldn't even get through the homework."

"You didn't do the readings or the write-ups?" Scott asked.

"Tried to," Drew said. "The holidays were crazy busy. What did you get up to?"

"Nothing special," Scott replied. Just a trip to a mythical floating island involving a lost princess, a hundred sentient animal zords, and a god-killing org master, he added silently. "It was pretty uneventful. But look, I've got time tomorrow afternoon, I can help you. My friends say I'm a good tutor."

Drew's face lit up. Behind him, Artie looked away. "That would be so helpful," Drew said. "Listen, my older brother is throwing a party on Friday night at my place for his college mates. You want to come and hang out with us for a bit? It's gonna be cool."

"Yeah, Friday night, it's gonna be so cool," Emma added helpfully.

"I got that," Scott said. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that everyone in the courtyard was still looking on intently. "Sign me up. It sounds like fun."

"Sweet," Drew said, and stood up. Emma followed him. "Come by my homeroom tomorrow after school," he continued. "G block, over by the library. You're a life-saver Scotty." Without another word, the trio walked away.

"What was that about?" Scott asked, then shook his head and returned to his books.

When the final bell rang the next afternoon, Scott grabbed his science textbooks and joined the crowd of students heading outside. Saying goodbye to the rest of us, he made his way around to G block. He'd asked around this morning, and learned that the Banks family owned a huge house overlooking one of the canals south of the city. Few students ever received invites to Drew's place. To be honest, he was looking forward to hanging out with some friends without the threat of a monster apocalypse on the horizon.

Artie was outside the classroom as Scott approached.

"Hey Artie," Scott smiled. "Is Drew around?"

"Inside," Artie replied. "C'mon," and Scott followed the other boy into the room. Scott immediately spotted Drew sitting against the far wall, a semi-circle of younger students surrounding him and hanging on his every word. For his part, Drew seemed completely comfortable being the centre of attention. But as Scott looked around, he noticed somebody was missing.

"Where's Emma?" he asked quietly.

Artie leaned in close. "They had a thing this morning," he replied. "Drew hates her now. It happens."

Scott's face fell. "He changes his mind in a hurry," he said. "My friends and I don't operate like that. Is he gonna get sick of us too?"

"I've known him for years," Artie said. "I'm used to him. And as for you?" Artie looked away. "He's failing science pretty bad."

Scott realised what Artie was trying to tell him. "So he needs me."

"Hey Drew!" Artie called. Seeing Scott, Drew jumped to his feet and crossed the room towards him, his entourage a step behind.

"Scott! Good to see you," Drew said, then reached for the books piled high on a nearby desk. "I'm so glad you're here! Okay, so, here's the book I need to write a report about, and the prac write-ups are at the back of my workbook here." He shoved the pile of books into Scott's chest so forcefully that Scott stumbled back a step.

"Wait," Scott began, struggling to hold all the textbooks, "you want me to do it for you?"

"Could you? That'd be awesome," Drew replied. "You're so much better at this than me. And it'll give me time to plan for Friday night. You still coming?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," Scott stuttered. "But…"

"Great! It's settled then," Drew nodded. He looked around as if expecting an affirmation from somebody. When none came, he shrugged. "Good work Scott. See you tomorrow!" Without waiting for Scott to reply, he headed for the door. Artie rolled his eyes and followed after him, leaving Scott alone in the empty classroom.

To be continued.