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"Hey, are those the earrings you bought Saturday?" Kimberly asked brightly as she met Trini at school on Tuesday. "They look way cool!"
"Thank you," the slim Asian girl smiled, pleased. She briefly touched the small golden tiger head clipped to her left earlobe. "And I see you were right; that scarf does go perfectly with your shirt."
"It's also the exact shade of that nail polish I told you about," Kim chattered. "Pity I can't wear it at school. Yet," she glowered, remembering what had sent her into detention. But she brightened up again almost immediately; if she hadn't, she most likely would never have met Trini, who was so much fun to be with. Both girls had discovered that they liked to shop, but as they were quite different types, the rivalry about clothes and accessories Kim usually found herself in with her fellow cheerleaders was absent ... and in contrast to them, Trini was someone she could be serious with if they both felt like it. Plus, she had taken an interest in Kim's hobbies, too, instead of being completely self-centered. Like half the squad! The thought seemed almost treacherous to Kimberly, who had worked hard to make cheerleader, but to her surprise it was true nonetheless. Vaguely uncomfortable about having her previous conceptions questioned, she took refuge behind her mallrat persona.
"Can we do it again soon?" To emphasize her apparent eagerness, she bounced on her feet.
"What, go to the mall? Kim, I like being there as much as anyone, but my allowance just won't last if I buy too much ..."
The petite brunette airily waved the objection aside. "Who said anything about buying? We can just browse for stuff, try out the makeup counters, get free perfume samples ... you know."
Trini considered that for a moment. She'd never gone to the mall just to hang out before, thinking it rather shallow and pretty pointless—what was the sense in wandering through shops for hours if one didn't have money to spend?—but Saturday had been fun, Kim was good to be around, and they'd discovered that for all their differences, they shared a lot of the same values. So why was she hesitating?
"I'd like that," Trini finally said, her smile as radiant as Kimberly's expression. Before the girls could make more plans, though, Trini was called away by Brenda, who had a problem with scheduling the volleyball players.
"Go on, I'll wait for you," Kim shooed her new friend off. With a grateful look, Trini moved down the hallway to confer with Brenda. Left to herself, Kimberly opened her locker and readied her books for the next class. Just as she picked up a brush to run through her already glossy hair, she suddenly found herself nearly pinned to the wall by two long arms.
"Look who we have here," a wheedling voice stage-whispered in her ear. "My favorite cheerleader!"
Barely suppressing a disgusted groan, Kimberly turned around with some effort.
"Brad," she sighed. "What do you want now?" The boy had been pestering her for a date almost from her first day in Junior High, and just wouldn't take no for an answer. Oh well, she'd just keep on sending him away until he got the message.
The tall, goodlooking 8th-grader smiled down on her, trying for a lost-puppy expression. It didn't work too well, and Kim had to hide a tiny grin. If Brad only knew how silly he looked! "How about you and me hitting the movies tomorrow night?" he wheedled. Kimberly rolled her eyes. She'd turned him down at least half a dozen times already.
"Brad, first of all it's a school night; I'm not allowed to go out then. And I've told you my mom won't let me date yet ..." And I certainly wouldn't want to date YOU in the first place! she thought privately. It seemed as if it would take yet another steady stream of 'NO!s' to get rid of Brad. Again.
"Then I'll just have to come by your house and convince your mom to let you date me," the blond started, but found himself unexpectedly interrupted by a deep voice.
"What's going on here?"
Brad looked over his shoulder, irritated at the interruption, and met the dark eyes of a younger boy. Usually he'd have shrugged off the intrusion, but the cold expression on the tanned face was such that he took a second look. The other was shorter than he, but his shoulders were already broad, the arms muscular, and the whole stocky frame radiated a strength to be reckoned with.
"That guy harassing you, Kim?" Jason asked curtly, taking a step closer. He only saw a bigger boy looming over the tiny girl, and all his protective instincts rushed to the fore. Without thinking, he intervened, not caring a whit about possible danger or consequences. Someone he considered a friend was in trouble; he had to do something! He balled his fists.
"Hi, Jase. No, he ..." But Kim didn't get a chance to explain. With mounting astonishment, she watched as her classmate challenged the older student.
"Listen, you jerk, Kim's my friend, and if you don't stop hassling her, you'll be sorry," Jason hissed, his eyes sparking a warning, his whole stance just one step short of threatening. "Leave her alone NOW!"
Brad wasn't quite foolish, or brave, enough to get into a fight at school. No girl, no matter how pretty, was worth getting detention for. And besides, this guy might be younger than him, but he looked as if he meant business ... and knew how to go about it.
"Okay, okay, I'm going," he muttered. "Keep your pants on, man!" The fourteen-year-old backed off, releasing a rather bemused Kimberly.
Jason scowled at the retreating boy until he'd disappeared around a corner, then turned towards Kim with a smile, all traces of menace gone from his bearing as if a switch had been thrown. "That'll teach him," he cheerfully announced. "If that creep gives you any more trouble, Kim, just tell me, and I'll take care of him for you. Okay?"
"Sure," Kim mumbled, nonplussed, then watched Jason saunter off to his next class, clearly very pleased with himself. She shook her head in wonder. How different he'd been from the friendly, easygoing boy she'd gotten to know over the past few weeks! And while it gave her a small, pleasant thrill that Jason would be ready to fight for her, she was also mildly annoyed at his interference. What, did he believe her to be so weak or stupid that she couldn't take care of herself? If he did, Jason Scott had another think coming for sure! Her train of thought was interrupted by Trini, who had watched the whole scene from afar.
"What was that all about?" Trini wondered as she rejoined Kimberly. "Jason looked as if he was going to deck that guy!"
Deciding it wasn't worth obsessing about, Kim shrugged. "Oh, nothing, really. I guess Jason just had an attack of big brother-hood. He seemed to think I couldn't handle Brad by myself. As if!"
Trini grinned. "Was he getting all protective on you? He did the same with me yesterday, when someone from the baseball team nearly ran me over in the parking lot. He actually made the guy apologize to me!"
Kim groaned comically. "I tell you, if he starts checking out my dates—if I ever get to have one, that is—he's gonna get in BIG trouble! Having one older brother at home is WAY more than enough; I don't need another one at school!" Trini had to smile. She might have no brothers herself, but her cousin Michael was just the same whenever he visited. A delicate eyebrow arched.
"I suppose he means well ..."
"Yeah. Maybe. Okay. But the day I can't get rid of a pest like Brad alone hasn't come yet. I don't need Jason to do that for me, and if he tries it again, I'll ... I'll deck him!"
"Can I help?" Trini blurted. She'd felt much the same about the boy's attempt to be helpful the day before.
The girls shared a look of perfect understanding, then had to giggle at the mental image of petite Kimberly and slender Trini taking on the burly, solidly-built Jason who was every bit as strong as he looked. Still laughing, they skipped off to their next class. Kim looked sideways at Trini, her doe eyes gleaming impishly.
"You think Jason's ticklish, maybe?"
~*~
During the week, Zack, Trini, Kim, Jason and Billy met at lunch whenever they could; it was as if the impending end of their detention period was drawing them together somehow. If at all possible, they went to school together, left school in pairs or as a group and made frequent phonecalls to each others' houses. Just as if they'd been friends for ages already, instead of only having known each other for little over a month. None of them questioned the phenomenon; despite their relatively short acquaintance, they had found congenial spirits in each other, and while they didn't think of it consciously, all of them privately resolved not to let the association end once the weekend was over.
In fact, the five children already were making plans about meeting after school the next week—Zack and Jason to practise karate together, now that Zack had enrolled in Jason's dojo, Kim and Trini to watch a matinee ... Billy and Trini made a study appointment, and the whole group resolved to go look for their Halloween costumes together. After all, the holiday was only ten days away.
Throughout all these preparations, Jason's overprotectiveness was never mentioned by the girls, and soon forgotten. Which was hardly surprising, given the fact that by unspoken agreement they had never talked about the reasons why they'd been sent to detention outside of their Saturday breakfast breaks. It was as if the children didn't want to mar their growing friendship with unpleasant reminders of how wary they'd all been of each other in the beginning. This way, it was easier to pretend that they'd have gravitated towards each other regardless of the ugly suspicions each had held—and now were very eager to forget.
~*~
On Friday, Jason was just leaving the gym when he came upon a scene that made him go cold all over. Right at the door leading to the Chem lab was Billy, being cornered by two boys who literally towered over the slight blond; he was clutching his books to his chest in a veritable death grip, and the greenish eyes looked harried behind the metal-framed glasses. Flinging his gym bag away from him, Jason ran towards the small group.
Two big, strong hands landed on a shoulder each in a firm grip. The two students, both unknown to Jason, found themselves jerked unceremoniously away from Billy.
"Stop that!" Jason shouted, his sudden anger mounting as he thought he saw an expression of relief cross Billy's flushed face. "You leave Billy here alone, or else!"
The fatter of the duo tried to sneer. "Or else what?" But his wavering voice betrayed his fear as he took in the fury in the dark eyes.
Jason shook both boys once, not caring that the lanky dark-haired one winced as his fingers tightened on the bony arm. "Or else you'll have to deal with me," he threatened. NOBODY messed with his friends!
"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do, beat me up?"
Jason's eyes narrowed. "Do you really want to find out?" he rumbled, thrusting his face into the other's. The fat boy gulped, his blue eyes widening warily.
"Er... "
The lanky one was trembling by now, but couldn't get away, his arm still caught in that vise-like grip. He was sure there'd be bruises the next day. But he didn't dare complain; who knew what this guy would do if he did?
Contemptuously, Jason released both his opponents. "I didn't think so. Go away, before I get really mad," he ordered them, watching with satisfaction as the two beat a hasty retreat. He turned towards Billy, who only now was starting to relax. "You okay?"
"Yes, thank you," Billy murmured automatically. Violence of any kind disturbed him deeply, and while the situation had been diffused without anything really happening, the potential for escalation had been there. He knew he hadn't been in any real danger, though; despite his steadfast refusals Eugene and Farkas often attempted to make him let them copy his homework, but they weren't truly going to harm him. They humiliated him sometimes, yes, or ridiculed him, but they weren't quite mean enough to take their harassment beyond a certain point.
However, he'd seen a side of Jason he hadn't been aware of before, and he didn't quite know how to deal with it. While Billy found himself surprised and somewhat grateful that Jason would intercede on his behalf at all, it wasn't exactly nice to be considered so helpless that he needed the assistance. But it was not worth arguing with Jason about, so Billy held his peace, walking away determined never to provoke Jason's wrath if he could avoid it. He had a feeling it would not be pleasant to see the bigger boy lose his generally even temper.
~*~
"Billy, what's wrong?" Trini asked concernedly as the five children were sharing snacks for the last time. Everybody had taken pains to bring something special, in honor of the occasion. "You've hardly said a word except for 'pass the juice'."
The blond grinned shyly at her. "Nothing's wrong per se," he answered quietly. "I was just pondering how different today is from our first break six weeks ago."
"Yeah, we were pretty suspicious of each other, weren't we?" Kimberly concurred. "I mean, I sure was ... when ol' Jenkins was reading out all the reasons why we ended up here ... you guys seemed like really bad news!"
"He made it sound like we were all dee-lin-quents," Zack nodded, pronouncing the big word carefully and getting amused laughter from the others at his accompanying grimace.
"Right. And instead, we found out we weren't so bad, after all," Kim chipped in again. "To be honest, I was kinda scared of you, Zack, when he told us you'd brought a weapon to school."
"Aww. And it was just an itty-bitty table knife," the irrepressible boy snickered.
Billy smiled, feeling more at ease in this circle than he could remember ever being. "I must say I was pleasantly disappointed, though," he murmured. "You have to admit, it did sound very incriminating."
"Oh yes," Trini shuddered. "To think I was practically labelled a junkie when all I'd done was give a classmate a perfectly harmless herbal remedy for cramps ..."
"Factually speaking, though, we did do the things we were charged with," Billy mused. "However, nobody bothered to ask for reasons, and the way the facts were presented to us made us all appear in the worst possible light."
"Uh huh. But Trini wasn't dealing drugs, I wasn't being a thug, you weren't really skipping class, and Kim's not a slut," Zack enumerated. "And Jason wasn't—hey, Jase, YOU haven't told us yet what really happened," he exclaimed, turning to the burly boy who was quietly munching on Mrs. Taylor's brownies. "You weren't really beating up on someone, were you?"
Jason looked up from his carton of vanilla milk, courtesy of Billy. "Of course not!" he exclaimed indignantly. "How can you even think that?"
"I don't—that's why I wanna know what really happened," his new friend said earnestly.
"We all do, Jason," Trini agreed, laying a slender hand briefly on his muscular arm, while Kimberly just nodded, her mouth full of cinnamon waffle, supplied by Mrs. Kwan.
"It is only logical to assume that the reason for you having been sent into Remedial Classes was an equal form of misrepresentation as it was with the rest of us," Billy added. "Especially as you haven't exhibited any overly aggressive or menacing behavior towards any of us." Briefly, the slight boy flashed back to yesterday's encounter with the two fellow students who had been bothering him, but despite his show of temper, Jason hadn't actually been violent, and his intentions had been impeccable—motivated only by the desire to assist someone he perceived as weaker and in need of help. With an inward shrug, Billy dismissed the memory.
Having swallowed her food, Kim cast Billy a somewhat dubious look, not sure she'd understood him right. Taking a chance, she then looked fully at Jason.
"Come on, Jase," she cajoled. "We've all shared our stories except you. Tell us why Jenkins called you a bully? Please?"
"Here's your chance to set the record straight, man," Zack entreated. "Give!"
"Fair's fair," Trini murmured.
Taking a deep breath to control the indignation he still felt at the memory of the incident, Jason nodded. The others were right, he owed them to be as open as they had been about their transgressions. That didn't mean he had to like it, but ... it probably hadn't been all that easy for them, either, he saw with sudden insight, remembering Kimberly's tear-filled eyes or Trini's obvious embarrassment.
"Okay," he sighed. "If you guys insist ..."
"We do," Zack said rather pompously, making everybody laugh. Sporting a rueful grin, Jason sat back and launched into his tale.
~*~
"It all started when some idiot from 8th grade was harassing that Stuart kid after school—you've seen him, maybe? Even smaller than Billy here, dark hair, really dorky glasses that are held together by duct tape?"
"I know him," Billy murmured as the others nodded more or less confidently. Stuart was the type who always seemed to blend into the woodworks—partly by nature, and partly by choice, so it was no wonder hardly anybody could recall what he looked like. "His IQ is almost on a par with mine." Which was nice for Billy, appreciated by the teachers, but not really a recommendation, as far as most other students were concerned.
Jason smiled fleetingly. "I might've known." He sent a teasing wink towards Billy, who just shrugged sheepishly. He knew Jason wasn't putting him down with that remark; it was just one of those things most kids did, as Billy was coming to learn. It was actually a rather pleasant experience. A more ... 'normal' type of reaction, the child genius reflected. And 'normal' can be ... nice.
"Anyway, Stu was kind of cowering in that corner near the Chem lab, that bigger guy was poking him with his foot—hard, too!—and saying nasty things to him. You know, calling him names—nerd, four-eyes, geek, loser, that kind of thing. AND he was hassling him to hand over some homework Stuart was supposed to have done for him, or else." Jason paused to take a sip of his milk. "I gotta hand it to the kid, he held on to his notebook rather well, but he looked so totally scared and helpless, I just couldn't stand by and do nothing."
That declaration was met with nods from the other four and softly murmured consent; none of them liked it when weaker people were being bullied by older or stronger students, and knowing Jason as they did, it simply wasn't in his nature not to interfere in a situation like this.
"So you told the older kid off?" Kim asked, picturing a scene much as had happened when Jason sent Brad the Jerk packing with only a few words and plenty of attitude.
"Uh, not exactly," Jason admitted, blushing a little. "I, uh, I sort of yanked him off Stuart."
"I saw that," Trini suddenly remembered. Her almond eyes widened. "You pulled him away so hard that he careened into the opposite wall and gashed his head!"
Jason's cheeks were flaming now. "Yeah, well, maybe I should've been a little more careful ... "
"A little? If he hurt himself?!?" Zack exclaimed.
"It was just a scrape, nothing serious," Jason muttered, feeling ashamed at his loss of control. He should have known better ... his sensei had told him often enough that he ought to learn better how to control his natural strength. But that was so hard, especially when an injustice of any kind really got him going!
"Maybe. But you were also yelling at him," Billy supplied softly. "Your choice of words was perhaps not quite as derogatory as what Stuart had had to listen to from that older boy, but it was ... rather colorful and hardly complimentary," he added. "Then you proceeded to scold Stuart for his lack of courage and unwillingness to stand up to anyone who'd try and take advantage of him. If I remember correctly, you were quite harsh towards him, too."
"Fat lot of good that did," Jason muttered rebelliously, feeling once again a sense of outrage at the unfairness displayed by one, and the weakness shown by the other. WHY did some people need to try to prove their 'superiority' only over those who couldn't fight back? And why didn't they at least try and resist? His twelve-year-old mind just couldn't grasp the fact that not everybody was blessed with the same robust build, self-confidence and sense of self-worth as he was. That was why Jason took it upon himself to defend those who needed a champion—or when he thought they did.
Suddenly, the things Billy had said clicked in his mind. He looked at the smaller boy with narrowed eyes. "How do you know all that, anyway?"
It was Billy's turn to blush. He wasn't proud of what he had to confess now, but ... hopefully, the others wouldn't hold it against him too much. "I was behind the door inside the Chem lab, waiting for him to go away so I could leave myself without incurring the same treatment." The blond snuck a peek at Zack and the girls. To his relief, Kim smiled understandingly, Trini patted his hand and Zack pursed his lips consideringly before nodding. Encouraged, he went on. "Thus I witnessed the whole scene, at least aurally."
"Huh?" Zack whispered to Trini, not quite able to follow Billy's extended vocabulary. The slender Asian girl whispered back.
"He could hear them but didn't see anything."
"Oh. Okay." Zack retuned his attention to the others.
"Then why didn't you come forward and tell that to the Principal when she accused me of fighting?" Jason wanted to know. "Just because that big jerk was whining like a baby that I'd hurt him ... he should've thought of that before he started hassling Stu!"
"Why didn't Stuart tell what happened?" Zack suddenly said. "I mean, you were acting for him, kinda."
"I dunno," Jason shrugged, trying not to let his hurt and indignation at that apparent defection show.
"Maybe he was scared," Trini suggested after a moment's thought. "I think if he lets himself bullied by bigger kids like that, it only follows that he'd be afraid of Principal Munro, too, doesn't it?"
"Oh yeah," Kimberly shuddered delicately. "That old battleaxe even scares my Dad!"
There were some half-guilty titters at her remark from everybody; Mrs. Munro was a tall, homely, raw-boned woman who habitually dressed all in black and spoke in a loud, staccato voice, giving a very credible impression of a permanently displeased drill sergeant.
"Okay, I can accept that," Jason grudgingly admitted. "She is kinda scary. But, she only punished me for fighting! At the very least, that other guy should've gotten detention, too! He started it, after all!"
"Didn't you tell her how it was?" Kim asked curiously. "I mean, isn't the Principal supposed to be neutral, or something? Like, she has to listen to everybody's side of the story?"
"I did explain. You think I'm stupid, or something?" Jason glared at the petite brunette, who shrugged. It had been a legitimate question, and Kim knew it. "She still said that I was most to blame," Jason muttered resentfully. Some of the things Mrs. Munro had said to him while writing the note for his parents still smarted—especially as Mr Jenkins repeated them at every opportunity. "Just because that idiot scraped his head—he wasn't even bleeding much—and because I'd been telling both the guys off. Okay, so I shouldn't have yanked him so hard, but he was bullying Stuart first! I was only trying to help; that doesn't make me a bully!"
The boy's dark eyes sought confirmation from his companions, as it had been given to each one before him, but to his great surprise he found only hesitation and very cautious agreement.
"I'm not a bully," he repeated, but it came out much less forcefully than Jason had intended. When no answer was immediately forthcoming, he looked at each of his fellow students. Billy's grey-green eyes were averted as the smaller boy toyed with a drinking straw. Kimberly was biting her lower lip, doe eyes just a little wary, and Zack was staring at him with a strange look. Only Trini met Jason's gaze frankly, but even she couldn't quite summon a smile.
Jason swallowed hard. They couldn't really believe that of him, could they? It was incredible how important his friends' acceptance and support had become—in only six short weeks. If they decided that he was the only one of their little group who truly deserved to be in detention ... it hardly bore thinking about.
"Guys ...?" he ventured hesitantly. "Do you believe I'm a bully?"
PLEASE let them say no! Just one of them at least!
"Kim? Trini?" The low voice pleaded for reassurance, and generously, Trini tried to give what support she could in all honesty. She touched his arm gently, as was her habit.
"Well, I believe you didn't mean to be, anyway."
Before Jason could protest the qualification, Kim chimed in.
"Yeah—and I believe you when you say you only wanted to help Stuart." The 'but' was clearly audible in her voice, though, and Jason felt the blood slowly drain from his face, leaving him pale under his usually healthy tan.
"I did," he rasped. "Honestly! Bullying someone—especially someone weaker than me—is BAD! That's what my parents always told me, and what my sensei has taught me, too!"
"And I for one believe that you mean that," Billy said slowly. His eyes met Jason's. Gathering his courage, he expressed what he'd felt the previous day, when Jason had come to his aid, in a situation much like the one that had landed Jason in remedial classes. "However, your methods need serious reevaluation, I think. If you continue in the manner you've shown towards Stuart and his harasser ... and incidentally also yesterday, when I was in a similar predicament, you appear to be a bully, even if your intent is quite the opposite."
To Jason's horror, both Kim and Zack nodded their agreement at Billy's pronouncement. Blanching nearly white, the boy was torn between righteous indignation and an uncomfortable feeling that his friends maybe—just maybe—were right, he opened his mouth to answer, but was prevented from doing so by the Vice Principal's appearance, who recalled the five children to the very last part of their Saturday morning confinement.
Quickly gathering their lunch débris, the three boys and two girls filed out silently after their teacher, returning to the classroom, where Jason was conspicuously quiet during the rest of the lesson. As soon as they were dismissed with a stern admonition not to show up in detention again anytime soon, he grabbed his bag and ran out, not waiting for anyone.
Subduedly, the other four followed him more slowly, each lost in their own thoughts.
~*~
The swings at the playground in Angel Grove Park were undulating gently as Kim pushed herself half-heartedly against the churned-up sand and stared out towards the lake; she didn't really know why she'd come here this windy afternoon, but staying comfortably at home by herself just hadn't felt right. A hollow feeling was lodged in the pit of her stomach; that had started when Jason had run off after the last detention session this morning, his face still pale and his eyes ... Kim really didn't want to remember the look in his eyes. She was too young to understand the mixture of shame, regret, insecurity, disappointment and fear visible in them, and how badly those emotions fit the boy she'd come to know as confident, strong, friendly and very protective. Sometimes overly so, yes, but that didn't matter now. The girl only had a vague sense of having failed her new friend somehow, and it was that most of all which had brought her to the jungle gym, waiting for she knew not what.
"You couldn't stay home by yourself either, right?" said a voice from behind her. Kimberly let out a startled squeak and nearly fell off the swing as she whirled around and looked into Zack's unusually somber face.
"Zack! Don't do that!" she exclaimed, but couldn't quite summon sufficient indignation to make it sound properly outraged. "You scared me half to death," she added with false drama in an attempt to make light of the situation. Zack only grimaced.
"Sorry."
"Okay."
Both children stared at each other for a moment, then wandered off towards a bench in silent accord. Sitting down next to each other, they sighed moodily while Zack scuffed his sneakers on the ground. Before either could start a conversation about anything, they were hailed from a short distance away.
"Hey, Kim! Zack," Trini's soft voice called out. The two looked up and saw the slender girl come towards them, a pensive-looking Billy in tow.
"Hey, guys," Kim and Zack chorused, and made room on their bench for the others to join them. They did so, and now it was four preteens lined up in a row, looking for all the world like birds on a telephone wire as they huddled into their jackets. The silence among them grew heavier and heavier the longer they sat there, waiting for one of them to make a start. To everybody's surprise, it was shy Billy who spoke up first.
"Am I correct in assuming that all of us feel badly about Jason?" he murmured, not raising his eyes from the ground.
"I know I do," Trini admitted in a near whisper. "What he did to get detention really wasn't any worse than what any of us did ..."
"Yeah. Not once we knew the reasons behind it, anyway," Zack contributed. Kimberly nodded.
"And now he's probably mad at us for not seeing that sooner—like we managed for our stories."
"I'm pretty certain we could have made Jason see if break hadn't been over just then." Trini shook her head regretfully, setting her raven tresses swinging gently. "Or if he'd stayed behind just a little afterwards ..."
"Would you have stayed in his place?" Zack asked no-one in particular. The guilty blushes on everybody's faces were answer enough. "Thought so."
"The question now is, can we make amends in any way, and if so, when?" Billy said, ever practical.
"We can't just ignore the fact that our reaction seems to have hurt Jason. Quite understandably so. And that is making me feel very uncomfortable."
"You're not the only one," Kim murmured. "Or we wouldn't have come here in the first place."
"Yeah," the dark-skinned boy sighed. He drew a deep breath. "So, are we gonna go look for Jason, or do we wait until Monday morning?"
The children pondered this for a couple of minutes. Trini glanced up first, her almond eyes determined.
"Let's go look him up," she suggested. "I can't imagine how Jason must be feeling now, believing that we think he's a bully, and we should really tell him that it's not so right away." She wasn't normally the type to go looking for confrontations of any kind, but this was the right thing to do, she was sure of that much, and Trini didn't want anyone to suffer needlessly if there was something she could do about it.
Kimberly smiled wryly. "Right. Besides, if you guys are as miserable about this as I am, the sooner I can make that feeling go away, the better." It felt decidely good to know at last what was bugging her, and more so that she wasn't alone in this.
"Put like that, it sounds incredibly selfish," the Asian whispered. "But yeah."
The boys seemed equally relieved and ashamed that someone had put their state of mind—which was identical to the girls'—into words. The four slowly got up from their perch, standing in a loose circle as they all waited unconsciously for someone to take the initiative and just go. It occurred not just to one of them that, if Jason had been among them, they'd already be on their way. Realizing that it fell to one of them in Jason's absence, Zack finally squared his shoulders.
"Let's go then."
The grateful looks he received for making that decision bolstered his courage, and he felt some of his customary good humor return.
"I say let's start at his house, and if he's not there, I think I know of a few places where we might look."
The others agreed, and the four youngsters trooped off, towards the Scott residence.
They were in luck; through a gap in the fence they could see Jason in the yard, bouncing a basketball desultorily at a hoop attached to the back of the garage.
"Now remember, we're not going to fight with Jason; we'll deal with this in a mature and sensible manner," Trini reminded all of them one last time before she pressed the door bell. The others nodded solemnly, composing their faces into serious but hopefully friendly expressions as they lined up in front of the door.
Mrs. . Scott was surprised to see them, but didn't ask any questions; she just led them through the house to the back door. Calling her son's attention to his visitors, she then retired into the kitchen, hoping that the children might manage to get Jason out of the doldrums he'd been in ever since he'd come home from school that morning.
~*~
Jason didn't turn around as he heard the back door open and his mother ushered someone—no, several someones—into the yard. He'd heard his classmates' voices on the other side of the fence, and he had absolutely no desire to talk to any of them. Not after the way they had treated him at school this morning. If he was being honest, it was mostly injured pride that made him throw his ball even harder—missing the hoop by a mile, almost—but he was still feeling too hurt by what he perceived was unfounded criticism.
Can't they see I was only trying to help? So I overreacted with Stuart and that other guy. Big deal. That still doesn't mean I'm a bully.
What smarted most was that he hadn't found the same willingness to see his side of the story like the others had gotten; it seemed to the twelve-year-old that everybody thought he'd been in the wrong. First the teachers, now his friends ... no. If the others sided with the Principal, they were no friends of his. Jason swallowed the lump at the back of his throat and fought the temptation to rub at his burning eyes. He was not going to cry like a baby ... even if a part of him wanted to curl up in the darkest corner of his room and just bawl.
Stubbornly, he trudged after the ball which had bounced off the garage wall and rolled onto the lawn. To his chagrin, it came to a stop right at Trini's feet, who bent and picked up the orange-and-black sphere before he could do more than reach for it. She held it out to him with a shy smile.
"Hey, Jason," she murmured in her soft voice. The others echoed the greeting nervously.
The boy grunted something unintelligible, snatched the ball from her hands and turned his back on them again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his mother standing at the window, watching them and shaking her head in silent disapproval. Jason knew she'd read him the riot act but good later if he didn't mind his manners, so he nodded briefly.
"Hey," he muttered ungraciously. "What do you want?"
Somewhat taken aback by his lack of civility, the four children stared at him for a few moments, then Zack took the plunge.
"We wanna talk," he announced without preamble. Jason just scowled.
"What about? You said everything this morning already," he grumped. "Or rather, you didn't. You made it pretty obvious that you think I was the one who belonged in detention. Not like you guys, who were oh-so-innocent." There was an ugly sneer on his features that almost made the youngsters quail, but with a burst of insight fuelled in part by what she refused to call her guilty conscience, Kimberly recognized it for what it was. Attitude, pure and simple, with a hefty dose of bravado.
Well, Jason can just take his 'tude and, like, shove it!
"Stop it!" she exclaimed, grasping at a muscular arm. She gave Jason a shake—or tried to, anyway; she was too petite and he too strong for her grip to have any effect. However, that did not deter the fiery girl. "Jason Scott, you know that we hardly had time to really talk, because break was over and ol' Jenkins was waiting for us. Nobody said that we didn't believe you, so you can just stop being such a butthead and listen," she scolded vehemently. "And if you hadn't run off after school like a scared bunny rabbit, we needn't have come here!" Kim stood toe-to-toe with Jason, glaring up into his face as if daring him to contradict her.
She needn't have worried. Jason was so startled by her outburst that his mouth was slightly agape, and the basketball dropped from his hands again. With an effort, he collected his wits, latching on to what seemed like the ultimate insult.
"I was NOT scared," he protested.
"Yes, you were," Kim said, smugly triumphant at having gotten a rise out of him.
"Was not!"
"Were, too!"
"Not!"
"Were, too!" With every word, Kim advanced one step forward, and without thinking, Jason took the same step backwards, across the well-kept lawn towards a small ornamental pond. Billy and Trini, who were watching the confrontation, exchanged alarmed looks—if Kim wasn't careful, she'd add insult to injury if Jason should stumble into the water. But neither one seemed to pay any attention at all to where they were headed.
It was a strange scenario—tiny Kimberly almost chasing the burly Jason into the water basin with pointed stabs of her small forefinger at his broad chest, and the usually confident boy retreating from her with an expression on his face that was no longer sullen but rather baffled, as if he didn't quite know how he'd landed in such a situation, all the while protesting her accusation of having been scared in a way that would've sounded childish in a kindergartner.
Jason would've dearly loved to fight back somehow, it would have been so very easy, but three things stopped him from doing so—a) Kim was smaller and weaker than him, and he'd never use his strength like that, b) Kim was a friend, and Jason just did not hurt his friends, and c) Kim was a girl. Not that that made any difference in the grand scheme of things; learning karate had taught Jason that gender didn't really matter—sensei Patricia at his dojo being a case in point—but his mom would have his hide if he ever hit a girl. If nothing else, good manners stopped Jason as effectively as anything. So, the only course open to him was to retreat before the petite girl, and try to stop her verbally.
Easier said than done—I wish I could think of something—ANYTHING!—to say to make her take it back!
"Was not!"
"Were too! Too, too, too!"
Jason stumbled, getting perilously close to the pond's edge. Only one more step, and he'd fall in.
It proved too much for Zack. His sense of the ridiculous got the better of him, and he started to snicker. Catching Trini's eyes, he winked merrily at her, and suddenly she began to giggle as the comical aspect became obvious to her, too. "Oh my," she gasped, nudging Billy. The blond looked faintly disturbed and scandalized—they hadn't come here to quarrel with Jason, after all, and he had no idea how Kimberly could act like that towards their comrade when they'd intended to comfort him, but a look into Zack and Trini's faces made him reassess the situation. His lips began to twitch as well.
"A truly mature and reasoned exchange of opinion," he said drily. "I thought Kimberly was the one who insisted on not fighting with Jason."
Trini chuckled. "She's not fighting with him. She's ... having an argument."
"Oh. Does Jason know that?" Billy asked, straight-faced.
Grinning broadly, Zack pretended to mull that over. "Hmm. I wouldn't bet on it. Besides, if that's 'not fighting', I'd hate to see Kim when she does!"
The three glanced at Jason and Kimberly, who were looking decidedly sheepish, and sported nearly identical blushes. Their expressions tipped the scales from wary uncertainty to humor. Trini, Zack and Billy broke into laughter, which proved too infectious for the others. Kim was the first who couldn't keep a giggle from escaping, and when she just grabbed Jason's hand and pulled him unceremoniously over to join the group, making him stumble in the process, he couldn't maintain his hostility anymore, either. He was perhaps slightly less mirthful than his friends, but he did laugh, and that was enough for the moment.
"Oh man, Jase, you should've seen yourself when Kim was chasing you towards the pond," Zack wheezed, sending the others into fresh paroxysms of laughter. "That was too funny!"
Jason mock-glared at the tiny girl. "She was NOT chasing me," he grumbled. "I was just ... er ... getting out of her way."
"It looked like being chased to me," Trini commented innocently. "Didn't it, Billy?"
The blond pretended to consider the question seriously, but the sparkle in the greenish eyes behind his glasses betrayed him. "If it wasn't, Jason gave a very good impression of being chased. And Kimberly's technique seemed quite flawless to me, too."
Kim curtsied grandiosely. "Thank you, sir," she said, her voice positively dripping honey—then spoiled the effect by sticking her tongue out at Jason, who retaliated in kind. Zack, watching the exchange avidly, nodded sagely at the other two.
"Just the way Kim wanted to handle this—mature and sensible. Riiiight."
Which garnered him a raspberry from the gymnast, and general silliness followed for several minutes—which proved to be a perfect way to dispel the last bit of tension among the five youngsters. They only stopped when Mrs. . Scott called them inside, to a most welcome snack of hot chocolate and peanut butter cookies. She smiled to herself as she served the children seated around her kitchen table, glad that the sullen look had vanished from her son's eyes, and that he was talking and laughing again. Jason hadn't said a word why he'd come home from school angry and upset, and the blonde woman hadn't wanted to pry just yet. Now it seemed she wouldn't have to; whatever had gone wrong seemed to have resolved itself quite nicely now that Jason's new friends were here. Shaking her head, wondering if she would ever fully understand the workings of her preteen son's mind, Liz Scott tactfully retired to the living room, leaving the children free to chat about whatever they wanted to.
~*~
"Will you let us explain about this morning, Jason?"
He looked across the table at Trini, his dark eyes growing momentarily distant again, but then he sighed resignedly. "Yeah, I guess."
She smiled her thanks. Silence settled over the table as each child collected their thoughts, making the shift from friendly banter to a more serious topic. For a minute, nobody seemed to know how or where to begin, but then Jason took the proverbial bull by the horns himself.
"Do ... do you guys really think I'm a bully?" he asked hesitantly, more subdued than they'd ever seen him. "'Cause I don't mean to be ... and I, uh, I'd hate to think that I'm the only one who needed to be in detention ..." His voice trailed off as Jason searched his friends' faces for signs of accusation. He found none.
The four kids exchanged looks, then Kim determinedly faced their host.
"I know you're not a bully," she declared stoutly, grinning briefly at the relief crossing Jason's face. "I also know you wouldn't want to harm anyone. But Jase ... that's how you can seem to someone who doesn't know you."
There were murmurs of agreement. Puzzled, Jason stared at Kim.
"What do you mean?" he asked, honestly confused. Exasperated, Kim shook her head.
"I didn't see what happened with you and Stuart and that other kid, but ... take that scene in the hallway on Tuesday morning, when you kinda threatened Brad," she said.
"That jerk was hassling you," Jason protested. "I was only trying to help! And I didn't really threaten him, either!"
"I know," she huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "But Brad didn't. The way you looked at him, the way you just stood there was enough."
"Huh?"
Trini spoke up. "Yes. I saw what happened, and really, Jason ... you may not have meant to, but it looked as if you were going to attack him any second, if he just said one wrong word ..."
"In any case, it was enough to send Brad packing. Which I could've done all by myself, anyway." Kim's voice was firm and offered no compromise. Still, Jason tried to justify his action.
"Kim, he was bigger and older than you ..."
"Yeah, and I've been handling him alone ever since school started," she grumbled, a trace of annoyance at Jason's obtuseness in her tone. "Brad's just a big jerk, nothing else. He's just not the type to really force someone. I know that, and he knows I know. He just doesn't give up easily."
"But ..."
"No but," Kimberly stated firmly. "To be honest, Jase, it kinda bugged me that you interfered. I'm not some damsel in distress, I already have a big brother who's butting in way too often in my life, and I don't want another one at school, too."
The boy blushed. "I ... I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he mumbled. "It's just, when I saw him crowding you ... I thought you might need help. And I always try to help my friends."
"Like you did with me and that guy in the parking lot," Trini nodded. "I appreciate the thought, Jason, but I could've done without the forced apology, just because he bumped into me. It was an accident, nothing more. The whole thing just wasn't worth getting all worked up about." While she spoke gently, she also managed to convey how serious she was.
"Are you saying I made it worse?" Jason gulped after a pause, truly appalled. That had been the very last thing on his mind! "I honestly didn't mean to ..."
"I know," the raven-haired girl said. "That's why I didn't make a fuss." Her smile took the sting out of her words, but it was enough to make Jason hang his head guiltily.
"I dislike adding to your discomfort, Jason," Billy said next. "But Kimberly's statement applies to the situation you found me in yesterday, too. Farkas and Eugene are irritating in the extreme, and I admit that they are physically overwhelming and that I'm not truly at ease whenever they decide to waylay me, but they are not really mean-spirited. They would not have harmed me."
"Maybe not," Jason replied, "but what about jerking you around, making fun of you and stuff? I've heard that they've stuffed a kid into a trash can once, or put slime bombs on a girl's chair ..."
"Granted. But that falls more under the category of silly pranks rather than grievous bodily harm."
Jason looked at his slight companion disbelievingly. "Don't tell me you like being treated like dirt by those two clowns!"
"No," Billy admitted. "It is extremely irritating, and sometimes even humiliating. I wish they would stop doing things like that, to me or to others." He held up a hand before Jason could say a word. "Your motive for interfering the way you did was certainly admirable, and I'd have been grateful if I had been in serious dire straits, but I wasn't, and I, too, would prefer to handle things on my own as long as I can."
The broad shoulders slumped. "Sorry."
Trini patted his hand. "Apology accepted. Right, guys?"
"Yeah," Kim and Zack chorused, and Billy nodded.
"Does it make you feel better, Jason, if I promised to ask for your help if and when I truly need it?" Billy suggested diffidently after a minute. Now that the air had been cleared and he'd had time to evaluate what had happened, the thought of having a protector of sorts, a 'big brother', seemed unexpectedly attractive. Not that he ever intended to avail himself of Jason's services, but one never knew ... Billy wasn't entirely unaware of the dangers in being physically weak, and he had a natural sense of self-preservation, after all.
"Yeah, it does," Jason replied slowly. "I'd hate knowing that you—or anyone else—are in trouble somehow and I couldn't help."
"Then you have my word," Billy said simply.
"Mine, too," Kim added. "I'm not exactly looking for a knight in shining armor or stuff, but if I ever need one ..."
"Jason would be perfect for the role," Zack interrupted, grinning infectiously. "I can just see him, charging ahead full-tilt on his bike, bo staff at the ready as he whaps the jerks and dweebs in passing."
The image the dark-skinned boy painted was funny, and all five children laughed even as Jason blushed again. It hit a little too close to home, and he vowed to himself that in the future, he'd take the time to really assess a situation before he rushed in to help. And if what his friends said was true, maybe he didn't need to actually interfere. Jason sighed deeply.
"Okay then. I promise not to butt in unless asked or in an emergency, and you guys promise to yell if you need my help. Agreed?"
"Yeah.—Yes.—Sure.—Positive," came the chorus of voices, and Jason found a genuine smile, feeling suddenly lighter than he had all day. He bounced off his chair and reached for the pitcher of chocolate milk, offering refills.
"Now that that's out of the way, is there anything else we need to talk about?" he asked just a touch facetiously. "I mean, just so there are no more skeletons in anyone's closet ..."
The five looked at each other, then Zack piped up.
"Speaking of skeletons, Billy, can you help me paint one on my ghost costume for Halloween?" The holiday was only four days away.
"Certainly," Billy agreed readily. "I have a picture in an encyclopedia that we can use as a template."
"If Zack's a ghost, what are you going as?" Kim asked curiously. Her own fairy outfit was complete, only the glitter paint on her wings needed to dry a little. And she knew Trini had chosen a lovely length of fabric she intended to wear as a sari. Jason answered first.
"Spiderman", he announced proudly. "My mom found this really cool costume in a second-hand store. What about you, Billy?
The blond squirmed a little; he wasn't in the habit of thinking about fancy dress events, but had been persuaded to go trick-or-treating with his new friends for once. He just hoped his choice of costume wouldn't get laughed at.
"I was thinking of donning an alchemist's robe," he stammered shyly. He noticed a few uncomprehending looks, and explained. "Alchemists were the medieval forebears of today's scientists, even though a great percentage of their work and experiments was based on myth and legend alongside more empirical methods. As was the custom of the period, they wore special clothing both to protect themselves and to denote their profession ..."
"But what do they look like?" Kimberly interrupted him with a tiny smile. Billy smiled back, accepting the implied gentle rebuke with good grace.
"A floor-length dark robe accompanied with a tall conical hat, both adorned with alchemical symbols and signs of the zodiac," he explained.
It took a few seconds to construct the mental image, then Zack snorted half exasperatedly, half amused. "Alchemist, my foot. That's a sorceror's costume. Why didn't you say so?"
Billy blinked at him, the picture of innocence. "I believe I just did."
"Yeah, right!"
The following good-natured squabble lasted until it was time for Jason's friends to leave. He ushered them to the door and as they filed out, he stopped them one last time.
"Thanks for coming, guys."
There was no need to explain what exactly he was thanking them for—acceptance, a willingness to listen, and most of all caring enough about him to go that extra mile, to come seek him out even when he'd thought he never wanted to see them again.
"Don't run away the next time," Trini admonished him with her sweet smile.
"Yeah—we don't usually make house calls," Zack quipped.
"I won't, promise."
"Good. See you in school on Monday," Kim called, and the four trooped off, leaving a happy Jason behind. As he wandered off to his room, he found to his surprise that now that he had friends in class who liked him even if he managed to step out of line, school somehow had become something to look forward to.
~*~
Six Months Later
"Billy, over here!"
Jason's shout drew the attention of Mr. Cranston as he handed a packet of sausages to Liz Scott. He watched with a smile as his son deftly sent a bright orange frisbee whizzing off to his friend, who jumped, caught it and passed the disk on to Trini. The game had been going on for half an hour now, the other fathers playing just as enthusiastically as their offspring, while the mothers took care of preparing the food and guarding the barbecue, so that the burgers sizzling on the grid wouldn't turn into lumps of charcoal. There were a few wistful glances towards the players from Liz Scott, but as the other women had begged off, claiming they couldn't keep up with a bunch of overenergetic kids (which included their equally enthusiastic husbands), she reluctantly stayed at the picnic tables. Oh well, there would be other times. Her musings were interrupted by Billy's father.
"I can't thank you enough for doing this," Henry Cranston said softly. "Ever since my wife died, I haven't known how to make Billy's birthday into the fun occasion he deserves to have."
"They do have fun, don't they?" Liz smiled, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she helped Marsha Taylor put out paper plates and napkins. "But it was all the kids' idea; they planned the menu, did the shopping ... all we did was prepare the food. For which you'll be paying, by the way." She winked at the slight man, whose usually somber eyes twinkled back at her. "Besides, every boy needs to have a party when he turns 13."
"And doing the barbecue here in the park certainly beats having this horde trampling my flower beds," Janice Kwan added, her almond eyes sparkling.
"No cleanup at home afterwards, either," Melissa Hart smiled, opening plastic containers with potato salad and brownies.
"No kidding! The last time the gang was over at our place, I thought World War III had happened. My basement will never be the same," Marsha grinned. It was obvious that she didn't mind at all.
"Still ... it is truly amazing how much Billy has changed ever since he became friends with your children. Funding a party for fourteen seems a very small price to pay in exchange—literally," Henry murmured. "When I think of how subdued he was last year ... and now this!" He gestured towards his flushed, happy son, who was engaged in a good-natured tug-of-war over the frisbee with Kimberly. His dark-blond hair was tousled, his overalls grass-stained, and his eyes shone brightly behind his glasses. Clearly, Billy was a very happy child right now, even if the petite brunette was scampering off laughingly with her prize held high, all three boys in hot pursuit.
Gratefully, Henry Cranston accepted the cup of coffee Melissa poured him from a thermos jug. Sipping slowly, he met the women's eyes one after the other.
"Ladies ... I'm not one to make a lot of words, but just this once let me express my appreciation of what your children have done for my son," he said a bit formally. "And not only them, but all of you; when I think of the way you've so generously accepted him into your homes ..." he had to swallow once, clearly embarrassed by how emotional he was feeling. Then he smiled a bit wryly."I must admit, when I learned the reasons why all of the kids had been sent into Remedial Classes, I was very much concerned; theirs seemed so much worse than Billy's relatively minor transgression."
"No kidding," Marsha answered, distinctly echoing exuberant Zack's tone. "But as the kids found out, it wasn't as bad as it sounded after all."
"Indeed. And Billy has benefitted so much ... given his mental capabilities, it will always be nearly impossible for him to find an intellectual equal, but he has learned that life is much more than burying one's nose in a book, or sitting in front of a computer monitor." It was a simple statement of fact, not bragging, and was accepted as such by the women. Billy's intelligence was a given that everybody had come to take more or less for granted. "Your children have taught him that, and I'm truly grateful. He still spends a lot of time with his experiments, or studying, but now he also goes out to play, to just have fun ... and thank you again, by the way, for allowing Kimberly to introduce him to her gymnastics coach," Mr. Cranston told Mrs. . Hart. "His coordination is much better already."
"You're very welcome," Melissa replied. "According to Coach, Billy is really quite talented—if he'd started earlier and had more interest in the sport, she thinks he could even have competed."
Henry laughed softly. "That's good to know, but I doubt Billy would ever have wanted that. He's always been more interested in competing on other, more cerebral grounds—not physically, anyway. However, mens sana in corpore sano now has gained true meaning for him." At the women's questioning look, he translated. "A sound mind in a sound body. And through being around your children, he now has both. Thank you."
Liz Scott sat down next to the slight man, topping off his coffee cup while keeping a practiced eye both on the barbecue and the frisbee game. Not that she didn't trust Jason's father, but ... he had passed on his energetic nature to his son, and both sometimes had trouble controlling their strength. With Jeff, maturity had brought reticence, and Jason ... Jason was learning, most of all through his new friends, who managed to let him know with just a look or a small joke when he needed to hold back.
"You're welcome, but if we're saying thanks, I need to get in line myself," she said. "The benefits of our children's friendship ... it hasn't been all one-sided," the blonde woman added. "If Billy has learned how to play, then Jason has learned how to study. Not that he was a bad student before, his grades were always acceptable to us, but those regular study sessions with Trini and Billy are really starting to pay off. At the very least, he's learning diligence from them."
Janice snorted, a tiny, ladylike sound. "I think the fact that I won't let Trini go outside before she's finished her assignments has something to do with it, too."
"That, and Kim's challenge that the boys couldn't possibly turn in homework as neat and well-presented as she does," Marsha Taylor grinned. "Of course they had to prove her wrong!"
"I wondered what that was about," Liz smiled. "The boys couldn't let themselves be shown up by a girl, or did they want to impress her?"
"Probably both," Janice said drily. "They're getting to that age. And Trini is behind Kim every step of the way. I'm really glad those two have found each other—Trini couldn't decide what she'd rather be, a tomboy, or a little lady. With Kim she can talk fashion and boys, she has Billy to keep her on her toes at school, and Jason to share martial arts with. And as for Zack," she turned towards Marsha, "he's showing her that to have fun, one doesn't need great preparations. I'm afraid she was getting a bit too serious about her environmental concerns."
"It's a good thing that Zack is learning how to focus on some things instead of trying to be a jack-of-all-trades," Mrs. . Taylor put in her two cents' worth. "Learning karate with Jason takes care of his excess energy, he's getting more patient with his little cousins ... and ever since the girls persuaded him to perform a few magic tricks at the Christmas party in the Senior Citizen's Home, his interest in showbiz things has found a harmless outlet that is MUCH better for him than try to show off on his skateboard or breakdancing with some 'homies'. Besides, it's good for him to experience first-hand that there are indeed people out there for whom prejudice is just a word."
"I hear you," Mrs. Scott murmured. "Jason is finally getting to the point in his karate where competing isn't everything—by introducing Zack to the sport and practising with him, even crosstraining with Trini, he's becoming more interested in teaching. And by teaching, he learns. Which is all to the good, as far as I'm concerned."
"I must admit, I was a bit worried when my Kimberly started hanging out with the boys," Melissa Hart blushed slightly. Her hands folded around her coffee cup before she could bring herself to meet the eyes of the parents in question. "I won't let her date yet, not as a couple anyway, and ever since she made the cheerleading squad, sometimes all she could talk about was which boy was cute, what made her look best ... but Jason, Zack and Billy won't play those games with her. To them, she's just a person first, a girl later. And they don't exactly treat her like a baby sister, either, like her brother does."
"No, they let her boss them around," Liz laughed. "You should see her with Jason sometimes; big and strong as he is, when Kim gets a bee in her bonnet about something he's done, or what she thinks he should do, he doesn't stand a chance!"
"Really? Whenever they're at our house, all three are perfect gentlemen towards Trini and Kimberly ... even if they tease them awfully at times." Melissa had to suppress a smile herself. "But the point I was trying to make ... my daughter is learning that not every good-looking boy is there for her personal amusement, that having brains doesn't mean a person is not worth knowing, and that 'being popular' is not the be-all and end-all of her school days. I'm very glad she can be friends with nice, normal boys first before romance enters the picture."
There were agreeing nods all around, as the four mothers sat with Billy's father, each contemplating what had been shared just now. Mutual benefits indeed.
"I'd say the same holds true for our sons as well," Henry said hesitantly, feeling his way through a potential minefield he really hadn't wanted to see for several years yet. "I mean, the boys learn that it is possible to be friends with a girl or two without behaving like bantam cocks in the henhouse ... that not every girl is ... well ... a lust object," he stammered, blushing painfully. "If you know what I'm getting at ..."
"We do," Liz consoled him. "I've already noticed Jason ogling pictures of actresses or singers here or there—which is perfectly natural for a boy his age. The less clothes they're wearing, the better. But it does him a world of good to have Kim and Trini burst one or two of his bubbles when they point out all the little tricks the ladies in question are using to look the way they do on the photo shoots. Too bad that he gets his illusions shattered so thoroughly," Liz added with a patently false pious expression, making the others chuckle with the kind of fiendish delight only parents of very young teenagers are able to share.
~*~
The laughter drew the attention of the frisbee players who spontaneously decided they were getting too hungry to play any longer, and soon a noisy group of nine parents and five children was gathered around the picnic area, doling out food and soft drinks while the birthday boy divided his attention between his heaped plate and the presents his friends had chosen for him. A paperback science fiction novel from Jason, a personally-recorded tape with music Billy had professed to like from Zack, a book with science puzzles from Trini, and a set of pens, rulers, erasers and other writing paraphernalia for his experiments from Kimberly. Not a single gift was very expensive, but had been chosen with care and with regard to his special interests —- which made them more special to him than even the elaborate bicycle his father had bought him so he could keep up with his friends.
There was much laughter as the families got to know each other—not only whenever their children dropped by at the respective houses, but also the adults among themselves. To their delighted surprise, they found that even they shared interests and many thought that it might be well worthwhile to cultivate these new relationships, for any number of reasons. Some of those were maybe a tad selfish ... Mike Hart was sure he wasn't the only one who thought that Jeff Scott's construction business might give him an in with various workmen he might need someday, or followed Marsha Taylor's train of thought that Janice Kwan, manager of a homeopathic store, might be useful to know in case someone got sick. However, that counted little in the face of their children's obvious enjoyment.
"This was my best birthday ever," Billy beamed with shining eyes as even the generous amounts of food prepared by his friends' mothers began to dwindle. "I am extremely grateful for the efforts everyone present has extended, from procuring and preparing nourishment to assisting in entertaining my associates and myself!"
There was a brief moment of silence. Eight of the adults were trying to puzzle their way through the boy's statement, Henry Cranston was at a loss of how to make his son's words understandable without embarrassing him too much, when the children neatly solved the dilemma.
"Billy!" Zack groaned exaggeratedly. "English, man!"
"Yeah, you promised," Kim added, bopping him on the arm with a flickering gesture. "Sheesh!"
Jason laughed at Billy's chagrined expression. "Good thing you have your personal translator around," he jibed good-naturedly. "Trini?"
The slender Asian girl shook her head at Billy, who ducked. But his smile echoed hers as he apologized easily. "Sorry. I forgot."
Rolling her eyes heavenward, Trini ignored Kim's giggle as she reformulated. "He says thanks for the food and for playing with us."
"Oh. I knew that," Bob Taylor said with a straight face, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses.
"Sure you did," George Kwan muttered. "Just like you could catch that frisbee before it landed in the trees." He grinned. "Good thing Jeff here can climb so well!"
"Yeah," Mike laughed. "All I could think of was calling the fire department!"
"You wouldn't have!" Melissa gasped, and when her husband looked only marginally guilty as he nodded, she started scolding him and everybody else—only to find that nobody took her seriously. She pretended to be insulted, which was thoroughly spoiled as she surreptitiously placed a large brownie on her husband's plate. At long last the whole argument ended in general laughter, to which the five children listened with barely-concealed amusement. Feeling smugly superior, they took their sodas to a separate table, leaving the adults to their conversation as they talked about their plans for the weekend, the next week, spring, summer ...
~*~
When the April sun was setting over the lake, everybody helped gather their trash and the supplies, packing and foil-wrapping as best they could while sorting out which items would go back to what household. Talk somehow had meandered back to the circumstances under which the five children had first met, and while he was loading utensils and plastic containers into a large carrybox, Bob Taylor winked at the youngsters as they handed him his belongings.
"Well, kids ... have you ever thought about which particular crime somebody has to commit to be admitted into your little misfit convention?" He waggled his eyebrows comically. The five blushed; they were able to laugh about things now, but it was still a pretty sore point for all of them. Pretending not to notice, Bob started to enumerate.
"Here's my little thug," he cuffed Zack lightly on the shoulder, who scowled at his father, "helping the junkie stack tupperware." He grinned at Trini, who faked a smile. She still hated the expression, but knew Zack's father didn't mean any harm, so she kept silent. "The slacker is counting forks," an ironic bow towards Billy, who had to fight the temptation to stick out his tongue. "And the bully is carrying trash produced by-"
"Bob!" He was interrupted sharply by Marsha. "Watch it!" She'd seen the rebellious look enter Kim's eyes, Jason didn't seem too happy about the epithet, either, and she didn't want the day's good mood to end on a discordant note.
Bob acknowledged her warning with a quick smile and nod. "I was going to say our junior Gypsy Rose Lee," he bowed to the petite girl, who pouted, but didn't comment. One storm successfully averted! However, none of the children answered right away. Jeff Scott took pity on Bob at last, seeing that the other man was starting to feel a tad hot around the collar.
"It's a legitimate question," he remarked casually, telling Jason with a look to keep his temper under control. The boy obeyed with a hidden grimace. "We know you kids are not at all like you appeared at first." Jeff soothed the obviously ruffled feathers with a wink and a grin of his own. "But just for the sake of argument ... let's say there was another kid who wanted to be friends with all of you, and to be that, he or she had to do something apparently bad, like you did ... what would it be? I mean, among the five of you, you already have covered most major schoolyard crimes," he laughed.
He succeeded in lightening the atmosphere. Smooth teenaged foreheads wrinkled in thought while the cleanup progressed. Trini was the first to venture an opinion.
"The only thing I can think of that none of us was accused of is stealing," she mused, "and I doubt I'd want to be friends with someone who took something that doesn't belong to them—whether intentionally or not."
"Yeah," Kimberly chimed in. "And being really rude isn't exactly right, either—because that's, like, something what people don't just do for a lark, is it?"
"No. It has to be something more serious," Billy agreed. "What else is there, though?"
Jason suddenly grinned. Taking pains to be out of reach of his father's hands, he barely suppressed a wicked chuckle. "Oh, I dunno. There's still a couple things left we didn't do ..."
"Like what?" Zack challenged him, his dark eyes beginning to dance as well as an idea occurred to him. Kim is so easy to tease!
Jason shrugged with pretend nonchalance. "Well, trying to kill us is one—and the other would be to go for world domination," he amended hastily, as Liz glared a warning at him. "Really, Mom—how likely is that going to happen?" the boy demanded to know. "About as much as Trini trying to deal drugs!"
"Hmph. Maybe. But watch it, young man," Mrs. Scott accepted the dubious humor with a scowl. "That's not very funny."
"But this is," irrepressible Zack announced with his most angelic expression. The others glanced at him curiously. They already were quite familiar with that look, and it usually meant one of them was in for a major tease. Zack skilfully drew out the suspense by pretending to hesitate. Finally, Billy caved in and posed the question he knew Zack was waiting for.
"What is?"
The dark-skinned boy polished his nails on his tee-shirt. "Oh, nothing much," he drawled, winking at Jason. "I was just thinking ... if it's a guy, his unforgivable sin could be that ... he'd try dating Kimberly!"
There was an outraged squeal from the petite gymnast as the others broke into startled laughter. Knowing what was good for him, Zack dashed off at high speed, Kimberly chasing after him.
~*~
"As it turned out, I did all three," Tommy sighed comically as the Gold Ranger finished his tale. Rocky, Kat, Tanya and Adam regarded Jason and Billy with wide incredulous eyes.
"Hey, we loved you anyway," Jason elbowed his best friend. "Besides, you weren't responsible for the first two things; Rita made you do it."
"But at least technically it fulfilled the perquisite for Tommy to join our 'misfit convention', as Zack's father called it," Billy commented. He deemed it better not to dwell on Tommy's recently terminated relationship with the first Pink Ranger; that wound was still too fresh.
"You're kidding," Rocky finally gasped. "Detention? YOU?!?"
The two senior members of the Rangers shared a wry smile. They'd known Tanya's innocent question would elicit this response.
"At least we weren't always the 'goody-two-shoes squad' Bulk and Skull thought we were," Jason said lightly. In retrospect, the sheer incongruity was pretty funny. They'd all come such a long way since then ... even the bumbling duo had grown beyond their Junior High personas.
"I'll say," Kat chuckled. "But still ... who'd have thought it?" She found the idea of her friends once having been labeled as delinquents highly amusing—especially as nobody who knew Jason, Billy or Kimberly nowadays would EVER think of them as other than the very embodiment of what was good and proper. "The Power Rangers in Remedial Classes!"
"The mind boggles," Adam muttered, causing everybody to snicker.
"It explains a lot, though," Tanya shook her head in wonder. "I mean, you guys are all so different ... on the surface, you seem to have absolutely nothing in common, and I couldn't help wondering how you got to be friends before Zordon picked you to be Rangers."
"Well, it certainly took some time," Jason admitted. "What I've given you was just the Reader's Digest version. But at least it got us together and laid the groundworks."
"And a very solid foundation it turned out to be, too," Billy agreed. "And I for one am glad it happened—even if you all scared me half to death at first." He could admit as much now, six years after the fact. And he had his friends to thank for giving him the self-confidence to do so.
Adam laughed suddenly. Leaning back in his chair, he looked at each of his friends in turn.
"I was just thinking ... how do the rest of us fit in, then? The delinquency stuff, I mean. Just look at us ... Kat's easy—same reasons as Tommy," he enumerated. "Aisha could get awfully bossy—remember when she was elected the school's fire captain?" Rocky groaned dramatically while Billy and Tommy laughed. Another story to share, with Jason, Kat and Tanya this time.
"Rocky used to be a prankster," Adam said next, dodging his longtime friend's swat with a skill born of much practice. The Blue Ranger mock-growled.
"Which leaves Tanya and you. And we'll find something to qualify you two," he threatened amidst much laughter. Every single suggestion Rocky made was shot down, however, frustrating him no end. He was only marginally satisfied when the group accepted Tanya's choice of Shawn as her first boyfriend as sufficient reason. It seemed impossible, however, to find anything that would include Adam under the category of 'reformed character'. The Green Ranger grinned smugly.
"I'm the original good guy," he gloated. "No skeletons in my closet!"
"Yeah, right. Not! I'll find something—eventually," Rocky promised, ignoring the good-natured jibes the others directed at him. "Even if it takes me until graduation!"
Just then, seven communicators chimed almost in unison. Chairs were pushed back, and the teens left the Youth Center to find a safe place to teleport to the Power Chamber—duty called, and waited for no-one. However, just as beams of multicoloured light shot skywards, Rocky's slightly desperate voice could be heard as he addressed Adam one last time before dematerialising completely.
"You look lousy in green. Does that count?"
Part 1 | 2