Four Days In NYC
by
the real vampire
A/N: This is based slightly on the real-life experiences of me and a couple of my mates on our recent school trip to New York. Brilliant trip with some amusing antidotes so... viola! A story! This is going to be very light-hearted and not serious in any way. Well, I'll try. Anyone familiar with my work will know that I have a nasty habit of complicating things but I will not this time!
Summery: The B-Squad cadets have to attend a conference in New York City, so decided to use it as an excuse for a vacation… with surprising results.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything SPD related... all of it belongs to Disney, lucky thing!
Enough babble from me... on with the story! Read, review and enjoy!
- - - - - - -Day One
SPD Headquarters. New Tech City. California. 8:00am
“Guys get up, we’re late. We’ve got ten minutes to get to the airport!” Syd and Z sat bolt upright in their beds, staring in horror at Sky and Bridge who had just burst into their room.
“What?” Syd shrieked and the two of them leapt up out of bed. Z got her foot tangled in her yellow bedcover as panic set in and she tumbled ungracefully onto the floor. Bridge began to giggle and Syd shot him a filthy look from where she was hurriedly stuffing her clothes into her suitcase, “Do you mind?”
Just then the door opened and a half-asleep Jack wandered in, rubbing his eyes. “What’s all the racket?” he yawned. “It’s 8’o’clock in the morning.”
“We’re late!” Z said as she finally untangled herself from her bedding, but then something Jack had said registered in her brain, “Wait… 8’o’clock?” She rounded on the other two male rangers, “You said we were late! We don’t have to be at the airport until 10!”
Bridge collapsed in a heap of giggles at the horrified looks on the two girls faces and Sky had a huge grin on his face as he replied calmly, “Well you’re up now so we’re not going to be late are we?” Jack began to laugh as he realized what had happened; Z and Syd were infamous for being late for everything so to make sure they were on time this morning, the blue and green rangers had decided to take matters into their own hands.
Syd and Z however remained un-amused. “Get. Out. Now!” Syd said in a dangerous tone of voice. The effect was ruined though by the fact that she was standing there in pink pajamas, hair looking like she had been dragged through a bush backwards and was clutching Peanuts, her stuffed elephant.
Still laughing, the three boys headed for the common room and left the girls to get dressed and finish packing. Jack flung himself onto a chair and yawned, “So remind me, what is this seminar we’re going to again?”
Sky sighed as he grabbed some orange juice from the food-synthesizer. “It’s a public relations talk. Y’know, working with civilians to get results.”
“Sounds fascinating,” Jack said, without enthusiasm.
Bridge bounded up to them, a piece of toast in hand, “But we’re going to New York! I’ve never been to New York before,” he said excitedly as he eagerly spread liberal amounts of butter onto his toast. Jack and Sky stared at him as he took a huge bite. Seeing the looks on their faces, he hurriedly chewed and swallowed, “What? You want some? It’s buttery.”
“We can see,” Sky replied with raised eyebrows.
“No thanks Bridge.” Jack declined the offer.
Bridge shrugged, “Suit yourselves. I gotta go finish packing. See you in an hour.” And he virtually ran out of the common room.
Jack groaned, “How the hell can he be that wide-awake in the morning?”
Sky shook his head and went back to his orange juice, “Must be some sort of curse.”
xxx
New Tech Airport. 10:10am
“Five of us for the 12’o’clock flight to New York,” Jack said as they finally made it to check-in.
“Passports please,” the assistant behind the desk said, looking bored.
Four of them handed their passports over. “Umm… Jack, please don’t say you’ve forgot your passport,” Z whispered to the red ranger as he frantically searched his bag.
“I know I had it. I’m positive I did.”
“Is there a problem?” the check-in lady asked, peering over her desk.
Z flashed a grin at her, “No, sorry, he’s just mislaid his passport.”
Suddenly Jack stood up and triumphantly pulled the elusive passport out of his pocket, “Knew I’d put it somewhere safe!”
Z groaned, but soon they were all checked in and their bags safely sent off. They decided to head straight for the duty-free area, but first they had to negotiate security, which proved a bit of a problem for Syd.
“I’ve got to take my belt off?” she hissed anxiously to Sky.
“Of course.” He caught the look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“These pants are too big for me. They’ll fall down if I have to take it off!” she almost wailed.
Sky grinned, “Hold them up as you go though. You’ll be fine.”
Syd didn’t look too convinced, but removed her belt and kept a tight hold of the top of her pants as she walked through the scanner. Much to her dismay the red light flashed up and the woman beckoned her forward.
“Arms out to the side please,” she said.
Syd blushed and said in a low voice, “Umm, can I do it… one arm at a time please?” The woman gave her a strange look and Syd went an even deeper shade of red as she explained, “My pants are too big for me and if I don’t hold them up…”
Realization dawned on the security woman and she smiled kindly at Syd, “Don’t worry sweetie, of course.” She ran the hand-held scanner quickly over the pink ranger and determined that the cause of red light was her belly button piercing. “All done dear. You can put your belt back on now.”
Relief was apparent on Syd’s face, but the blush quickly returned when the male security guard turned around to her with a smirk and said, quite loudly, “But we wouldn’t complain if your pants did fall down.”
Face still red, she collected her bag and belt and almost ran to where Z, Jack and Bridge were waiting. The first thing she proceeded to do was to replace her belt to its former position of securely around her waist. Sky got through with no troubles and the five of them made their way through the busy terminal to some seats. Dumping their bags, all they had to do now was wait until their flight was called.
xxx
On the plane. 12:00pm
“Flight number 197 to New York now boarding at Gate 9.”
“That’s us,” Sky said as they heard the announcement. The rangers gathered their belongings together and headed for their gate. They boarded the plane without any difficulty and found their seats.
Bridge was ecstatic when he discovered he had a window seat and proceeded to bounce up and down gleefully, “I love flying,” he babbled, “But I love it even better when I’m by a window. I mean, I like to see where I’m going. I don’t think I’d like flying so much if I couldn’t see out. I think I’d hate it if I was in the middle and couldn’t see…”
“Shut up Bridge,” Z said, sitting down next to him. She looked unnaturally pale. Jack sat down next to her and Sky sat across the aisle from him. Syd sat on the other side of Sky, pulled out a pink eye-mask from her bag and leaned back in the seat.
“Not as nice as first class,” she sniffed as she wriggled to get comfortable.
Sky rolled his eyes at her before putting on his seatbelt. They listened to the safety demonstration and then settled down for take-off. As the plane began to speed down the runway, Z couldn’t help let out a little whimper.
“Z?” Both Jack and Bridge turned to see her looking more than slightly panicked. “What is it?”
“I don’t really like flying,” she muttered.
“But you’re fine in the S.W.A.T. flyers,” Jack said, puzzled.
“But they’re different. I’m the one doing the flying. Here I’m just…”
“Not in control?” Bridge supplied. Z nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll look after you,” he said with a reassuring smile at her and she clutched his hand gratefully. But even so, she couldn’t help let out a small cry as they suddenly took off and soared up into the air.
“How long is this flight?” Syd mumbled from under her eye-mask to Sky.
“About four hours,” he replied.
“That’s ages.”
“At least we’re not in 2006; it would have taken us twice as long,” he told her.
“Thank goodness for modern technology,” she replied, before trying to fall asleep.
The airhostess’ brought around bags for the flight, much to Bridge’s excitement as he received a green one. Z smiled shakily as the airhostess handed her a yellow one, and then handed Jack a blue one. Sky got a red one.
“Want to swap?” Jack asked, and, before Sky could respond, leaned over the aisle and swiped the red bag.
“Hey, that’s my bag,” Sky said indignantly and made a move to snatch it back.
“You’re blue, have the blue one,” Jack said, throwing the blue bag at Sky. He ducked it and it hit Sydney.
“Ouch!” she exclaimed, pulling up her eye-mask and giving the two boys an evil look.
“Sorry Syd,” they chorused and then went back to squabbling over the bag.
“Is there a problem here?” Another airhostess appeared and stood between them.
“Not exactly…”
“Do you have another red bag?” Syd suddenly asked. “These two children can’t share nicely.”
The airhostess looked a little taken back but nodded and returned with another red bag for Jack.
“Happy now?” Syd said in seriously annoyed tones. With a mutter of “Boys,” she pulled her eye-mask back down and went back to sleep.
Jack and Sky grinned sheepishly at one another and then turned their attentions to the movie that was playing and settled down for the rest of the flight.
xxx
JFK Airport. New York. 8.00pm
“Did anyone ask if we wanted to lose four hours?” Jack grumbled as they passed through security and into the baggage collection area. They had landed at 4pm Californian time, but now they were on New York time, four hours ahead. Z patted him on the shoulder as she walked past, but no one cared to answer his question.
“Our bags should come from there.” Sky pointed after studying the information screen for a second.
“My bag!” Bridge suddenly yelled and darted through the crowds to grab his green holdall off the conveyor belt.
The others followed him and one by one collected their bags as they appeared, until it was only Z’s that they were waiting for.
Finally Bridge tugged on her sleeve and said, “Z are you sure it’s not that pale yellow one on there?”
Z bit her lip and looked at the bag that had been going around the carousel for the past twenty minutes, “I don’t recognized it…”
She trailed off as Jack went over and checked the label. With a sigh he picked it up and chucked it at her, “It was yours all along.”
They all groaned as Z, her face going red, picked up her bag and then, ready at last, the five of them left the airport. They hailed a cab and at last left JFK and headed for Manhattan.
xxx
Cadets’ Hotel. Manhattan. 9:30pm
The cab pulled up outside the hotel on 10th Avenue that the cadets’ were staying in and they went to book in. The woman behind the desk smiled and took down their names and then, “I’ll have someone show you to your room,” she said.
“Don’t you mean rooms?” Syd asked.
The woman looked surprised, “Didn’t your commanding officer tell you?” It was clear from the blank looks on their faces that Cruger had not. “There are so many people coming for this seminar we could only fit you in one room. Your Commander assured me you would all cope… Ah, here comes Ben. He’ll get you settled in.” It was clear that they were being dismissed.
“Doggie failed to mention that part to us,” Z muttered to Syd as they made their way up in the elevator to the second floor.
“Here you are,” the man called Ben said, unlocking one of the doors. “Here’s your keys and if you have any problems please don’t hesitate to phone the concierge desk.” With that he left them.
Apprehensively, the five of them peered into the hotel room where they would be spending the next three nights together. It wasn’t as bad as they had feared. There were two big double beds, one single bed, a television and bathroom.
There was a chorus of “I want the single bed!” and the five of them rushed for it.
“Hold it!” Jack bellowed. “I’m the red ranger and I’m pulling rank… I’ll have the single bed, Bridge and Sky can share one double and Syd and Z the other. No arguments.”
There was some muttered grumbling, but no one thought to argue it further, mainly because they were all quite tired after the long journey. “Who’s for pizza?” Bridge suddenly asked as they went about unpacking. “What? I’m hungry,” he explained, seeing the looks on their faces. “It’s only 5:30 at home. I want pizza.”
“Fair enough,” Jack said. “Let’s go get pizza.”
They left the hotel and walked one block to 9th Avenue and found a small pizza place. Bridge was first in line and ordered a huge slice of pepperoni pizza, which he proceeded to wolf down. The other four each ordered their slice of pizza and sat down next to the green ranger, who went back for another slice.
All of them except Syd tucked in happily and there was a comfortable silence until, “Not hungry?” Sky asked the pink ranger, eyeing her uneaten slice.
Syd wrinkled her nose, “I thought when you said pizza place we were going to a restaurant. Where is the cutlery?”
Z rolled her eyes, “Syd, it’s a two-dollar slice of pizza. You don’t eat it with cutlery; you pick it up and eat it with your fingers.”
Syd sighed and, delicately, as if it was something horrible from the trash, she picked up her pizza and began to nibble at it. Stifling giggles, the other rangers had soon finished their food and waited patiently for Syd to finish hers.
Finally, “All done Princess?” Sky asked her, teasingly, but still handed her a serviette to wipe her fingers with. She gave him a grateful smile in return.
They left the pizza place and had a slow walk back to their hotel. Bridge turned to Z and gave a startled yelp. “Z are you feeling ok?” he asked the yellow ranger, as the others turned around to see what the matter was.
“I’m fine, just a little tired. Why?” Z asked, puzzled at the looks she was getting from everyone.
“You’ve gone very pale,” Bridge told her.
Syd looked worried, “Pale is a bit of an understatement,” she said. It was true; Z had turned an almost luminous white.
“She always does this when she’s very tired,” Jack reassured them. “Although you’ve turned quite a spectacular color this time ‘sis’,” he added.
“I just need some sleep,” she muttered, but was very glad when Bridge gave her his arm to lean on to get her back to the hotel.
Once back in their room, there was a small squabble over who got the bathroom first, but they were all too tired to properly fight it out. Soon everyone was in their beds, Jack happy in his single, and the girls and guys sharing, the guys both attempting to sleep as far away from each other as the bed, and covers, would allow them to. The lights were switched out and peace fell in the room as the cadets drifted off to sleep, waiting to see what tomorrow would bring them in New York City.
Day Two – Monday
Bathroom. Cadets’ Hotel. 7:00am
“That’s the last time I share a bed with Bridge,” Sky groaned the next morning as he stumbled into the bathroom behind Jack.
“What happened?” Jack asked, taking in the black lines under Sky’s eyes.
“He’s a spooner!” the blue ranger exclaimed as he splashed some water on his face. A smile twitched at the corner of Jack’s mouth as Sky continued in an irate tone of voice, “I slept on about a foot of bed because he sprawled across the whole double space and then if that wasn’t enough at some point in the night he rolled over and spooned me!”
“Spooned?” Jack struggled to keep a straight face.
“Yeah, curled up around me. I couldn’t sleep with him draped over me so I ended up on the floor!”
Before Jack could compose himself enough to give Sky an answer, the door opened and an equally tired-looking Syd stumbled into the bathroom. “That’s the last time I share a bed with Z,” she yawned.
“Oh?” Jack said, fighting, and failing, to keep the grin off his face. “Why?”
“She steals covers,” Syd pouted, “And makes funny noises. I couldn’t sleep.”
Jack cracked up at that point and almost ran out of the bathroom, leaving Sky and Syd alone. “What’s with him?” the pink ranger asked.
“No idea,” Sky replied.
He turned to leave just as she stepped forward and the two of them found themselves standing face-to-face, or rather face-to-chest, as Sky was so much taller than the petite pink ranger. There was an uncomfortable silence and Syd felt the heat rise in her face as she realized how close to Sky she was.
“I, uh, have to get dressed,” Sky said, swallowing thickly, and hurried past her quickly before she could see the blush in his cheeks.
Syd stood still for a couple of seconds as she got her breathing back under control. Snap out of it she admonished herself as she wiped her face clean and pulled out her make-up bag.
“Syd, hurry up,” Z, color back to normal after a good sleep, burst into the bathroom to get herself ready. “Jack is a giggling lunatic, Sky is on the prowl complaining about the mess and Bridge is on the verge of eating his own arm.”
Main Room. Cadets’ Hotel. 7:30am
“I’m hungry,” Bridge announced for the thousandths time.
“We know!” Sky finally lost it, as irritation, hunger and tiredness caught up with him.
“Ok Bridge, new rule. You can only complain of being hungry five-” Jack, now over his hysterics, saw the look on the blue ranger’s face “-three times between each meal. Fair?”
The green ranger, more than a little startled by Sky’s outburst, nodded mutely.
Just then the two girls appeared and, with relief from all parties, the five of them headed out to find somewhere for breakfast.
A Diner Somewhere. 7.50am
“Mmmmm,” Bridge made a contented noise as he dug hungrily into his pile of pancakes topped with bacon, smothered with maple syrup and with a pile of toast waiting.
Sky shook his head in amazement as he saw the pancakes disappear and then turned to his own breakfast, a bagel. Syd had gone for a simple grapefruit and couldn’t help giggling a little at Z, who was happily munching on a bowl of fruit loops. Jack meanwhile had gone almost as all-out as Bridge had and was tucking in to bacon, eggs and sausages.
Just as they were finishing, two NYPD officers entered the diner to get their breakfast and Z let out a little squeal, “Look, real New York police officers. Come on Syd, let’s get a picture.” Not waiting for the pink ranger’s reply, she propelled her up off the chair and the two of them went over to the policemen.
Jack shook his head, “They’re not going to get a photo.”
Sky smiled as he saw Syd talking excitedly to the men, “You want to bet on that?”
“Ok, you’re on. Ten dollars say they leave without a photo.”
Twenty seconds later there was an exclamation of, “No way!” from Jack as Z handed her camera to the waitress and the two girls sat next to two extremely-pleased looking officers and posed for a picture.
Sky raised his eyebrows and simply held out a hand. Jack sighed and handed over a ten-dollar bill. Grinning, Sky pocketed the bill but, glancing back over to where Syd was laughing at something one of the officers had said, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Well, if a ‘twinge’ meant he wanted to leap over the tables and give the guy a black eye for even trying to chat up Sydney; an act that the calm, sensible, reasonable Sky Tate knew would achieve nothing more than getting him arrested for assaulting a police officer. Snap out of it Schuyler.
Z returned, triumphantly clutching her camera, with a still-smiling Syd. “You guys done yet?” the yellow ranger asked, “’cos we’ve got a tour bus to catch in… oh, about ten minutes.”
Stuck in traffic on 5th Avenue. 11:15am
Syd pressed her nose against the window of the bus, eyes wide as they passed some of her favorite shops, Gucci, Prada, Jefferies… “Oh couldn’t we stop the bus to take a quick peek?” She turned to the others, a light shining in her eyes at the thought of shopping.
“No Syd,” Sky sighed, and, before her mouth could form the shape of the words, he was already answering her unspoken question, “Because we all know you say a ‘quick peek’ but five hours and thousands of dollars later we’ll still be there. We’ve got to get to the Lincoln Center for our seminar at twelve and we haven’t even got to Central Park yet.”
Syd rolled her eyes and sat back into her seat, her eyes straying wistfully to the sidewalk. All those wonderful shops and she was stuck on a bus. She pouted; this was torture taken to the extreme.
The five of them had made it back to the hotel just in time for the tour bus and found they were the only people on it. Their tour guide, a true New Yorker, had proceeded to give them a running commentary on the history of New York and all its buildings as they’d left Hell’s Kitchen, where their hotel was, and had headed downtown to the Seaport and Financial District before then heading back up through SoHo, China Town, Times Square and Broadway. Now they were aiming for Central Park, passed the Empire State Building, but had hit traffic.
“I’m hungry,” Bridge announced as he caught sight of a hotdog seller on a street corner.
“One,” Jack said, quirking a grin.
“Huh?” Z asked, puzzled.
“Bridge’s new rule; he can only complain about being hungry three times in between meals. That’s one complaint used up, only got another two now.”
“Joys,” Sky muttered from where he was staring out at the yellow cabs lined up head to tail down the road.
Syd, who was sitting in front of him, turned around and knelt up on her chair to look at him, “That’s not the right spirit Sky,” she chided the blue ranger gently. “We’re on vacation, of sorts. No moaning or sarcasm or fights for our lives or SPD rules or regulations needed ok?” No SPD uniforms either she was glad to note. Even Sky had relaxed a bit and was wearing a loose pair of jeans and a blue sweater. He looked good, very good. Hot even. Suddenly Syd felt her face heat up again; where had that thought come from, she wondered as she quickly turned away and sat down in her seat.
Finally the traffic started moving again and it wasn’t long before they reached Central Park. The bus stopped to give them a chance to stretch their legs and, while a close eye was kept on Syd to make sure she didn’t disappear to do some shopping, Bridge slipped away to get some food. The other four, not seeing him walk away, got back onto the bus and were halfway down the road before they realized he was missing.
“Damn him!” Z groaned as they had the bus turn around and go back to where they had last seen him. The green ranger was nowhere to be seen.
“We’re going to be late,” Jack said, checking the time on his watch. It was now 11.30 and they still had to get to the Lincoln Center for their seminar. “Why don’t we just leave him? I mean, he’s got his morpher, how much trouble could he get into? ”
The red ranger was met by three identical looks from Sky, Syd and Z. “This is Bridge we’re talking about.” Sky said meaningfully, “You really want to leave him alone in New York City, even with his morpher? You need to rethink that.”
Jack realized what he had said and winced. It wasn’t that Bridge was stupid or incapable of looking after himself; the green ranger was actually very intelligent and had proved on more than one occasion that he was perfectly able to take care of himself, it was just that he was very… naïve would be the best word. Innocent too. He tended to take things at face value and not look deeper for hidden meanings. And he was friendly. Naïve and friendly, a mix that, although was good most of the time, would not bode well in a city that he had never been to before. A dangerous mix, which could quite easily get him into serious trouble…
Just as Jack was beginning to let his imagination run away with him, a voice interrupted his thoughts. “What have you lost?”
“A friend of ours, Bridge… Bridge!” The four of them turned around to face the missing green ranger.
Bridge, unaware of the trouble he had caused, stood there with a grin on his face, munching a pretzel. “I was hungry and we had stopped and there was a man over there…” he waved a hand vaguely in the direction he had come from, “…selling food so I went and got some. Anybody want a pretzel?” he added, holding up a paper bag, “They’re salty.”
Before Jack could launch himself at the oblivious green ranger, Z grabbed Bridge’s arm and dragged him onto the bus. “Let’s go.”
Lincoln Center. 12:00pm
The rangers had made it to the Lincoln Center in plenty of time, but had hit a problem as soon as they arrived at the doors; “I tell you we have a seminar here at twelve’ o’clock,” Jack argued with the bustling security guard who was refusing the cadets entry to the building.
“And I’ve told you sir, there is no seminar on the 10th floor today,” the guard said impatiently.
“I’ve got the paper to prove it.” Jack rummaged in his backpack before pulling out the leaflet Commander Cruger had given him. “Twelve p.m. Seminar for Improving Relations between Police and Public. 10th Floor, Lincoln Center, New York City. Tuesday… Tuesday?” He looked up at the other rangers and the now-smirking security guard. “Cruger said it was on Monday. We planned our whole trip around it being now. What are we going to do?”
Sensing the hint of panic in the red ranger’s voice, Syd smoothly took control. “It’s nothing to worry about. We’ll just rearrange everything to fit. I mean, it was going to fit anyway so it shouldn’t be a problem.” She grabbed the itinerary off a now-mute Jack, glanced at it and smiled, “Who’s up for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island boat tour?”
Sky grinned, “Sounds good.” The others chorused their agreement and they headed for the subway.
On the subway, somewhere. 12:50pm
“We’re lost,” Z stated as they stood on a platform and poured over a map of the city. They had taken one train and then, on the boys’ understanding, had got off to change; only there wasn’t the train they were looking for at that station.
“No we’re not,” Sky said firmly, “Just give us a second to get our bearings.
Syd and Z looked around the almost-deserted platform and sighed. “Look there’s a man over there, maybe we could ask him how…”
“No!” Jack said, “Sky’s right, we’re not lost. We need to get the… uh.”
“Men,” Z muttered to Syd, and, while the three boys argued quietly over what train they should catch, the two girls sidled up to a man leaning against the wall.
“Excuse me sir?” the yellow ranger asked. “Um we were wondering, which train do we catch to get us to Battery Park?”
The man raised his eyebrows, “You folks just got off’f that one?” He jabbed his thumb at the rail line they had just got off of. The girls nodded. “Well that’s the one you need. Takes you straight there.”
There was a dark look on Z’s face as she whirled around and stormed back over to the boys. “Thanks very much sir,” Syd squeaked at the helpful man before running after Z. The look of murder in the yellow ranger’s eyes made Syd feel almost sorry for Jack and Sky as they came face-to-face with Z’s wrath…
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. 1:30pm
Once Z had calmed down and the rangers had caught the right subway train to Battery Park, it had been relatively simple to catch the boat that would take them to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The five of them stood up on the top deck and gaped in amazement as they drew closer to Lady Liberty.
There was an awed silence, which was broken by a crunching noise. “What?” Bridge asked through a mouthful of chips as he caught the looks on his friends’ faces. “I was hungry, again, and you didn’t want me complaining.”
“Where did you get chips from?” Sky said, eyeing the bag hungrily.
“Downstairs. They sell lots of stuff.”
“Does anyone else want anything while I’m down there?” the blue ranger enquired as he moved towards the stairs.
“Hotdog and fries if they have some,” Z said. “Oh and a soda.”
“Soda and chips for me,” Jack added as he dug out some dollars for Sky.
“Can I have some candy?” Bridge asked. He was met with stares from the others. “So I can eat them when I get hungry,” he explained.
Sky sighed; I shouldn’t have asked, he thought as he found a pencil and scrap of paper to jot down the orders. “Syd?” he asked, realizing the pink ranger hadn’t asked for anything.
“I’ll come and see what they have,” she said, before adding with a smile, “Besides, I can’t see you carrying all that up here without there being an accident. Talented as you are, I don’t think waitressing is one of them!”
Sky couldn’t disguise the redness in his cheeks that had appeared at her words, Syd thinks I’m talented, “Um, thanks I think,” he muttered, quickly turning away and heading downstairs.
Syd stared after him for a second, ignoring the giggles of her teammates. Sky had actually blushed! A small smile formed at her lips and, shaking her head slightly, she followed the blue ranger.
She found Sky already ordering at the food counter and joined him with her own request for soda and a bagel. He couldn’t meet her eye, even when she grabbed some of the food off him to stop him dropping it. “Sky I think we need to talk,” she said.
He shook his head; “I’ve got to get this lot up to Z and Jack before it gets cold.” He hurried away leaving Syd once again to trail after him.
They could not get off at Liberty Island; it had been closed to tourists since 2015 when some idiots decided to try and re-enact a scene from an old ‘X-Men’ movie and had crashed a small spacecraft onto it, severely damaging the statue’s foundations. Now with modern technology work was underway to reopen the statue and restore her to her former glory, but it was going to take time and wasn’t due to be completed until at least 2028. The rangers had to make do with seeing Lady Liberty from afar.
Instead they continued on to Ellis Island where all the immigrants to New York had arrived over 200 years ago now.
“Wow cool, they’ve got this new DNA testing thingy here that you can use to see where your ancestors came from,” Bridge said excitedly.
“Finally, we’ll have proof that Bridge isn’t human,” Z said, but she said it gently, almost affectionately, and the green ranger stared at her. She looked away quickly, but nobody else had noticed.
The five of them decided to split up and meet back at the main entrance by half three, so they would be in plenty of time for the four p.m. boat home. In theory. Bridge wanted to try out the DNA thing, so him and Z left for that while Jack, Sky and Syd headed for the museum.
XxX
The green and yellow rangers, after numerous detours through the museum displays, finally approached the DNA machine skeptically. “What do we do?” Z asked.
An assistant appeared and explained how they just picked their finger on a needle to draw blood and ‘the computer did the rest’.
Bridge took the needle and paused. “What is it?” Z looked at him puzzled.
“I can’t do it…I have to take my glove off to prick my finger,” he said in a low voice.
Realization dawned on the brown haired girl, “Ah. Right.”
“Don’t worry,” Bridge said cheerfully, “I already know that my family came from Ireland. I don’t need a machine to tell me that.”
Z stared at him, “So why did you want to do it?”
The green ranger shrugged, “I wanted to see if it knew what I knew.”
“Is there a problem?” the assistant looked between them.
Z took the needle off Bridge and handed it back to her with a smile, “I’m afraid he’s changed his mind.” She dropped her voice to whisper confidentially to the woman, “He’s got a phobia of needles.”
A look of understanding appeared on the assistant’s face, “I see. Well you can always come back if you change your mind.”
“Thank you,” Z said politely and, grabbing Bridge’s hand, dragged him away from the machine before he started tinkering with it.
“What did you tell her that for?” the green ranger asked as they headed for the museum.
“I had to tell her something, she might have got suspicious,” Z said.
They walked silently for a few minutes before Bridge finally said, “Uh Z, you do know you’re still holding my hand right?”
Z suddenly blushed and dropped the green ranger’s gloved hand as if it was on fire; “Sorry I didn’t realize…” she trailed off as she found herself staring into Bridge’s green eyes.
Neither of them remembered consciously moving, but their lips gently brushed each other’s. Z pulled back as she grasped what was happening, “Bridge… we can’t, can we? I mean, your powers…”
He stared at her, “I don’t think I can hurt you,” he whispered.
Z looked at him, her brown eyes filled with worry, “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He smiled, “You won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?” she asked.
Bridge shrugged, “I’m not, but I’m willing to try if you are.”
“Well if you’re ok with it…” Their lips met again, this time with more conviction behind the kiss.
Z smiled at the green ranger as they parted, “I could get used to this…”
XxX
Meanwhile the red, blue and pink rangers were still wandering around the museum exhibits. Both Sky and Syd found it fascinating, but Jack was less than impressed and, half-an-hour later he slipped away from the other two to find the gift shop. For the first time this trip, Sky and Syd found themselves truly alone with each other, and there was an awkward silence.
“I can’t believe the amount of people that went through here,” Syd said lightly as she looked at one of the displays.
“And we think we’ve got it bad at SPD sometimes,” Sky muttered in agreement as he eyed the rows of ‘medical’ equipment.
“Sky…” Syd turned suddenly to the blue ranger.
“Oh wow, come and see this,” Sky darted away from the pink ranger and eyed another exhibit, seemingly engrossed in the plight of those who were refused entry into the country. Syd sighed and wandered off to view another display. Sky glanced at her and shook his head slightly. Why was he avoiding voicing what they both couldn’t deny? He liked Syd, didn’t he? Really liked her. Maybe even loved her. So what was the problem? Could it be that he, Schuyler Tate, was actually scared of something? He knew the answer to that straight away – yes! Yes he was scared of something; scared of letting someone in, through the wall he had carefully constructed around himself, and seeing the real him; scared of being rejected, pushed away; scared of having someone to lose. Forcing these thoughts out of his head, he realized he was staring at Syd and quickly he turned his attention back to the display, hoping she hadn’t noticed.
The pink ranger had noticed Sky staring at her, and she felt anger bubbling under her calm exterior. How dare he make her feel like, like that? Like she was a giddy, love struck kid and then act as if he wasn’t interested. He confused her, and Syd hated being confused. Either he liked her or he didn’t. But he kept avoiding the conversation and she began to wonder what Sky’s problem was. By the end of this trip I will find out just what he thinks of me she promised herself and smirked.
XxX
Three thirty arrived quickly and Jack, Sky and Syd arrived at the entrance, ready to go, but found no sign of Bridge and Z. “Where are they?” the red ranger sighed with impatience and checked his watch again.
“Don’t worry, they’ll be here…” Syd trailed off as she remembered who she was talking about.
At three fifty-two, the three of them were considering leaving Bridge and Z to fend for themselves when the two illusive rangers appeared, Bridge holding a bag of fries.
“Sorry we’re late, someone wanted something to eat,” Z said, jabbing Bridge. She looked a little flushed.
“Are you ok Z?” Syd asked.
“Fine, I’m fine,” the yellow ranger said very quickly, but the others quietly noted that she seemed very jittery, especially around a certain green ranger.
The five of them almost had to run to catch the boat in time, but they made it and soon they were heading back to land. Instead of going up on deck as they had done on the way there, the chilly wind caused them to stay inside. Five minutes after leaving Ellis Island, the wind increased and the boat started to rock a little more than it had done.
There was a groan from Bridge and the others looked to see that he had turned a sickly shade of green.
“Are you ok buddy?” Sky asked, seeing that Bridge really didn’t look well.
“I don’t feel too good,” he muttered and gave another groan as the boat hit a wave.
“You should have told us you get seasick,” Jack said, sympathetically.
“It’s not seasickness,” Z shot Bridge a sharp look. “You ate all that candy as well didn’t you?” she said accusingly.
Bridge nodded slowly, now looking thoroughly miserable. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Don’t you dare…that’s an order.” Jack quickly moved away from the green green-ranger.
“Serves you right for eating too much,” Z chided him, but took his arm anyway and steered him away from the others. Braving the wind, she led him up on deck to get some fresh air.
By the time they arrived back to dry land, Bridge’s color was more normal and less like his t-shirt and he had cheered up considerably. It was decided between the five of them that they would head back to the hotel and relax for an hour, before going out for a meal in the evening.
‘Peep’. SoHo. 7:00pm
The rangers had been recommended a restaurant in SoHo called ‘Peep’ by the hotel manager and had found it with no problems, unless Jack nearly getting stuck in a subway train door counted as a problem. Apart from hurting the red ranger’s male pride, no serious damage had been caused so the journey had been a success. They had been seated relatively quickly and were more than happy to chill in the friendly atmosphere. Syd was particularly impressed by the décor; chrome, mirrors and pink fluorescent lighting, although Jack complained that it clashed with his red shirt. After they had all ordered and had been sitting sipping the water they had been given, Bridge excused himself to go to the toilet. He walked to the mirrored wall opposite their table and disappeared inside. Almost as soon as he had gone in, he was out again and walking quickly back to them.
“What’s the matter?”
“I can’t go there, people can see me,” the green ranger said, blushing furiously.
“What do you mean, see you?” Syd asked, looking at Bridge as if he was crazy.
“Watch, I’ll go and wave to you.” He walked back through the mirrored door.
The other four stared fixedly at the wall, but all they could see was their image being reflected back at them. Sky rolled his eyes and picked up his drink, “Who spiked his water?” He took a sip of his own water before replacing it on the table.
Bridge returned, “There, didn’t you see me waving at you?”
They shook their heads. “Bridge all we saw was our own reflections,” Syd said.
“But I saw you!” he almost wailed. “I saw Sky pick up his drink and drink it and you staring at me like I was crazy.”
Sky looked from Bridge to his drink, where he had put it back down, and then back to Bridge. “Ookay…”
“This the first time you guys have been here?” A man on the next table leaned over to enquire. The five of them nodded. He laughed, “It was a bit of a shock the first time I came as well, but you get used to it. It’s kind of funny after a while too. I mean, you think someone’s watching you but really they’re checking themselves out in the mirror.”
“Um, I don’t understand,” Z said, speaking for all of them.
“The mirrors, the wall between the toilets and the restaurant, they’re the one-way mirrors. You can see out, but no one can see in. It’s a bit disconcerting at first but take a deep breath and go for it. Nobody can see you- excuse me.” His food had arrived so he turned back away from the rangers.
Syd and Z got up and headed for the toilets. True to Bridge’s word, you could see right out into the restaurant, although it was like looking through tinted glass.
“Freaky,” the yellow ranger said, and Syd had to agree. Just then a waiter appeared with their orders so the see-through toilets were forgotten as they dug hungrily in to the food.
It was Syd that next went to the toilets, and a wicked idea came to Z. She whispered in Jack’s ear and the two of them look straight at the place where Syd was and started waving to her.
“What are you guys doing?” Sky said, looking to see who they were waving at. He was met by his own reflection.
“Waving at Syd. She can see us remember.”
“But you can’t see her- oh,” Sky suddenly understood. “That’s not very nice Z,” he told her.
Z giggled and then Syd appeared, her face bright red. “You could see me?” she asked, mortified.
The yellow and red rangers began laughing at the shock on her face, but Sky gave them both an evil look, “No we couldn’t Syd. They were just teasing you.”
Relief was apparent of Syd’s face as she sat back down, “You guys are evil,” she sniffed.
“We do our best to oblige,” Jack said with mock modesty.
The rest of the meal was pretty uneventful; even the toilets lost their amusement after everyone had gone, and the five incredibly full rangers reluctantly made a move to get back to the hotel.
Main Room. Cadet’s Hotel. 10:00pm
“I told you this morning, I’m not sharing a bed with Z again,” Syd said firmly, clutching Peanuts.
“And I’m not sharing with Bridge, no offense buddy, but I want to sleep in a bed tonight,” Sky said almost apologetically to the green ranger.
“Well I’m not sharing with anyone,” Jack said, pointedly lying down on his single bed.
“I refuse to share with Sky,” Z cut in immediately.
“I wouldn’t want to share with you,” the blue ranger retorted hotly.
A large squabble broke out between the four of them, which Jack ignored until it became apparent that he wasn’t going to get to sleep unless it was sorted. “OK!” he yelled into a pause as everyone caught their breath. They all turned to him. “Tonight Bridge and Z can have one bed and Sky and Syd the other, no arguments. I’m pulling rank. Now, go to sleep.” With that he rolled over and stuck the pillow over his head.
Grumbling quietly, the four of them got into bed. Bridge and Z were more than comfortable and soon drifted off to sleep, but it was another matter for Syd and Sky.
After the day they had had, the last thing the blue and pink rangers wanted to do was share a bed. In the dark, Syd felt Sky move restlessly behind her and she couldn’t help the redness in her cheeks. She had never imagined sharing a bed with Sky, and even if she had, this wasn’t quite the situation she had hoped for. Letting the breath she realized she had been holding out gently, she shut her eyes and attempted to sleep.
With his back to her, Sky’s eyes were wide open as he listened to her breathing even out. Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the ceiling hidden in darkness, trying to avoid accidentally touching Syd. His thoughts were a jumble but before he could even think of sorting them out, tiredness closed his eyes and he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Day Three – Tuesday (morning)
Cadets’ Hotel Room. 7:00am
When Sky opened his eyes that morning, it was to see Syd’s face mere inches from his own. At some point in the night they had both rolled over to face each other, sleep breaking down the boundaries that held them apart while awake. He smiled as Syd moved slightly, still managing to look beautiful even without consciously realizing it. It was with some reluctance that he sat up to check the time and groaned as he saw that it was time to get up. Glancing across the room he was met with an amusing sight.
Bridge and Z, both very active sleepers and infamous bed-hogs, seemed to have reached an unconscious agreement during their sleep. Z lay curled up on her side, her back to Bridge, while the green ranger appeared to have coiled himself around her, one arm draped over her waist. The bedcover was barely covering him, but was wrapped tightly around Z who mumbled something incoherently in her sleep and snuggled deeper into Bridge’s embrace.
Sky chuckled softly at the pair of them and next to him Syd stirred as she began to come round. Blinking her eyes open, she gave the blue ranger a puzzled look. He held a finger up to his lips, the universal gesture of silence, and indicated to her to take a look at Bridge and Z.
The pink ranger smiled as she saw the position they had got into and held a hand over her mouth to quiet the giggles that threatened to burst out. An idea suddenly coming to her, Syd reached down into her bag beside the bed and pulled out her camera. Sky raised his eyebrows and she mouthed a single word to him, “Blackmail.” He grinned in response and gave her the thumbs up. Syd carefully eased herself up off the bed and maneuvered on soft tiptoes to get the best angle for the photo.
Jack by now was also awake, but after Sky had firmly gestured for him not to make a sound and to look at his teammates the red ranger had instantly understood what was happening.
Syd, now in position, held the camera up to eye-level and pressed the button. There was a flash of light and a click as the incriminating evidence was secured.
Bridge sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes open but his mind still clearly asleep, “The giraffes are evil!”
Jack, Sky and Syd all burst into uncontrollable fits of giggles as Bridge stared at them blankly, the panic on his face being replaced by confusion.
Z, awakened by the commotion, sat up slowly, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “What’s the matter?” she asked foggily.
“Nothing,” Jack wheezed, finally calming down. “It’s time to get up.”
“Oh,” she said simply, sparing a glance at Bridge to see if the green ranger was as oblivious as she.
He clearly was. After looking around at the faces of his friends and deciding they were just being weird, he announced, “I’m hungry.”
Outside Macy’s. 9:00 am.
“I swear it opened at nine,” Syd pouted as she stared at the closed doors of the department store in confusion.
“Sorry Syd,” Jack said, studying the opening times posted nearby. “Not till ten apparently.”
“Great, now what?” Z asked, a little sharply. She was still a bit miffed that the other three seemed to be laughing at her and Bridge for some reason and she had no idea why. It was infuriating.
The rangers had found a different diner to the one they’d gone to the morning before, but it hadn’t been as nice. Still, they were all full after the breakfast, and the boys had finally given in to Z and Syd’s, mainly Syd’s, demands for retail therapy. They had got the subway to 34th Street and, after forcibly dragging Jack and Sky away from Madison Square Gardens, arrived at Macy’s to find it was closed.
“No worries Z,” Syd said, calming down as she gave the boys a sly look. “We’ll just look in the other shops for an hour and then come back.”
There were groans from the three male rangers and Jack muttered to Sky, “How long until we have to be at our seminar?”
“We have to be at the centre by twelve… three hours,” Sky said in a voice that was slowly filling with dread. Three hours of shopping lay ahead of them. Three hours of being dragged around looking at clothes and shoes and make-up. Three hours of carrying Syd’s bags while she debated between the light pink top or the bright pink top, but everyone knew she would end up buying both, yet she would still spend hours deciding… The panic began to rise.
Just then Bridge grinned, “Yay! Footlocker… can we go there?”
“Footlocker?”
“Where?”
The boys sensed a lifeline in their despair and grabbed at it, “Let’s go.”
“Hold it.” Syd’s voice stopped them in their tracks. “If we split up when and where are we meeting back up?”
Relief that she wasn’t going to fight them on the matter was apparent on the boys’ faces and Jack gave her question some serious thought as he glanced at the list of floors in Macy’s. “How about eleven-fifteen at the North entrance?”
Everyone nodded, “Sounds fair.”
Just as they parted to go their separate ways, Z, who had also looked at the floor list, grabbed Bridge’s arm and said quietly, “Meet me at ten-thirty at the Ben&Jerry’s café on the third floor.” The green ranger held her gaze for a moment and nodded, before leaving to catch up with Jack and Sky who were already on their way to Footlocker.
Z turned away to find herself faced with a grinning Syd. “What’s up with you?” she asked.
“I think the question should be what’s up with you and Bridge?” the pink ranger said, then added airily, “You two looked pretty cozy in bed together this morning.”
Z flushed and stammered, “N…nothing.”
“Oh come on!” Syd raised an eyebrow skeptically, “Your face says it all.”
“Ok, ok,” Z gave in, knowing she would get no peace otherwise. “We, uh, we kissed.”
Syd’s face lit up with glee, “You never? That is so cute! Spill!”
Z groaned and as they walked into Old Navy to browse the clothes she proceeded to tell Syd about the events of yesterday on Ellis Island. Once she had finished, Syd still had a huge smile on her face, “So you two are together now?”
Z blushed, “I guess so. We haven’t really talked about it.”
“Well it’s about time,” Syd said breezily as she picked up and subsequently discarded a shirt. Seeing the confused look on the other woman’s face she clarified herself, “I mean, you’ve both obviously liked each other for a while; it’s about time you faced up to your feelings.”
There was a slight wistful tone in the pink ranger’s voice that Z couldn’t help but pick up on. “So what’s the deal with you and Sky?” she asked lightly.
The smile on Syd’s face faded to a frown. “I don’t know,” she said slowly, contemplating her answer. “Sometimes I think Sky really likes me, but whenever I try to confront him about it, he acts all cold and disinterested. He’s always avoiding the subject completely.”
“And what are your feelings towards him?” the yellow ranger pressed.
Syd sighed, “I like him, a lot. Don’t ask me why. He’s so stuck up and by-the-book and yet at the same time he can be sweet and caring and sarcastic but funny…” she trailed off as Z started laughing. “What?”
The brown haired girl shook her head and smiled, “Nothing. What are you going to do about him?”
Syd bit her lip, “I’m not sure.” A glint came into her eye, “But by the end of today I will find out his feelings towards me,” she promised. “Ooh, look at that top…”
XxX
After spending an hour happily lost in Footlocker looking at the latest lightball equipment as well as the more traditional football and soccer gear, the three guys decided that since they were there, they might as well have a look in the men’s department in Macy’s.
It took them three tries to find the right section and in the confusion of escalators and clothes Bridge slipped away to find Z and the Ben&Jerry’s, leaving Jack and Sky to wander. He was soon noticed as missing.
“Drat him,” Sky muttered, after a quick search of the floor drew a blank.
“Don’t panic,” Jack said sensibly. “He’s probably just gone to find something to eat. He’ll turn up. Now… where’s the shoe section? I need some new Converse.” Spotting the sign he walked off.
Sky, now alone, roamed aimlessly around the clothes section. He had no real interest in buying anything, after all, most of his clothes had only been worn a few times as he practically lived in his uniform at the academy. Although, since his promotion to B-Squad and Jack and Z turning up, he had found he was being slowly forced out of his uniform more and more. What was it with Syd and Z that meant he had to wear civilian clothes even just around the base when off-duty? To be honest though, Sky didn’t mind all that much. The SPD uniform, as much as it meant to him, was not the worlds most comfortable outfit and the fact that the girls took the time to notice and chide him about his clothes made Sky feel a bit special. Absently he picked up a blue shirt and was vaguely wondering if it would look good on him when a voice behind him made him jump.
“May I help you sir?”
Turning, Sky came face-to-face with a young man, neatly dressed in a smart suit with shiny shoes standing very close to him. “Um, no, thank you. I was just looking,” the blue ranger told the sales assistant, stepping back slightly.
“Oh.” The man smiled at him and took the shirt from Sky’s hands, moving forward to hold it up against him. He eyed him critically before saying, “It suits you very much. Brings out the color in your eyes.”
“Right,” Sky said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. The sales assistant was standing very close, seemingly having no respect for personal space.
“You do have lovely eyes you know.”
“Thank… excuse me?” the blue ranger stared at the man in puzzlement.
“Your eyes,” the man said, still standing far too close, “They are very nice.”
Sky shook himself slightly, “Umm, thanks, I guess.” He tried to move back, but the clothes rail stuck into his back preventing him.
“You here for just a visit? Because if you’re free later I know a great bar down in The Village.”
Suddenly realization dawned on Sky like an icy bucket of water being dropped on his head. The neat shirt, well-spoken voice, the shiny shoes… the sales assistant was hitting on him! Panic rose as Sky thought desperately of how to get out of this situation without offending the man. “I, uh…”
“He’s with me.” Relief flooded through Sky as Jack’s voice cut into the awkward silence.
“Yes I’m with… what?” He turned to look at the red ranger as the sales assistant stepped back, blushing. “N no,” he stammered as the implications of what Jack has said sunk in, “I’m not with him, I mean, we’re not…”
Jack grinned at the clearly embarrassed blue ranger and said, with a wink at the sales assistant, “Just ignore him. He’s not quite out of the closet yet. Come on honey, we’ve got to find our friends.” With that comment obviously aimed at Sky, the red ranger grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the department to the safety of the stairwell. Once they were clear, Jack began laughing. Sky stood there, arms folded, a murderous scowl on his face.
“Oh don’t look at me like that,” the red ranger wheezed.
“What the hell were you playing at?” Sky hissed, barely controlled anger in his voice.
“Chill bro.” Jack held up his hands to pacify the blue ranger. “I was just getting you out of a potentially hazardous situation. You didn’t want to hurt that poor man’s feelings now did you? I spared you both from embarrassment and the only thing that got a little damaged was your pride, and you have enough of that not to miss a small bit! Now stop whining and let’s go see what else this store has, apart from gay assistants.”
Sky paused as he made sense of Jack’s words. “Oh all right,” he said, mollified, “I guess I owe you thanks and an apology,” he admitted grudgingly.
“No worries,” the other man said cheerfully.
The blue ranger’s face darkened momentarily as he waved a finger in Jack’s face, “Just don’t you dare mention anything about this to the others.”
Jack bit his lip to keep the grin off his face, “Never dreamed about it,” he remarked innocently. Not until you brought it up anyway… “Come on,” he said out loud, “How about a drink?”
XxX
Syd and Z meanwhile had found the woman’s section of Macy’s and, after finally looking at all the clothes she could ever want, the yellow ranger was relieved to see it was almost time to meet Bridge at the Ben&Jerry’s shop.
“Hey Syd,” she said, turning to her companion, “You mind if I head off?”
“Head off? Off where?” Syd asked, puzzled.
“I told Bridge I’d meet him for ice cream at ten-thirty,” Z muttered, looking abashed. “Sorry.”
“But if you go who’s going to help me pick an outfit?” the pink ranger almost wailed.
Z groaned inwardly, “You’re a big girl, I’m sure you can managed,” she said, then grinned wickedly as a thought struck her, “If all else fails you can always ask Sky to help.”
“Hmmm,” Syd said thoughtfully, “You know, that’s not a bad idea… Z? Z?” But the yellow ranger had slipped away as Syd had been preoccupied and was nowhere to be seen. The pink ranger shrugged, let Z go and meet Bridge; a very interesting idea had come to Syd and would need some careful planning before being put into action. Sky wouldn’t know what had hit him… This was going to be fun!
XxX
“Mmm,” Bridge moaned appreciatively as he dug into his cookie dough ice cream.
“Good?” Z asked, daintily taking a bite of her own
“Very,” the green ranger said, then covered his mouth with a hand as he yawned. “I’m so sleepy,” he added.
“Sleepy?” Z raised her eyebrows sceptically. “You were snoring! How can you be sleepy?”
Bridge wiped a hand across his mouth and leaned forward towards her across the table, “I had the strangest dream,” he said. "It made me feel as if I hadn't slept."
“Oh really?” Z took another bite of her ice cream.
The green ranger gave her a serious nod, “About evil giraffes,” he told her in a low voice without even the trace of a smile on his face.
The brown haired woman chocked on her cookie dough, “Evil giraffes?” she spluttered, laughing through her coughs. Eyes wide, Bridge nodded again. “So what happened?” she couldn’t resist asking.
“Well…” Bridge chewed on a lump of cookie dough thoughtfully as his brow scrunched up as he tried to recall the dream. “I was walking down 5th Avenue and I was hungry, so I was heading for Central Park to get some butter for my toast, because I knew the trees there had butter on them. I met an elephant who reminded me of Piggy for some reason and then suddenly everyone was running away because these evil giraffes were coming, but I couldn’t run because my feet were in those lead boots that divers wear. Then I could hear them coming and I was trying to run but I couldn’t and then my feet came free and I had only my green socks on so I was running and they were behind me and they were getting closer and closer and then… poof!”
“Poof?” Z gasped, attempting to smother her giggles.
Bridge shrugged, “There was this like flash of light and then I woke up. “What?” he gave her a puzzled look as Z dissolved into hysterics.
“It wasn’t funny, it was scary,” he told her indignantly.
“Sorry,” Z said, holding her aching ribs. “Come on, eat up your ice cream. We’ve got to meet the others soon.”
North Exit of Macy’s. 11:20am
“Finally!” Sky exclaimed as Z and Bridge appeared. “Where’s Syd?”
“What do you mean finally?” Z demanded. “We’re only five minutes late.”
“Actually we’re only four minutes and forty-nine seconds late,” Bridge chipped in, but fell silent at the unamused look Sky shot him.
“So where’s Syd?” Jack asked.
“Um, she’s not here?” Z said, knowing full well what the answer was. Sky gave her another look. Z sighed, “I don’t know where she is. I left her up in the Woman’s section on the second floor,” she mumbled quickly.
“You left Syd alone in a shop? Are you crazy?” Sky was gobsmacked as the implications set in. “We’ll never find her again!”
“Oh stop being so melodramatic,” Z said, then raised her eyebrows, “Turn around.”
“What?” the blue ranger looked at her as if she really had gone mad. “Come on Z, playing games isn’t going to find Syd.”
“Find me? Am I lost?” the pink ranger’s voice sounded from behind him. “I’m not too late am I? I just had to buy this most adorable skirt I found… No one else bought anything?” she added, seemingly distressed by the groups lack of bags.
“I couldn’t find the Converse I wanted,” Jack said with a shrug.
“We had ice cream, but it got eaten,” Bridge offered.
“Let’s go,” Sky said tetchily and made to usher them towards the exit.
Seeing the looks of annoyance flash across his teammates’ faces at the blue ranger’s actions, Jack decided on a little revenge, “But Sky, you haven’t told them about your new friend,” he said lightly.
Sky froze.
“What new friend?” Bridge asked curiously.
“Don’t you dare, Jack…” Sky threatened, but the red ranger ignored him.
“Sky got hit on by a sales assistant.”
The blue ranger turned pink. Syd, seeing this, felt a wave of jealousy wash over her. “She any nice?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
Jack began laughing and, as the other three stared at him in puzzlement, he burst out, “It wasn’t a she!”
As the three rangers joined Jack in laughing, Sky’s face went flame-red, “Come on,” he mumbled, trying to block out their mirth. “We’re going to be late.”
Still giggling, Bridge, Z and Syd headed for the exit but Sky grabbed Jack before her could follow. “You promised not to tell them.”
The red ranger sighed and, still grinning, said, “Oh take the stick out of your arse Sky and learn how to laugh at yourself.” With that he clapped him on the shoulder and walked out of Macy’s on to the street.
The blue ranger stood there for a second before grinning. Even he had to admit, it had been pretty funny!
TBC.....