The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 21 - College

Cereal was almost offensive in Nicole’s book, she hated almost every variety, yet some cereal bars were edible.  She blamed the insistence that cereal had to be eaten with milk.  Such a vile liquid, with a texture that made her want to heave just thinking about it.  People often made fun of her for it in school, because that was all there was to drink.  It was so stupid, the things people would find to mock others over. 

All of that, just to justify frying some eggs and bacon in her own mind.  Well, that and the fact she was frying enough for two people.  If she was going to risk being late to her first class back, she was at least going to be courteous about it to her roommate.  It wasn’t fair that her first class of the day was a whole period later, but that was how the courses fell. 

She was just plating everything up when Rebecca wandered in, bleary-eyed and scratching her stomach under her shirt.  Nicole considered teasing her for it, or snapping a quick video to send to Colin, but that only risked accelerating her own teasing, which she was willing to put off as long as possible.  So, of course, she recorded it all anyway. 

“Morning, sleepy-head,” Nicole said.  “Juice is on the table, give me one more minute to collect the toast.” 

“Why the production?” Becca grumbled, flopping into her usual chair before blindly pouring herself a glass of juice.  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you got lai—”  Her comment cut off, all signs of her prior sleep-addled state having fled.  “You didn’t.” 

“No, I didn’t,” Nicole agreed, fighting to keep calm.  She knew this was coming, and had been anticipating it since she got home after her date.  She’d taken something to help her sleep, and that was that.  “I just had a date, that’s all.” 

Nicole didn’t dare look up from her plate, she didn’t need to, she knew Becca was grinning like a loon, and would soon be acting like one.  Instead, she ate her breakfast for the few moments of peace that would remain of the morning, and forwarded the video of sleepy Becca to Colin to head off the worst of it.

Then the squeal came and Becca was excitedly slapping the table while her feet did a little dance under the table.  And Rebecca wondered how she had developed a crush on her in high school, the girl was just fucking adorable.  Nicole just waited it out, taking a drink of her juice before a bite of toast followed. 

“It was Grace, wasn’t it?” Nicole asked after finally calming down, mostly.  “Oh my god, I fucking called it that night I caught you both together!  How long have you been dating?” 

“Since yesterday,” Nicole said, her face burning as she continued to eat.  She knew the protest was coming, so she headed it off between bites.  “It was our first date, and we only just met the day of the attack when we became Rangers.” 

“Really?” Becca asked.  “Feels like longer, but then again, this whole week off has felt like it lasted months already.” 

“Tell me about it,” Nicole said.  “I’ve fought the machines twice, been on two fire-rescue scenes, and met one of the Sylan generals not once, but twice.  It’s just so surreal I don’t even know if it’s been real.” 

“It sort of feels like a dream?” Nicole asked.  “I get that, the first few weeks dating Colin felt like that, where I was just waiting to wake up.” 

Some days it really did feel like a surreal dreamscape, like attempting to have a pleasant conversation with an alien hellbent on conquering her home all for their own good.  Yeah, she didn’t buy that for a second.  Humans might be shit, and greedy as hell, but why should she believe some random invader would be any better?  Politicians were always selling something, and Maraline was no different. 

Becca chuckled, which lasted just a bit too long to be a passing thought. 

“Out with it,” Nicole said, already accepting her fate. 

Rebecca waved her off.  “It’s just, think about everything you just said and how absurd it sounds to someone not right in the middle of it all like you are.” 

Nicole couldn’t help but snort, because Becca was—as usual—completely right.  It did come across as absurd.  Would Colin even believe her about the conversations with one of the Sylan?  Like, why was Maraline so obsessed with her?  It made no sense.  Nicole had so many questions and almost no answers for any of them. 

There was almost no point dwelling on it, not when she was missing too many important data points to find the answer.  Instead, she focused on finishing her breakfast before she was more than fashionably late.  Odds were nobody would really care about the first day of classes back following the attacks, but you could never tell. 

It was actually kind of stupid how the world was just expected to keep marching on despite an alien invasion at the doorstep.  People still had to go to work, even for menial office jobs.  It was the fucking plague all over again, only on steroids.  Thousands had died at the Renfaire, and their jobs were already posted. 

“It really is all flavors of stupid, isn’t it?” Nicole mused, finishing her plate.  She hurried over to the sink, rinsing it off before tossing it into the dishwasher and grabbing her bag.  “Well, back to the grinder of tedious normalcy while the world burns around us.” 

“I hear that,” Becca said.  “It really is sad just how casual everyone has been about the world falling apart around them.  Maybe we really do deserve to be conquered if this is how we answer a crisis.” 

Nicole winced, because her reasoning wasn’t far off from Maraline’s own arguments.  “You assume the grass will be greener under our new overlords.” 

“Just musing out loud,” Becca said.  “Depressing as this all is, I should go shower and get ready for my own classes.  Who knows, maybe I share one with your fellow Rangers.” 

“Maybe you do,” Nicole said.  “You’ve met Grace, but I think Green also attends, Purple might as well.” 

“An odd concentration within a single school,” Becca said with a frown.  “Silver is the only one you don’t suspect attends?” 

“Never asked,” Nicole said with a shrug.  “The guy turned out to be a bit of a homophobic prick and fucked off when he realized he was outnumbered three to one on that front with no allies.” 

“Ouch,” Becca said.  “Sounds like the kind of drama I happily avoid.” 

Shaking her head, Nicole grabbed one last piece of bacon from the plate and hurried to the door.  “Who knows,” Nicole called back.  “You might already know the prick!” 

“Don’t curse me, you bitch!” Becca called out, even as Nicole shut the door, laughing her ass off as she rushed off to her first class of the day.

***

Two classes in and Nicole already regretted her decision to continue with her education.  It was all so tedious, sitting there, listening to people drone on and on about things that just won’t matter should they lose the war.  Should she fail in the duty that had been thrust upon her by some being that she simply didn’t understand. 

Subjects that had once entertained her to learn now rang hollow.  Nicole was already considering just leaving for the day, heading back down to the fire station and applying for a job or something.  Anything would be better than enduring the boredom she now experienced. 

Nicole grabbed a few items from the cafeteria, then found herself an empty table.  She was still mulling over those thoughts when someone joined her.  Kayla was quick to arrange things around her, more focused on putting a few sauces on her sandwich than she was on greeting her fellow Ranger.  That suited Nicole just fine, she’d spent more time focused on food than she had her education, distracted as she was. 

“So, how did it go?” Kayla asked, still not looking up. 

“Great and terrible all at once,” Nicole said, waiting for Kayla to take her first bite before continuing.  “Had my first kiss, traded wits with a Sylan general, typical first date stuff.” 

Sure enough, Kayla almost choked.  Served her right after everything she pulled at the food court.  Nicole waited for her to calm down, even pushed her bottle of soda over to help her clear things up.  Jeff joined them during that time, looking a bit amused at Kayla being the one to be coughing up a storm for once. 

“Okay, I’ll bite, how the hell did you manage this one?” 

“Maraline crashed my date,” Nicole said, picking at her own tray.  “Kinda put a damper on things.” 

“Oh,” he said.  “Did she try to muscle in on you or Grace?” 

Kayla coughed even harder and Nicole froze.  “What?” 

“Sylan beauty takes an interest in a Ranger,” he shrugged.  “I’ve read worse setups for an enemies to lovers story before.” 

“Already telling them about our date?” Grace asked, her voice tinged with amusement. 

Jeff blinked, then his grin widened.  “She was just telling us about the little threesome you had with the vexing Sylan general that has taken an unhealthy level of interest in our little body builder here.” 

“I will crush your head between my thighs,” Nicole said, glaring at the man. 

“A worthy death,” Jeff said with a sagely nod.  “A fate I am sure Grace will become rather familiar with, in time.” 

Now it was Nicole’s turn to nearly choke, even if it was just on her own spit.  

“Dude,” Kayla said, her voice flat.  “Dial it back a bit around the baby gays.  They’re still shy about this stuff.” 

Just for that comment, Nicole stuck her tongue out. 

“See, she’s already learning how to lesbian,” Kayla added with a wicked grin.  “Grace must be a good study partner.” 

And immediately regretted it.

There was just no winning against that girl, and yet, she was fighting back a smile.  For all that Nicole had endured, she was sitting at a table with four people that she didn’t hate, trading jokes and just generally having fun, even if some of that fun was at her expense. 

That was a weird feeling all on its own, but none of the teasing felt malicious, even when Jeff commented on her muscles, he made it into a positive trait somehow.  So, she would just go along with it, see where things went.  She’d promised Grace that she would try to do better, to enjoy life.  This felt as good of a place as any to start. 

“So, what was this about Maraline?” Kayla asked.  “No teasing this time, just, why do you keep running into her?” 

“I have no clue,” Nicole admitted with a sigh, sitting back in her chair.  “I mean, I think yesterday wasn’t intended.  She was out in the park, playing a harp for a group of kids.” 

“Kids,” Jeff said in disbelief.  “And they were just sitting there listening?” 

Grace nodded.  “Yup, completely enthralled, but not through any power we noticed.  She was just…” 

“The best harp player we’ve ever heard?” Nicole said. 

Grace nodded in agreement.  

It was strange to admit, but she’d looked up various harp players online after the strange encounter, and none of their performances really compared to what they had heard.  They all sounded lacking in comparison.  It was like listening to a teenager trying to pull off their favorite metal riff on a fifty dollar guitar with no amp in comparison.  Like these masters were playing on a stick with rubber bands. 

That was how otherworldly Maraline’s performance was. 

The worst part, Nicole wanted to listen to her play again, this time without interruptions or expectations.  Maybe it would give her some insight into the enigma that was the Sylan general that seemed hellbent on taking over her home.  Learning about this Administrator seemed rather important as well, but that was turning out to be a distant second in her own mind. 

“Why does this shit have to be so complicated?” Nicole asked nobody in particular. 

Grace pulled her into a half hug.  “Life is rarely simple, and we’ve been tossed into the deep end.” 

“Putting it mildly,” Kayla grumbled.

“Hey, is there room for one more?” a masculine voice asked. 

Nicole turned, pulling herself from Grace’s warmth, only to find one more person standing there with a tray in hand.  Devon, the Silver Ranger, wore a contrite expression to go with his inward turned body language, as if he was expecting an attack at any moment.  After his previous outburst, he very well might have deserved it. 

The table sat there in silence, all eyes on the man, waiting to see who would take the bullet for the rest of them.  It spoke volumes that nobody was quite so eager to do so.  Then, Grace cleared her throat. 

“Always room for a member of the team,” Grace said before anyone could even ask for clarification, taking hold of Nicole’s own hand as if daring him to call them on it. 

He sighed, and pulled up a chair.  Once he sat, he looked at their interlocked hand and didn’t comment on it, but he didn’t sneer either.  Interesting, and Nicole couldn’t help but be a little curious as to what had happened to change his mind. 

“So, what happened with you the last two days?” Kayla asked. 

Devon sighed.  “You probably wouldn’t believe me.” 

Nicole snorted.  “Does it top a live music show with Maraline as the headliner?” 

He blinked, looking across the others, finding no signs they were bullshitting him.  Nicole rolled her eyes and Grace nodded. 

“Okay, that is weird as hell,” he admitted.  “I helped bust a crime syndicate that was smuggling Sylan tech with the help of a yellow Ranger from out of town.” 

There was a beat of silence, Kayla and Jeff seemed surprised at the news of a visiting Ranger, which told them that they still weren’t paying much attention to the local news.  Grace and Nicole shared a look before the pair shrugged and went back to their food. 

“Shouldn’t that have gotten more of a reaction?” Kayla asked. 

“It might have,” Nicole admitted, “if our Fire and Rescue work wasn’t being overseen by the Gold Rescue Ranger from New York.  You know, the same one I mentioned in the group chat?” 

“Huh, neat,” Kayla said.  “That’s cool that you all are getting kick ass mentors, while we just flounder, not jealous at all here.” 

“You didn’t read the group chat, did you?” Jeff asked. 

Kayla shrugged, digging back into her food. 

Nicole huffed in exasperation.  “He’s going to help us train, as well as teach us how to deal with crisis situations as only Rangers can.  It’s why he’s in the city, we just happened to find him before he came looking for us.” 

“I think you misunderstood,” Devon cut back in, concern writ across his face.  “The Yellow Ranger wasn’t helping us bust the smugglers.  They were working with them.” 

Oh.  Oh fuck.