Author: Tanya aka Wildstar with much help from Nikki Silver
(I do not own the rights to any of the Power Rangers… I merely borrowed them for fanfic purposes. I do not own the rights to Monkey Ball, I merely borrowed it for fanfic purposes.)
Rated: PG – the word blood is mentioned. ;)
Cam dropped his hands haphazardly on the keyboard. Squinting at the screen, he tried to block out the pandemonium that was occurring behind him. Following the line he had been typing, he finally remembered his train of thought with the code, and began to type once again. The code blurred as the familiar sound of skateboard wheels skidded across the floor.
“Shane, is this really the place for that?”
“Oh, sorry…” He listened as the Red Wind Ranger hopped off the board and kicked it up effortlessly into his hand. “No, left…left! LEFT!” Shane suddenly cried.
“Geez!” Dustin hissed. “I thought I had it this time!” Ah, yes… Cam had noted that Hunter and Dustin had commandeered Sensei’s television for a little game time.
“You’re too banana greedy,” Hunter chimed in. “The art of Monkey Ball is to know when to pass on the banana. Move over… Let the master at it…”
“Yeah, right!” Shane countered. ”Who beat who at Monkey Target?”
“And who takes who on Monkey Racing?”
“Uh… I’m still grand champion,” Blake called from across the room. “Got to keep them in their place,” he smiled at Tori - well, at least Cam was picturing him smiling. That’s all Blake ever does while he has Tori’s attention.
Giggling was the only sound from Tori. It amazed him that such an intelligent girl could be reduced to giggling merely by the presence of Blake. Now that’s not fair, Cam chided himself, she doesn’t lose all of her mind for him, just softens it.
Cam shook his head. Back to the code, he thought to himself, got to get this done.
“OOH! OOH! And the last banana is mine!” Hunter informed the world.
“Hey, I could match that score… Give me that,” Shane must have reached for the control, because a scuffle ensued.
“Wait your turn, Monkey Boy!” Hunter called back.
“Enough!” Cam spun his chair to face them. “Don’t you all have homes!”
“Yeah, dude. But it’s more fun here,” Dustin whispered, as he stared at Cam like the puppy that had just been scolded.
“Well, this… this is my home!” Cam spun back to his keyboard. He quickly logged out of the program, while taping each final key extra hard, as if he was thumping each of them on the head in reproach. Cam then spun back to the still silent audience. “I’ve had it... I’m not getting anything done. I’m going to go relax. Try not to destroy the place. In fact, find somewhere else to destroy.”
Cam watched silently as each of the rangers got up and paraded out. As the Blake and Tori, the last of the pack, passed through the exit, Cam walked over to a set of drawers. He reverently pulled out a bottle of oil, a jar of sea salt, and a lighter and walked down the hall.
Luckily, Ninja Ops had everything to be desired of a home. He turned into the bathroom and began drawing a bath. He poured a handful of salt from the jar and cast it over the bath. He watched as the salt dissolved into the now steaming pool of water. He picked up the lighter and lit the tea light in the oil diffuser. He poured a few drops of the sandalwood and patchouli scented oil into the top of the diffuser and watched as it slowly heated up. As the aroma filled the air he mused about how he might actually have achieved feng shui: the tea light providing fire, the tea light holder shining of metal, the salt coming from the earth, the tub filling of water, the sandalwood is woodlike - ok, it was a stretch. His eyes fell upon a bonsai that sat at the tub’s edge. Ok, we have wood.
Cam slid off his clothes and lowered himself down into the calming waters. The steam and aromas swirled into his lungs and he inhaled and in so, released his tension. The warm water washed over his skin, warming his tense muscles. He felt the stress slide down into the water from his now relaxing form. He breathed in again, and allowed his mind to drift. Haikus he had read as a child echoed in his mind, whispering the truth in his ear. He wasn’t sure how long he had been there when there was a soft knock on the door. He glanced about the room. The tea light had burned out and the water was room temperature now.
“Cameron?” Sensei’s voice echoed from the hallway. “I think you might want to return to the main room, things seem amiss. The computer seems locked. I am unsure how to fix it.”
“I’m on it, dad.” Oh well, it was nice.
Cam pulled himself out of the tub and allowed it to drain. He toweled off quickly and threw on his clothes. Upon entering the main room, as he just barely missed stepping on his father, he CSIed the scene.
The controllers were flung wildly around a pair of cushions in front of his father’s television. Hunter and Dustin had returned for a rematch. The sheer number of skateboard scuffs had tripled, and the table now sported a scuff along the edge. Shane had chosen to practice some more. Two pole arms, a sword, and a staff were scattered about the room. Monkey Ball had led to an ego skirmish. There was no blood on the weapons or the floor, so it was a skirmish in good fun. All of the pillows, minus the two at the game console, were piled in the corner, if one could refer to that utter chaos as a pile.
Cam inched his way to the computer. It was locked up, just as his father had described. Cam’s brow furrowed as he surveyed the damage to the system. Luckily, the person who did the hacking didn’t know what he was doing. Luckily for Cam, that is. It was superficial. Within moments, the system was online again, and that’s when Cam saw the note.
Cam,
Sorry about the computer… wanted to
see Monkey Ball on the big screen. I
think I broke it. Dude, I’m soo sorry.
We’ve gone to bring back pizza. Dinner’s
on us tonight.
-Dustin.”
Cam sighed as he sunk into his chair. He closed his eyes and tried to summon up one last bit of the inner peace he had just found back in the tub. His mind whispered in haiku… and then something shifted in the corner where the chaotic pillows resided. There was a giggle, followed by the sound of lips meeting. Cam rolled his eyes and logged onto his program.
Back to the Main Fanfic Page
