Kimberly Hart stomped up to the table her oldest friend, Jason Scott, was sitting at and sat down with a huff of utter annoyance.
“Bad day?” Jason asked. Trini was off helping her mother move something at her store while Billy and Zack had volunteered to help reorganize the backstage of their school’s auditorium. As for the newest ranger, Tommy, he was on a trip with his parents on a trip to his grandfather’s place. That left just the Red and Pink ranger to watch over Angel Grove but luckily Rita and her goons had gone quiet since the Rangers had defeated Goldar and her latest monster the day before hand.
“The worst,” Kim said, waving at Ernie who hurried over with a smile.
“The usual Kim?”
“Yea… no, wait, forget that. Get me something different, Ernie. Anything.”
Jason shrugged when Ernie glanced at him. “Same.” The owner of the Juice Bar nodded and went back to prepare his favorite customers’ drinks, leaving Jason and Kim to talk in peace. “So what happened?”
Kimberly let out a growl of utter frustration. “It… ugh, it just makes me so MAD!”
Growing even more concerned Jason leaned forward. “Kim, talk to me. What happened?”
“Someone… moved my bag.”
“You mean they stole your bag?”
“no, they moved it. Because someone slipped some water on the ground and they didn’t want it to get wet.”
Jason just stared at her.
Kimberly rubbed her forehead. “I get it, okay? I get it sounds irrational and stupid but… they put it on top of one of the lockers and yeah they told me where it was and I had to smile and thank them and I couldn’t yell at them for touching it and I totally get why they moved it because, hey, being nice, but-“
“You couldn’t reach it, could you?”
The Pink Ranger just nodded her head morosely. “I had to ask a janitor to help me.”
Jason completely understood where Kim was coming from. The two of them had been best friends since they were 3 years old, living just a block away from one another. Their moms were good friends and had arranged playdates between the two of them and by the time the likes of Zack and Trini and Billy had met them Kimberly and Jason were already thick as thieves. But it wasn’t just time that had bonded them but a shared problem: height. Until Jason had turned 15 he had been the shortest boy in class and Kim still was the shortest girl in their grade. Jason had managed to have a growth spurt that brought him up to average height but before then the two of them had been the ‘babies’ that constantly stood a head shorter than everyone else.
Even though Jason was no longer barely 5 feet tall the pain of that time still stayed with him and left him subconscious about his height. It didn’t help that Tommy was nearly 6 feet tall, bringing back all those old fears and pains.
“I’m sorry Kim,” Jason said, patting her hand, getting a smile out of his dear friend. Kim flipped her hand over so she could grasp Jason’s and give it a squeeze. It had always surprised people that the two had never gotten together, as they seemed like a perfect fit. Kim knew her mom had joked since she was 8 that Jason would be her future son-in-law. But their lives had never really lined up, with one of them dating someone else when the other was available. And Kim would never act on her urges, both when Jason had been with someone else and when she had been the one in a relationship.
Even if there were times she kissed Tommy but had Jason in her thoughts.
“I’m just sick and tired of being the little one,” Kimberly said in frustration. “Tiny Lil Kim. Puberty was supposed to fix this! Not just my height but all this!” She gestured at her body. “No boobs, I have to work to get any curves… at least if I had some muscles that would be something but I’m just a tiny little stick!”
Jason didn’t say a word, knowing that if he said anything it would just come out wrong. So instead he just held her hand as Ernie prepared their drinks.
~Meanwhile~
“Oh?” Rita cackled as she observed Jason and Kim. “Lil Kimmy wants to be bigger? How about being a massive hulking Neanderthal? Would you like that?” Rita grabbed her staff and zapped the potion she’d prepared before aiming at the drinks that moron at the Juice Bar was making. The spell would swap the drinks, sending Kimmy’s new juice drink to the moon while leaving her with Rita’s potion with none the wiser! With a cackle Rita fired off the spell…