The Waitress ↯ C. Randall

Chapter 11 | Knight after Knights [REWRITTEN]

WITH A SMALL SMILE, MISS MORGAN FLASHED THE GOLD DINO CHARGER AT IVAN, "The transmitter will refine the power of your Gold Energem so that I can create Dino Chargers."

Quinn, who held the surprisingly heavy Ptera Saber, took the Dino charger from Miss Morgan's hand. She continued Miss Morgan's explanation, saying, "Now the Dino Charger will power your Morpher or your Gold Ptera Saber."

"Truly magical," Ivan stated, awed by the golden glow of the Saber. His eyes danced upon the Ptera Saber and Quinn couldn't help but fondly chuckle at his reaction. She presented the saber before him, motioning for him to take it. Ivan graciously took it, admiring it further.

"Now, over here are the crystal beds. Bring your energem. Riley and Chase will show you another way we use it." Miss Morgan directed, leading Ivan to the green and black rangers.

This left Quinn with nothing to do but stand around—and maybe sneak a few peeks at Tyler's meticulous journal writings. His eyes were scrunched up and his eyebrows were knitted together. He was clearly in deep thought, but he also seemed... disappointed? At first, Quinn questioned what he was sad about. They had found the gold ranger—a good one, at that—and got the gold energem back. What was there to worry about? Then she remembered his cry for his dad and the sheer disappointment that washed over him, only for a moment. The moment was brief, no doubt cut short by Tyler knowing that he had to lead the group to victory once more, but she noticed it. His journal writings had to be about his father.

Stepping closer to him, her thoughts were verified as she read the few lines he had written. Shelby, peering over his shoulder already, arched a brow at the brunette. Quinn narrowed her eyes at her, throwing her hands in the air incredulously. Hypocrite. After another pointed look from Shelby, Quinn flipped her off. Shelby rolled her eyes in return, leaving Quinn satisfied.

Shelby leaned in closer to Tyler, murmuring, "You misspelled surprise."

Tyler slammed his journal shut, hiding it from view. "Hey, not cool." He replied, an extra bite to his words that Quinn had never heard from him. A pang of guilt hit her. It was wrong for them to intrude on his privacy, even if they had done it out of worry. Maybe they should have just left him alone.

"Well, you haven't said much since Ivan arrived," Shelby retorted.

"We know you hoping for your father," Koda added, taking Tyler's diary in his hands and flipping through it. He held it up to the light, trying to get a better view of it. It didn't help. Tyler quickly snatched it back, carefully smoothing out any creases.

Quinn leaned over, setting a hand on Tyler's shoulder. "Hey, we're sorry for looking at your journal." She apologized. Tyler flashed her a small smile, easing Quinn's conscience. "We're just worried about you. And I'm sorry that it wasn't your dad in there. But, I know that you're going to find him. It just might take a little longer than you want,"

Continuing off of Quinn, Shelby added, "Yeah, and you saw what Ivan can do. He's going to make our team stronger."

"Find Energems faster." Koda suggested.

"Which means this-" Quinn pointed at Tyler's energem. "-will be over faster, leaving you with more time to find your dad."

Shelby grinned, giving a small nod. "Exactly. Once this is over, we're going to find out what happened to your dad. I promise."

Tyler stared down at his notebook thoughtfully for some time. While he was pained to part from it, he set it in his bag. "You're right. Thanks." Tyler whispered gratefully. Koda, Quinn, and Shelby smiled, enrapturing Tyler in a brief, tight group hug that left the four giggling.