Problem with the word friend
A week later, Mentor and Jayden watch the others train. A few seconds later, Mentor hears 'Lesson Number One' coming from inside the house. He leaves to investigate and stops in front of the Dojo to see Traci in her training gear. She does a cartwheel over to the sword on the floor. She uses her right foot to toss it into the air. She catches it and slices it through the air at the exa,ct moment when the lyrics say, 'cut quick like my blade.' He watches Tracy make a few more moves that match perfectly with the song before picking up the dock and pressing pause. Traci is ready to make the moves she created for the next verse, but she doesn't hear the song playing behind her. She turns around quickly to see Mentor standing in the doorway.
"I'm sorry, Menor, was the music too loud?" Traci says.
"No, but why are you practicing by yourself?" Ji asks.
"I'm afraid that the others would laugh at me," Traci says.
"You are a team, most importantly. Mia, Mike, Kevin, and Emily are your friends. They wouldn't do that," JI says.
"That is the same thing Victoria Hurst said to me right before she told the whole school about my learning disability. The next thing I knew, she was laughing along with the rest of the class." Traci says.
"You shouldn't hide your dyslexia from the others," Ji says.
"I know, Ji. Jayden told me the same thing. Please don't say anything to the others. I'll tell them someday." Traci says.
"Okay," Ji says.
An hour later, Traci is sitting on one of the benches at the park. She is playing her Vihuela again. She finishes playing Firework by Katie Parry when she sees a five-year-old Hispanic girl running up to her. Her mom, Maria, chases after her.
"Hi, my name is Aura. I like your Vihuela. It is pretty. Do you know how to play De Colors?" Aura asks.
"It's very nice to meet you, Aura, and thank you for the compliment. I'm Traci. Yes, I do. That was the second song my Uncle Jorge taught me." Traci says.
Aura smiles and claps happily. Maria takes a few steps back to give them some breathing room. The five-year-old starts to sing right after Traci plays the last few bars of the intro. Traci lets Aura sing the first verse. She sings with her on the second verse. She sings in a lower octave than she usually does so that everyone can hear her new partner. A crowd starts to form as they reach the end of the song. Maria is standing in the front row. Traci sees a massive smile on her face. Traci also sees a few people toss a couple of coins into her Vihuela case. The crowd claps after Traci plays the last note. Traci put the money into the piggy bank she attached to the lid of the case with a piece of Black Self Adhesive Velcro Hook and Loop Tape. Then she puts her instrument away. They walk up to her mom.
"Mom, did you see me?" Aura asks.
"Yes, I did, sweetie; you were wonderful," Maria says.
Traci bent down so she and Aura could see eye to eye. Aura gives her a big hug. Traci was a little surprised by what was happening.
"What's this for?" Traci asks.
"For letting me sing with you. It was fun," Aura says.
"You're welcome," Traci says.
Aura lets Traci go. Traci stands up tall again.
"You have a beautiful voice, and you're good at playing your Vihuela, too," Maria says.
"Thank you. My mom told me the same thing." Traci says.
"Honey, we need to go. We still have to go to the store," Maria says.
"Aw, man," Aura says.
Aura waves goodbye to Traci as they walk away.
"Kids," Traci says.
On the other side of the park, Doubletone scares Ryan and offers him a deal. Traci walks through the front door and hears the Gap Sensor going off. She goes to her room quickly to put her instrument away. The Rangers meet in the living room as Ji unrolls the map.
"The park, that's strange," Traci says.
"What do you mean?" Kevin asks.
"I was just there, and I didn't notice anything strange," Traci says.
"It must have been at a different spot in the park from where you were," Jayden says.
"Makes sense," Traci says.
The Rangers enter the scene to protect Ryan. After a brief battle, Doubletone retreats. Mia and Kevin confront Ryan about the Nighlok. Ryan wants to be left alone and rides away on his bike. The two Rangers follow the boy to his house. Kevin notices the look that Ryan gives to his bat. He tells Mia that he was like that before each swim meet. Back at the Shiba House, the Rangers watch as Traci cooks a meal for Kevin.
"Did you guys know that she could cook?" Mike asks.
"I figure that she must know a few recipes. Come on, Mike. Most mothers teach their children how to cook. It's a good way for them to bond." Mia says.
"But, Jayden, I thought you said that Ji cooks the meals," Mike says.
"He does," Jayden says.
"I wonder what she is cooking," Mike says.
"It looks like Chicken Enchiladas," Mia says.
The Rangers get a whiff of the intoxicating aroma coming from the kitchen as Traci heats the filling for the enchiladas. Mia looks over at Mike. She sees him starting to drool. A few seconds later, it drips down onto Jayden's shoulder. She winks at Jayden, and the red Ranger elbows him in the stomach.
"Dude, what was that for?" Mike asks.
"I needed to get you to stop drooling. My shoulder is starting to get damp," Jayden says.
"Sorry, dude, you have to admit that smells fantastic," Mike says as he wipes the drool from the corner of his mouth.
Back inside the kitchen, the filling is ready, so Traci rolls an even amount of the mixture into the tortillas. She arranges them in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Then she covers them with taco sauce and 3/4 cup of Cheddar cheese before putting them in the oven. Traci turns around to see her teammates standing in the doorway.
"Hey, guys," Traci says.
"When will they be ready?" Mike asks.
"In thirty minutes," Traci says.
Meanwhile, at Ryan's place, Kevin continues his stakeout. Mia arrives with Kevin's dinner.
"You made me dinner?" Kevin asks.
"No, Traci did, "Mia says.
Kevin opens the container. He sees two Chicken Enchiladas with Spanish rice, some corn chips, and two side cups, one with salsa and the other with guacamole. Kevin hands Mia the extra fork, and they eat dinner. Doubletone watches the scene from behind the fence. Back at the house, Traci takes the other dish she prepared out of the oven. She sets it on the counter to cool. Then she leaves to tell everyone that dinner will be ready soon. Ten minutes later, everyone is sitting in the kitchen eating dinner.
"Traci, this is delicious," Emily says.
"Thanks for the compliment," Traci says.
"If you like, we could trade off making dinner for everyone," Ji says.
"Sounds good to me. What about you, guys?" Traci says.
"If it means we can eat some more Mexican food, I'm in," Mike says.
"Me too," Emily says.
"What about you, Jayden?" Traci asks.
"I love the idea," Jayden says.
"Great," Ji says.
In the morning, at Ryan's house, Kevin sees Ryan leaving his yard. He wakes Mia up, and they begin to follow Ryan. They catch up with Ryan and question him about his game. Doubletone enters the scene to stop the noisy Ranger. Doubletone reveals his plan to make Ryan give up his dream of playing baseball to bring his dad home from overseas.
"Where is my Dad? You promised," Ryan says.
"Relax, kid, I'm working on it, and thanks for helping me raise the Sanzu River with your tears," Doubletone says.
"We're going to make you pay for what your actions nighlok," Kevin says.
Mia tells Ryan to leave. They morph into action after Ryan is out of sight. Doubletone blasts them into the woods. After a brief battle, their fellow Rangers join the fight. Doubletone summons a swarm of Moogers. The Rangers face off against Doubletone and the Moogers. After Mia and Kevin use their weapons to defeat the Nighlok, Doubletone becomes a mega monster. They form the Samurai Megazord. Traci goes into megamode, and she races in towards Doubletone.
"Leave me alone, kitty," Doubletone says as he swipes the zord out of the air.
The others watched as the zord did a backflip. Then it lands on its feet.
"Nice move, Traci," Mike says.
"Thanks, Mike, okay, nighlok, let's see how you handle this," Traci says.
Traci uses the snow leopard's hail storm attack. The nighlok tries to dodge them but can't. After the hailstone stops flying, Doubletone sees the Megazord's final attack coming towards it. The attack hits him; he falls over and explodes. An hour later, at the baseball field, Ryan walks onto the field to join the game. Jayden uses his symbol power to allow Ryan to see his father. The moment reminds Traci of the last time she sang in front of a crowd when her Aunt Adrienne told her to break a leg. Traci reaches under the collar and holds the heart-shaped charm of her locket in the plan of her hand. She opens it and looks at the picture from her fifteenth birthday of her with her Aunt Adrienne.
"I wish you were still here with me, Aunt Adrienne; I miss you," Tracy whispers as she closes her charm and puts it back under her collar.
She sees Aura standing on the pitcher's mound. Everyone stands up and puts their hands on their hearts. Aura starts singing the National Anthem. The crowd claps after she walks back to her seat next to her mom. After the ump calls 'Play Ball,' Ryan steps up to the plate. As the ball comes towards him, Ryan puts everything into his swing. When the bat connects with the ball, it flies over the fence in the center field. The Rangers cheer loudly along with the crowd as Ryan runs around the bases.
After the game, Jayden and the others watch the excited Aura sprint up to Traci. The silver ranger groans as Aura hugs her.
"Traci, who is this," Kevin asks.
"This is Aura. I met her at the park earlier," Traci says.
Maria runs up and tells her daughter to let Traci go before she passes out. The five-year-old doesn't listen to her mom and hugs Traci tighter. Jayden and Maria watch Traci's face turn blue.
"Aura Isabella Ruiz, get over here right now," Maria says.
Aura quickly lets go of Traci. She walks over to her mom. After Traci can breathe again, she looks over at Maria.
"The full name card, well played," Traci says.
"Thank you," Maria says.
"You're welcome," Traci says.
"Mom, can Traci walk home with us," Aura asks.
"It's okay with me. What about you, Traci?" Maria asks.
"I love it too. I was planning on taking a walk around the rest of the city after the game." Traci says.
Aura runs up to Traci again. She grabs her hand and drags her away from the group.
"I guess we're leaving now. I'll meet you back at the house." Traci says.
"Okay, we'll see you soon," Jayden says.
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