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It was like her body was there- but the person inside the body was a whole different character.
How did they help her?
It was in the middle of exam season, naturally things were tense in her life- she was Izzy Garcia: top athlete of Pine Ridge, pulled her GPA up to a solid 4.0 in one semester and kept it for 2 years now, looking to be scouted by several colleges up and down the country- even in her personal life, balancing being a Superhero alongside her brother and best friends and now running an incredibly popular sports program for free. She had it all- well had, her girlfriend had moved away. Fern was her everything, they were incredibly close- so when Fern had to leave to go visit her mom back home naturally, they were both pained by the news, they decided- due to the uncertainty of the time Fern would be away- that breaking up would be a good idea, although the two remained close after the decision was finalised.
Since then, the team noticed that she had been quieter and distant- Javi had also witnessed a lot of crying when he guessed Izzy assumed no one would hear her. Even her battle tactics had been affected. Amelia had described the emotions to the Rafkonians ‘it’s like when you have something that makes you feel complete, then you lose said thing and you feel like a part of you has been taken- it's not exactly the same but it’s like you two with Rafkon, without your home you feel different- without Fern, Izzy feels different’
“GB, did you find the answer to question 7 yet?” Anaya asked turning around to her friend, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“Oh, uh- yeah, 42” Izzy smiled, watching her teammate turn back around, seconds later turning back round
“You were thinking of Fern weren’t you” Anaya pointed out bluntly, it was true- memories flew back every second she did something that linked to her (which was 90% of her daily routine) it was like in her favourite book series, Heartstopper: Charlie’s older sister Tori had a separate series for her, she had a crush at one point throughout- and one line in particular had been the exact way Izzy had been feeling since the end of the relationship ‘1000 thoughts at once- and Michael Holden was 900 of them’ in Izzy’s case 900 of the thoughts belonged to Fern.
“That obvious?” Izzy muttered sheepishly
“You wrote Fern for your name... and on every black space of your book cover... yes” Anaya stated- to be honest it pissed Izzy off that Anaya didn’t understand what her mind looked like, but she always remembered that Anaya hadn’t been in a relationship before- with her constant moving and need for new friends, feelings never arose... until Adrian entered the picture- but Anaya refused to act on them due to her dedication to being a ranger.
“Oh... yeah” Izzy sighed reluctantly.
“Ok class. You have your computer final this Friday and this will decide your grade for the end of year report, as well as your senior classes next year- I'm sure some of you have no issue with this although I want you all to make sure you study and keep all this in mind- as I always offer, extra-credit is available if you would like to boost yourself or ensure you get the grades you want- and on that note, I’ll see you all first thing Thursday morning for your final revision session” Mrs Watson announced, dismissing the class.
“Anaya, Izzy- you two got a second,” She added as the two began to walk past her
“Sure” They both agreed
“Now I know I have no reason to worry about you two and you aren’t in any type of trouble, I just wanted to let you know that you two are high contenders for the school’s honours programme next year, now Anaya I understand you’re already in Honours French and Spanish as well as Honours Biology so I have no doubt you’ll keep up- Izzy, on the other hand, I do believe this might slightly impact your schedule in terms of your physical activities- now this in no way means you have to stop anything, I know you aren’t one for quitting- so I wanted to let you know before you find out via an email, just so you can start making a plan for what you want to do. You’re grades on Friday will be a factor in the consideration, so I wanted to let you know so you can prepare effectively,” Mrs Watson explained.
Anaya looked excited however Izzy seemed tense, she never imagined being cut out for honours- sure she was top of her classes now, but Senior Honours was a major deal, not every day you get asked to join a class with the smartest people in your school
“Is that ok with the two of you?” She finished looking between the pair
“Of course, that’s amazing” Anaya jumped, her dad knew she was the smartest amongst her siblings and now joining 4 honours classes next year- that proved it.
“Honours... like A* average honours... like if your grades drop you can be in a mess honours...” Izzy confirmed
“That’s correct- partially, usually if the grades start slipping it’s up to the student if they want to drop down- no decisions are made for them, although I’m confident you’re able to do well in this class” Mrs Watson corrected
“Oh... yeah, that works... thanks” Izzy smiled before leaving the room, Anaya babbling about the class
“You know, I think Adrian’s going for Honours too- maybe we can have a class together, imagine the projects we could-” She gushed, up until an unexpected outburst occurred
“Anaya. Stop talking.” Izzy growled, the command seemed shaky, as if there was something in her throat preventing her from using her voice properly.
She had started pulling at her bracelet.
She felt warm and her fingertips were tingling as if someone was using a pin-art block around her hand. Her chest rose and fell, but with each breathe it rose faster and faster, as it sped up it felt as if her lungs were growing to the point of explosion- what was happening.
“Izzy... Iz- you good?” Anaya asked- well at least it sounded like what was said- she wasn’t able to focus on anything around her, just the sound of her heart and lungs pulsing and the feeling in her hand, it felt foreign and something she knew too well simultaneously.
They hit the doors heading towards the wall their teammates always met them at
“Izzy... yo- girl" Anaya repeated placing a hand on her shoulder- only for it to be immediately removed
They were outside but a small cardboard box would have felt like more space in her mind. The team were stood there, and she could see them talking- but like when Anaya had spoken before, nothing was sinking in
“You’re late out” Amelia greeted
“Yeah- not now, something’s up” Anaya pointed to Izzy.
Next thing she knew, Javi had locked eyes with her- the eyes staring back at him began to prick, water forming.
Javi went over to her, she broke.
Crying, shaking, breathing in and out but no oxygen leaving or escaping.
He pulled her into a hug, the others watched and observed- usually the green ranger could never be phased but the person they were seeing before them was so fragile, nothing that they had seen Izzy deal with before.
It was like her body was there- but the person inside the body was a whole different character.
How did they help her?
“Iz, you’re ok, it’s alright I got you- I need you to breathe ok, follow what I’m doing” Javi soothed, replicating the breathing he wanted his sister to follow. She did as was instructed and followed the rhythm of her brother’s chest
In. Out. In. Out.
“That’s it, you’re doing good, it’s ok” Javi continued rubbing circles on his sister’s spine, the rest of the team felt useless- the scene in front of them was so unusual- it didn’t help that Zayto and Aiyon had less of an idea than the other three, they wanted to ask questions although they knew from the silence of the 3 rangers meant that this situation was something Javi had clearly dealt with before.
She calmed down after another minute of breathing and the tears stopped falling, Javi smiled at her
“See you did it, Izzy Garcia- nothing stops you,” He praised releasing her from the hug, the pair turned to the team, who were all stood speechless over the scene
“You guys can stop staring now” Izzy giggled, wiping the tears off her cheek
“What was that?” Aiyon stared, completely disregarding the statement
“Panic attack... it happens sometimes” Javi explained simply smiling at his sister, Izzy smiled back
“Wanna explain why... people don’t just have panic attacks” Ollie pointed out
“Uh... Anaya and I have this Computer Science final on Friday, and it determines if we go into Honours next year- guess the thought of that, and well Fern... and everything else- I've been a little distracted... and stressed” Izzy said reluctantly, she expected someone to comment, however, no one seemed to bother prying for more information.
“Honours... Man even I didn’t make it there, you two gotta be mad skilled- I was in the top 5 of my class” Ollie commented in awe
“Well, you’re looking at top two of ours” Izzy mocked “This girl right here- A* average since she joined, literally one of the only reasons I function in class,” She added pointing at Anaya “This is gonna be what your fourth honours class you’re testing for?”
“Actually... I already got accepted for honours Chem and Maths...” Anaya smirked, the team lit up with pride.
Izzy knew that even with all that had just happened, as long as she had Anaya and Javi- as well as the others- she would be ok, Fern being gone still stung- but soon enough she would get her back or move on.