Hey everybody :). Here's the latest in my series of point-of-view stories. You probably figured from the title, yes, this story is told by Ernie, the jovial owner and manager of the Youth Centre. Rewatching my Shout DVDs of MMPR (which I'd recommend, if you can afford them, they're worth it), I started wondering, what was Ernie's perspective on everything that happened during MMPR? I know the actor who played Ernie passed away a few years ago, so I hope the story doesn't upset or offend anyone. My goal here was to write a tribute to a great character, who - I think - was a lot more important than anybody realised. Anyway, hope you enjoy. Feedback and reviews are always welcome :).

Chapter One

When people look at me, they only ever see the big guy in the loud shirt serving smoothies behind the Juice Bar.

That's fine by me. Honestly? I love my job. I get to take care of a lot of good kids, and that's the most important thing in the world. When I first took over the Youth Centre all those years ago, I wanted to turn the place into something special. My goal was to build a retreat, where young people from all over the city could come to escape an otherwise unfriendly world. It would be somewhere they could eat good food, exercise, or just recharge and kick back. I was actually pretty proud of what I accomplished with this place. At the very least, life in charge of the Youth Centre was never boring.

Then the Power Rangers showed up.

The Youth Centre is still important, but in a different way. I keep it as a place where people can come to get away from the war being fought literally right outside our doors. According to popular local legend, the Rangers are young men and women living right here in the city. Some people say they might even be teenagers. So it made sense that the Youth Centre occasionally played an active role in their lives. Still, I've always tried to keep the place as safe as possible. But every now and then, trouble still managed to make it through the front door.

One time in particular, it got very close indeed.

"If you could just sign here," the truck driver began as he handed me the invoice, "and the brand new ice-cream freezer will be all yours."

"Sure thing," I replied. I took the clipboard and glanced to the name tag sewn on the man's uniform. The delivery truck driver was tall and overbearing. He didn't seem to understand the concept of personal space, and as you can imagine, I need more than most. "You know, Mr Gold, it's quite strange. The rep told me on the phone they wouldn't be sending me a new freezer for a couple of weeks."

Mr Gold grinned broadly. "We're all about customer satisfaction," he said. "Boys! Bring it in!"

Three delivery men wheeled the new freezer through the Youth Centre and up towards the bar. The freezer was waist-height with orange stripes and two glass lids. The workmen themselves were far more out-of-place. Grim and silent, they all wore the same grey jumpsuits, with matching caps and dark sunglasses covering their eyes.

"Where do you want it?" Gold asked. "Somewhere out of the way?"

I shook my head. "Past the counter, over by the wall," I replied. "There should be a power socket on the ground."

Gold scowled but nodded, and directed the three workers to carry the freezer up the stairs and over towards the wall. One of them knelt down to plug it in.

"Thanks," I said. "If I have any problems, who should I call?"

"Oh we're sure the freezer will do exactly what it's supposed to," Gold said.

I glanced back to the locker hallway as a crowd of students stepped into the building. I smiled as I recognised Kimberly, Trini and Tommy in the before-school rush. The three of them were a group of my favourite customers. You'll never meet a better bunch of kids, and I felt honoured to call them my friends. Up near the bar, the freezer suddenly groaned and rattled.

"That'll just be the motor switching on," Gold said hurriedly, then gestured to his three workmen. "Come!" he barked. "We need to leave, now. Busy schedule. Enjoy the freezer." With that, they raced for the door, almost tripping over themselves in their haste to leave.

"Tough boss," I murmured, and stepped back over to the Juice Bar, passing Kim, Trini and Tommy as they sat down at the counter. "Hey guys."

"Morning Ernie," Tommy replied. "What's up?"

I nodded over to the wall. "New ice-cream freezer," I said. "It's so shiny and clean," and the three teens laughed. "I'm gonna wait until it's nice and cold before loading it up with this new range of Italian sorbets. You're gonna love 'em."

"Sounds delicious," Kim said.

"So what are you three working on this morning?" I asked.

Trini tapped the open workbook in front of her. "There's a new public art sculpture across town," she began. "I have to write a report on it for art class."

"New sculpture?" I asked.

"Yeah," Kim replied. "That two-headed dragon over near the college."

"Oh yeah," I said, and thought of the last few monster attacks in the city. "That'll end well. But here, lemme get you guys some breakfast smoothies. On the house."

"Ernie, you're too good to us," Tommy said.

"You guys are my best taste testers," I replied. "And I got a couple new fruit combos I want to try."

But as I reached for the juice machine, I glanced back to the new freezer. While I'd been talking, it had rolled an inch away from where the workmen had left it.

A couple of days later, I was wiping down the bar at the end of the day when Trini and Zac stepped into the building. Behind me, the freezer groaned, but it had been doing that for a while now and I paid no attention. Trini and Zac were walking slowly, with their gazes downcast. I know these kids well, and I knew in a second that something was wrong. They both looked like they had the weight of the world on their shoulders, and I made my way over to them as they sat down at the counter. Trini pulled a couple of books free from her yellow backpack, while Zac spun around to watch the martial arts tournament on the training mats.

"Hey guys," I said. "I haven't seen you looking this glum in a while."

Running the Youth Centre has meant that, over the years, I've had to take on a lot of roles. Trainer, chef, teacher, coach, cleaner, mentor, friend, and every so often, secret-keeper and councillor. It's not easy being young, and the thing I've never forgotten is that you never know what battles someone might be fighting. So not only does the Youth Centre have the best selection of fruit smoothies on the coast, but there's always a good set of ears readily available.

"It's been a long day," Trini said. "I keep trying to make an appointment with the head of the arts faculty at the University. She was the artist who designed the dragon statue. I need this interview for the grade, but nobody seems to take a high-school student seriously." She sat back, and brushed strands of her hair back behind her ears. "It's very frustrating."

I turned to Zac. "School trouble too?"

Zac glanced around and lowered his voice. "Kind of," he said. "It's Angela. We were on a date last week, but I had to," and he paused, shooting Trini a sideways glance, "well, something came up. She's avoided me ever since. I can't even say sorry, you know?"

"I feel for you," I said, and Zac nodded. "Trini, I got an idea. I know the guy who runs the student bar over at the college. He's an old pal of mine, and he tells me that he's friends with a lot of the faculty heads. I'll ask him to put in a good word for you. And I know that once you get one foot in the door, you'll knock 'em dead."

Trini's face lit up. "You would? Ernie, that'd be fantastic! Thank you so much."

On a roll, I looked to Zac. "I gotta ask. You tried flowers?"

Zac nodded sadly. "A huge bouquet of roses."

"Ooh," I said. "Swing and a miss."

"C'mon, they were roses!"

"Too impersonal," I said. "She probably felt like she was a project or somethin'. Trini, what's Angela's favourite colour?"

"She does wear purple a lot," Trini replied.

"Well there you go!" I said. "Don't go overboard, just something simple. Oh, and make sure they're purple. Last thing; write a card. Keep it short but be honest. Tell her you miss her."

"Ernie you're a life saver," Zac grinned, and he leaped off his seat and raced for the exit. "I gotta get to the florist! They close in ten minutes! Catch you guys later!"

Trini looked back to me and smiled. "Thanks Ernie."

"No prob," I grinned, and flashed a thumbs up. I was about to continue when I heard the slow creak of metal wheels creeping across the linoleum floor. I glanced around in confusion, and my eyes soon settled on the ice-cream freezer. I watched as it rolled half a foot away from the wall before coming to a stop.

To be continued.