A cool and collected Kim. A freaking Ron. And behind the counter – a very grumpy-looking Ned. What's the sitch behind this moment in Graduation, Pt. I?

Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, and Ned © Disney Corp.

Ned's Lament

Ned fumed as he waited for the order to come up. After all they'd been through together – Possible couldn't even give him a friendly greeting?

In his mind's eye he reviewed the years.

He'd quickly gotten over Possible's and Stoppable's betrayal of the Bueno Nacho code when they ditched out after their brief employment. After all, not everyone is truly suited to the special pressures and demands of the quick-service food industry. And that was a long time ago, anyway.

But that was hardly the end of it. Time after time, it seemed, Bueno Nacho – his Bueno Nacho – was at the center of the action. The clones…that time Larry got kidnapped…all the times Possible's arch-foes totally trashed the restaurant. Ron himself had busted it up once while wearing Kim's battlesuit! And then again when he grew into some kind of giant mutant...oh, the list just went on and on.

I bet the Mucho Grande Bueno Nacho doesn't always have superheroes and their villainous foes smashing it up.

So many times he had been put at risk by their superhero stunts, the restaurant literally coming down around his ears. But did he complain? File lawsuits? No – he had been proud to see BN as the base of operations for Team Possible. He was honored to be the person responsible for ensuring that the two teen heroes had the necessary carbs and protein (and, yes, fat) to keep on battling bad guys.

Sure, he knew graduation was coming up, and Kim had reason to be distracted… but would a little nod to his contributions be so out of order? And now that she and Stoppable would be moving on, well, it seemed like maybe his status as the 4th member of Team Possible (even if the other three didn't really realize it) was in jeopardy.

Some kind of weird separation anxiety? Is that what this was about?

No, that wasn't it. Don't sell yourself short, Nedster. It was just that well, didn't he deserve some recognition? Some credit? Some thanks? What about the Little Diablos? He had warned them, warned them all about the terrible impact that BN's corporate takeover might have. And sure, Ron had totally missed the boat when Ned tried to tip him off about the evil which held sway at Bueno Nacho 592 that night – but hadn't Ned done his part?

And this was the thanks he got?

Just thinking about it made him angrier and angrier. He could hardly keep his hands from shaking as he placed the salad and chimerito on the tray and carried it over to the counter. Suddenly, from deep within him, the anger and frustration welled up and spilled over, and he found himself muttering:

"You'll pay, Kim Possible! You'll pay!"

"Uh, of course I'll pay, Ned." Kim's voice brought him back to the counter, where she was looking at him quizzically. "7.98, right?"

"What? Uh, yeah, sure, Kim," he responded sheepishly.

"There you go, Ned! Thanks!" Kim said as she turned back to the table where Ron was sitting, staring glumly.

Meh, thought Ned. They'll be back.