Chapter 1
The parking lot seemed abandoned when Bonnie walked out of the grocery store, laden with two bulging bags in each hand. She sighed dramatically, strands of her brown hair being blown upward by her breath.
"Stupid 'rents," she muttered. "Making me do their errands. And someone should have volunteered to help me to my car." She spoke louder, addressing this comment over her shoulder. "Stupid bag boy. Isn't his job, like, to assist customers? Gosh, this sucks."
A vibrating beep beep beep came from Bonnie's pocket. She wanted to drop all of the bags and see who was texting her, but her stubbornness and annoyance with this errand prevented her from doing so. I just want to get in my car and drive home to lock myself in my bedroom, she thought.
Bonnie made her way to her car and put the bags on top of the trunk to reach her keys. She clicked the unlock button, removed the bags from the trunk, put them in the trunk, and then closed it. She walked to the driver's side door and was about to get in when a hard circular object was jammed into the small of her back. Angry words were about to spill from her mouth, but a voice near her ear stopped her.
"Scream, and I put a bullet in your spine," the deep gravelly voice said. "Hand me your purse, and this all goes away."
"Urgh," came out of Bonnie's mouth. Her body was trembling, and she didn't know what to do. Her purse was hanging from her right shoulder. All she had to do was slide it down her arm and hand it to the man, but her fear was too overwhelming. She forgot how to use her arms; her whole body had shut down. The only thing she could do was tremble and say "urgh".
The man pressed the gun harder into her back, causing her to gasp in pain. "Give me the purse or you'll die."
"O-o-o-okay," Bonnie said. She used her shaking left hand to lower the strap from her shoulder. The thief snatched the purse from her, slapped her upside the head with the gun, and ran off. The force of the blow propelled Bonnie into her car. Grasping the back of her head, she cried out in pain. And cried and cried.
Police officers, EMTs, trauma counselors, and her family and friends from school swarmed over Bonnie for the next few days. Bonnie remained in her room in a comatose-like state. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't speak, she barely even slept. Her mom kept telling her that she was lucky to have not gotten hurt worse or raped, but it didn't make her feel better. She still got attacked; that was enough to make her not feel safe in her own skin.
It took Bonnie a week and a half to feel up to going back to school. Still she wasn't her usual self; she was quiet and reserved and unhappy. Everyone was wary of her, being especially kind to her, trying not to anger her in anyway. She didn't notice any of it.
"Hey, Bonnie." Her rival, Kim Possible, approached her at her locker after school. "How are you?"
"No, Possible, not you, too," Bonnie said. "I can take compassion from everyone else but not you. Say something mean to me. Tell me that I deserved to be mugged for my awful behavior."
Kim gasped. "Bonnie, I would never say that. No one deserves to be harmed like that. Well, unless you're an evil villain who tries to take over the world, but that's not you. There's a good person…inside of you…somewhere." Bonnie half smiled at Kim's feeble attempt to make her feel better.
"Whatever, Kim. Thanks."
Kim smiled. "Whenever you're feeling up to it, you should come back to practice. We miss you on the squad."
Being reminded of cheerleading, Bonnie's idea from the other day popped back into her head. "About that, Kim, I was wondering if you could help me with something."
That sparked the other girl's interest. Kim's green eyes widened, and she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. "Sure, Bonnie. What do you need?"
"Could you teach me how to fight? For self-defense purposes?" She met Kim's eyes and pleaded with her wordlessly.
Kim's eagerness faded away, and her mouth formed a small o. "Oh," she said. "You want to learn how to fight." Bonnie nodded. Silence passed between the two girls as Kim pondered this idea. She couldn't deny its sensibility. But could she actually get along with Bonnie long enough to teach her something useful? Only time would tell. Kim sighed. "Yes, Bonnie, I can teach you how to fight."