Disclaimer: I do not own the characters to Kim Possible. They are owned by Disney. I own everyone else.
"Alright you bunch of freaks" he growled, "With the approach of Veterans Day the school, along with the city, have decided to cooperate," he shrugged his shoulders, "Why I don't know. What they have agreed on was to have all of you maggots to go out and interview our veterans of our town. I want a five page transcript typed up and placed on my desk by Monday, or i'll bury each and every one of you."
There was a unanimous groan, and a volley of heavy impacts as the students dropped their heads onto their desks.
"Shut up!" Mr. Barkin roared and the students jerked up, straightening their backs, eyes jut wide open. There was silence in the room at last for several seconds and Mr. Barkin relished in the tranquility until the bell rang; end of class. Picking up her books Kim Possible walked out towards her locker, down the long, narrow hallway packed with students. Almost immediately, she was intercepted by her best friend Ron Stoppable a tall blonde haired dimple faced boy always with a cheerful disposition, "Hey, KP" he waved, "Did you hear what Mr. Barkin said?"
"Yeah," she sighed, "I heard, but where are we going to find a veteran in town? There are so few and Bonnie knows, like, where they all live. Chances are we are going to be left high and dry for the weekend," she groaned again as together they reached her wall locker. Spinning the dial lock and opening the metal coffin she stuffed her books inside, flanking the internal monitor that was connected to her friend Wade. Right now, she prayed that the screen would light up with the computer geek with a mission that would remove her from this quagmire, but it was silent as the grave.
"Oh, no big" Ron smiled from ear to ear, "I hear there is a vet that moved into a house just down the street for me," his voice suddenly dropped to a whisper to avoid anyone from hearing them.
"Really?" gasped Kim. Her face cracked with a joyful smile, "That's great. We should head there now and see if he will talk to us. You know those veterans, a lot of them are very protective about their past."
Nodding in agreement Ron looked over his shoulder to see Monique approaching with her arms bound with books. Looking over Ron's shoulder the red head waved her hand, "Hey, girlfriend."
"Hey, Kim" Monique sighed. There was obvious strain her voice.
"What's wrong?" her two friends looked on in care.
"I'm going to interview my father" she said, "He was in Vietnam, but he's very quiet about it. He hasn't told anyone about his tour in all these years. Not even to my mother."
"Really? Then, how did you know?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow.
Monique lowered her head, eyes looking away, "I…I went snooping through one of his boxes and found his service medals a few weeks ago. He found out and told me to never do it again." Her voice was quivering, almost silent in tone. She sounded ashamed of what she had done.
"Don't worry, Monique" assured Kim as she shut her locker and spun the lock, "You're his daughter. He's not going to hate you. Just be sincere. He's not…" before she could finish her sentence Ron caught sight of a brown haired girl in a cheerleader uniform approaching them with determination in her eyes. "Hold that thought, KP" he interrupted, "Bon bon at twelve o' clock." Looking with their eyes at the approaching figure, it was Kim's rival whom carried a sarcastic smirk on her lips, "Well, Kimmy, let's see who tops who with what I'm going to give to Mr. Barkin."
"What are you talking about, Bonnie?" Monique hissed between her teeth.
"Well, let's just say I have a group of veterans lined up and they are all willing to tell me their stories. I'll do the five pages and then some. Let's just see you top that. Oh, did Mr. Barkin mention that there will be a dance afterwards? Oh, that's right, you didn't know because "I" just thought of it and the principle agreed. The person with the highest grade will be awarded a small scholarship from the VFW." When she was finished Bonnie looked at the three with that smirk on her lips. She knew that she had them all beat and walked away with her chin held high in the air.
"A group of veterans?" barked Ron, "How did she do that?" His hands were up in the air, signifying that he was already to surrender.
Kim sighed, "I don't know, but I hope that veteran of your's is willing to speak."
Kim and Ron left the school, but they surmised that first they should go home and prepare themselves before conducting the interview. When Kim came home she threw her book bag onto the floor of her room and fell face first into her soft bed. Ron was going to call, perhaps an hour or so. He was going to write some questions and then see if the veteran is home. He had that awful scooter with him so why walk back and forth if nothing came of it? It was ample time to catch a nap. It was a long day, all she wanted to do was sleep, but the threat that Mr. Barkin had made to them rang heavily in her ears. She could not afford to be buried. Everything was on the line. Her reputation, future education, and worst of all; her social life were all hanging by a thread. If Bonnie topped her it would be the end of the world. The cheer squad might elect her as leader the next year. Then her grades will plummet, she won't get invited to the prom, then she'll never get married. AGH! Her head was spinning. The phone on the nightstand suddenly rang. Reaching blindly onto the piece of wood furniture she grasped the receiver and brought it up to her ear, "Talk to me" she muttered as her face sank into the pillow.
"KP" said the familiar voice of Ron on the other end, "It's all ready. The man is home right now and Bonnie is nowhere in sight. We have to hurry or we might lose our chance."
"Sure thing," she muttered then hung up the phone. Kim waited for several seconds before lifting her tired frame up from her bed. Taking up her book bag once more she left her room and went into the kitchen where mother had left a pile of freshly made cookies and a tall glass of ice cold milk. Ron can wait a few more minutes she smiled then pounced onto her prey with no mercy.